Winning Streak Thuds to a Halt

Hopefully last night was the last night we are subjected to watching Kei Igawa on the mound- at least as a starter. The Yankees 6 game winnings streak, predictably, came to a quick and sudden stop as the Kanas Royals slapped Igawa around for 4 runs in the 2nd inning and cruised to a 7-0 victory.

Jorge De La Rosa and 2 reliever blanked the suddenly cold Yankees bats, limiting them to 6 hits. The Yankees hitters understandably may have a defeatist attitude when Igawa pitches. In addition to being bad, he works extremely slowly, easing his fielders to sleep.

Alex Gordon started things off with a 1-out double, and Tony Pena Jr. brought him with triple. Igawa recorded the 2nd out, striking out Jason LaRue, but walked Esteban German. David DeJesus followed with a ball in the gap in right-center for a 2-run double. Mark Grudzielanek tripled in DeJesus before Igawa finally got Billy Butler to pop out for the 3rd out.

De La Rosa meanwhile escape one jam after another. The Yankees had a runner(s) in scoring position in 5 of the first 6 innings, but couldn't get the key hit. Zack Greinke replaced De La Rosa with 2 on and 1 out in the 6th and the Royals defense flashed their leather.

Jose Molina, who had 2 hits and threw a would-be base stealer in his Yankees debut, hit a ball in the hole to deep short. Pena Jr. slickly backhanded the ball and fired a strike to 2nd. With Shelley Duncan bearing down on him with a take out slide, an airborne Grudzielanek threw to 1st to complete the double play.

6 of the 7 hits Igawa allowed were for extra bases, and the final 2 knocked him from the game in the 6th. Gordon picked up the 3rd Royal's triple of the night and came home on Pena Jr.'s double for a 5-0 lead. Joe Torre finally saw enough and went to Brian Bruney who picked up the final out.

Gordon homered off Sean Henn in the 9th to finish a single shy of the cycle.

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Alex Rodriguez went 0-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch in his 1st attempt at 500 home runs.

Hideki Matsui extended his hitting streak to 7 games with a single. Andy Phillips extended his streak to 8 games.

It's possible Igawa will not get another start, since the Yankees are off on Monday and could skip his spot in the rotation. Then Phil Hughes, with an extra day's rest, could take over.

The Yankees fell 7.5 behind Boston in the AL East, but remained 4.5 behind Cleveland in the wild card race as the Red Sox outscored the Indians, 14-9.


photo courtesy of AP