Forget LeBron, Felix is King of New York

Today marks the start of the NBA free agent frenzy with LeBron "King" James as the grand prize. But it was "King" Felix Hernandez who was in the spotlight last night, blanking the Yankees on two hits in tossing a 7-0 complete game shutout.

The Mariners have struggled this year, but the Yankees had the misfortune of having to face two of the top pitchers in the game, Cliff Lee and Hernandez, in the first two games of a three game series. While the Yankees managed to put four runs on the board against the soon to be dealt Lee, they couldn't do anything last night.

Yankees starter Javier Vazquez scuffled for much of the night, but limited the M's to three runs over six innings. But Damaso Marte and Chad Gaudin gave up two runs each as Seattle blew the game open.

Michael Saunders entered the game with five home runs in 102 at-bats, but went deep twice to drive in three runs. Russell Branyan and Milton Bradley also homered to help the Mariners improve to 33-44.

Hernandez walked three, including Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in the 1st inning. But he retired Robinson Cano on a fly out to end Yankees threat. Mark Teixeira led off the fourth with a double, but the King stranded him there. He struck out A-Rod, one of 11 K's on the night, got Cano to fly out again, and retired Jorge Posada on a ground out to keep it a 3-0 Mariners lead.

Notes

Gaudin, who gave up Bradley's 2-run shot in the 8th is the likely candidate to be designated for assignment today when Dustin Moseley is recalled from Scranton. Moseley's contract gave him the ability to opt out of his deal beginning today (7/1).

Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee became just the third teammates in the last 25 years to toss back-to-back complete games against the Yankees.

CC Sabathia faces Ryan Rowland-Smith in the series finale today at 1 p.m..

photo courtesy of NY Daily News

Yankees Phall Phlat

If the Yankees are looking for any positives after losing two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies, they just have to look back at last year's results. The Yankees captured just one contest in a three game series with the Phillies last May before topping the two time defending NL champs in the World Series.

It may be the only thing that helps Joe Girardi feel good about his squad after the last two games. After being baffled by the slower than slow pitching of Jamie Moyer, the Yankees could muster only a single run against Kyle Kendrick, who entered the game with a 4.80 ERA. The Yankees went 9-62 (.145) in the two losses combined.

Andy Pettitte (8-2) was sharp and didn't allow a base runner until the 4th inning when the Phillies scored an unearned run. But Shane Victorino pulled a Pettitte cutter into the left field seats for a 3-0 lead.

The Yankees finally got to Kendrick in the 6th on Robinson's Cano RBI single and had two on with two out. But third baseman Placido Polanco leapt onto the tarp to snare Nick Swisher's foul pop to end the inning.

The Phillies blew the game open in the 9th against an ineffective Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte.

Notes

Andy Pettitte made some history passing Ron Guidry for second place (1,779) on the franchise's all-time strikeout list. It came 32 years to the day that Louisiana Lightning struck out 18 California Angels. Pettitte also passed Bob Shawkey for 5th place on the team's career innings list. He should pass Lefty Gomez for 4th place in his next start.

The Yankees and Mets play the second half of the Subway Series beginning tomorrow (Friday) night. Hisanori Takahashi squares off with Javier Vazquez in the opener.

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Help Wanted: Twins Interim Manager

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

At the conclusion of tonight's game with the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins general manager Bill Smith announced the team is looking for an interim manager. Don't worry, Ron Gardenhire, one of the best managers in the game, has not been fired. It's just that Smith figures maybe someone else will have better luck when his team plays the Yankees.

Okay, so all of the above is bs, but you could understand Smith thinking that way. With tonight's 7-4 Yankees victory, the Twins have lost 24 of the last 27 games played in the Bronx. Add to that playoff losses in 2003, 2004, and 2009. Things weren't much better in the Metrodome where the Twins won only 11 of their last 29 games with the Yankees.

Like many of their previous encounters, the Twins had a chance to win tonight's ball game. They rallied against Damaso Marte to take a 4-3 lead in the 7th, but the Twins' pen imploded in the bottom of the 7th.

Francisco Cervelli led the inning off with a single against Twins starter Scott Baker and Derek Jeter followed with a bullet off of Baker's leg for a double. Lefty Brian Duensing retired Brett Gardner, but Gardenhire made the dangerous decision to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira and face Alex Rodriguez with the bases loaded.

Gardenhire had the unenviable task of picking his poison, but Rodriguez was 4-6 lifetime with a trio of home runs against the reliever, Matt Guerrier, that the Twins' skipper opted for.

Quicker than you could say, well, Gardenhire, A-Rod launched a grand slam to left to put the Yankees back on top for good. The Yankees third baseman also scored points in the post-game by taking the high road when YES' Kim Jones wondered if getting intentionally walked irritated him.

Joba Chamberlain (three K's) and Mariano Rivera made quick work of the Twins over the final two innings to hang yet another "L" on Gardenhire and the Twins.

Notes

Per Sweeny Murti on Twitter: "Joba has struck out 7 of last 10 batters (over 3 apps)." And this from Jack Curry on Twitter: "Memo to ML Managers: According to STATS, Inc., A-Rod is 4-4 w 2 HRS and 14 RBI in six plate apps after Teixeira was intent walked b4 him."

Nick Swisher left the game after one at-bat due to his bad bicep. (Correction) He went for an MRI, which showed nothing out of the ordinary a slight tear. He's listed as day to day.

Francisco Cervelli continues to be remarkable. Two more hits tonight, threw out a would-be base stealer, and delivered an RBI triple for an insurance run in the 8th inning. He's now 10-13 with runners in scoring position. Cervelli was even impressed by it during the post-game. "That's pretty good", he said with a chuckle.

A.J. Burnett started the game with a shaky first inning, but settled down and left the game with a 3-2 lead in the 7th. He did give up a scorched home run to Joe Mauer.

Marte Returns to the Mound

Damaso Marte began his minor league rehab stint today with a one inning start for the GCL Yankees. It's not uncommon for a reliever to start a game in order to get their work in immediately after warming up.

Marte allowed a pair of hits and a run against the Pirates rookie squad. Another performance to note was that of Matt Richardson, who allowed 1 run in 6 innings. So far this season, the 15th round selection has struck out 21 batters in 28 innings while issuing just a single walk.

The Daily Yankeeland - 7/15

Probably going to have to rename this feature, "The Once in a While Yankeeland".

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Aroldis Chapman • chien-ming wang • damaso marte • Eastern League All-Star Game • Ian Snell • jesus montero • Old Timer's Day • Sergio Mitre • Views from the Facade • Yankees News and Notes • Zach McAllister

The Yankees have acknowledged that Damaso Marte does still exist. Watching MLB Network last night, I noticed on the crawl that Marte will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday with the Gulf Coast League Yankees.

The Trenton Thunder host tonight’s Eastern League All-Star game. Thunder team members, and Yankees prospects, Jesus Montero, Zach McAllister, Mike Dunn, Josh Schmidt, Reegie Corona, Eduardo Nunez, and Jorge Vazquez will represent the Northern squad. Trenton manager Tony Franklin will be at the helm of the North along with his coaching staff.

The Yankees begin a 10-game homestand beginning Thursday night with Detroit. After 3 games with the Tigers, the Orioles come to town for 3 before the A’s finish the homestand with a 4-game set. The Tigers series includes Old-Timer’s Day on Sunday, July 19.

When the Chien-Ming Wang’s spot in the rotation comes up, the Yankees will probably go with Sergio Mitre and move Al Aceves back to the pen.

The Yankees will also look elsewhere for a starting pitcher. According to the NY Post, Pittsburgh’s Ian Snell is among those who have piqued the Yankees interest. The Bombers are also looking into Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman.

Claggett on the Way

Chad Jennings is reporting that Scranton reliever Anthony Claggett (Hey Anthony, you still haven't seen back the answers to the Q & A we were doing) has been recalled by the Yankees. No word on the move at the big league level to make room.

Joe Girardi has already ruled out putting Hideki Matsui on the DL, so that would mean one of the Yankees pitchers will either be demoted or DL'ed.

We have to wonder if Damaso Marte is 100% healthy. He's been God awful this season and if you recall he pitched in the WBC with tightness in his upper back/shoulder area. He didn't tell anyone about it and you wonder if something is bothering him now.

Congratulations to another call up, Dan Giese. One of the nicest guys around was recalled by the Oakland A's last night and is in Toronto to face the Blue Jays.

Cano, Marte get Passing Grades

Bryan Hoch of mlb.com reports that there was no evidence of structural damage on the MRIs for Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte. Cano was diagnosed with bursitis in his right shoulder, while Marte's discomfort in his left shoulder was attributed to inflammation.

Cano will be put on anti-inflammatory drugs and continue to do strengthening exercises. He feels he could be back at second base tomorrow, but the Yankees are not going to rush things.

"I knew in my mind that it was nothing bad, because I could throw," Cano said. "There was still a little pain, but it's a good thing it was just that, and I'll be ready in a few days."

Collective sigh of relief.

Why I Hate the WBC

This is a piece I did for Baseball Digest. You can read it there too.

Okay, so maybe hate is too strong of a word. But I expressed my distaste for the World Baseball Classic back in '06 and didn't watch or discuss it on My Pinstripes. This year I decided to watch all or parts of games, and keep updates on the blog.

But my biggest issue with the WBC came to light when Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte returned to Yankees camp after the Dominican Republic was eliminated from the tourney.

We knew yesterday (Friday) that Robinson Cano experiencing tightness behind his right shoulder. I was under the assumption that the Yankees knew about the issue that Cano said he had since the start of spring training. Well guess what? The Yankees didn't know, because Cano kept his mouth shut. In all likelihood it was because he knew the Yankees wouldn't permit him to play in the tournament if he had told them. Meantime, Cano played all nine innings in three games.

Marte came back with soreness in a pec muscle. He said it happened after he lifted 25 pound weights prior to going out and throwing one inning in the tournament. He claims it doesn't hurt when he pitches, only when he moves. Huh???

These two incidences prove how wrong ESPN's Steve Phillips is when he says these are just like spring training games. Guys can get the same injuries in spring training games too, is Phillips' theory. Well he is wrong.

Had they known about the injury, the Yankees would have had Cano examined and would have shut him down until they were convinced he was feeling all right. And Cano put his country above his team. While they may sound noble, his country isn't paying him millions of dollars to play baseball.

Had Marte hurt himself lifting in Yankees camp, he would have been shut down until the muscle felt better. He wouldn't have gone out and thrown in a game right after injuring himself, as he did in the tournament.

The WBC is not a "classic" and has no purpose, other than giving players the opportunity to play for their country, and in some cases, even that is distorted. (A-Rod playing for two different teams; an American playing for Italy because that's where their grandfather was from.)

MLB doesn't need to market baseball to China or Cuba, or the Netherlands. The world series doesn't truly encompass the world, and it never will.

Yanks Looks to Kids for Some Relief

Andy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth, Steve Karsay, Juan Acevedo, Octavio Dotel, Felix Rodriguez...the list goes on and on of the names of well known relievers the Yankees have brought in over the years in an attempt to strengthen their bullpen. For the most part, it hasn't worked out well. But this year, there's a new approach and the Yankees are hoping it pays off.

The approach is to stay in-house- the Yankees farm system is stocked full of good, strong arms, and Brian Cashman is hoping he can weave a successful pen out of them. If one guy doesn't work out, he has plenty more to choose from, without having to increase payroll.

The Daily News' Mark Feinsand takes a look at Cashman's new pen approach.

"I'm proud that they didn't sign anybody," (Jose) Veras said. "They didn't have to give a few million dollars to someone because they think that guys like me, Coke, Edwar (Ramirez) and (Brian) Bruney can do."

photo courtesy of NY Post

Jeter, A-Rod, and Cano Headed to WBC

Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano are among the players on the finalized rosters for the World Baseball Classic. Jeter will, obviously, represent the US, while A-Rod and Cano, as well as Damaso Marte, will play for the Dominican Republic.

Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras were also on the finalized roster, but Ramirez had to beg off due to bursitis in his shoulder and Veras turned down the invitation.

Minor league catcher Francisco Cervelli, whose father had dual citizenship between Venezuela and Italy, will play for the Italian team. Pitcher Kai Liu and catcher Zhenwang Zhang will represent China, while first baseman Jorge Vazquez will play for Mexico.

Click here to see more on the WBC from mlb.com

Marte Back for 3 More

Reliever Damaso Marte had his option declined by the Yankees for 2009, but the Pinstripes brass never had any intention of letting Marte get away. The Yankees announced today they had signed Marte to a 3-year, $12 million deal that will keep him in the Bronx through 2011.

The 33-yr old was acquired along with Xavier Nady at last season's trade deadline for prospects Jose Tabata, Dan McCutchen, Russ Ohlendorf, and Jeff Karstens. Marte was inconsistent in his first half-season in the Bronx, but the Yankees are very high on his stuff and they also realize the need to keep more than one good left-hander in the pen. The Yankees will also be counting on rookie Phil Coke to fill that need.

Marte Back for 3 More

Reliever Damaso Marte had his option declined by the Yankees for 2009, but the Pinstripes brass never had any intention of letting Marte get away. The Yankees announced today they had signed Marte to a 3-year, $12 million deal that will keep him in the Bronx through 2011.

The 33-yr old was acquired along with Xavier Nady at last season's trade deadline for prospects Jose Tabata, Dan McCutchen, Russ Ohlendorf, and Jeff Karstens. Marte was inconsistent in his first half-season in the Bronx, but the Yankees are very high on his stuff and they also realize the need to keep more than one good left-hander in the pen. The Yankees will also be counting on rookie Phil Coke to fill that need.

The Weekend Yankeeland - 11/2

Welcome to the end of Daylight Savings Time. :( We're now in that dark, cold section of time until Spring Training. We imagine though that the Hot Stove league should be pretty hot in the metro area like it was last week.

Bobby Abreu filed for free agency this week and the NY Post reports that the Yankees will probably offer him arbitration. The Post also reports that the Yankees will not likely pick up Damaso Marte's $6 million option, opting for the quarter-million buyout instead. This doesn't mean the Yankees won't be interested in bringing Marte back.

Hank Steinbrenner confirmed that the Yankees will take a look at Manny Ramirez as an option for next year and beyond. It's unlikely though that the Yankees would be willing to give Manny the contract length (5 years?) and money ($100 million?) he is looking for.

The Yankees have add Wil De La Rosa and Eric Hacker to the 40-man roster.

Brett Gardner told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that he's ready to compete for the starting center field job in '09.

Jack Curry says there are other big free agents besides CC Sabathia, Manny, and Mark Teixeira.

The Weekend Yankeeland - 11/2

Welcome to the end of Daylight Savings Time. :( We're now in that dark, cold section of time until Spring Training. We imagine though that the Hot Stove league should be pretty hot in the metro area like it was last week.

Bobby Abreu filed for free agency this week and the NY Post reports that the Yankees will probably offer him arbitration. The Post also reports that the Yankees will not likely pick up Damaso Marte's $6 million option, opting for the quarter-million buyout instead. This doesn't mean the Yankees won't be interested in bringing Marte back.

Hank Steinbrenner confirmed that the Yankees will take a look at Manny Ramirez as an option for next year and beyond. It's unlikely though that the Yankees would be willing to give Manny the contract length (5 years?) and money ($100 million?) he is looking for.

The Yankees have add Wil De La Rosa and Eric Hacker to the 40-man roster.

Brett Gardner told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that he's ready to compete for the starting center field job in '09.

Jack Curry says there are other big free agents besides CC Sabathia, Manny, and Mark Teixeira.

Cano Ends Long Day, 8-7

The Yankees finished off a three game sweep of the Orioles yesterday in an, ugly, incredibly long, poorly pitched ball game. It took a Robinson Cano mammoth seventh inning home run and stellar late relief to hold on to an 8-7 win. The Yankees suddenly have a four game winning streak and trail the wildcard-leading Red Sox by 5 games as the two teams get set to start a three game series at the Stadium tomorrow night.

Sunday's game was downright painful. The Yankees and Orioles have set records at Camden Yards for lengthy games, and yesterday's fiasco was threatening the nine inning record for time played. Yankees' starter Darrell Rasner was bad, but Orioles lead man Daniel Cabrera had one of the worst games possible. He had absolutely no command of his pitches, missing the plate in every way imaginable. Unfortunately for Alex Rodriguez, that also meant taking an upper-90's fastball off of his left elbow.

With the game tied at 7-7 in the seventh, Orioles' lefty specialist Jamie Walker entered the game to face Hideki Matsui and Cano. He retired Matsui on a ground out, but Cano's swing resulted in a 425-ft blast to center to give the Yankees the lead.

The Orioles tried to tie things right back up in their half of the seventh when Ramon Hernandez and Brian Roberts stroked consecutive singles off of Jose Veras, who was working for his third straight day. But Damaso Marte came on to strike out Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora to preserve the lead. Mariano Rivera then came on for a four-out save, striking out Markakis looking, with the tying run on second base, for the game's final out.

The game ended four hours and one minute after it began. The first two innings took two days and 2,000 pitches. (Okay, not quite, but it felt like it.) It started out promising for Rasner, who retired the first two batters he faced, but then Mora and Aubrey Huff hit back-to-back home runs for a 2-0 Orioles lead. But Cabrera wouldn't accept the gift.

He gave up a lead-off single to Xavier Nady in the second and then walked Matsui. Cano drilled a pitch off of the top of the wall in right field for an RBI double, and two batters later Johnny Damon crushed a Cabrera delivery into the right field seats for a 3-run home run and a 4-2 Yankees lead.

Rasner got out of a two-on, two-out jam in the third and the Yankees added to their lead in the fourth. Singles by Damon and Bobby Abreu plus A-Rod's elbow smash loaded the bases with one out. Jason Giambi just missed getting all of one and had to settle for a sacrifice fly and an RBI. Nady then came up with a big two-out hit when he ripped a 2-run double into the left field corner. Down 7-2, Dave Trembley finally pulled Cabrera from the game.

But this would be no laugher. Derek Jeter's one-out bobble allowed Brian Roberts to reach safely and Nick Markakis brought Roberts home when Nady misplayed his single to left. When Rasner walked Mora, Joe Girardi sent for Dave Robertson to try to put out the fire. Instead, Robertson made it worse. Huff doubled to right to plate Markakis and Millar's sac fly brought home Mora to cut the lead to 7-5. Robertson finally retired Luis Montanez to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Jay Payton singled, stole second base, and moved to third on a ground out as the Orioles brought the tying run to the plate in the fifth inning. Robertson struck out Juan Castro for the second out of the inning and Girardi sent for Edwar Ramirez to face the lefty-hitting Roberts. With Pudge Rodriguez set up outside, Ramirez went inside, and Roberts drilled the pitch into the right field seats to tie the game.


News and Notes

Bobby Abreu went hitless Saturday, but had eight hits in the other two games of the series combined.

Robinson Cano's 4-5 day, which included a home run and two doubles, raised his average to .269, the highest it has been since July 26.

Mariano Rivera's save was his 31st in 32 attempts. He saved all three games in the series.

There is no truth to the rumor that the Yankees will be holding open auditions for Rasner's next start (damn!).

August 24, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	4	0	3	0	0	1	0	0		8	15	3
Baltimore	2	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	0		7	14	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	6	2	2	3	0	0	3	.312
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	0	0	0	2	.293
Abreu, RF	4	1	3	0	1	0	0	.297
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	1	2	0	1	0	1	.312
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	1	0	0	5	.250
Ransom, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	5	1	2	2	0	2	1	.328
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	0	1	0	1	.311
Cano, 2B	5	2	4	2	0	1	0	.269
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	1	0	1	0	4	.284
Totals	40	8	15	8	4	3	17
BATTING 2B: Cano 2 (26, Cabrera, D, Cabrera, D), Nady (32, Cabrera, D), Abreu (34, Cherry). HR: Damon (9, 2nd inning off Cabrera, D, 2 on, 1 out), Cano (12, 7th inning off Walker, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 5; Abreu 4; Rodriguez, A 2; Nady 3; Matsui; Cano 9; Rodriguez, I. RBI: Cano 2 (58), Damon 3 (55), Giambi (77), Nady 2 (80). 2-out RBI: Nady 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Rodriguez, I 2; Matsui; Damon. SF: Giambi. GIDP: Giambi. Team LOB: 11. FIELDING E: Jeter (10, fielding), Nady (3, fielding), Rodriguez, I (5, throw).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner	3.1	8	5	3	2	2	2	5.03
Robertson	1.1	2	1	1	0	1	0	6.00
Ramirez (W, 4-1)	1.1	2	1	1	1	1	1	3.66
Veras (H, 9)	0.1	2	0	0	0	1	0	2.70
Marte (H, 21)	1.1	0	0	0	1	3	0	4.34
Rivera (S, 31)	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0	1.53

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	5	2	3	2	1	0	0	.301
Markakis, RF	5	1	1	0	1	2	3	.301
Mora, 3B	4	2	1	1	1	1	5	.281
Huff, DH	5	1	3	2	0	0	0	.304
Millar, 1B	4	0	1	1	0	1	1	.248
Montanez, L, LF	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	.367
a-Scott, PH-LF	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.272
Payton, CF	5	1	3	0	0	2	3	.253
Quiroz, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	4	.196
b-Cintron, PH-SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.273
Castro, J, SS	3	0	0	0	0	2	2	.192
c-Hernandez, R, PH-C	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.259
Totals	41	7	14	6	5	10	20
a-Walked for Montanez, L in the 6th. b-Struck out for Quiroz in the 7th. c-Singled for Castro, J in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Huff 2 (39, Robertson, Ramirez). HR: Mora (22, 1st inning off Rasner, 0 on, 2 out), Huff (28, 1st inning off Rasner, 0 on, 2 out), Roberts (9, 5th inning off Ramirez, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Roberts 6; Markakis; Mora 4; Huff 8; Millar; Montanez, L; Payton 3; Hernandez, R. RBI: Mora (96), Huff 2 (91), Millar (66), Roberts 2 (48). 2-out RBI: Mora; Huff; Roberts 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Mora 3; Quiroz; Montanez, L; Payton; Markakis. SF: Millar. Team LOB: 13. BASERUNNING SB: Payton (7, 2nd base off Robertson/Rodriguez, I), Roberts (33, 2nd base off Rivera/Rodriguez, I). FIELDING DP: (Roberts-Cintron-Millar).

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cabrera, D 3.2 9 7 7 3 0 1 5.24 Sarfate 2.1 1 0 0 1 2 0 4.92 Walker (L, 1-2) 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5.74 Cherry 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 Johnson 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.29

HBP: Rodriguez, A (by Cabrera, D). Pitches-strikes: Rasner 98-60, Robertson 22-17, Ramirez 27-19, Veras 13-8, Marte 27-14, Rivera 18-12, Cabrera, D 95-49, Sarfate 49-31, Walker 8-6, Cherry 12-8, Johnson 11-8. Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 3-5, Robertson 1-2, Ramirez 1-2, Veras 0-0, Marte 1-0, Rivera 2-0, Cabrera, D 3-8, Sarfate 1-4, Walker 3-0, Cherry 3-0, Johnson 1-1. Batters faced: Rasner 21, Robertson 6, Ramirez 7, Veras 3, Marte 5, Rivera 5, Cabrera, D 24, Sarfate 9, Walker 4, Cherry 4, Johnson 5. Inherited runners-scored: Robertson 2-2, Ramirez 1-1, Marte 2-0, Rivera 1-0, Sarfate 1-0. Umpires: HP: Ed Rapuano. 1B: Ed Hickox. 2B: CB Bucknor. 3B: Joe West. Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, Out to LF. T: 4:01. Att: 42,746.

Cano Ends Long Day, 8-7

The Yankees finished off a three game sweep of the Orioles yesterday in an, ugly, incredibly long, poorly pitched ball game. It took a Robinson Cano mammoth seventh inning home run and stellar late relief to hold on to an 8-7 win. The Yankees suddenly have a four game winning streak and trail the wildcard-leading Red Sox by 5 games as the two teams get set to start a three game series at the Stadium tomorrow night.

Sunday's game was downright painful. The Yankees and Orioles have set records at Camden Yards for lengthy games, and yesterday's fiasco was threatening the nine inning record for time played. Yankees' starter Darrell Rasner was bad, but Orioles lead man Daniel Cabrera had one of the worst games possible. He had absolutely no command of his pitches, missing the plate in every way imaginable. Unfortunately for Alex Rodriguez, that also meant taking an upper-90's fastball off of his left elbow.

With the game tied at 7-7 in the seventh, Orioles' lefty specialist Jamie Walker entered the game to face Hideki Matsui and Cano. He retired Matsui on a ground out, but Cano's swing resulted in a 425-ft blast to center to give the Yankees the lead.

The Orioles tried to tie things right back up in their half of the seventh when Ramon Hernandez and Brian Roberts stroked consecutive singles off of Jose Veras, who was working for his third straight day. But Damaso Marte came on to strike out Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora to preserve the lead. Mariano Rivera then came on for a four-out save, striking out Markakis looking, with the tying run on second base, for the game's final out.

The game ended four hours and one minute after it began. The first two innings took two days and 2,000 pitches. (Okay, not quite, but it felt like it.) It started out promising for Rasner, who retired the first two batters he faced, but then Mora and Aubrey Huff hit back-to-back home runs for a 2-0 Orioles lead. But Cabrera wouldn't accept the gift.

He gave up a lead-off single to Xavier Nady in the second and then walked Matsui. Cano drilled a pitch off of the top of the wall in right field for an RBI double, and two batters later Johnny Damon crushed a Cabrera delivery into the right field seats for a 3-run home run and a 4-2 Yankees lead.

Rasner got out of a two-on, two-out jam in the third and the Yankees added to their lead in the fourth. Singles by Damon and Bobby Abreu plus A-Rod's elbow smash loaded the bases with one out. Jason Giambi just missed getting all of one and had to settle for a sacrifice fly and an RBI. Nady then came up with a big two-out hit when he ripped a 2-run double into the left field corner. Down 7-2, Dave Trembley finally pulled Cabrera from the game.

But this would be no laugher. Derek Jeter's one-out bobble allowed Brian Roberts to reach safely and Nick Markakis brought Roberts home when Nady misplayed his single to left. When Rasner walked Mora, Joe Girardi sent for Dave Robertson to try to put out the fire. Instead, Robertson made it worse. Huff doubled to right to plate Markakis and Millar's sac fly brought home Mora to cut the lead to 7-5. Robertson finally retired Luis Montanez to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Jay Payton singled, stole second base, and moved to third on a ground out as the Orioles brought the tying run to the plate in the fifth inning. Robertson struck out Juan Castro for the second out of the inning and Girardi sent for Edwar Ramirez to face the lefty-hitting Roberts. With Pudge Rodriguez set up outside, Ramirez went inside, and Roberts drilled the pitch into the right field seats to tie the game.


News and Notes

Bobby Abreu went hitless Saturday, but had eight hits in the other two games of the series combined.

Robinson Cano's 4-5 day, which included a home run and two doubles, raised his average to .269, the highest it has been since July 26.

Mariano Rivera's save was his 31st in 32 attempts. He saved all three games in the series.

There is no truth to the rumor that the Yankees will be holding open auditions for Rasner's next start (damn!).

August 24, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	4	0	3	0	0	1	0	0		8	15	3
Baltimore	2	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	0		7	14	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	6	2	2	3	0	0	3	.312
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	0	0	0	2	.293
Abreu, RF	4	1	3	0	1	0	0	.297
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	1	2	0	1	0	1	.312
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	1	0	0	5	.250
Ransom, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	5	1	2	2	0	2	1	.328
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	0	1	0	1	.311
Cano, 2B	5	2	4	2	0	1	0	.269
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	1	0	1	0	4	.284
Totals	40	8	15	8	4	3	17
BATTING 2B: Cano 2 (26, Cabrera, D, Cabrera, D), Nady (32, Cabrera, D), Abreu (34, Cherry). HR: Damon (9, 2nd inning off Cabrera, D, 2 on, 1 out), Cano (12, 7th inning off Walker, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 5; Abreu 4; Rodriguez, A 2; Nady 3; Matsui; Cano 9; Rodriguez, I. RBI: Cano 2 (58), Damon 3 (55), Giambi (77), Nady 2 (80). 2-out RBI: Nady 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Rodriguez, I 2; Matsui; Damon. SF: Giambi. GIDP: Giambi. Team LOB: 11. FIELDING E: Jeter (10, fielding), Nady (3, fielding), Rodriguez, I (5, throw).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner	3.1	8	5	3	2	2	2	5.03
Robertson	1.1	2	1	1	0	1	0	6.00
Ramirez (W, 4-1)	1.1	2	1	1	1	1	1	3.66
Veras (H, 9)	0.1	2	0	0	0	1	0	2.70
Marte (H, 21)	1.1	0	0	0	1	3	0	4.34
Rivera (S, 31)	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0	1.53

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	5	2	3	2	1	0	0	.301
Markakis, RF	5	1	1	0	1	2	3	.301
Mora, 3B	4	2	1	1	1	1	5	.281
Huff, DH	5	1	3	2	0	0	0	.304
Millar, 1B	4	0	1	1	0	1	1	.248
Montanez, L, LF	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	.367
a-Scott, PH-LF	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.272
Payton, CF	5	1	3	0	0	2	3	.253
Quiroz, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	4	.196
b-Cintron, PH-SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.273
Castro, J, SS	3	0	0	0	0	2	2	.192
c-Hernandez, R, PH-C	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.259
Totals	41	7	14	6	5	10	20
a-Walked for Montanez, L in the 6th. b-Struck out for Quiroz in the 7th. c-Singled for Castro, J in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Huff 2 (39, Robertson, Ramirez). HR: Mora (22, 1st inning off Rasner, 0 on, 2 out), Huff (28, 1st inning off Rasner, 0 on, 2 out), Roberts (9, 5th inning off Ramirez, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Roberts 6; Markakis; Mora 4; Huff 8; Millar; Montanez, L; Payton 3; Hernandez, R. RBI: Mora (96), Huff 2 (91), Millar (66), Roberts 2 (48). 2-out RBI: Mora; Huff; Roberts 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Mora 3; Quiroz; Montanez, L; Payton; Markakis. SF: Millar. Team LOB: 13. BASERUNNING SB: Payton (7, 2nd base off Robertson/Rodriguez, I), Roberts (33, 2nd base off Rivera/Rodriguez, I). FIELDING DP: (Roberts-Cintron-Millar).

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cabrera, D 3.2 9 7 7 3 0 1 5.24 Sarfate 2.1 1 0 0 1 2 0 4.92 Walker (L, 1-2) 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5.74 Cherry 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 Johnson 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.29

HBP: Rodriguez, A (by Cabrera, D). Pitches-strikes: Rasner 98-60, Robertson 22-17, Ramirez 27-19, Veras 13-8, Marte 27-14, Rivera 18-12, Cabrera, D 95-49, Sarfate 49-31, Walker 8-6, Cherry 12-8, Johnson 11-8. Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 3-5, Robertson 1-2, Ramirez 1-2, Veras 0-0, Marte 1-0, Rivera 2-0, Cabrera, D 3-8, Sarfate 1-4, Walker 3-0, Cherry 3-0, Johnson 1-1. Batters faced: Rasner 21, Robertson 6, Ramirez 7, Veras 3, Marte 5, Rivera 5, Cabrera, D 24, Sarfate 9, Walker 4, Cherry 4, Johnson 5. Inherited runners-scored: Robertson 2-2, Ramirez 1-1, Marte 2-0, Rivera 1-0, Sarfate 1-0. Umpires: HP: Ed Rapuano. 1B: Ed Hickox. 2B: CB Bucknor. 3B: Joe West. Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, Out to LF. T: 4:01. Att: 42,746.