Hughes Steps Up, Soriano Bounces Back

"Untuck, pass it on."

Tuesday evening didn't start off as a good one for the Yankees. Monday night Mark Teixeira had to leave the game with a calf strain. Later we were told it was a contusion. Turns out the initial report was correct and it was announced Tuesday afternoon that Teixeira will most likely be out 10-14 days (hopefully not more).

Translation - a lineup that has been anemic of late just got a lower red blood cell count. With Baltimore and Tampa Bay breathing down the Yankees necks in the AL East, the not so Bronx Bombers needed a big outing from Phil Hughes. The right-hander came through big time with seven solid innings and the Yankees scratched out a 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jays' starter Rickey Romero has been absolutely horrendous for much of the season (killing my keeper league team in the process) and walked eight hitters in last start. But against a lineup missing much of it's punch, Romero pitched his best game in weeks.

The lefty allowed a pair of runs on five hits, walked two and struck out six over seven innings. But Hughes was even better; his fortune was reversed from his last start when seven solid innings led to a 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. This time out, Hughes allowed four hits in his seven innings, walked three and struck out five and allowed a single run on a home run by Adeiny Hechavarria in the 5th inning.

Nick Swisher would like the calendar to be stuck on August for the rest of the season. With Jayson Nix and Ichiro Suzuki on base with singles in the 3rd inning, Swisher delivered a two-out single of his own to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. It was Swisher's 22nd RBI of the month, one less than his monthly high for the season that he established in April.

With Teixeira down, the Yankees reacquired veteran minor leaguer (he's also appeared in 235 Major League games) Steve Pearce from the Houston Astros.  Pearce was originally in spring training with the Minnesota Twins, but was released on March 27. The Yankees picked him up two days later, but Pearce was then bought by the Baltimore Orioles in June.

After hitting .254 in 28 games for the O's, Houston grabbed him off of waivers. Ironically, Pearce also hit .254 with the Astros over a 21 game span. Tuesday night the 29-year old found himself in the starting lineup, batting cleanup as the DH for the NY Yankees. Though he was 0-2, Pearce hustled his way into an insurance run after he led off the 4th inning with a walk.

With Russell Martin at the plate, Romero (8-12) bounced a pitch in the dirt. As soon as the ball ricocheted off of Yorvit Torrealba, Pearce took off and reached second base easily.  Martin moved him over to 3rd base with a ground out to the right side, and Curtis Granderson brought Pearce home with a deep fly to ceneter field.

Then it was all up to Hughes (13-11), who added a slider to his repertoire, and the bullpen. Oh, and a nifty little play by Robinson Cano to save the day.  Hughes walked Colby Rasmus and Edwin Encarnacion to start the 6th, but after he retired Adam Lind, Hughes got a big assist from his Gold Glove second baseman.

Cano leaped to snare Yunel Escobar's line drive and then, flat-footed, threw a bullet to Jayson Nix to double off Rasmus from third. Why Rasmus was so far off the base is anyone's guess, but no one on the Yankees really cares. They're just thankful he was.

Robertson and Soriano appeared for third straight game, making them (most likely) unavailable for Wednesday's series finale which is scheduled to start at 1:05 pm. New daddy Robertson needed just five pitches to retire the side in the 8th and Soriano bounced back from Monday's blown save with an 11-pitch effort for his 34th save.

Notes

Derek Jeter missed three weeks last season with a Grade-1 strain of a calf, but Teixeira was told his strain, though Grade-1, is not as bad.

To make room on the roster for Pearce, Casey McGehee was sent down to class 'A' Charleston. He'll likely be recalled when the rosters expand on Saturday. September 1 couldn't come at a better time since it means Teixeira likely won't have to go on the DL.

CC Stops The Bleeding

"You ain't hitting this."

After shaky outings from Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia, you can bet Joe Girardi was ecstatic to put CC Sabathia's name on the lineup card as the starting pitcher.

Sabathia became the Major's first 14-game winner with a dominant eight inning performance against the Toronto Blue Jays in a 4-1 Yankees win. The victory snapped the Yankees two game losing streak with a chance to gain a split of the series tomorrow afternoon.

Sabathia won his seventh straight after he allowed a run in the first inning. Rajai Davis drew a lead off walk and stole his 25th base of the season. One out later Yunel Escobar singled past a diving Robinson Cano for a 1-0 Blue Jays lead. But Sabathia would allow just one more hit until John McDonald's one out double in the 8th. He allowed three walks, struck out eight and won for the 12th time in 13 starts. The 6'7" left-hander has also won seven straight starts and has allowed just two earned runs in his last 39.2 innings pitched.

The Yankees took the lead in the 2nd inning when Andruw Jones followed Nick Swisher's ground rule double with an RBI single off Rickey Romero. Jones homered twice in Thursday night's loss. Brett Gardner's double put boith runners in scoring position with Jones scoring on Eduardo Nunez's chopper to third.

The Yankees played sloppy defense in the first two games, but Saturday it was Toronto's turn to do some gifting. Curtis Granderson drew a lead off walk to start the third and one out later Robinson Cano singled him to third. Romero struck out Swisher, but Cano broke for second to draw a throw from catcher J.P. Arencibia. Second baseman Aaron Hill threw wildly home as Granderson scored the Yankees third run.

The Yankees scored again in the 4th when Gardner, who had three hits, hit a bloop to center and hustled to second for a lead off double. He scored from third on a two out RBI single by Derek Jeter for a 4-1 Yankees lead.

The Blue Jays got back to back one out bloop singles off Mariano Rivera in the 9th, but the Yankees closer picked up his 23rd save when he struck out Hill and got Travis Snider to ground out to Jeter to end the game.

Notes

In addition to his three hits, Brett Gardner stole his 10th consecutive base without getting caught.

Eric Chavez will reportedly start a rehab assignment any day now.

Eduardo Nunez's fielding trouble continued Saturday. He made his 12th error of the season.

The Blue Jays hope to get Jose Bautista (twisted ankle) back on Tuesday. For now, he's in a walking boot.

Yankees Steal One In 9th

Tonight's Yankees-Toronto Blue Jays game looked like most other Yankees games these days. Fall behind, stay behind, lose. Maybe tease with a run or two late. But tonight was different, down 4-3 and down to their last out in the bottom of the 9th, Curtis Granderson singled home Chris Dickerson with the tying run. Moments later after Granderson had stolen second base, Mark Teixeira singled off the glove of first baseman Juan Rivera to give the Yankees a huge 5-4 victory.

After a Russell Martin home run gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead, things went south for CC Sabathia. Tied 1-1 in the fourth, the Blue Jays took the lead on an J.P. Arencibia double and a Rivera single. One out later, back to back singles by Edwin Encarnacion and Rajai Davis produced a third Toronto run and John McDonald made it a 4-1 lead with a suicide squeeze bunt.

Two batters later the Jays had the bases loaded and the team's top hitter, Jose Bautista at the plate. It was a make or break at-bat and Sabathia came out on top, getting the slugger to ground out to end the inning. Meanwhile the Yankees couldn't do a thing against Jays' starter Rickey Romero, who turned things over to the bullpen. It was the best thing to happen for the Yankees all night.

Granderson led off the 8th with a double off Casey Janssen and scored on a two out double by Robinson Cano off lefty Marc Rzepczynski . Martin brought home Cano with an RBI single and suddenly the Yankees had themselves a ball game. But Rzepczynski got Nick Swisher to pop out to end the 8th.

After Sabathia retired the Jays in order in the 9th, and the final 16 batters he faced, Jorge Posada delivered a pinch-hit one out double off closer Frank Francisco. Posada's gapper to right-center eluded a sliding Bautista, who still might have thrown Posada out at second base if his throw hadn't gone to the cut off man. With Dickerson attempting to steal third base, Derek Jeter bounced out to short and Dickerson momentarily thought about making a break for home. Thankfully for the Yankees, Dickerson left the game in the hands of Granderson and Teixeira.

Notes

CC Sabathia's complete game win was the first for a Yankees pitcher since May 8, 2009.

A Great Day at the Big Ball Park

We went to Yankee Stadium yesterday (7/3) for the second game of the Yankees-Blue Jays series. A great game and a great day.

Our seats were in the upper deck in right field. Section 405, row 4, seats 1 and 2. We couldn't seat the right field wall and the big board was blocked somewhat by the stairs, but the seats were good nonetheless. The only thing we missed out on was Chad Huffman's diving catch.

Andy Pettitte was shaky in the 1st inning. This was an uncomfortable feeling after Pettitte's struggles out in LA, but like the veteran he is, he worked his way back to the good. Nick Swisher said it best in a post-game interview with Suzyn Waldman. "Andy's like a Cadillac. He doesn't get going until he gets it up to 70".

Jose Bautista hit yet another home run off the Yankees for a 2-0 lead in the 1st as Pettitte threw 25 pitches. But thanks to Huffman's play and the Yankees' half of the 3rd inning, Pettitte was able to settle in.

We went to get some lemonade prior to the bottom of the 3rd and watched the entire inning- couldn't move, superstitions ya know, from behind the wheelchair accessible area to the 1st base side of home plate (grandstand).

Ricky Romero is one of the nastiest left-handers in baseball, but he completely lost the plate in this one. The Yankees sent 14 men to the plate in a half inning that seemed to take an hour.

An 11-3 win!

The highlights:

Brett Gardner started things off with a single and blew the game open with his first career grand slam. It was also his fourth home run of the season. That's a lot of power for the speedster.

Mark Teixeira tied the game with a 2-run double. Perhaps Tex should pay us to go to the games. In the two games we've attended this year, Tex is 4-6, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 runs scored, 2 doubles, and a walk.

Alex Rodriguez got a gift 3 RBI. With the bases loaded, the third baseman lifted a high fly to left field that John McDonald lost in the sun for a bases clearing double. McDonald is one of the best fielding infielders in the game, but clearly is not used to fighting the tough Yankee Stadium sun field in left.

Dustin Moseley made his first appearance as a Yankee and breezed through two innings. After breaking the bats of 2 of the 3 hitters he faced in the 7th, I yelled out "You're already better than Park!".

There were 5 French speaking students sitting in front of us. When Huffman made his great catch, one girl asked me, "Did they win?". And I had to explain how 2 runs is not 2 home runs.

The sun started getting a little overbearing in the middle to late innings, so we moved over to section 410 to get some shade.

* * *
This conversation was heard:

Guy 1: Ah, we forgot napkins.

Guy 2: Wipe 'em on my shorts, they're old. I bet your shorts cost a fortune.

Guy 1: They're Armani's, but they're old. I don't pay that much for clothes, but I once bought a shirt for $125. I tried it on and it was really nice. I went up to pay and there was a beautiful girl at the register. She said, $125, I almost fell over. I had no idea how expensive if was, but I didn't want to be embarrassed, so I bought it.

Guy 2: I would have told her to shove it up her ass.
* * *

Cotton Candy vendor was very funny, had a whole routine. Still wouldn't buy that crap.

The pièce de résistance was though the free gift on the way out of the Stadium. This:

YES! Perfect timing for the hot, sweaty fans. Pinstripe Brownie Blast. Quite good!

We got home to two overexcited Beagles. Virginia has separation anxiety, so when we go out we give her all kinds of natural calm down stuff, but it only does so much. She stresses out our other Beagle, Tinker, who is fine on his own.

Today they are exhausted.

Jays Top Punchless Yanks in 14

Mark Teixeira wasn't worried. He knew that every April he struggled. It was commonplace. And he knew that come May his bat would begin to destory opponent's pitches like he did last year and every year before that.

True to form Teixeira began raking as the calendar turned to May. But then something happened. Teixeira has gone back to his April form. Actually he's been worse at times than he was in April. The first baseman's struggles were magnified yesterday as the Yankees couldn't take advantage of another excellent performance by Andy Pettitte and fell to the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 in 14 innings.

Aaron Hill singled off Edwin Encarnacion in the bottom of the 14th to drop Chad Gaudin's record to 0-3. But it wasn't the Yankees pitching that cost them their second straight game north of the border.

Teixeira was the poster child for the offense's inability. He went for the collar in six at-bats and for the second time in his career struck out 5 times. It was obvious to anyone watching he couldn't differentiate a fastball from an off-speed pitch. (King George back in the day would have sent Tex to the eye dr. immediately.)

The Yankees put two on with two out in the 10th, but Teixeira swung and missed at strike three to end the inning. The Bomberless Bombers also stranded runners in scoring position in the 12th and 14th.

Derek Jeter's 2-run home run in the 5th had put the Yankees on top of Ricky Romero 2-1, but the Yankees managed just eight hits on the day against the Jays staff. Alex Gonzalez (did YES HAVE to show his 2003 World Series home run off Jeff Weaver?) had tied the game up in the seventh off of Pettitte with his 12th home run of the year. The only other run allowed by the tall left-hander was a solo home run by Vernon Wells (his 10th).

The Yankees had a chance to break things open in the 7th when Francisco Cervelli opened the inning with a single and Brett Gardner followed with a walk. Kevin Russo's sac bunt forced the Blue Jays to bring the infield in, but Jeter hit a soft liner right to Hill at second base. Hill bobbled the ball before recording the putout and easily doubled a confused Cervelli off of third base to end the threat.

Yankees Enjoy Some More Home Cookin'

Walk-Off Wonders Do It Again

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: a.j. burnett • AL East • Alex Rodriguez • Derek Jeter • Marco Scutaro • Randy Ruiz • Ricky Romero • Robinson Cano • Toronto Blue Jays • Walk Off • Yankees 8/12 recap • Yankees vs. Blue Jays

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		R	H	E
Toronto	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0		3	14	1
NY Yankees	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		4	7	0

WP - Gaudin (1-0) LP - Camp (1-6)

The term “walk-off” has become over used in baseball. It used to just apply to a game winning home run. Now it applies to anything that wins a game in a team’s last at-bat. The YES Network even made the Yankees-Mets game of June 12- the Luis Castillo E-4 walk-off- an instant classic. But then again, the Yankees have made their home headquarters the walk-off capital of the world. They added to their collection this afternoon when Robinson Cano hit a one-hopper off the fence in right-center field, officially scored a single, in the bottom of the 11th to score Alex Rodriguez with the game winning run in a 5-4 Yankees victory. It was Cano’s 2nd walk-off of the year.

Newly acquired Chad Gaudin made his Yankees debut and pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win. A.J. Burnett started out sharply, but began overthrowing and 3 wild pitches later the game was tied 3-3 after 6. The Yankees victory may not have come without a price though. A-Rod reached based in the 11th when Shawn Camp plunked him on the elbow. X-Rays after the game were negative, but A-Rod was in a lot of pain and may be out for Thursday’s opener in Seattle. The Yankees also lost Derek Jeter earlier in the game after a Ricky Romero pitch hit him in the instep of his right foot.

After A-Rod’s bruising, Jorge Posada, who up until then had a miserable game behind, and at the plate (and also took a foul ball off his right hand) singled to left-center to set upCano’s game winner and eventual pieing by Burnett. Cano’s 18th home run of the year had give the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the 4th. Johnny Damon had earlier hit a solo shot of his own.

Burnett looked to be well on the way to his 11th victory when his lack of command got the better of him in the 6th. He gave up 1-out singles to Randy Ruiz, who had homered earlier, and Edwin Encarnacion and promptly wild pitched them up a base. After Raul Chavez singled to cut the lead to 3-2, Burnett struck out Joe Inglett for the 2nd out. But with Marco Scutaro at the plate, Burnett uncorked another wild pitch to score Encarnacion with the tying run.

Game Notes

Phil Coke, David Robertson, Phil Hughes, and Chad Gaudin combined for 5 scoreless innings of relief. Gaudin is now 5-10 between the Yankees and Padres.

Randy Ruiz has homered in each game since his recall on Tuesday.

With just one official at-bat, Derek Jeter’s 7-game hitting streak, in which he was 12-31, came to an end. Robinson Cano, however, extended his streak to 10 games.

Mark Teixeira got the day before pinch-hitting in the 10th inning and remained in the game. Nick Swisher started at 1st base, while Eric Hinske (0-4, 3 K’s) got the call in right field.

Yankees Rally Falls Short

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Alex Rios • andy pettitte • Brian bruney • Derek Jeter • Eric Hinske • Jason Frasor • Joe Girardi ejected • John McDonald • nick swisher • Rickey Romero • Yankees 7/6 recap • Yankees vs. Blue Jays

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Toronto	0	1	3	0	0	0	3	0	0		7	8	0
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	2		6	12	0

WP - Romero (7-3) SV - Frasor (3) LP - Pettitte (8-4)

Late Rally Falls Short

No lead is safe at Yankee Stadium this season and the Yankees are confident they can come back from any deficit. So trailing 7-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon, they knew they could mount a rally. But, unfortunately, they came up short. The Jays took advantage of poor showings from Andy Pettitte and Brian Bruney to beat the Yankees 7-6.

Pettitte continued his home struggles (4-3, 5.72 in 10 starts), surrending home runs to Alex Rios and John McDonald to put his team in a 5-1 hole. Pettitte was charged with another run when Bruney allowed a 2-run double to Scott Rolen. (The Blue Jays’ third baseman extended his hitting streak to 23 games.)

Read the rest of my recap at Baseball Digest Online.