A Long, Hard, Wet One (TWSS)

That's not how the stands were supposed to look during the 5th inning of the first Yankees vs. Red Sox game of the season. I hate to say it, but from that angle, it almost looks like Tropicana Field. The weather has been atrocious as the New Stadium so far this year, resulting in two rain outs (against the Angels and the A's), and the lengthy postponement leading up to this game. 

It couldn't have been fun for Phil Hughes, who had to sit around the clubhouse on Sunday, wondering if he was going to pitch, only to have t do it all over again last night. His turn finally came at 9:20 last night, with the wind still whipping the rain around the Stadium. 

Last night, Hughes looked a lot a like the pitcher he was last year, needing 94 pitches to get through 4 innings and allowing 4 walks and 4 runs on May FOURTH! Ahhhhhh. Luckily for the Yanks, Alfredo Aceves had just been called up from Scranton and filled the role of long man out of the bullpen that the Yanks had been so sorely lacking this year. 

Aceves's performance allowed for the Yankees to claw their way back into the game trailing 4-3, after back to back home runs from Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira. These immediately followed Joe Girardi's ejection for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Jerry Meals. Jeter, never the type to argue (never having been ejected from a game in his career) made a comment to the ump after Jon Lester struck him out. Girardi charged out from the dugout, got in Meals' face and was bounced immediately. I guess it worked...

Pictured below is Jason Bay eyeing what would prove to be all the cushion the Red Sox needed. Bay hooked the 1-0 change-up from Aceves down the left field line, and it dinged off the foul poll before deflecting back into play. 

Teixeira homered again, bringing the score to 6-4, but that would be the last run the Yankees plated that night. They threatened in the bottom of the 9th inning, but couldn't convert. Swisher, looking for another signature Yankee Moment (c) ripped one right just of the right field foul pole with men on second and third. He wasn't the only one who thought it had a chance.

The game ended in a "woooosh" at 1:22, when Cano struck out swinging. 

A long, tough night that dropped the Yanks to just one game over .500 and 0-4 against the Sox this season.