Game 87 Recap

[WE data via FG]

Highlights:

• Ichiro makes a great catch on Cano's sac fly
  
  
• Posada drives in a run with a single to center
  
  
• Franklin Gutierrez robs Derek Jeter of an extra base with with an incredible, ranging catch up against the wall in the second.
  
  
• A two run, fourth inning double by Jeter
  
  
• Teix with another two bagger in the 4th, driving in the Captain
  
  
• Marcus Thames' dinger off the foul pole
  

Not In The Highlights:

• The Mariners, who are typically play excellent defense, committed two errors in the first inning and had a lot of trouble tracking down balls in the sun.
  
  
• There was a lot of putting the ball in play today, as the Yankees worked only two walks and struck out four times, while the M's worked just one walk and K'd twice
  
  
• John Flaherty caught a foul ball in the booth during the seventh inning
  
  
• CC Sabathia induced 15 groundballs during his seven innings of one run ball. He's now won eight starts in a row, the longest such streak of his career.
  
  
• Mark Teixeira was 4-5 with two doubles one of which only missed being a home run by a couple of feet.
  
  
• Dustin Moseley pitched the ninth inning and allowed a homer to Casey Kotchman

Up Next:

• The All-Star break. The home run derby, which Nick Swisher will be participating in, will take place on Monday night at 8pm and the game itself will be on Tuesday.

Game 83 Recap

[WE data via FG]

Highlights:

• Brett Gardner makes a nice sliding grab in the first
  
  
• Ramiro Pena knocks in Gardner in the fourth to get the Yanks on the board
  
  
• Jeter singles in a run to keep the 4th inning going
  
  
• Teixeira's three run homer, that capped the rally and put the Yanks up 5-0
  
  
• Swisher's 6th inning home run

Not In The Highlights:

• The Yanks loaded the bases in the first inning with one out but Posada and Thames struck out to end the threat.
  
  
• A-Rod fell down trying to catch a pop up in foul territory

Basically:

• A.J. Burnett build on his last strong outing against the Blue Jays with a seven inning, two run effort last night. He only struck out two batters but induced 11 ground balls and allowed just five hits and two walks.
  
  
• In the fourth inning, despite the fact that Francisco Cervelli erased a leadoff single by Marcus Thames with a double play, the Yanks managed to plate five runs. Ramiro Pena and Derek Jeter both chipped in RBI singles and Mark Teixeira launched a three run homer off of Gio Gonzalez to center field.
  
  
• Stop the presses, Damaso Marte pitched a full fucking inning!
  
  
• Joba Chamberlain allowed a single to lead off the ninth inning but erased it with a double play and escaped without allowing a run.

Up Next:

• The Yanks fly up the coast to Seattle for a four game set with the Mariners which will lead them into the All-Star break.

Game 77 Recap

Game 76 Recap

[WE data via FanGraphs]

Usually, if a starting pitcher gives up seven runs in a game, there is one inning that they could point to that really did them in, but that wasn't the case last night for Phil Hughes. He got through the first unscathed but allowed a run in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings.

It didn't seem like he was getting hit all that hard, but it was one of those nights when the Mariners' hitters seemed to find holes in the Yankee defense. So when the Mariners scored three runs with two outs in the sixth, the game was pretty much out of reach. Sure, the M's plated seven runs against Hughes and put 12 runners on base in 5 2/3 innings, but I thought he pitched okay. There will of course be the inevitable mainstream media consternation about the extra rest he was given, but he wasn't wild or laying too many balls over the middle of the plate. He just caught some bad breaks, had a couple of errors made behind him and was up against Cliff Lee, who didn't have any of those problems.

Lee went the full nine and aside from the two solo home runs that he gave up to Nick Swisher and the ultimately futile rally the Yanks made in the ninth, was as good as you expected him to be last night. He only struck out two batters but when he allowed balls in play, they tended to be weakly hit or in the general vicinity of a defender.

Losing the series opener against a team that's a baker's dozen under .500 isn't optimal, but this wasn't a terrible defeat. Both teams took an excellent pitcher to the mound and the Baseball Gods decided whose night it would be. The Yanks have another uphill battle tonight as Javy Vazquez matches up against Felix Hernandez.

Game 53 Recap

(WPA data from Fangraphs)

Well that is one pretty looking chart for the Yankees. At only one point in the game did the Orioles have a better than 50% chance of emerging victorious, as Luke Scott's one out double in the second inning pushed the O's WE to a whopping 51.7%.

That speaks volumes as to how well the Yankees played last night. Phil Hughes was brilliant yet again, going seven strong, allowing six hits, one run, a walk, and fanning seven. He threw 72 of his 101 pitches for strikes.

On the offensive side, the Yankees continued to feast on the teams they should be roughing up, and once again, Robinson Cano led the charge. He went 3 for 4, with three runs scored and two RBI. He blasted his team-leading 12th home run of the season into the right field bleachers, extended his hitting streak to 16 games, and boosted his line for 2010 to .373/.412/.632. He now leads the AL in batting, is fourth in OBP, and third in SLG. His 12 HRs is tied for sixth.

Cano wasn't alone on offense though. Curtis Granderson continued his hot post-DL hitting, going 3 for 4 with a big two run double in the second to open the scoring. Nick Swisher chipped in three hits of his own, one of them also a two run double in the second inning. Alex Rodriguez had two hits and two runs scored, Brett Gardner doubled and scored twice, and Jorge Posada singled and walked in his return from the DL.

The end of the game saw Chad Gaudin finish off two scoreless innings, with subs Ramiro Pena, Kevin Russo, and Marcus Thames behind him in the field as the Yankees cruised 9-1. You can't draw it up any better than that. They'll go for the sweep behind CC Sabathia this afternoon at 1 PM.

Game 46 Recap

Not much good to say about this one.

Offensively, the Yanks managed nine hits off of Nick Baker Blackburn but didn't walk once, allowing him to cruise through seven innings of two run ball in just 92 pitches. They mustered only one baserunner after he left the game - a single by A-Rod in the top of the eighth. It was the first time all year they went a full game without working a walk and they only did it six times last year, going 2-4 in those contests. And in those two wins, they hit a combined eight home runs. So there are ways to win without walking, but it involves delivering a few knockout blows, not a pair of doubles like they did tonight.

Granted, Nick Blackburn is notoriously stingy with the base on balls, but not earning one free pass all game is not a recipe for success for the Bombers.

Despite the continued futility of the Yanks' bats - just six runs in this series and six straight games without scoring more that four runs - this one is on Javy Vazquez. The Twins slapped Javy around for five runs on eight hits, an incredible six of them going for extra bases. Luckily he was able to strand runners (five in his 5 2/3 innings) or else this would have been a much shorter outing.

I didn't have very high expectations for Javy considering he was coming off that finger injury and the Twins have an extremely left-handed-heavy lineup, but this was particularly bad. Javy managed to keep the ball inside of Target Field for the most part, with the exception of massive home run by Jason Kubel in the fifth, but he induced just two strikeouts and five groundballs compared to ten flyballs and seven line drives.

Vazquez just didn't fool anyone tonight. Out of the 112 pitches he threw, only four were swinging strikes. Similar to the Yankees not working walks, there might be a fine line where a pitcher can consistently induce weak contact without missing bats, but typically, if guys can get a piece that often, they are going to be squaring up with regularity.

Chad Gaudin made his Yankee re-debut tonight and allowed a three run shot to Jason Kubel (although Chan Ho Park put two of the runners on for him). Including the one against Vazquez earlier in the game and the one off Mariano Rivera the weekend before last, Kubel has hit three homers off of the Yanks in his last three games against them.

In more amusing news, during the most pointless segment of this and every Yankee broadcast, some drunk dude who was standing behind Kim Jones with the broom from a dustpan hung around his neck decided to take a bite out of her cold, prop pork chop. So there was that.

This game really sucked, mostly because of Vazquez's regression to his early year performance, but the Yanks still took two out of three from a very good team on the road. Next up, they get the Indians for a 4 game, wraparound, holiday weekend set in the Bronx starting with a game a 7:05 tomorrow night.

Game 45 Recap

This wasn't Andy Pettitte's best start of the season in terms of innings pitched and runs allowed, but it was probably his most impressive overall. Joe Mauer singled in a run in the first inning and Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young stacked up a single and a double for another in the seventh inning but Pettitte needed just 83 pitchers (a whopping 65 of them for strikes) to make it through those seven frames.

When Drew Butera led off the eight inning with a double just out of the reach of Brett Gardner, the game was still tied at two. Denard Span - who terrorized the Yanks in these two games, reaching base six times - then laid down a soft bunt towards third. The Yankees had the wheel play on, which put Alex Rodriguez in position to field the ball get Span at first, but A-Rod couldn't handle it and the Twins had runners on the corners with no one out. It seemed a forgone conclusion that the Twinkies would plate at least one run and take the lead heading into the top of the ninth.

Pettitte tried to keep Span close at first base with a pair of pick off attempts. With two double plays on the night already, Andy knew that a Twin-killing was his best chance at escaping the inning. He almost got an unexpected one on the second pitch of the at bat when Orlando Hudson looped a curveball right back over his head but Pettitte snared it with a full extension and whipped his head to third and then to first to see if the runners had strayed. They hadn't, but he was one step closer to getting out of the jam.

Although it was just one out and a well placed grounder or a deep enough fly ball would have given Minnesota the lead, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. A light considerably dimmed, however, by Joe Mauer standing directly in front of it.

The Yanks played in at the corners but left their middle infielders at double play depth and on the first pitch of the at bat, Pettitte threw a cutter low and away, hoping that Mauer would cue it off the end of the bat, but he didn't offer. Pettite then checked Span at first base with a pick off attempt and threw a cutter over the outside corner for a strike.

Cervelli set up almost comically inside on the next pitch, but Pettitte missed low to bring the count to 2-1. Another pickoff attempt. Pettitte proceeded to come back inside with another fastball that made Mauer to check his swing, but the pitch missed by the slimmest of margins and 3rd base umpire Chris Guccione said that Joe didn't go. That brought the count to a dangerous 3-1.

Pettitte and Cervelli then went back to the same pitch that they started Mauer with, except this time he did swing at it and grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Andy might have missed some of his spots in that at bat by a bit, but he was either inside and off the plate or low and away out of the zone - two spots that even Mauer can't get good wood on. It was one of my favorite at bats of the year given that I was more or less resigned to Mauer or Morneau finding a way to drive in that run, but Pettitte, primarily by virtue of his ability to spot the ball, was able to get exactly what the Yanks needed in that spot.

Pettitte's Houdini-esque escape from that jam was rewarded in the 9th inning as Nick Swisher hit a two out, line drive blast off of Twins' closer Jon Rauch that left the yard in a hurry and gave the Yanks a 3-2 lead.

Although he had closed out the earlier game, Mariano Rivera came back to nail this one down as well. He induced three grounders from Morneau, Cuddyer and Young and the Yanks pulled off their second one run victory of the day.

There were other parts of this game that were worth of further exploration, namely Brett Gardner's RBI triple and Kevin Russo's run-scoring double and/or catch up against the wall, but those likely would have gone to waste if Pettitte wasn't able to wriggle out of that 8th inning jam.

It was a great win for the Yanks (both of them, actually) and they'll look to go for the sweep tomorrow night at 8.

Game 44.5 Recap

[The suspension did some funky stuff with FanGraphs and they don't have the WPA data from the resumption of the game, hence the hacky photoshopping. Here's the first part of the recap.]

A.J. Burnett got his wish. Derek Jeter was the second batter when play resumed and after Kevin Russo struck out swinging, he smashed a home run into the Twins bullpen in left field. That was the only run of the 2:39 minute contest that lasted more like 23 hours. The win didn't come easy, however, as the Yanks' bullpen had to struggle to keep that one run lead.

David Robertson (not Sergio Mitre or one of the left handers as was widely speculated) was the pitcher that began the game for the Yanks. The first batter he faced was Joe Mauer and the Minnesota catcher hit a line drive off of Robertson's back that deflected to A-Rod in the air for the out.

D-Rob was apparently okay as he stayed in the game and ran the count full to Justin Morneau before walking him. Michael Cuddyer followed with a pop up to Robinson Cano for the second out of the inning but Jason Kubel slashed a double down the right field line that looked like it was going to score Morneau from first, however but he was held up by the third base coach. With the go-ahead runner on first, Delmon Young hit a hard grounder into the hole but Jeter performed a spectacular rendition his patented jump throw and got the out at first, saving the run and preserving the lead.

Robertson retired the first two batters in the seventh but was pulled after giving up a single to Denard Span. Joba Chamberlain was called on to get out of the jam and he got Orlando Hudson to ground out and end the inning.

Joba pitched around a hit and a walk in the eighth inning and passed the ball to Mariano Rivera in the 9th. Mo provided a real scare when J.J. Hardy led off the inning and blasted a ball into deep left center that looked like a certain home run, but Kevin Russo settled under on the warning track. He then walked Jim Thome but induced a game-ending double play from Denard Span. It was far from conventional, but the Yanks got the win and so did A.J. Burnett.

Halfway To Somewhere

When asked about playing at the Twins' new stadium, Joe Girardi sounded hopeful about the weather:

...I do prefer outdoor baseball. Maybe we’re catching it at the right time. It’s supposed to be 80 degrees in Minnesota this week. They claim it’s only one degree colder than Chicago on average. And it seems the weather’s been really good up there this year.

Instead of the "right time" (i.e. a balmy evening like the one we had on the East Coast), the Yanks were part of the first rain delay in almost 30 years in Minnesota, dating back to September 26th, 1981, back at the old Metropolitan Stadium. Last night, it started raining with a purpose sometime around the second inning and only got worse from there.

Picking up where they left off against the Mets, the Yankees offense was painful to watch in the five innings of play that were completed before the game was suspended. Mark Teixeira erased a single by Brett Garnder by grounding into a double play in the first inning and Robinson Cano did the same thing to a base hit by A-Rod in the second.

When the lineup came around again in the fourth, Derek Jeter led off with a single and Brett Gardner worked a walk, setting the table for the middle of the order. However, Teixeira popped it up, A-Rod struck out swinging and Cano flied out to center without so much as moving the lead runner to third. Had the Yanks been able to sneak one across there and hold the lead, the game might have already been final.

A.J. Burnett had the Twins feeling the same way as he stranded two baserunners in each of the first two innings. He found his groove from there, however, retiring nine straight until Denard Span dropped a bunt single on him with two outs in the fifth. Span stole second but Orlando Hudson struck out swinging to end the inning and the game, for the time being.

Burnett whiffed five and allowed three hits and a walk during his five scoreless frames. With the game still knotted up at zero, he has a chance to get the win if the Yanks can score some runs in the sixth inning and hold the lead. One step at a time though, as any win will do just fine.

Play will resume today at 5:05 Eastern and they'll finish the game before the teams play their regularly scheduled tilt. One and a half header! Girardi didn't announce who would be pitching when the game begins again but it will likely be Boone Logan or Damaso Marte since lefties Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are due up in the bottom of the sixth and Joe Girardi will feel the need to start burning through relievers as soon as possible since there will be at least 13 innings to plat tomorrow. Mark it down.

Game 43 Recap

1. The Mets got on the Yankees early in this one and didn't let up until the very end. CC Sabathia wriggled out of a one out, bases loaded jam in the first inning when he got David Wright to swing over a 1-2 slider and Angel Pagan to line out to second base. Unfortunately the second inning went the other way for the Big Fella.

Rob Barajas led off with a double but Sabathia got two easy strikeouts from Jeff Francoeur and Johan Santana. After giving up a single to Jose Reyes, CC got ahead of Alex Cora 0-2 and threw a perfect pitch, just over the black on the inside corner but home plate umpire Marvin Hudson called it a ball and gave Cora a second life. Cora fouled off a couple pitches and took a slider in the dirt before punching a single to center, driving in Barajas and Reyes. Dave Eiland came out to talk to Sabathia but whatever he said didn't help out all that much as Jason Bay whacked a changeup from CC over the left field fence for just his second homer of the year and put the Mets up 4-0.

2. The Yankees led off each of the first three innings with a single but had nothing to show for it. In the first and second, one hit was all they could muster but in the third, Jeter followed Sabathia's broken bat flare with a sharp single of his own. However, Brett Garnder grounded into a double play (only his 6th in 594 MLB plate appearances) and destroyed any momentum the Yanks had built up.

3. Bay struck again in the 5th, leading off the frame with another longball, this time to right field. We might have witnessed Bay finally finding his power stroke.

The Mets added another run in the inning when Ike Davis singled, advanced on a past ball and scored on a double by David Wright. 6-0 Mets.

4. The Yanks finally got on the board in the seventh inning. Nick Swisher worked a two out walk and Francisco Cervelli ripped a line drive towards the left foul pole. The ball hit right on the orange line and Frankie was so sure it was gone, he put his head down and went into a jog rounding first base. Since the ball bounced right back to Bay, he gunned it back in and held Cisco to a single, but Nick Swisher scored easily to make it 6-1 Mets. The umpires looked at the replays but upheld the original call.

5. The Yanks tried to pull together a rally in the 8th. Marcus Thames had walked to lead off the inning and A-Rod and Mark Teixeira both reached base with two outs to load the bases. A-Rod's walk chased Santana from the game and Pedro Feliciano came in to face Cano. Robbie took two strikes before hitting a high pop up to first to end the inning.

They again showed life in the ninth inning. Leading off, Nick Swisher worked a walk and Cervelli singled behind him. Kevin Russo grounded into a fielder's choice but Juan Miranda knocked in Swish with a base hit to right to make it 6-2.

Jerry Manuel then brought in K-Rod to face Jeter and the Captain ripped a double down the line and brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Brett Gardner. Gardner tapped a soft chopper towards third base and David Wright gunned it across the diamond to get the out by just a few inches, if at all. Both Garnder and Girardi were livid and the latter was extra demonstrative when he came out to argue the call but didn't get tossed. That drove in a run and got the Yanks within 3. Mark Teixeira then hit a high chopper to second and cut the margin to two runs: 6-4 Mets.

A-Rod came to the plate as the go-ahead run and battled with K-Rod through an eight pitch at bat, taking three balls and fouling off four pitches before striking out on a 3-2 change up.

Another day, another blue balls, too-little-too-late, close-but-no-cigar rally in the 9th.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Santana was really impressive tonight, cruising through 7 2/3 innings of one run ball and at one point retired 13 Yankees in a row.
  
  
• Sabathia lasted five innings and gave up six runs, five of them earned. He allowed two walks and ten hits and although he got kind of screwed by that call in the second inning he just generally just didn't have it going. It happens.
  
  
• Sergio Mitre and Boone Logan both pitched well in relief. Mitre threw two innings and the only batter than reached base against him was Jason Bay, who he hit with a breaking pitch. Logan gave up just one hit in his scoreless frame.
  
  
• For some dumb reason, the benches were warned when Bay was hit, despite the fact that the pitch was a 75mph curve.
  
  
• This game was pretty tough to watch and it was made worse by Joe Morgan, naturally. "Uppercut" was the word of the night in the booth. Morgan used it in his trademark brand of simpleton analysis about 50 fucking times and added a grand total of nothing to the broadcast in the process. Thanks Joe.
  
  
• Morgan also took time to congratulate his daughter and her new husband on getting married and later to say hello to the Mets bullpen coaches' mom. Listen Casey Kasem, no one fucking knows or cares about this shit. Do your job and talk about the game. Actually, better yet, just shut up.
  
  
• During the disputed home run call, the ESPN production crew called over to the Mets PR office to check on the ground rules and were given incorrect information. They originally claimed that if the ball hit the line it was considered a home run, which of course is wrong. Hell of an organization they've got over there.

After taking the first game of the series, the Yanks end up dropping the final two. Tomorrow is an off day before the Yanks head to Target to face the Twins for the first time in their new park on Tuesday.

Game 40 Recap

[Slight change of format for the recap for tonight. Because there is no way I'm doing a full blow-by-blow synopsis of this shitshow, the numbers within the chart represent the score at that point, with the Yankees total listed first.]

The first game of this series may have been the worst loss of the year, but this one wasn't too far behind. It had the triumvirate of suck, as the Yanks 1) fell behind early, 2) squandered a great chance to take the lead in the third inning and 3) captured our attention just long enough to let us down in the ninth.

Let's start with the good stuff.

• David Robertson pitched a fantastic two innings, striking out four without allowing a baserunner.
  
  
• Derek Jeter had three hits and drove in two runs.
  
  
• Juan Miranda had a homer and a triple in his first two at bats, but the triple was on a high fly ball that B.J. Upton lost in the lights would have been easily caught otherwise.
  
  
• I didn't see the first inning because I was doing yardwork. (Does that count?)
  
  
• Seriously, that's it.

And now for the bad:

• Just like last night, the Yankees gave up a run before recording an out. This time it was actually three runs, plunging their WPA to 24.8% before the offense had a chance to take a hack.
  
  
• The Yanks tied this game twice - at 3-3 and 4-4 - only to give the lead back to the Rays in the next half inning.
  
  
• Entering the third inning, the Yanks were trailing 3-2. Randy Winn led of with a base hit and Derek Jeter dropped one down for a bunt single. Brett Gardner followed with a bunt that he probably would have beat out but James Sheilds did the Yanks a favor by throwing it over Carlos Pena's head at first base, allowing Winn to score and the runners to advance to second and third with the heart of the lineup coming up. However, Mark Teixeira bounced one back to the pitcher and A-Rod and Cano both struck out swinging, leaving the runners stranded and the game tied.
  

• The Rays hit four home runs, two by Pena, who was six for his last sixty with two extra base hits heading into this game, and one by Ben Zobrist - his first of the year.
  
  
• Despite the fact that Andy Pettitte had thrown 101 pitches and allowed six runs through 5 innings, Joe Girardi let him come out for the sixth, apparently to match up with lefty Pena. And of course, Pettite promptly gave up Pena's first homer in 78 plate appearances.
  
  
• Chan Ho Park entered this game with a 30.8% HR/FB rate actually increased it in his first inning of work. After allowing two deep fly balls to Zobrist and Evan Longoria that necessitated pretty good defensive plays to stop them, Park grooved a changeup to Pena, who smacked his second longball of the evening.
  
  
• The Yanks showed some life in the 9th inning, but it was only a tease. Derek Jeter knocked in two runs with a double, bringing the tying run to the plate, but Brett Gardner grounded out to end the game. On a night like this, if you knew they weren't going to win, you might just wish they had went down in order and got it over with instead of getting our collective hopes up again, only to crush them for the third straight game.

The Yanks have now lost three in a row (all to divisional rivals) and four of their last five (all at home). They travel crosstown to face the Mets at Citi Field tomorrow night, but not before everyone in the New York media proceeds to jump to conclusions and start writing stories about how these two games prove how much better the Rays are than the Yankees. Can't wait.

Game 40 Recap

1. Jason Bartlett launched the second pitch of the game over the left field fence. 1-0 Rays.

2. The Rays loaded the bases in the third with two walks sandwiching a hit by pitch. With one out, Evan Longoria hit a sacrifice fly to right. 2-0 Rays.

3. In the fourth, B.J. Upton and Hank Blalock started the frame with infield singles, then moved up on a double steal. A ground rule double from John Jaso plated them both. Two batters later and two outs later, Carl Crawford doubled Jaso in. After a walk to Ben Zobrist, Longoria singled Crawford home. 6-0 Rays.

4. A leadoff walk to Alex Rodriguez and a single by Robinson Cano set the Yankees up with runners on the corners and no one out in the bottom of the fourth. Francisco Cervelli brought A-Rod home with a sacrifice fly, but Wade Davis shut it down from there. 6-1 Rays.

5. Alex Rodriguez led off the sixth as well. After falling behind 3-0, Wade Davis battled back to a full count. A-Rod then fought off four straight 3-2 offerings before absolutley destroying the tenth pitch of the at bat for a home run that landed in Monument Park. 6-2 Rays.

Robinson Cano followed with a single, but was erased on a double play off the bat of Francisco Cervelli. The Yankees loaded the bases when Marcus Thames singled, a Juan Miranda walked, and Randy Winn reached on an error, but Derek Jeter ended the threat by grounding out to short.

6. The wheels completely came off in the eighth, and as you might expect Boone Logan had something to do with it. It was comically bad. Logan walked Jaso, then surrendered a double to pinch hitter Sean Rodriguez, scoring Jaso. Logan gave way to Mark Melancon who offered little relief. Rodriguez scored on a single from Barlett, who then took second on a somewhat errant throw from emergency right fielder Ramiro Pena. Bartlett moved to third on Crawford's flyout, then scored on Zobrist's basehit. Evan Longoria followed with a single of his own. Brett Gardner made a circus catch on the warning track to retire Carlos Pena, but it allowed Zobrist to tag and score from second base. B.J. Upton followed with a double, but it mercifully bounced into the stands for a ground rule double, keeping Longoria from scoring. 10-2 Rays.

7. Too little, too late for the Yankees in the ninth. After making two quick outs, Brett Gardner doubled, Mark Teixeira walked, and A-Rod reached on an infield single. Robinson Cano laced his fourth hit of the night to score Gardner, and a walked to Francisco Cervelli forced in Tex. Ramiro Pena followed with a sinking liner to center field, that B.J. Upton misplayed, allowing Pena to take second and two runs to score. A Juan Miranda strikeout ended the game. Final score 10-6 Rays.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Hands down, this was the ugliest game of the year. Bad, just bad in all facets of the game. It happens. It doesn't mean it's time to hit the panic button. But man, it was tough to watch.


• Worse than the game is the post-game news that Jorge Posada has a hairline fracture in his foot and will miss three to four weeks. More on this tomorrow. The Yankees will need to add a catcher, most likely Chad Moeller, to the 40 man roster and recall him. The 40 man is currently full, so a spot will have to be cleared.


• Adding injury to insult (and all the other injuries), Marcus Thames worked a seeing eye single in the sixth, then sprained his ankle when he stepped on his own bat while running to first. He's day-to-day.


• Want to hear me beat a dead horse? Because the Yankees are carrying thirteen pitchers and because Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher are injured enough not to play but not badly enough to be DL'd, they had a one man bench last night. The Thames injury forced Ramiro Pena, he with seven minor league appearances in CF and one Major League inning in RF, to take over in right.


• The Rays ran at will. They stole six bases and advanced on flyouts four different times.


• As frustrating as this game was, not to mention the game before, and the bullpen meltdowns on Sunday and Monday, let's keep a little perspective. The bullpen is a little banged up. Four of the Opening Day starters are on the DL or on the bench with injuries. Of the remaining five starters, three of them are slumps of various severity. Every season has it's rough patches. Nothing that's happened this week has derailed the year.


• Wade Davis went five and two thirds for the Rays, marking just the eighth time this year a Tampa Bay starter didn't complete six.


• After leading the AL in walks last year, A.J. Burnett entered his start against the Twins last Friday with a walk rate that was nearly a career best. He walked four that night, four more tonight, and now sits at 3.4 BB/9, closer to his career average of 3.8.

The two clubs meet again tomorrow night, closing out the brief two game set before interleague play starts up. It'll be Andy Pettitte against James Shields.

Game 38 Recap

1. After Phil Hughes sat the Sox down in order in the first, the Yankees made it abundantly clear that this start would be nothing like Daisuke Matsuzka's last one. Before Dice-K could blink, the Bombers had loaded the bases with two singles by Derek Jeter and Brett Gardner and a walk to Mark Teixiera. A-Rod battled through a seven pitch at bat consisting of nothing by fastballs and after fouling two off, finally found one he liked. He served it into right center for a single and put the Yankees up 2-0.

Robinson Cano swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a deep, looping line drive to left. Jeremy Hermida went back after it but couldn't make the play and the ball caromed off the wall and back into the field. If nobody was on base, Cano could have easily made it to second, but A-Rod had to hold up to see if the ball was caught and was nearly passed by Cano. It went in the books as a RBI single.

Still with no one out, Francisco Cervelli lined a double into the gap in right center that scored A-Rod. Cano was sent home but a strong throw from Darnell McDonald and a solid block of the plate by Victor Martinez gave the Sox their first out of the inning. However, Cervelli advanced to third base on the play and scored on a sac fly by Marcus Thames. Add all of that up and the Yanks were ahead 5-0 after the first inning.

2. Kevin Youkilis led off the top of the second with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two out single by Adrian Beltre, cutting the Yanks lead to 5-1.

3. The Yanks got that run back in the third. Brett Gardner worked a two out walk and Mark Teixeira drove him in with a double that looked like a home run off the bat. McDonald was fooled too as he got to the ball in time but overran it slightly and it hit off of his forearm as he neared the wall. 6-1 Yanks.

4. David Ortiz, who has now driven in seven runs in his past four games, lifted a sky high home run to the mezzanine level in right during the fourth inning that made it 6-2.

5. Phil Hughes got two easy outs to begin the fifth inning but the final out was much more elusive. Marco Scutaro fell behind 1-2, but fouled back three straight pitches before punching a single back up the middle. Dustin Pedroia also fell behind 1-2 before fouling off four in a row, taking a ball and serving a double to left. J.D. Drew came to the plate with men on second and third, promptly fell behind 0-2 but fought back and eventually hooked a ball around the right field foul pole to bring the Sox right back in it. 6-5 Yankees.

6. Cervelli flipped a two out single to center in the fifth and was driven in on a double by Thames. 7-5 Yanks.

7. Boone Logan began the sixth inning for the Yanks and the first thing he did was fall behind Victor Martinez 3-0. VMart took one for a strike but then mashed a home run to left field to bring the Sox within one run.

8. After pitching a scoreless seventh, Chan Ho Park came back on for the 8th and allowed the Sox to complete an improbable comeback. Drew led off with a single to right and the Fackin' Youkstah drilled a two run home run to left field to put the Sox ahead 8-7. Victor Martinez followed with another solo shot (this on over the Yanks' bullpen in right) and just like that, the Yankees were trailing by two runs with only six outs left to use up and bottom third of their line up due up.

9. Juan Miranda pinch hit in the eighth inning and brought the tying run to the plate when he worked a walk but Daniel Bard struck out Derek Jeter to end the frame.

Gardner led off the ninth inning with a slicing double just out of the reach of McDonald and Teixeira got the crowd going with a long, loud out on the warning track. Jonathan Papelbon didn't get off so easy with A-Rod. Alex was waiting for a fastball on the first pitch and absolutely blasted a homer into the Red Sox bullpen.

Cano flew out to deeeeep center and Papelbon hit Cervelli on the elbow with a pitch. Knowing that he was the only catcher available, Frankie was none too please, but he took his base without much of a scene. Then, like A-Rod, Marcus Thames was ready for a first pitch fastball and smashed it into the right field seats to give the Yankees their first walkoff win of the year. Final score: Yankees 11, Red Sox 9.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Hughes was just one strike away three different times from escaping the fifth inning with a four run lead with a chance to throw another frame. Instead, he threw a combined 22 pitches to Scutaro, Pedroia and Drew and was chased from the game right then and there. he was still in line for the win until CHoP let the lead slip away in the 8th.
  
  
• Phil just didn't have his best stuff tonight, as only 5 of his 103 pitches were swinging strikes. His cutter was working to some extent but it came back to bite him. He threw 30 of them - 24 for strikes - but two of them left the park off the bats of Ortiz and Drew.
  
  
• PitchFX had Hughes throwing 21 two-seam fastballs, but I think they were actually four-seamers with too much arm-side run that fouled up the classification since Hughes doesn't throw a two-seamer, as far as I know. If so, it's an indication that his mechanics were slightly askew, and as Al Leiter likes to say, he wasn't "getting on top of his fastball" enough.
  
  
• With Victor Martinez due up in the 6th inning, Girardi went to Boone Logan, which was pretty odd considering that Martinez has been great against lefties this year and terrible against righties (and that Boone Logan sucks). Not to put too much stock in small sample size splits, but for switch hitters, since they have two different swings, it seems like they are more significant. That could have been a good enough reason to go to Chan Ho Park in the sixth instead of the seventh, but instead VMart jacked one off of Logan.
  
  
• Neither Joba Chamberlain nor David Robertson were available tonight, and that certainly led Joe Girardi to try to stretch two innings out of Park in his first appearance off of the DL. During his second inning is when the wheels really came off and Youk and Martinez hit back to back homers.
  
  
• Evening out some of the bad luck from his start in Detroit, Javy Vazquez picked up the win for facing one batter in the 9th.
  
  
• The double in the first inning brought Francisco Cervelli up to an unthinkable 11 for 14 with runners in scoring position on the season. That would be incredible for Albert Puljos, let alone a guy who was a below average hitter when he was in AA just a year ago.
  
  
• In the fifth inning, Phil Hughes threw a fastball to Youk inside and at knee level that sent him to the dirt in an effort to dodge it and drew a loud applause from the crowd.
  
  
• A.J. Burnett timed the walkoff pie perfectly. Thames was just beginning his interview with Kim Jones and just as he started to answer her first question, got slammed.
  
  
• I like Thames significantly more than I did before this game started. Funny how those things work.
  
  
• This was your typical Yankees-Red Sox game, checking in at 3:47 with 346 pitches thrown.

This had the potential to be a terribly frustrating loss but instead it was a thrilling victory. Matt was there, in the batter's eye seats and hopefully he'll have a little bit to share about his experience tomorrow. This mini-series should wrap up tomorrow at 7:05, but there is a chance that the weather may not cooperate.

Game 37 WPA Chart

That one stung. Kubel's salami resulted in a 59% swing in WPA, which is easily the largest of any single play in a Yankees game so far this year. The Yankees getting the tying run to the plate with no one out and following through with three straight strike outs - the last one looking on Teixeira - was pretty demoralizing as well. However, the Yanks took two out of three from a very good team, and at the end of the day, the series was still a success.

Game 34 Recap

1. On the very first pitch of the game, Derek Jeter poked a ball between third and short that went for an infield hit. Brett Garnder chopped into a fielder's choice and began doing what he does best: pestering the pitcher. Verlander threw over to first twice, and the second one got past Miguel Cabrera, allowing Gardner to advance to second. Mark Teixeira struck out swinging and A-Rod and popped out to first to strand the runner.

2. The Tigers got on the board in the third. Brennan Boesch ripped a double into the gap. Gerald Laird hit a check swing flare into extremely shallow right to put the Tigers up 1-0. Ken Singleton said it was either lucky or the best piece of hitting he's ever seen (it was lucky).

3. Despite that one cheap run, Sabathia was in control through the first three innings, having throwing just 28 pitches. He lost his grip in the fourth inning briefly, however. Miguel Cabrera took a knee high two-seamer over the right field wall. Then, Boesch (damn I've typed his name a lot over the past few days) roped a 1-2 slider down the right field line that just cleared the wall and stayed fair by about fifteen feet. The two solo shots put the Tigers ahead 3-0.

4. The game really got away from CC in the sixth. Damon and Ordonez led off with back to back singles and Miguel Cabrera smashed one off the wall in center field that missed being a home run by about a foot. Still, it ended up as a two RBI double and extended the Tigers' lead to five. Gerald Laird got another soft, two out hit, this time over Jeter's head that made it 6-0 Tigers.

5. Facing Joel Zumaya in the top of the 8th, the Yanks put two men on with one out via a walk by Robinson Cano and an error on a grounder by Jorge Posada. With two outs, Randy Winn sliced one deep into left field but Don Kelly made a running catch up against the wall to rob him of an extra base hit and at least one RBI. That was about as close as they came to scoring all game and they got blanked again in Detroit six to zip.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• If they didn't before, I bet the Yanks are wishing it rained now. However, the game went off on time and finished without so much as a spatter from the sky.
  
  
• Sabathia just didn't quite have it today. He struck out four and didn't walk anyone, but the Tigers just had his number, knocking nine hits - five of them for extra bases. He was efficient, throwing 80 pitches through six innings (55 for strikes), and didn't seem like he was missing his spots too badly. It was just one of those days when the hitters were putting the bat on the ball and the ball was finding places that the fielders weren't.
  
  
• Verlander was the opposite, not efficient but effective. He needed 118 pitches to get through 6 2/3, but didn't allow a run. The Yanks did work four walks but had just four hits, and the only one that went for extra bases was Posada's double in the sixth. Verlander had four K's and 10 outs on the ground.
  
  
• The game was another fairly quick one, wrapping up in just 2:39.
  
  
• I know it might have disrupted the crisp pace of play and Justin Verlander is tough, but would it have killed the Yankees to score some damn runs? I'm kidding, mostly. During this series, the Yankees' injures really caught up to them. The bench wasn't going to keep producing at an above average clip forever and they were dipping deeper into their reserves than ever.
  
  
• Coming into yesterday, the Yankees hand't been held to less than two runs all year. Now they've been blanked twice in two days.
  
  
• In the top of the second we got a glimpse of why Greg Golson might not be a Major League caliber hitter. Justin Verlander threw him three straight curveballs. The first two made him flinch badly and he grounded the third one to short.
  
  
• Jeter got hit right on the hand in the fifth inning. The contact was so hard that the ball deflected and went all the way into the Yankee dugout. He's day-to-day.
  
  
• Jorge Posada hit a ball over Austin Jackson's head in center during the sixth inning that rolled all the way to the wall. If anyone else on the team had hit it, it would have been a triple but Jorge was only able to trot into second. He may never hit a triple again.
  
  
• Ivan Nova made his Major League debut in the seventh inning. He pitched well, throwing two scoreless innings and allowing two hits while striking out one.
  
  
• On the broadcast, it was said that Dave Eiland and Joba Chamberlain thought the firmness of the mound was the reason for the high pitch velocities.
  
  
• Michael Kay was telling a story about how Justin Verlander sold 1% of his signing bonus when he was in 10th grade for a chocolate milk. Verlander's bonus was $3.125M, however, Kay claimed that his buddy's share was about $3K. Try $30K, Kay!

The Yanks dropped three out of four this series and have now lost four of their last five. It happens and hopefully they'll find their groove when they come back to the Bronx to face the Twins tomorrow night.

Game 33 Recap

1. Brett Gardner slapped a single the other way with one out in the first inning. After Mark Teixeira flew out to center field and Bonderman made two attempted pickoffs to first, Gardner stole second on a 0-1 pitch to Alex Rodriguez. Replays showed that he was probably out on the throw (which should have ended the inning) but he was called safe. On the next pitch, A-Rod served a slider into right field, scoring Gardner and giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

2. Derek Jeter worked a one out walk in the third inning and stole second easily with Garnder at the plate. Gardner struck out looking but Teixeira followed with a single to right that plated Jeter and put the Yankees up 2-0.

3. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning on a walk by Johnny Damon, a single off the bat of Magglio Ordonez and another base knock by Brennan Broesch. Phil Hughes buckled down though, getting Alex Avila to swing under a fastball at his knees and Don Kelly to pop out to Robinson Cano in shallow right. This was about as much trouble as Hughes got into all night and he wriggled out of it with relative ease.

4. The Yankees added some insurance runs in the 9th inning; 6 of them to be exact. Robinson Cano was hit by a pitch but erased by a force out grounder by Randy Winn. Greg Golson then picked up his first Major League hit on a soft fly to center and Frankie Cervelli flipped a single to roughly the same spot, scoring Winn and extending the lead to 3-0.

Jeter came up next with the bases loaded and chopped one to the shortstop, but Ramon Santiago came home to prevent the run the scoring. Gardner fell behind 0-2 but eventually hacked an infield single back up the middle that allowed all of the runners to advance and made the score 4-0.

Teixeira then followed with a two run single to shallow center and A-Rod ripped a ribbie double down the left field line, putting the Yanks ahead 7-0.

Rookie Alfredo Figaro, who replaced Phil Coke, uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Teixeira to score. Figaro intentionally walked Robinson Cano (who lead off the inning) and gave an unintentional free pass to Randy Winn, brining up Greg Golson. The rookie would not get his first two Big League hits in the same inning as he lined out to right to end the frame. By that point, it was 8-0 Yankees.

Despite the wide margin, Mariano Rivera pitched for the first time in the month of May and didn't miss a beat, sitting down the side in order. Yanks win eight to zip.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Phil Hughes was excellent again tonight, throwing seven shutout innings. Aside from the trouble in the fourth that we mentioned above, he didn't allow a runner to advance past second base. He struck out eight while allowing just six baserunners (five hits and a walk). Seventy one of his 101 pitches were strikes, as he threw mostly four-seamers (62 of them) and cutters (28) with the occassional curve (11).
  
  
• Hughes' pitch count escalated quickly and was at 41 after two innings and 72 through four. However, his final three frames were 6, 6 and 10 and he was able to complete seven strong with a few left in the chamber.
  
  
• Jeremy Bonderman didn't pitch badly. He allowed six baserunners and struck out seven over seven innings of two run ball, but like Javy Vazquez earlier today, his offense did him no favors and he got tagged with a tough loss.
  
  
• Jay-Z and Eminem were in the booth with Michael Kay and Ken Singleton during the bottom of the 4th inning. I was in a bar at the time without the sound on but will most certainly rewatch it later and figure out a way to make fun of it.
  
  
• Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless eighth inning and - surprise, surprise - was back down to his normal velocity of 95 or so with his fastball. He did have three extremely nasty sliders that clocked in at 89, 90 and 88. The first one got Scott Sizemore to ground out to to third and the last two induced whiffs from Magglio Ordonez.
  
  
• Mark Teixeira went 2-5 with 3 RBIs and a run scored.
  
  
• Brett Gardner also had an excellent night, going 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
  
  
• My favorite Brett moment was when he tagged up from first on a long fly ball all the way back to the warning track by Mark Teixeira. Austin Jackson was tracking it the whole way back and Gardner, knowing he was going to catch it, was back on first base when it hit his glove and essentially stole second on the throw.
  
  
• Pena's walk in the 9th was his first time on base all day. He was bad at the plate and might have looked even worse when he struck out swinging on a slider in the dirt in the 7th that wasn't even close.
  
  
• Phil Coke, who entered today's game with a 1.69 ERA, was at the center of the 9th inning meltdown. He was charged with 4 runs in an inning and a third and now sports a much less impressive ERA of 3.63.
  
  
• While it appeared that Nick Swisher was pulled in favor of Randy Winn for defensive purposes in the 8th, it turns out that he actually left the game with a sore biceps and is day-to-day. This streak of injuries would be funny if... actually there are no circumstances under which it would be funny at this point. MAKE IT STOP, GOD, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!
  

It's another matinée tomorrow (1:05) and if all goes well we should be doing a live chat for it.

Game 32 (Progressive) Recap (Liveblog?)

**I'm going to be typing up a recap as the game goes along and figured I might as well just publish it as I go. Comments, as always, are welcome but since we didn't announce this beforehand I don't know who's going to be hanging around.**

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1st Inning - Both Rick Porcello and Javy Vazquez got through the first inning in order. Porcello induced three groundballs, all of which went to shortstop. Austin Jackson hit a strong line drive off of Vazquez but Randy Winn was right there. Javy then struck out both Johnny Damon and Magglio Ordonez swinging - Damon on a low fastball and Mags on a slider.

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Top 2nd - Leading off the frame, A-Rod hit a weak grounder down the third baseline and Robinson Cano followed with a single back up the middle. Jorge Posada hit a deep drive towards the gap left center but Austin Jackson had enough time to settle under it comfortably.

Nick Swisher fell behind 0-2, fouled off three straight pitches and then lifted a change up into right center for a single, moving Cano to third. Randy Winn then walked on four pitches to load the bases for Ramiro Pena. El Nino fell behind 0-2 and then hit a routine fly to center to end the inning.

Bottom 2nd - Vazquez got Miguel Cabrera to ground to short and Jeter pulled off an awkward 360 throw. Teixeira had to make a long reach but was able to come up with. Up next, Brennan Broesch then popped out to Posada behind the plate. Brandon Inge struck out swinging to end the inning.

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Top 3rd - On the first pitch of the inning, Derek Jeter grounded out to first base. Porcello then walked Brett Garnder on four pitches and he promptly stole second. Mark Teixeira grounded out to first, advancing Gardner to third. A-Rod then lofted a deep fly ball to right field but Boesch make a nice grab up against to well to rob A-Rod of at least an RBI.

Bottom 3rd - After getting Ramon Santiago to fly out to left, Vazquez induced a soft grounder to Gerald Laird that Jeter had to range to his right for. Jeter picked it cleanly and made the throw in time but Teix couldn't come up with the scoop. For whatever reason, the slow-footed Laird drew the attention of the Yankees at first while Adam Everett hit a soft fly to left and was actually running when Austin Jackson struck out on a high fastball to end the inning.

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Top 4 - Cano led off by chopping one over Porcello's head that landed softly, but the throw by the second baseman Santiago beat him to the bag. During Jorge Posada's at bat, Brandon Inge dropped an easy pop up in foul territory and gave him new life, allowing Jorge to pump the next pitch to the gap in right for a double. Porcello blew Nick Swisher away with a high fastball for the second out of the inning. Randy Winn, drew another walk, this time on five pitches. Again Ramiro Pena came to the plate with two outs in an RBI situation. Again he fell behind 0-2. Again he stranded the runners, this time striking out swinging on the high cheese. The bottom of this lineup is where rallies go to die.

Bottom 4th - Vazquez got Damon and Ordonez out on balls that didn't leave the infield and probably should have caught Miguel Cabrera looking on a 1-2 slider at the knees. Miggy lofted the next pitch to center for an out, so no harm, no foul. This game is flying, no? It's almost as if they know there is another game tonight...

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Top 5 - Damon had a looooooong run to catch a deep fly towards the visiting bullpen by Derek Jeter but hauled it in pretty comfortably. The Captain can't buy a hit. After Garnder chopped out to second, Teix did the same and was just a hair late to first. Still no score halfway through the game and just over an hour in.

Bottom 5 - Vazquez struck out Boesch and got Inge to ground out to third to put the first two away quickly. But then he issued two back to back walks to Santiago and Laird prompting a visit from Dave Eiland and Posada. Javy then came right back and struck out Adam Everett on three straight pitches: a curve high in the zone followed by a fastball down and away and a heater up and in. That was his first tough inning and he's thrown only 68 pitches.

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Top 6 - A-Rod, Cano and Posada all grounded out, bringing Porcello's total number of wormburners up to 12. It was just a 9 pitch inning for Slick Ricky P, bitch can you beat that?

Bottom 6 - Austin Jackson led off the home half with a sharp single through the left side of the infield. AJax was going on a 0-1 pitch to Damon and Johnny punched it to right field for a single, moving Jackson to third. Magglio hit a force out to short that plated the run and allowed the Tigers to draw first blood. 1-0 Detroit.

Cabrera and Boesch followed with consecutive singles, putting the Tigers up 2-0 but Javy got an inning ending double play from Inge to escape further trouble.

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Top 7 - Nick Swisher banged a line drive right off Porcello's shoulder that caromed over him to shortstop. He was unhurt and it probably saved him a hit because Everett fielded the ball and made the throw in plenty of time. Randy Winn grounded a single up the middle, getting on base for the third time today, but Ramiro Pena grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Pena is singlehandedly killing the offense today.

Bottom 7 - Santiago flied out to center and... OH MY GOD MICHAEL KAY WAS JUST SINGING EMPIRE STATE OF MIND. Worst. Cover. Ever. Okay he said that Jay-Z might be on during the second half of the double header. That's cool but please never let that happen again.

Anyway, Gerald Laird worked the count full before flying out to left and Adam Everett struck out to end the inning. Again. Because he sucks at hitting.

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Top 8 - Right hander Ryan Perry, who pitched 1/3 of an inning Monday, came into the game. Porcello threw seven shutout innings and used just 91 pitches but apparently Jim Leyland had seen enough out of him.

Jeter was robbed of another hit by a diving Ramon Santiago. Seriously, can he just buy one? He has a lot of money. Brett Gardner blooped one to center field but it was right at Austin Jackson and Teixeira struck out looking. Runs, please?

Bottom 8 - That's all for Javy Vazquez. Seven innings, two runs, seven strikeouts, five hits and two walks. Solid work, even if it wasn't good enough to put him in line for the win. And Joe Girardi calls on... Boone Logan. Really?

Logan pitched a 1-2-3 inning though, getting AJax, Damon and Ordonez with just 10 pitches.

It's now or never for the Yanks.

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Top 9 - Jose Valverde on to close it out. He gets A-Rod to ground out to third and Cano to fly out to left. Jorge Posada worked a walk, and is pinch run for by Kevin Russo. Nick Swisher came to the plate as the tying run and Russo took second on defensive indifference on the first pitch.

Swish took the first four pitches of the AB and the count was leveled at 2-2. He swung over the fifth one, a splitter low in the zone and Valverde takes a mock shit on the mound.

Game over in a scat scant 2:15 as the Tigers win 2-0.

Game 31 Recap

1. What Alex Rodriguez lacks in range he can often make up for with his arm. However, it was a throw that cost him an error and the Yanks two runs in the first inning. After Magglio Ordonez rapped a two out single to right, Miguel Cabrera hit a sharp grounder to A-Rod at third. Alex managed to knock the ball down, keep it in front of him, hop to his feet, do a full turn and fire to first in what should have been enough to get Cabrera, but he short hopped the throw. The ball bounced over Mark Teixiera and into the stands, leaving the Tigers will runners on second and third, still with two outs.

Rookie outfielder Brennan Boesch made the Yanks pay as he hit a hot shot just past the diving try of Teixeira, scoring both Cabrera and Ordonez and giving the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.

2. The Tigers tacked on another run in the second inning, but Sergio Mitre didn't have his defense to blame this time. Mitre began the frame by walking Scott Sizemore and then allowed a single to Gerald Laird. A sacrifice by Adam Everett moved the runners up and Sizemore scored on a ground out to Derek Jeter at short. 3-0 Tigers.

3. As he did in the first inning, Nick Swisher worked a one out walk in the third. Mark Teixeira took two balls and then turned on a fastball down and in, ripped it down the right field line and just inside the foul pole to make it 3-2. A-Rod followed with a single but was erased when he attempted to steal second on Brad Thomas' first motion but was picked off. Cano then grounded out to end the inning.

4. Johnny Damon hit his second home run of the year off of Sergio Mitre in the fifth. The first pitch he saw was a sinker right down the middle of the plate and Damon put one of his signature wristy swings on the ball, and deposited a few rows back in the right field seats. That was Mitre's 69th and final pitch of the night and he left the game with the Yankees trailing 4-2.

5. Boone Logan started off the seventh inning with a walk to Johnny Damon but got Magglio Ordonez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Logan wasn't out of the woods quite yet, however, as he walked Miguel Cabrera and gave up a triple to Broesche that extended the Tigers' lead to 5-2.

6. The Yankees loaded the bases with no one out during the 8th inning on consecutive singles by A-Rod and Cano and a walk by Jorge Posada, all off of Zumaya. Marcus Thames pulled a soft grounder to short stop that allowed A-Rod to score and every to move up one base safely and made the score 5-3.

At that point Jim Leyland called on Phil Coke to face Brett Gardner. Brett drove in Cano on a grounder to second to bring the Yankees within one and Randy Winn to the plate. Winn took a bad swing at a 2-0 pitch, popped it to third and passed the buck to Derek Jeter.

Leyland made another pitching change, this time calling on Ryan Perry to get the Tigers out of the jam. Jeter worked the count full before slicing a ball down the right field line that Magglio Ordonez made a nice sliding catch on, ending the inning and leaving the Yankees down 5-4. Since the count was full and there were two outs, Brett Gardner was going on contact, meaning that he almost certainly would have scored had Ordonez not made the play.

Jose Valverde came on to close out the game for the Tigers and struck out the side in the 9th. Game over as the Yanks dropped their second in a row after winning six straight.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Sergio Mitre didn't pitch that poorly, all things considered. One of the four runs that he gave up was unearned (could have been two) and at one point he retired eight straight Tigers. On the other hand, he only threw 37 of his 69 pitches for strikes and allowed seven runners to reach base. David Robertson, Boone Logan and Joba Chamberlain combined for 3 2/3 innings of one run ball so almost all of the damage came on Mitre's watch. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it wasn't all that surprising.
  
  
• Brad Thomas did roughly as well Mitre; he lasted three innings and gave up two runs. It was right about what you would expect from two relievers making spot starts. It was a battle of the bullpens from there on out and the Tigers had been spotted two runs.
  
  
• The Yanks went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. In the second inning they put two men on with no one out but failed to drive in either of them. In the sixth, they had A-Rod on third with one out and left the bases loaded without him scoring. In a game that you lose by one run, these are the things that you tend to point to after the fact.
  
  
• Eddie Bonine, who replaced Thomas, struck out Derek Jeter on a knuckleball for the first out of the fifth inning. PitchFX had it as a change up, but the YES cameras clearly showed a knuckleball grip and almost no rotation on the ball. It looked like he threw a few more of them during his 2 1/3 innings of work but that was the only one YES made a point of highlighting.
  
  
• With two outs in the 5th, Brett Gardner lost a high fly ball from Miguel Cabrera in the lights that should have ended the inning but instead went for a double. There was no blood in the inning and no error charged. It just looked like he lost it in the twilight and/or wind.
  
  
• There was a pregame ceremony to honor Ernie Harwell. Over 11,000 people filed by his body inside the gates of the park and several former Tigers including Al Kaline and Willie Horton were on hand to raise a flag sporting his initials that flew below the American flag in center field. The Tigers will wear a patch with a similar design for the rest of the season, much like the Phillies did in honor of Harry Kalas last year.
  
  
• It was brutally cold and windy in Detroit for a game in May. The game time temperature was 54 degrees and got colder as it progressed. The wind was gusting in from center, making the already cavernous dimensions of the park seem even deeper.
  
  
• Either the radar gun at Comerica was hot or the wind was helping out in during the later innings. Joel Zumaya was living in the triple digits with his fastball and Joba Chamberlain was in the upper 90's. Both those guys throw hard, but I doubt they were brining that kind of heat given how chilly it was.
  
  
• According to WPA, the Yanks never had greater than a 50% chance of winning the game but it really felt like they were going to take the lead in the eighth inning. The ball that Jeter hit looked to be ticketed for extra bases but the typically poor-fielding Ordonez made a great play. Thems are da breaks, I suppose.
  
  
• Jose Valverde was doing some odd shit after every strikeout he recorded. He'd walk over to the side of the mound, kneel down and take his hat off. When he got A-Rod swinging for the final out of the game, he did a couple of jumping fist pumps that would make the 2007 version of Joba Chamberlain blush. Not sure if this is par for the course for him, but it was pretty annoying to watch after how close the Yanks came to stealing this one back.
  
  
• Not about this game but conveyed on the broadcast: According to Kim Jones, an uncomfortable bed in Boston forced Alfredo Aceves to sleep on the floor. That likely contributed to the stiff back that forced him from Saturday's game. Fortunately, he's back on the mattress in Detroit. Hey, Alf, why don't you keep it on the bed from now on, okay?

Same time, same place tomorrow night. If the Yanks want to win this series and make it 10 out of their first 11, they are going to have to sweep the final three.

Game 30 Recap

1. Marcus Thames' defense cost the Yankees once again in the second inning - although this time Javy Vazquez wasn't the recipient of it. J.D. Drew singled to lead off the frame and moved up to second on a curveball in the dirt that got past Francisco Cervelli. Burnett retired David Ortiz on a high fly ball, struck out Adrian Beltre on a nasty hook and was one out away from stranding Drew. However, Jeremy Hermida lined a ball to left field that Thames got to in time, but the ball caromed off of his glove and Drew, who was running on contact, scored easily to put the Red Sox up 1-0.

2. Burnett walked Marco Scutaro on five fastballs to begin the third. The next batter, Dustin Pedroia, ripped a ball right down the third baseline that ricocheted off the part of the wall that faces the plate and back out into left field. When he fielded it, Thames briefly looked towards third base at Marco Scutaro but that moment of hesitation allowed Pedroia to dig for second.

That ended up being just a drop in the bucket. Burnett walked Youk and Drew followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Burnett got ahead of the ghost of David Ortiz 0-2 but threw him three straight balls to fill up the count. Ortiz fouled one off and then sliced a ball down the right field line that bounced into the stands for a ground rule double, scoring Pedroia but holding Youk at third. Someone named "Adrian bel-TRAY" then rapped a two run double to left which was followed by a RBI single by Jeremy Hermida. When the dust settled, the Sox were ahead 6-0.

3. The Yankees got on the board in the top of the fourth inning with a massive home run of the Sports Authority sign on top of the Green Monstah. Two batters later, A-Rod followed with a tater of his own atop the Monster, albeit less convincing, landing just one row deep. Sawx 6, Yanks 2. The pitch was actually a pretty good one,

4. Lil' Dusty worked a one out walk in the fourth and was doubled in by Youk to make it 7-2 Boston.

5. Hermida homered on 1-0 fastball from A.J. Burnett in the 5th, putting the Sawx up 9-2 and chasing Burnett from the game.

6. Ramiro Pena replaced Derek Jeter at shortstop and led off the 8th inning with a single. Robinson Cano drove him in with a base knock of his own with two outs to cut the Yanks' deficit to 6, but that was as close as they would come. Final score, 9-3 Red Sox.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• A.J. Burnett's struggles at Fenway Park continued. He allowed nine runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings, walked three and struck out four. He command wasn't great and it was one of those nights when every hard hit ball (and a few softer ones) found a place to fall.
  
  
• Lester was on point, throwing seven innings of two run ball, allowing six baserunners and striking out seven. He threw 103 pitches and might have been able to at least begin the 8th inning but with a seven run lead, he called it a night.
  
  
• Joe Girardi got tossed in the fourth inning. Thames struck out looking on a curveball that was well outside stuck around to jaw at Tim McClelland, whose strikezone had been erratic (to put it kindly) all night. Girardi came out and separated the two and after they exchanged words and Girardi started walking back towards the dugout and got bounced. He got his money's worth after that, apparently complaining about some low strikes that were being called.
  
  
• A-Rod's homer was his 586th, tying him with Frank Robinson on the all-time list.
  
  
• Romulo Sanchez made his Yankee debut when he replaced Burnett in the 5th. He touched 97 on the ESPN gun but has a wild motion, falling off the mound to left, seemingly off balance and out of control. For whatever reason the RomBomb (just made that up) pitched the final 3 2/3 innings despite the fact that the Yankees have a 13 man bullpen. He was effective though,
  
  
• As proven tonight, ESPN's K Zone is horseshit. Since it always aligns perfectly with the centerfield camera, you can tell it's not based on PitchFX and is just done by some guy in the production booth who decides where to place the strikezone can mark where he thinks the pitch crosses the zone. It's just someone's opinion but the ESPN crew acts like it's some sort of official measure. It's not.
  
  
• For some reason, the ESPN production crew was showing shots from behind the plate when batters were leading off innings early in the game. It was pretty disorienting as it made a flyball by Marcus Thames in the third inning look like a home run.
  
  
• Jon Miller claimed that Kevin Russo made his Major Leauge debut tonight when in fact it was yesterday. When he corrected himself he said that it was his first appearance on Sunday Night Baseball "the only game we really care about". It was the most accurate thing anyone said in the booth all night.

This game was pretty miserable but like we said in the preview, the Yanks were playing with house money. They will see the Sox again for a quick two game set in the Bronx starting on May 17th but won't be back at Fenway until the last series of the season. For now, they head out to Detroit and begin a four game set tomorrow night at 7.

Game 29 Recap

Hi Everyone. I am Jason from The Heartland writing a guest wrap for yesterday's 14-3 thrashing in Fenway. My apologies for the late post, but I had a heck of a time trying to write this last night, between Blogger's not saving my lengthy post, then not allowing me to log in when I already was logged in. Very frustrating. Anyhoo, thanks to Jay and Matt for the chance to pinch-hit. I have a little different style of game recaps than the Fack Youk authors, brought from my time formerly blogging at Heartland Pinstripes. Away we go with a wrap on a very long yet thoroughly enjoyable game.

The Yanks had an early opportunity to score runs, putting Jeter and Brett the Jet aboard in the first with infield singles and no out. Yet Pedroia made a wise move on Gardner's bunt single made the difference between a run and the eventual DP, for he backed up first on Martinez's poor throw. This kept Jeter and Gardner at first and second and, more importantly, the DP in order instead of giving them second and third, for Teixeira's grounder to second, which would have otherwise plated Jeter from third, instead resulted in a 4-6-3 DP. CC pitched out of initial trouble in the second for, after Youkilis and Lowell singled to open the inning, The Big Guy whiffed Drew on a nasty 2-2 slider, then induced Beltre to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 DP.

The Yanks got two in the third when Pena led off with a double, Jeter walked, Gardner bunted them over, Teixeira singled in Pena, and A-Rod singled in The Captain before Cano's own inning-ending DP pruned what portended to be a big rally. The Big Guy fanned Hall with a slider before allowing Darnell McDonald to homer over the monster on what appeared to me to be an unusually long home run trot, 2-1. After retiring Scutaro, C.C. then did the right thing, reared back, and brought his very best 98-mph fastball and spotted it right on Pedroia's left ass cheek, to me unquestionably in response for Beckett's wildness the night before. Initially, it cost the Yanks, for it extended the inning and Martinez subsequently homered to briefly give Boston a 3-2 lead. Yet I had absolutely no problem whatsoever with The Big Guy's action. Good.

The Yanks tied it in the top of the fourth when Swish walked and Beltre, as part of a miserable day in the field, threw away what should have been a 5-4-3 DP on Winn's grounder, giving them second and third. Frankie C. laced a single, but Winn was thrown out at home after Swish scored, with Frankie C. The RBI Machine taking second. Although he went to third on a wild pitch with one out, neither Pena nor Jeter plated him. Not to worry; the floodgate of runs blew wide open soon enough.

After C.C. worked a quick 1-2-3 fourth, including getting Hall looking on a vicious 97-mph heater, the Yanks commenced the ass whipping in the fifth. Teixeira ripped a one-out homer way deep in right center, 4-3 Yanks. A-Rod walked, Cano laced a single to center, Swish was caught looking on a slider that painted the outside black, Winn walked the bases loaded, and again, Frankie C. smoked a single to center to plate both A-Rod and Cano, with Winn, to me, unnecessarily getting caught in a rundown between second and third to allow Cano to score. I was initially bothered because it seemed that Cano would have no problem scoring, and Winn's self-sacrifice ended a good rally. Yet it ultimately didn't hurt, for C.C. and the bullpen allowed nothing more the rest of the way.

Their work, however, had to wait until after a rain delay of just over an hour, which occurred with Martinez facing a 2-2 count and two outs. This too irked me, for it had just begun to rain--and it started to rain hard--when I saw McClelland's hands go up to halt the action. I had hoped he would at least give C.C. the chance to get Martinez and therefore have a chance at the decision, but it seemed McClelland wanted an early crack at the post-game buffet. If nothing else, this gave me a chance to rip into the delicious roast turkey and stuffing we enjoyed last night. When the game resumed, Aceves entered and finished off Martinez. After Aceves exited with a stiff back and Logan came on, whiffing Hermida on a nasty slider, the Yankees finished off Boston with eight late runs to chase most of the "Fenway faithful" before a laughingly lackluster version of "Sweet Caroline."

Teixeira ripped a homer around Pesky's Pole to begin the seventh, 7-3 Yanks. A-Rod then singled and stole second and, after Cano whiffed, Swish singled to right, 8-3 Yanks. The rout was on in full force in the eighth with a magnificent, leave-no-doubt two-out rally. Gardner singled with one out and, after Teixeira was robbed of a hit on a nice diving grab by McDonald, A-Rod and Cano walked before Bard relieved Schoenweis and promptly allowed a single to Swish that plated Gardner and A-Rod, 10-3 Yanks. After Winn walked to re-load the bases, The RBI Machine that is Francisco Cervelli smoked yet another RBI single to center to sore Cano and Swish, 12-3 Yankees. On a personal note, even though he's well regarded and throws 100 mph, I just am not that impressed by Daniel Bard. The Yanks appear completely unfazed by him and, as they worked him over last night, all I could think of was JD and Teixeira hitting back-to-back homers off him last August 9th to cap the great four-game sweep in the Bronx. Sorry, kid. Try again next time.

With outfielder Jonathan Van Every in for the 9th to rest the rest of the beleaguered Boston bullpen, Jeter ripped a double to center and Teixeira absolutely destroyed a pitch off the middle of a light tower above the monster that was destined for Lansdowne, capping the scoring at a football-like 14-3.

What a job Frankie C. has done --5 RBI yesterday, batting .429. Three out of every seven at-bats Cervelli has had thus far this season have been hits. Plus, the guy has 12 RBI in just 42 at-bats; amazing job to let the Yanks not miss a beat as Jorge continues to rest. Teixeira broke out in a massive way, homering thrice and also driving in five to finally breach the Mendoza line. Jeter and Brett the Jet were each 2-5 and, combined with A-Rod's 2-2, three-walk day, the 1-4 spots (including Kevin Russo, who subbed in for A-Rod late) combined to go 10-19 with 9 runs and 6 RBI. Swish was 2-4 with 3 RBI, giving him 23 for the year to lead the team, and a .298 average. Swish to a certain degree has been overlooked, for the second straight year getting off to a strong start if not outright carrying the offense as he did last April. He's batted in several spots in the order--second, clean-up, sixth, seventh, and eighth--has played a good right field, and avoided streaky play with consistent productivity. Thank you again, Kenny Williams, for taking that steaming pile Wilson Betemit in exchange for Swish. Thank you too, Ozzie Guillen, for being an asshead and inspiring Swish to exact revenge on you.

C.C. had one rocky inning in an otherwise good start, failing to get the decision due to the rain delay and Girardi's understandable unwillingness to send him back out afterward. The bullpen allowed no runs in 4 1/3 innings of relief, with even Robertson not allowing any despite surrendering two singles.

Although Girardi said he wouldn't use him as his regular DH in Johnson's absence, I advocate Cervelli catching more often to allow Jorge to DH. Cervelli obviously does a strong job behind the dish and, with his hot bat, allowing him to keep the bottom of the lineup strong as Jorge returns should let the offense click even better.

With Tampa losing to the A's, the Yanks pulled within a half-game of first with their sixth consecutive win. Outscoring Boston 24-6 thus far this series, the Yanks go for the sweep tonight, with Burnett (4-0, 1.99 ERA) facing Lester (2-2, 3.93 ERA) on ESPN.

Despite a slew of injuries, the Yankees are hitting their stride, going 21-8 out of the gate backed by strong pitching (second-best team and starters' ERA in the AL) and, despite Teixeira, Johnson, and to a degree A-Rod's struggles, an offense starting to erupt. 24 runs the last two games has vaulted the offense to the top of the AL in runs with 175 (6.03/game). Not too shabby for the 2-3-4 spots starting more slowly than we might like.

Get the sweep tonight, Yankees. Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms out there!