Results tagged ‘ Carlos Beltran ’
Cano obvious choice as AL Player of the Week
It comes as no surprise that Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was named the American League Player of the Week for his outstanding hitting last week when he batted .414 with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI in 29 at-bats over seven games.
Cano’s competition for the award, which he won for the sixth time in his career and the first time since the week of Aug. 22, 2010, were his own teammates, pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and outfielder DeWayne Wise. Kuroda was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 14 innings and Wise hit .500 with one double, one triple, two home runs and five RBI in 14 at-bats and also pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed no runs and no hits.
Cano has a busy day Monday. In his role as AL captain of the All-Star Home Run Derby July 9, the night before the All-Star Game at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium, Cano named Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder and Angels outfielder Mark Trumbo to the squad along with himself. Cano won the event last year. Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz had been considered by Cano but both declined to be part of the competition.
Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, the captain of the National League squad, named fellow outfielders Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies and Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins. Kemp is on the disabled list and will not play in the All-Star Game but will participate in the Home Run Derby.
The Yankees had a new pitcher in the bullpen Monday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the start of a three-game series against the Rays. Chad Qualls, acquired from the Phillies for cash considerations and a player to be named, was 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in 35 appearances for Philadelphia. He will replace Cory Wade, who struggled in June and was optioned to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Also back in the dugout was outfielder-designated hitter Raul Ibanez, who stayed in New York as the Yankees traveled to Tampa to have a lacerated lip and cracked tooth repaired. Ibanez was hurt while sitting in the dugout Sunday trying to avoid being by a foul ball by White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
Wet and wild start in Round 2
It didn’t take long for the wet grounds at Yankee Stadium to come into play Saturday night in Round 2 of the Subway Series. Rain forced the cancellation of the Mets’ batting practice two hours before game time. About 40 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, another heavy rain shower hit the area.
The infield was covered each time, but not the outfield, so it was not surprising to see right fielder Nick Swisher slip and fall down while fielding a liner to right-center by Jose Reyes for a leadoff double in the very first inning.
The Mets loaded the bases with none out against A.J. Burnett on a single to left by Daniel Murphy and a walk to Carlos Beltran. A flyout to right by Jason Bay got Reyes home from third base. It looked as if Burnett might get out of the inning with no more damage when he struck out Fernando Martinez on a killer knuckle curve.
Justin Turner, who had three hits Friday night and was robbed of a fourth by a nifty pickup at first base by Mark Teixeira, proved a tougher challenge. Turner, a Triple A Buffalo call-up who has done a terrific job in place of injured All-Star third baseman David Wright, worked the count full before lining a single to right field that made the score 2-0.
It marked the seventh consecutive game in which Turner drove in a run, which set a Mets rookie record. Turner had shared the previous mark with Ron Swoboda, who had an RBI in six straight games in 1965. Later in his career, Swoboda played in 152 games for the Yankees from 1971-73.
The pre-game downpour did nothing to deter the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team that completed its drill by landing in shallow center field. All 10 jumpers did a magnificent job navigating their way through the rain to land safely. Equally impressive was Steven Voigt Jr., son of a Navy SEAL team member who lost his life in the Persian Gulf, who threw a perfect strike with some mustard on it for the ceremonial first pitch.
Russell Martin, who caught Voigt’s pitch, drew the Yankees even in the second inning with a two-run home run to left. It was his eighth homer, the most of any catcher in the majors this year.
Yanks need to take back Stadium from Mets fans
The thing I remember most about that first inter-league game between the Yankees and the Mets in 1997 other than the buzz at Yankee Stadium that was usually reserved for post-season games was how upset Yankees players were afterward about how Mets fans had drowned out Yankees fans.
The Yankees acted like a bunch of sore high school kids, which was kind of refreshing because too often major-league players can seem so blasé about their surroundings. After being shut out by journeyman righthander Dave Mlicki, the Yankees set matters right by winning the next two games and turning the Stadium back over to Yankees fans.
They need to do that again the rest of this weekend. Perhaps because many Yankees fans had left the Stadium in the late innings and their team behind, it sounded as if we were at Citi Field in the ninth inning when closer Francisco Rodriguez finished off the Mets’ 2-1 victory by striking out Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher.
The Yankees have now lost six straight home games for only the second time since 1990. They dropped eight home games in a row May 16-26, 2003. Another game of poor clutch hitting (1-for-10 with runners in scoring position) subdued the Yankees. Mets pitchers retired the last 11 Yankees hitters in succession, seven on strikeouts.
The Yankees caught a few breaks in this game or it might not have been as tight as it was. The second of two doubles by Mets third baseman Justin Turner was a slicing drive down the right field line that Swisher made a long run to get to and then belly flopped for without success.
The ball bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double, which was good news for the Yanks. With two out, Carlos Beltran would have scored easily from first base had Turner’s hit remained in play. As it was, Beltran had to stay at third base, and Freddy Garcia worked out of danger by getting Josh Thole on a grounder to first.
The Yankees failed to capitalize on a break the previous inning. Brett Gardner reached base on a throwing error by shortstop Jose Reyes, whose peg to first had pulled Daniel Murphy off the bag. But did it? TV replays indicated that Murphy’s foot was on the base when the ball hit his glove and that he came off after making the catch, but first base umpire Jeff Kellogg did not see it that way.
The day before at Citi Field, the Mets got a big out in the ninth inning on a play at first in which Murphy clearly was off the base, but the umpire didn’t see it and the Washington runner was called out. Mets manager Terry Collins argued briefly with Kellogg but didn’t press it, perhaps out of guilt over Thursday’s call.
Despite three close pickoff attempts by Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, a knuckleball pitcher but with a good move to first, Gardner was able to steal second base. Brett then made a base-running error on Derek Jeter’s single to deep short.
Reyes went deep in the hole for Jeet’s grounder, which kept Gardner close to second. But when Reyes threw to first base in a vain attempt to get Jeter, Gardner should have crossed to third once the shortstop released the ball. His hesitance changed the inning.
Not to fall victim to the fallacy of the pre-determined play, the Yankees had a better chance to score with Gardner on third rather than second, particularly if Curtis Granderson’s had flied out to right the way he did that would have been a sacrifice fly and not just an out.
Dickey stiffed the Yankees by striking out Mark Teixeira looking and retiring Alex Rodriguez on a ground ball behind second base with Reyes making a tracer’s bullet of a throw to first. Jeter’s infield single was the Yankees’ only hit in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Teixeira accounted for the Yankees’ only run off Dickey with his 11th home run with two out in the third. The Mets tied the score off Garcia in the fourth on two-out doubles by Fernando Martinez and Turner and took the lead in the sixth on a solo homer by Murphy.
Jack O'Connell
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