Results tagged ‘ Jake Peavy ’
Yanks get big-time relief from a starter
What a relief to the Yankees to get a start such as the one Hiroki Kuroda provided Saturday in a 4-0 victory over the White Sox. After two dismal losses that taxed the bullpen, Kuroda pitched seven shutout innings and limiting Chicago to three singles and a walk while striking out 11 to match his career high.
One day after scoring 14 runs the White Sox managed to get only one runner past second base. David Robertson came back strong with a scoreless eighth two days after giving up a home run that cost the Yankees a game, and Rafael Soriano had an easy time of it recording his 18th save with a double-play ball.
It was the first time the Yankees allowed at least 14 runs in a game and then shut out an opponent the very next game since a split-stadium doubleheader June 27, 2008 against the Mets when the Yankees lost, 15-6, at Yankee Stadium in the afternoon and won, 9-0, at Shea Stadium at night.
“You never want your starter to worry about the bullpen,” manager Joe Girardi said. “You want him to think about giving you length every game. But yes, we needed a game like this.”
Kuroda, who has won five of his past six decisions while pitching to a 1.65 ERA, retired 15 consecutive batters from the first inning into the sixth, a stretch that ended when he hit Kevin Youkilis with a pitch the inning after Jake Peavy, a complete-game loser, had plunked Derek Jeter. Kuroda improved his record to 8-7 with a 3.17 ERA in pitching at least seven innings without allowing a run for the fourth time this season, the most for any Yankees starter.
Solo home runs by Curtis Granderson (No. 23), DeWayne Wise (No. 2) and Robinson Cano (No. 19) accounted for all but one of the Yankees’ runs. The other was by virtue of a double by Wise, who had quite a week for himself.
The reserve outfielder earned his way into the lineup over the past six games by going 7-for-11 (.636) with one double, one triple, two home runs and five RBI in raising his season batting average from .133 to .268. He also got two outs as a pitcher Friday night and another big out on a phantom catch Tuesday night with help from an umpire’s oversight.
“I just waited for the opportunity,” Wise said. “I’ve kept working hard in batting practice, trying to keep it simple and not over-stride. It has been a fun week.”
And it was mostly a fun month for the Yankees. They will not be anxious for the calendar to turn Sunday. The Yankees were 20-7 in June, the most victories for them in a calendar month since August 2009 when they were 21-7.
No Yankees player had a hotter June than Cano, who batted .340 with four doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 21 RBI in 100 at-bats in the month. His home run total was the highest for any single month of his career. Cano has homered in eight of his past 13 games while batting .367 with 14 RBI during that stretch. Cano leads all second baseman in the majors with 19 home runs and a .582 slugging percentage. He has at least one RBI in 10 straight games against the White Sox, the longest such streak by a Yankee since 1931 by a guy named Babe Ruth.
Yankees fans say ‘yuck’ to ‘Youuuk’
Yankee fans have enjoyed getting on Kevin Youkilis’ case throughout the series against the White Sox, his new team after being traded to Chicago this week by the Red Sox. Youkilis has long been a target of Yankees fans, and changing the color of his hosiery made no difference. He was soundly booed every time he batted and taunted in the field at third base while he had trouble with the glaring sun.
Youkilis lost a foul pop by Raul Ibanez in the second inning that was ruled no play by official scorer Billy Altman. Ibanez hit another fly ball in Youkilis’ direction later in the at-bat, and once again the third baseman had difficulty seeing it. It took a nifty grab by shortstop Alexei Ramirez to get an out on the play.
I don’t know what brand sunglasses Youkilis was wearing, but I would not recommend them.
The only time Youkilis drew a positive response from the Yankee Stadium crowd was when he was hit by a pitch from Hiroki Kuroda in the sixth inning. The fans seemed to relish in his pain. The pitch may have been retaliation for White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy having struck Derek Jeter with a pitch the previous inning after DeWayne Wise had hit a home run.
It marked the first time in the series that Youkilis reached base. He was hitless in nine at-bats up to that point.
CC gets August off to great start
In his previous start, CC Sabathia flirted with a perfect game. He was nowhere near as sharp Monday night but gave a lesson in quality major-league pitching with eight serviceable innings and gave the Yankees a positive start to the seven-game road trip in a 3-2 victory over the White Sox.
Sabathia needed such a performance because after the first inning Chicago starter Jake Peavy, who has struggled with injuries in recent years, was just as stingy. The Yankees got to him in the first on an run-scoring double by Curtis Granderson, who scored one out later on an infield hit by Robinson Cano.
Granderson, a Chicago native with lots of friends and relatives in the stands, doubled again in the third and scored his major-league leading 96th run as Cano grounded into a double play. That would be it for the Yankees against Peavy, who pitched through seven before lefthander Chris Sale added two more scoreless innings.
But Sabathia made the early runs stand up. The White Sox had 10 hits off CC in eight innings, but only one was damaging. Sabathia hung a changeup to Alexei Ramirez, the young shortstop, who drove the ball to left for a two-run home run in the fourth.
Sabathia did not walk a batter, had six strikeouts and was aided by three double plays. It also helped that Adam Dunn, the free-agent bust who is having an unbelievably bad season, came up in critical situations and had no chance against CC.
Dunn was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as his average slid to .162. He left a runner at second base when he struck out in the sixth and another on first base when he went down on strikes in the eighth. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was forced to use Dunn at first base against a left-handed pitcher because Paul Konerko was unable to play due to a bruised left knee, which was hit by a pitch Sunday. Dunn has three hits in 77 at-bats against lefties this year. That’s an average of .039.
Mariano Rivera finished it off with as emphatic a save (No. 28) as a pitcher can have. Mo retired the side in order on nine pitches, all strikes.
Sabathia’s numbers just keep growing. His record is 16-5 with a 2.55 ERA. In 15 starts since May 19, CC is 13-2 with a 2.08 ERA. He improved his career mark against the White Sox to 18-4 with a 3.63 ERA, including 9-1 with a 3.33 ERA at U.S. Cellular Field. His career record in the month of August is 39-10 with a 3.12 ERA. Over the past seven seasons, his August record is an astonishing 26-3 with a 2.36 ERA.
If not for the Red Sox, Sabathia could collect the American League Cy Young Award right now. Against Boston this year, CC is 0-3 with a 6.16 ERA. Against everyone else, he is 16-2 with a 2.11 ERA. Sabathia has a chance to improve that with his next start Saturday at Fenway Park.
Yanks to honor ‘My Dad, My MVP’ winner July 24
Frank Sumi of North Tonawanda, N.Y., is the Yankees’ winner of Major League Baseball’s 20011 “My Dad, My MVP” contest, a campaign that gives fans an opportunity to celebrate the father figures in their lives.
Sumi was nominated by his son, Ryan, who was born with a spinal deformity and hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid builds up in the brain causing it to swell. Since Ryan’s birth, Frank has dedicated his life to caring for him, even in the face of his son’s numerous health problems.
Essentially serving as Ryan’s nurse, Frank aids in numerous tasks, including dressing him. Whenever possible, father and son enjoy going to sporting events and participating in adaptive sports.
The Yankees will honor Frank Sunday, July 24, before their game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium. Frank will be the team’s guest in a pregame dugout visit, assist in the delivery of the lineup card to the plate and throw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch.
The “My Dad, My MVP” contest was introduced this year to recognize extraordinary fathers and father figures as part of the MLB Father’s Day celebration. More than 3,200 stories were submitted online in this inaugural campaign. One winner for each of the 30 MLB Clubs was selected by a celebrity panel of judges and nearly 270,000 fan votes on MLB.com/mvpdad.
In addition to the fan voting, a celebrity panel helped select the 30 “MVP Dad” winners. The list of judges were country music stars Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry of the duo Montgomery Gentry; MLB Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre; Founder and Chairman of the Prostate Cancer Foundation Michael Milken; Mets left fielder Jason Bay, Orioles first baseman Derrek Lee, Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy, Cubs first baseman Carlos Peña, White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki, Giants relief pitcher Brian Wilson and MLB Network analyst Billy Ripken.
The winning stories were selected based on originality, quality of writing, demonstration of commitment to the role of father and public appeal.
MLB supports the prostate cancer cause during Father’s Day celebrations, specifically with the annual “Home Run Challenge” to fund the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF). The initiative, which culminated on Father’s Day, June 19, and is now in its 15th year, helps increase awareness and early detection of prostate cancer.
Since its inception, this initiative has raised more than $36 million toward prostate cancer research. For each home run that was hit during 60 select MLB games from June 8-19, including all games played on Father’s Day, fans had the opportunity to make monetary donations and pledges to the PCF at http://www.homerunchallenge.org, or by making a $10 donation by texting HRC to 20222.
Money raised through the “Home Run Challenge” goes directly to the PCF to advance prostate cancer research. In 2010, more than $2.3 million was raised to fight prostate cancer through the PCF “Home Run Challenge”. Major League Baseball Charities has committed $50,000 to PCF as part of this program.
Additionally, players, managers, coaches, trainers, umpires and groundskeepers wore blue wristbands and blue ribbon uniform decals symbolizing prostate cancer awareness. The blue ribbon logo also appeared on the official dugout lineup cards, which were blue. In an effort to emphasize the impact of the disease, all games played June 19 featured messages giving valuable health information about prostate cancer.
Cy Young holiday for Halladay
No American League club was happier to see Roy Halladay cross over into the National League this year than the Yankees. The one bad thing for the Yanks about Halladay going from the Blue Jays to the Phillies was that it triggered Philadelphia trading Cliff Lee back to the AL with the Mariners.
But it was good riddance for Halladay, who regularly thumped the Yankees to the tune of 18-7 with a 2.98 ERA, seven complete games (including three shutouts) and 195 strikeouts in 38 appearances (36 starts) covering 253 1/3 innings. Halladay did not find the new Yankee Stadium to his liking. He was 1-1 with a 6.16 ERA there in 2009 after having gone 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA in the old Stadium.
Halladay had a remarkable first season in the NL this year and was rewarded Tuesday by winning the Cy Young Award. He became the fifth pitcher to win the award in both leagues, having won in the AL with Toronto in 2003, and the 16th multiple winner.
The righthander was in Mexico on vacation when he received word of his election. I had the opportunity to tell him how popular he is in press boxes throughout North America because it is an extremely pleasurable experience to watch him pitch. He is a pro’s pro with no wasted motion and a focus that is sadly lacking among starting pitchers of this period.
“That’s very satisfying to hear,” the man called “Doc” said. “I hope the fans feel the same way.”
Halladay was the 13th unanimous choice in NL voting as he received all 32 first-place votes from two writers in each league city to score a perfect 224 points, based on a tabulation system that rewards seven points for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America expanded the Cy Young Award ballot from three to five pitchers this year.
Halladay, 33, posted a 21-10 record with a 2.44 ERA in 33 starts and led the league in victories, innings (250 2/3), complete games (9) and shutouts (4) and was second in strikeouts (219). He pitched a perfect game May 29 at Miami in a 1-0 victory over the Marlins. Balloting takes place prior to the start of post-season play, so his no-hitter over the Reds in Game 1 of the NL Division Series was not a factor in the voting.
Cardinals righthander Adam Wainwright (20-11, 2.42 ERA), who finished third in 2009, was the runner-up with 122 points based on 28 votes for second, three for third and one for fifth. Rockies righthander Ubaldo Jimenez (19-8, 2.88 ERA) was third with 90 points. Halladay, Wainwright and Jimenez were the only pitchers named on all the ballots. Righthanders Tim Hudson (17-9, 2.83 ERA) of the Braves and Josh Johnson (11-6, 2.30 ERA) of the Marlins rounded out the top five. In all, 11 pitchers received votes.
Halladay joined the company of Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Gaylord Perry as Cy Young Award winners in both leagues. Clemens won six in the AL (1986, ’87 and ’91 with the Red Sox; 1997 and ’98 with the Blue Jays; 2001 with the Yankees) and one in the NL (2004 with the Astros). Johnson won four in the NL (1999 through 2002 with the Diamondbacks) and one in the AL (1995 with the Mariners). Martinez won two in the AL (1999 and 2000 with the Red Sox) and one in the NL (1997 with the Expos). Perry won one in the AL (1972 with the Indians) and one in the NL (1978 with the Padres).
Unanimous winners in the NL were Sandy Koufax all three times he won and Greg Maddux twice among his four victories, along with Johnson, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Rick Sutcliffe, Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser and Jake Peavy. There has been a unanimous winner in the AL eight times: Clemens, Martinez and Johan Santana twice each, Denny McLain and Ron Guidry.
It marked the seventh time a Phillies pitcher won the award, including Carlton four times. The other winners from Philadelphia were John Denny and Steve Bedrosian. In addition to Koufax, Maddux, Carlton, Clemens, Martinez, Johnson, Perry, Gibson, McLain and Santana, other pitchers to have won the award more than once were Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer three times each, Bret Saberhagen, Tom Glavine and Tim Lincecum twice apiece.
Halladay is in pretty heady company and deserves to be.
Jack O'Connell
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