Results tagged ‘ James Shields ’
Pettitte rediscovers cutter, winning ways
You can turn the panic button off regarding Andy Pettitte. Perhaps a dose of Kansas City was all the lefthander needed.
Pettitte has had a lot of success against the Royals over the years, although it is only fair to point out that Kansas City had been a downtrodden franchise for much of that time. This is a different Royals team this season with Kansas City threatening to be a contender in the American League Central. Nevertheless, they looked like the same old Royals against Pettitte, who bounced back from two awful games to post a 3-2 victory, his first winning decision in four starts since April 19.
That improved Pettitte’s career mark against the Royals to 15-3 with a 3.40 ERA, including 9-2 with a 3.11 ERA at Kauffman Stadium.
The cut fastball that had abandoned Pettitte in his recent starts made a triumphant return as Andy pitched seven strong innings against a much meatier lineup than the Royals had in the past. He gave up five hits, including Billy Butler’s fourth home run, walked only one batter and struck out eight.
Pettitte pitched well in situations, a signature strength of his. With runners on first and second and one out in the second, Andy got two soft groundouts to avoid damage. He gave up an infield single to Eliot Johnson leading off the third. Johnson was able to steal second because of a ball in the dirt. It proved a big steal. He came around to score on two groundouts. But that and Butler’s bomb were all that marred the sort of effort we have come to expect from Pettitte but what had been missing of late.
Pettitte’s ERA over his past three starts was 7.04 and over his past two 9.64. Ouch! Even worse was his statement after a dismal game against the Athletics that his cut fastball was nonexistent. When a 40-year-old pitcher makes such an admission, there is cause for serious concern. But to his credit, Pettitte kept working between starts to find the lost pitch, which he rediscovered to help the Yankees win their fourth straight game and maintain first-place standing in the AL East.
The bullpen came through again with shining colors. David Robertson struck out the side in the eighth (the Royals have struck out 21 times in 17 innings in this series), and Mariano Rivera withstood a two-double to make it 14-for-14 in save situations this season. Vernon Wells, whose two-run home run in the fifth had given the Yankees the lead, ran down Mike Moustakas’ drive to left-center for the final out.
As much a patsy as the Royals have been for Pettitte so have the Yankees been a nemesis for James Shields, who had one of his better games against them but was a loser for the 15th time in 22 career decisions. The righthander was hurt not only by Wells but also by a throwing error by Moustakas, his third baseman, that allowed Chris Nelson, who doubled, to score with two out in the third inning.
Shields also hurt himself by hitting Chris Stewart with a 1-2 pitch to begin the fifth inning. Stew scored on Wells’ home run. Jayson Nix entered the game with two hits, both home runs, in four career at-bats against Shields and added two more hits, a double and a single. Nix has done very well spelling Eduardo Nunez at shortstop on this trip.
The best news, naturally, was the return to form of Pettitte, whose 249th career victory tied him with Hall of Famer Vic Willis for 45th place on the all-time list. Next up in 44th place is another Hall of Famer, Bob Gibson, at 251.
Two-out, RBI hits as big as home runs
Home runs are always welcome. They are the most crowd-pleasing of hits. The Yankees had two more of them Saturday, big blows by Curtis Granderson and Eduardo Nunez that factored in the 5-3 victory over the Rays. Yet considering the Yankees’ troubles all year with runners in scoring position, perhaps more satisfying were two-out, RBI singles by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez that kept the game from getting away from the Bombers.
The back-to-back homers by Granderson and Nunez off James Shields shot the Yankees into a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Granderson, who connected with one runner on for his 39th homer of the year, had struggled against Shields over the years. It was only his seventh hit in 59 career at-bats (.119) off the righthander. Nunez, on the other hand, was in the lineup largely because of his career success against Shields – 7-for-15 (.467).
The Yankees made it 4-0 in the fifth with a dash of little ball. Ichiro Suzuki, batting leadoff for only the second time since joining the Yankees, singled to center with two out. Jeter’s patience at the plate during a nine-pitch duel with Shields gave Ichiro the opportunity to steal second to get into scoring position. Jeet’s single up the middle sent Suzuki home.
Leads have not been all that safe lately in the hands of Yankees starters, but Ivan Nova in his first game back since Aug. 21 after a stint on the disabled list because of right rotator cuff inflammation held on to it during his six-plus innings. The Rays didn’t score until sixth when Evan Longoria cranked a 2-0 pitch for his 12th home run.
Manager Joe Girardi visited Nova at that point but had no idea of removing him. “I just told him to forget and move on,” Girardi said. “He fell behind in the count for one of the few time in the game. He was on an 80-pitch count and threw into the seventh inning. I was hoping he’d get through five, but he just kept it up. I was extremely impressed with his stuff and his command.”
Girardi went to the bullpen after Nova gave up a leadoff single to Jeff Keppinger in the seventh. The Rays eventually cut the margin to 4-3 on pinch hitter Luke Scott’s two-out, two-run single off Joba Chamberlain, which only amplified the importance of Jeter’s hit.
Insurance runs are just as welcome as home runs. That’s where A-Rod came in. The Yankees caught a break when Tampa Bay center fielder B.J. Upton turned the wrong way in tracking a liner to right-center by Robinson Cano that clanged off his glove for a double. Rodriguez hit a liner to center off lefthander Jake McGee for a single that scored Cano with an enormous run for the Yankees.
The Rays brought the potential tying run to the plate twice in the ninth against Rafael Soriano, but he held firm for his 39th save. The Yanks’ victory pushed the Rays back to four games out of first place in the American League East. The Orioles-Athletics game was scheduled later in the night at Oakland, so the Birds had to look at that Yankees’ score all game knowing they needed a victory to stay tied for the top spot.
Rays spoil A-Rod’s return
Alex Rodriguez, who returned to the lineup Monday for the first time in six weeks, said before the game that he should not perceived as a savior for a Yankees team that has tumbled down the American League East standings during his absence. It was a warning worth heeding. One man no matter how powerful a hitter can do alone what the Yankees need. They need more of a team effort every day, more than what they have been getting in this stretch.
When a team goes through a slump, certain things that go unnoticed are suddenly magnified. A good example is that of Robinson Cano, who does not always hustle out of the batter’s box. He cost himself a chance to get on base in the eighth inning for that reason, and in a one-run game something like that stands out.
This is not to put the 4-3 loss to the Rays on Cano, who was seen limping in the clubhouse after the game and may be hurting. Cano had the Yankees’ first hit off James Shields, a double in the fourth, and scored the Yankees’ first run in a three-run inning that wiped out a 2-0 deficit. The hit that sent Cano to third base was a broken-bat single up the middle by Rodriguez, who tied Babe Ruth for 40th place on the career hits list with 2,873.
Cano came home on a sacrifice fly by Eric Chavez. Rodriguez’s legs got a big test as he ran all the way home from first base on a triple to right by Raul Ibanez, who subsequently scored on an infield single by Russell Martin.
That turned out to be all the scoring for the Yankees, whose lead is down to one game over the second-place Orioles and 2 ½ over the third-place Rays. Tampa Bay base running dominated its offense. A double steal pulled off by B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist in the fifth led directly to a run that tied the score off CC Sabathia, who struggled a bit with fastball command but pitched well enough to keep the Yankees in the game.
A steal fueled the Rays’ winning rally in the ninth against David Robertson, whose record fell to 1-5. The Yankees erased one base runner when Martin on a pitchout gunned down pinch runner Rich Thompson at second base, a call disputed by Rays manager Joe Maddon, who was ejected.
Robertson got the second out on a fly ball to right-center that Chris Dickerson grabbed while he collided with Ichiro Suzuki, but neither outfielder was hurt. Ryan Roberts singled to left to keep the inning alive and then stole second. Chris Gimenez’s grounder to the right side eluded Cano and went into right field for a single to score Roberts.
The Yankees got a stolen base in the ninth as well but failed to get the runner home. Eduardo Nunez swiped second with one out as a pinch runner. He got to third base on an infield out but was stranded there. Fernando Rodney earned his 41st save with a strikeout of pinch hitter Curtis Granderson.
So it was another loss for the Yankee in a one-run game and when they do not hit a home run. The Yanks are 17-20 in one-run games and 4-20 in homerless games. Not even facing Shields could work in the Yankees’ favor. His victory improved his record against them to 2-2 with a 6.10 ERA this year and 7-13 with a 4.52 ERA for his career. The Yanks are 1-5 at Tropicana Field this season.
Just having A-Rod back in the lineup was a positive sign. Granderson, who has tendinitis in his right hamstring, may return to center field Tuesday night. Mark Teixeira, who is nursing a left calf strain, may be kept off the Trop’s artificial surface the next two nights and is hopeful that he could be back when the Yanks move on to Baltimore. By that time, the Yankees also hope that the Orioles will still be behind them.
Yanks continue to flop at ‘Trop’
The Yankees have squandered their opportunity to bury the Rays in the American League East standings and need to win a pitching mismatch in Wednesday’s series finale to avoid getting swept. Recent Triple A call-up David Phelps has the assignment in the Fourth of July pairing with Tampa Bay staff ace David Price.
Tropicana Field remains a horror house for the Yankees, who have lost nine straight games at St. Petersburg, Fla. Tuesday night’s 7-4 loss ended the 12-game winning streak on the road for Ivan Nova, who lost away from Yankee Stadium for the first time since June 3 last year at Anaheim.
For the second straight night, the Yankees broke out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning only to have the rally end prematurely because of a double play. This time the twin killing was embarrassing because Robinson Cano obviously lost track of the number of outs and was doubled off first base on a routine fly ball to center field.
Also for the second straight game, Derek Jeter led off with a double. Curtis Granderson followed with a double off first baseman Carlos Pena’s glove as the Yanks got on the board immediately. One out later, Cano singled home Granderson as the second baseman extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
All this came against James Shields, one of the top starting pitchers in the American League but who has always had trouble with the Yankees. The righthander won Tuesday night but is 6-13 with a 4.58 ERA in his career against the Yankees while he is 74-55 with a 3.90 ERA against all other teams.
DeWayne Wise, whose role with the Yankees has certainly grown over the past week, raised the advantage to 3-0 with a leadoff home run in the third on a drive that slammed off a catwalk on the Tropicana Field roof in right field.
Nova had a chance to make history with this start, the 50th of his major league career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the highest winning percentage for a pitcher through his first 50 big-league starts was the .795 for Roy Oswalt, who was 31-8. Nova went into the game with a 26-6 (.813) career mark. He could have broken the record with a victory (.818) or no-decision (.813), but the loss dropped his winning percentage to .788.
The Yankees’ defense let Nova down in the third as Tampa Bay took the lead. An error, a tough one, was charged to catcher Russell Martin for failing to hold onto the ball after taking the short-hop throw from Wise in left field following a collision at the plate with Elliot Johnson, who scored on the single by B.J. Upton.
That plate umpire Sam Holbrook reversed his call convinced the official scorer to reverse his as well. Holbrook had called Johnson out but then made the safe sign after seeing that the ball had come loose. So Martin had to be charged with an error even though it was a difficult play. The catcher seemed to recognize his error when he was observed saying to Wise in the dugout after the inning was over, “My bad.”
Nova lost the lead when he gave up a two-out, two-run single to Jeff Keppinger. The Yankees regained the lead with a two-out rally in the fourth on a double by Raul Ibanez and a single by Eric Chavez. But Nova failed again to produce a shutdown inning as Sean Rodriguez put Tampa Bay ahead once more with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
The Yankees had an opportunity to tie the score in the sixth, but Cano was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base on a double by Ibanez but was victimized on a fine relay from right fielder Ben Zobrist by Rodriguez to catcher Jose Molina. Video replays indicated that Cano perhaps got his hand on the plate before the tag, but the ball surely beat him and Holbrook was right on top of the play.
Conversely, the Rays’ base running was key to their scoring two tag-on runs in the seventh. With runners on first and third and one out, an errant throw to second by Martin on a stolen base by Upton allowed Jennings to score and Upton to get all the way to third from where he scored on a two-out single by Zobrist.
There is no getting around the fact that it was a messy game for the Yankees. Nova could not hold a 3-0 lead, the Yankees committed three errors and allowed the Rays to steal five bases, plus Cano’s brain cramp and Martin’s slump reaching 0-for-23 proportions. The trip that was supposed to be the chance for the Yankees to put space between them and the rest of the AL East field seems to be in reverse.
Andy gives fans that old-time feeling
It sure seemed like old times at Yankee Stadium Tuesday night. Imagine being transformed back to 2001 or 1998 or 1996, and that is what the crowd of 40,537 must have thought while watching Andy Pettitte shut down the Rays for 7 1/3 innings as his comeback season continues to have a glow.
Coming on the heels of a rough outing May 29 at Anaheim, Pettitte totally dominated the Rays, whose grasp of first place in the American League East seems fleeting, in a 7-0 Yankees victory. The lefthander, 39, keeps defying Father Time in giving the Yankees’ rotation a much-needed lift following the season-long injury to Michael Pineda and the early-season ineffectiveness of Freddy Garcia.
Pettitte allowed two hits, both singles, and two walks with 10 strikeouts. The roar that went up as he came out of the game one out into the eighth was similar to the sound heard in a postseason game, of which he is quite familiar. All those zeroes over seven-plus innings lowered Pettitte’s season ERA to 2.78.
“The thing about Andy that has really impressed me has been his stamina,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “Remember, he didn’t pitch at all last season.”
Andy’s good fortune transferred over to his catcher as well. Russell Martin shot above the Mendoza Line to a .211 batting average with a 3-for-4 game that included a grand slam off James Shields, who has been one of the American League’s best starting pitchers except when facing the Yankees.
Martin had two of the Yankees’ seven hits in five innings against Shields, who also walked four batters. One of those, to Raul Ibanez in the fifth, was intentional, which backfired when Nick Swisher followed with a run-scoring double. The other two runs off Shields were due to an errant throw by Elliot Johnson in the first inning, one of three fielding mishaps for the normally sure-handed Rays.
Shields’ record against the Yankees fell to 5-13 with a 4.55 ERA. Against the rest of the AL, the righthander is 75-53 with a 3.87 ERA.
Martin, who entered the game hitting .194, got his batting average above .200 for the first time in 21 games since May 5. Martin started getting hot on the recent trip. Over his past seven games, he has hit .391 with three doubles, one home run and six RBI in 23 at-bats to raise his average 38 points.
Martin’s slam a grand welcome
The Yankees’ problems batting with the bases loaded continued early Tuesday night, but thanks to a wayward throw they ended up scoring a couple of runs. Their situation with the bags juiced improved dramatically in the fourth inning.
The Yanks filled the bases with one out against James Shields on a single by Curtis Granderson, a walk to Alex Rodriguez and an infield single by Robinson Cano. Shields almost worked out of the jam by striking out Mark Teixeira looking and getting Raul Ibanez to hit a ground ball to the left of second base.
Shortstop Elliot Johnson bounced his throw past first baseman Carlos Pena, an error that allowed Granderson and Rodriguez to score. Shields was visibly upset by the misplay and took forever to walk off the mound after he caught Nick Swisher looking at a third strike to end the inning.
At that point, the Yankees were batting .153 for the season with the bases loaded. That figure went up to .167 three innings later, however, when Russell Martin connected on a 0-2 fastball for a grand slam, the fourth of his career. Shields got himself into the jam with two walks around a single by Swisher. He tried to take Martin upstairs with a fastball, but the Yankees catcher was quick enough to drive the ball over the right field fence.
The 6-0 Yankees lead certainly seemed comfortable considering the way Andy Pettitte was throwing. The lefthander had six strikeouts over the first three innings and did not allow a hit until B.J. Upton was credited with a single leading off the fourth on a hard grounder that ate up Derek Jeter at shortstop.
Robbie converts 1st save situation post-Mo
There was something you don’t see often in a Yankees game Tuesday night. Someone was warming up in the bullpen while the Yankees’ closer was on the mound. The Yankees had their first save situation since closing maestro Mariano Rivera severely damaged his right knee, and David Robertson got the call to nail down the 5-3 victory over the Rays.
In somewhat typical Robertson fashion, the former commander of the eighth inning got himself in and out of trouble in the ninth and recorded his first save of the season. A walk and a single put the potential tying runs on base for Tampa Bay with one out. Robertson struck out pinch hitter Brandon Allen for the second out, but when he walked Ben Zobrist to load the bases, Boone Logan began throwing in the pen.
You would never see a reliever throwing while Rivera was pitching in the ninth, but he earned that trust over the years. Yankees manager Joe Girardi had to be ready in the event Robertson could not finish it off. But he did, and a new era has begun as the Yankees proceed without the great Mariano as their closer.
Robertson faced the dangerous Carlos Pena with the bags full and came through big time. He started the slugger off with curve for a strike and got ahead 0-2 with a cut fastball (it shows he was paying attention to Mo out in the pen). Robertson tried the same sequence on the next two pitches but was off the plate each time to make the count 2-2. Robertson came back with a 94-mph fastball that froze Pena for a called strike three.
So there, the new setup is in place. Girardi acknowledged after the game that this is how the Yanks will seek to navigate the final two innings of games in which they are leading, with Rafael Soriano in the eighth and Robertson in the ninth. It should not come as a surprise despite the vast difference in experience Soriano has over Robertson as a closer. A year ago, Robertson took over the eighth-inning spot from Soriano and has essentially done the same again.
There is no controversy here because Soriano knew all along that he was coming to the Yankees as a setup man and not as the closer he had been for the Rays. Robertson’s amazing effectiveness this year and last earned him the chance to fill in for Rivera, who will be out for the remainder of the season while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery that he will soon undergo.
Robertson’s closing act was a fitting end to an all-around terrific victory for the Yankees over the American League East team that seems more a rival these days than the Red Sox. Tampa Bay is certainly more a threat than Boston to the Yanks for the AL East title in 2012.
Ivan Nova came back from a shaky previous outing to provide seven strong innings in which he was hurt by home runs by Jose Molina and Luke Scott, but both were merely solos. Nova gave up only four other hits, walked two and struck out eight to outduel James Shields, who lost for the first time this season in six decisions.
Nova got some key defensive help in the seventh. After Scott’s home run, the Rays put runners on second and third with one out on a walk to Jeff Keppinger and a double by Will Rhymes. A strong throw to the plate by Nick Swisher after gloving Sean Rodriguez’s fly to medium right field kept the potential tying run from scoring. That was a big second out, and Nova took care of the final out of the inning by striking out Molina.
Shields’ 5-0 record entering the game didn’t intimidate the Yankees, who have had their way with the righthander over the years. Shields’ record against them dropped to 5-12 with a 4.39 ERA. He, too, was marred by a pair of home runs, a two-run blow by Raul Ibanez in the fourth and a solo shot by Curtis Granderson in the fifth.
Ibanez added a second home run leading off the seventh against righthander Burke Badenhop on a ball that banged off the foul pole. The Ibanez signing is looking like a real gem for general manager Brian Cashman. Ibanez had a rough spring but came alive once the season started and is hitting .267 with five home runs and 16 RBI.
A wild pitch by Soriano let in a run that cut the Yanks’ lead to 4-3 in the eighth, but a tag-on run in the bottom of that inning on a double by Mark Teixeira provided a bit more insurance for the Yankees’ substitute closer as “Sweet Home Alabama” replaced “Enter Sandman” as the Yanks’ ninth-inning anthem.
Hoo-Ray for Yanks in Tampa Bay
Despite their success in recent years in becoming an annual threat in the American League East, the Rays still have to share the regard from fans in the Tampa Bay area with the Yankees. That was obvious in the very first at-bat of the 2012 season in which Derek Jeter lined a single to center field off James Shields, and the crowd reacted with stirring cheers for the Yanks’ captain.
It has been that way since the franchise originally called the Devil Rays entered the AL in 1998. Having been owned by Tampa resident George Steinbrenner and his family and having established Tampa as their spring training headquarters, the Yankees have had a firm grip on the area. Remember also that the Yankees trained nearly every spring from 1926 to 1961 in St. Petersburg, currently the site of Tropicana Field, the Jays’ home.
Curtis Granderson found out in his first at-bat following Jeter the price he may pay for that 41-home run season a year ago. Rays manager Joe Maddon employed a shift against the lefty-swinging center fielder by stationing three infielders to the right side of second base. It worked, too, as Granderson hit a hard, two-hopper near the middle that was fielded by shortstop Sean Rodriguez, who stepped on second and threw to first base for a double play.
Before the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi indicated that he did not expect pitcher Michael Pineda, disabled because of right shoulder tendinitis, to return to the club before May. That is also the earliest the Yankees will be able to see Andy Pettitte, who is scheduled to start Monday against Phillies minor leaguers in Florida.
Yanks clinch 50th postseason appearance
The Yankees are on their way to postseason play for the 50th time in franchise history, including the 16th time in the past 17 years. And yet the mission is not over. The Yankees still had another game to play Wednesday night after beating the Rays in the afternoon in a quest for the division title. One more victory combined with a Red Sox loss would make the Yankees champions of the American League East for the 18th time since divisional play began in 1969.
The Yanks qualified for the playoffs in dramatic fashion with a 4-2 victory on the strength of a three-run rally against James Shields, who was trying for his 12th complete game, in the eighth inning. Shields, who threw 120 pitches, was on fumes when Eduardo Nunez opened the inning with game-tying home run to left.
Shields then gave up a single to Brett Gardner and walked Derek Jeter, prompting the exit Rays manager Joe Maddon had hoped to avoid. Robinson Cano knocked over the table by driving a 3-1 slider from lefthander J.P. Howell over center fielder B.J. Upton for a two-run double that was another example of why the All-Star second baseman who was mostly a designated hitter in this game is still a viable Most Valuable Player Award candidate.
In fact, after the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was asked whether Cano or center fielder Curtis Granderson was the team’s MVP. He adroitly avoided the question by saying, “Maybe we can have a tie for MVP.”
Girardi had a good day as well, coaxing a game out of the bullpen with eight relievers doing the job in place of Phil Hughes, who was scratched from his scheduled start due to persistent back spasms that led to his undergoing an MRI exam that revealed inflammation from a herniated disk the righthander sustained in 2004. Hughes received an epidural and won’t be able to pitch before Sunday at the earliest.
Hector Noesi made his first big-league start, followed by a procession of relieves that included Raul Valdes, George Kontos, Aaron Laffey, Cory Wade, Boone Logan, Luis Ayala and the inimitable Mariano Rivera (44th save, career No. 603), who combined for 6 1/3 shutout innings.
For the Rays, who left 10 runners on base and had 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, the loss was a crushing blow to their hopes of catching the Red Sox in the wild card scrum. Red Sox Nation won’t like this, but it may have to thank the Yankees if Boston joins them in the playoffs.
Plenty in stride to end slide
Now that’s the way to put an end to an extended losing streak. The best thing about the Yankees’ 6-2 victory over the Rays Tuesday night to stop the six-game slide, the franchise’s longest losing streak in four years, was that so many players contributed to a winning effort in so many ways.
It was truly a team effort. Only Curtis Granderson, who had 0-for-5, failed to lend a hand, but he deserves to be cut some slack considering how consistent and powerful he has been with the bat all year. It says something about the rest of the Yankees that they didn’t need Granderson to pull this one out.
Ivan Nova gave up one run, on a home run to Elliot Johnson, and pitched into the sixth inning. With Rafael Soriano placed on the disabled list because of an inflamed right elbow, the bullpen needed to pick up the slack and did so. David Robertson faced a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the sixth and handled it magnificently by striking out B.J. Upton and Casey Kotchman.
After Robertson swayed a bit with two walks, Joba Chamberlain shut the door that inning and tagged on a scoreless eighth. Mariano Rivera came into the game in a non-save situation in the ninth to get the final out, so you know how important manager Joe Girardi considered this game.
Girardi’s faith in his pen may be why the Yankees did not replace Soriano on the 25-man roster with another relief pitcher but instead with outfielder Chris Dickerson, who traveled all day from Pennsylvania to Florida and did his part with an RBI single while spelling Nick Swisher, out due to a stomach virus.
On the day Harmon Killebrew, his predecessor as the American League record holder for home runs by a right-handed batter, died, Alex Rodriguez bashed two homers in successive at-bats, as many as he had in his previous 100 at-bats. Home runs Nos. 620 and 621 were great signs from A-Rod, who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Monday night after a 2-for-12 series last weekend against the Red Sox. Maybe Alex is on his way.
Jorge Posada showed life in his swing with a double and a single. Brett Gardner had three hits and scored two runs. Derek Jeter had an infield hit for an RBI. Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano and Russell Martin had a single apiece. Eduardo Nunez scored as a pinch runner for Posada and added a run-building sacrifice bunt.
Another favorable aspect was that the Yankees scored four of their six runs after the sixth inning. For the third straight game, they hit a quality starter hard, this time James Shields following the Rays’ David Price Monday night and the Red Sox’ Jon Lester Sunday night. This time, though, the Yankees kept up the attack against the opponent’s bullpen. The Yankees had 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position in those last three innings to give their own bullpen working room.
It all worked enough to send the Yankees off to Baltimore working on a winning streak.
Jack O'Connell
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