Yankee Bats Wake Up, Pound Blue Jays

What a difference a day makes.

Andy Pettitte went six bumpy, but serviceable innings, Brett Gardner homered and drove in three and Mark Teixeira collected two hits and two ribbies as the Yanks roughed up the Blue Jays 8-2 in Toronto.  Alfredo Aceves went two scoreless innings and Jonathan Albaladejo survived a shaky ninth unscathed to help lead the Bombers to just their fourth win in their past 11 games.  Johnny Damon continued to sizzle, picking up two hits as the Yanks inched closer to .500 at 16-17 on the year.


The Blue Jays grabbed an early 1-0 lead after one inning despite not picking up a hit, but the Yanks scored five times in the second and added a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to put the game away.  It wasn't the prettiest win of the year, but beggars can't be choosers right now.

The Good:

Brett Gardner.  Talk about unexpected.  The Bombers were trailing 1-0 when Gardner stepped up to the plate in the second inning with a runner on second and no outs.  I'm sure I wasn't alone when I was hoping for a ground ball to the right side to advance the runner.  A base hit would have been super, but I didn't want to get greedy -- especially after Gardner took a weak hack on a 1-0 pitch.  Well, Gardner made up for it on the 1-1 pitch, pulling the ball down the right-field line for a two-run bomb.  It was Gardner's first Major League home run.  That helped spark a five-run rally for the Yanks.  Gardner added a triple and a walk to his ledger.  The kid has been scrapping so far this year and is only in the lineup because of Hideki Matsui's injury, but maybe this will spark him.  Gardner finished 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.

Mark Teixeira.  Speaking of sparking, I've probably written that Teixeira was about to heat up at least four times so far this season (I could check, but who really cares?).  Well, I'm about to write it again.  I mean, I've gotta be right eventually, right?  Tex singled in his first at-bat and contributed to the five-run second-inning outburst with a booming RBI-double that gave the Yankees a 4-1 lead.  He added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to increase the lead to 6-1.  Maybe this is the game that gets Teixeira going.  Teixeira finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and 2 ribbies.

Johnny Damon.  The man is a hit machine.  Damon picked up an extra-base hit for the ninth consecutive game, lacing an RBI-triple in the second that gave the Yanks a 3-1 lead.  When Johnny D crossed the plate on Teixeira's RBI-double, it was his ninth straight game in which he scored a run.  The Yankee offense has been inconsistent at best this season, but it would be downright awful if Damon wasn't hitting.  The 35-year-old Damon is in the final year of his four-year deal and said he would love to be back in pinstripes next season.  The Yanks may have a hard time saying no if he keeps putting up numbers like this.  Damon finished 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and one run batted in.

The Bad:

Nick Swisher.  The Yanks had their hitting and walking shoes on in Toronto and everyone contributed.  Everyone but Swisher.  The people's champ was the only Yankee who didn't reach base with either a hit or a walk.  May has not been kind so far to Swisher.  Swisher entered play 3 for 25 with one run scored, 2 RBI and 14 strikeouts for the month.  Those numbers will not improve after Wednesday's game.  Swisher finished 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Two idiots dressed as umpires walk into a ballgame ... I wish that was the beginning to a really funny joke.  Or even a mediocre joke.  Alas, no.  Two guys were dressed in umpire shirts behind home plate and mimicked strike calls during the game.  One of them even donned a catcher's mask from time to time.  I'm all for fan participation, but their shtick got really old, really fast.  Not to mention annoying.  I couldn't imagine sitting near those two guys for a whole ballgame.        
CC Sabathia (2-3, 3.94 ERA) will go against Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.95 ERA) in the finale of the three-game set.  Tallet began the season in the Jays bullpen, but injuries have forced him into the starter's role.  And the lefty has adapted quite nicely.  Tallet's ERA isn't anything to brag about, but he's pitched well lately.  Tallet is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his two May starts, including a 6-4 win over the Oakland A's (7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K).  Sabathia is coming off his most impressive start in pinstripes, a complete game, four-hit shutout against the Orioles in Baltimore.  CC is 7-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 10 career starts against the Blue Jays and is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four career starts at Rogers Centre.  But pesky Marco Scutaro is a career .429 hitter against the big lefty (6 for 14) with three runs batted in.

Let's see if CC can give the Yanks the rubber game.