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Yanks Stumble Late As Halos Rally For Win
Some much for momentum.
CC Sabathia was solid through six innings, but Howie Kendrick's infield RBI-single and Torii Hunter's two-run double keyed a four-run seventh and Matt Palmer pitched the game of his life as the Angels doubled up the Yanks 8-4 at the new Stadium. Hideki Matsui extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI-single in the first inning and Jorge Posada blasted a two-run homer in the ninth, but it was too little, too late for the Bombers as their modest four-game winning streak came to an end. Robinson Cano finished 0 for 4 to end his hitting streak at 18.
The Bombers were also hurt by some sloppy and shabby defense. Derek Jeter committed his first error of the season when his throw on a Mike Napoli ground ball pulled Mark Teixeira off the bag in the sixth. That helped the Halos to tie the score at 1-1. Johnny Damon wasn't charged with an error in the seventh, but he allowed a catchable ball to fall in front of him for a base hit. I don't know if JD lost the ball or didn't get a good jump, but Brandon Wood was running on the play and was standing on second base when the ball dropped. Even with Damon's poor arm, the Yanks probably would have turned a double play. Instead of two outs and nobody on, the Angels had runners on first and second and nobody out. Those runners eventually came around to score.
The Good:
Jorge Posada. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but Posada went deep for the second consecutive game. Jorgie blasted a two-run bomb in the ninth to pull the Yanks to within 8-3. It was Posada's fifth dinger and 20th run batted in on the season. But it wasn't all rosy for Posada. His day began on the bench, but he was called upon to pinch hit in the seventh with runners on first and second and one out. He went down swinging. It was that kind of day for the Yanks -- for every good there was bad. Posada finished 1 for 2 with a run scored and 2 RBI.
The Bad:
Mark Teixeira. There were a few candidates worthy of the "bad" category and even though I don't want to pick on Teixeira, the guy can't seem to buy a hit. Tex worked a walk in his first at bat and that's great and all, but he is 2 for his last 23. My quick math puts his average during that span at .086. And Tex's overall average has plunged to .182. Teixeira had an opportunity to get a run home in the sixth when he stepped up with Jeter on third and one out. He didn't even need to get a hit to drive in the run (even though that would have been cool). He flew out to shallow center and Jeter was stranded. Teixeira finished 0 for 3 with a walk.
The Ugly:
Jam it all! It was a rough day for the Captain. Oh, Jeter finished with a base hit, a run scored and a stolen base, but they took their toll. DJ reached base in his first at bat when Palmer drilled him in the left elbow. Jeter took his base and exacted his revenge when he swiped second base. But Napoli bounced his throw to shortstop Erick Aybar and it struck Jeter in the helmet. The ball ricocheted off Jeter's helmet and smacked Aybar in the jaw. And Jeter jammed his neck on Aybar going head-first into second. Jeter was slow to get up and was flexing his neck all game long. Aybar was also slow to recover and was removed from the game. Hang in there, Jeet. You too, Erick.
Phil Hughes (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will match up against Joe Saunders (3-1, 3.41 ERA) in the finale of the four-game set. Saunders has been the anchor on the Angels injury-riddled pitching staff, but he's been smacked around lately. The left-handed starter has allowed 17 hits in his last 11 innings. Saunders picked up a no-decision in his one start last season against the Bombers, allowing six hits and three runs through seven innings. Hughes was terrific in his first start this season, allowing just two hits over six scoreless innings in a 11-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Hughes started one game against the Halos in 2007 and it wasn't very good. Hughes allowed five runs on four hits and walked five through 6 1/3 innings, but picked up a no-decision. But that was the "old" Hughes.
Let's see if the new and improved Hughes can give the Yanks three out of four against the Angels.
CC Sabathia was solid through six innings, but Howie Kendrick's infield RBI-single and Torii Hunter's two-run double keyed a four-run seventh and Matt Palmer pitched the game of his life as the Angels doubled up the Yanks 8-4 at the new Stadium. Hideki Matsui extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI-single in the first inning and Jorge Posada blasted a two-run homer in the ninth, but it was too little, too late for the Bombers as their modest four-game winning streak came to an end. Robinson Cano finished 0 for 4 to end his hitting streak at 18.
The Bombers were also hurt by some sloppy and shabby defense. Derek Jeter committed his first error of the season when his throw on a Mike Napoli ground ball pulled Mark Teixeira off the bag in the sixth. That helped the Halos to tie the score at 1-1. Johnny Damon wasn't charged with an error in the seventh, but he allowed a catchable ball to fall in front of him for a base hit. I don't know if JD lost the ball or didn't get a good jump, but Brandon Wood was running on the play and was standing on second base when the ball dropped. Even with Damon's poor arm, the Yanks probably would have turned a double play. Instead of two outs and nobody on, the Angels had runners on first and second and nobody out. Those runners eventually came around to score.
Jorge Posada. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but Posada went deep for the second consecutive game. Jorgie blasted a two-run bomb in the ninth to pull the Yanks to within 8-3. It was Posada's fifth dinger and 20th run batted in on the season. But it wasn't all rosy for Posada. His day began on the bench, but he was called upon to pinch hit in the seventh with runners on first and second and one out. He went down swinging. It was that kind of day for the Yanks -- for every good there was bad. Posada finished 1 for 2 with a run scored and 2 RBI.
The Bad:
Mark Teixeira. There were a few candidates worthy of the "bad" category and even though I don't want to pick on Teixeira, the guy can't seem to buy a hit. Tex worked a walk in his first at bat and that's great and all, but he is 2 for his last 23. My quick math puts his average during that span at .086. And Tex's overall average has plunged to .182. Teixeira had an opportunity to get a run home in the sixth when he stepped up with Jeter on third and one out. He didn't even need to get a hit to drive in the run (even though that would have been cool). He flew out to shallow center and Jeter was stranded. Teixeira finished 0 for 3 with a walk.
The Ugly:
Jam it all! It was a rough day for the Captain. Oh, Jeter finished with a base hit, a run scored and a stolen base, but they took their toll. DJ reached base in his first at bat when Palmer drilled him in the left elbow. Jeter took his base and exacted his revenge when he swiped second base. But Napoli bounced his throw to shortstop Erick Aybar and it struck Jeter in the helmet. The ball ricocheted off Jeter's helmet and smacked Aybar in the jaw. And Jeter jammed his neck on Aybar going head-first into second. Jeter was slow to get up and was flexing his neck all game long. Aybar was also slow to recover and was removed from the game. Hang in there, Jeet. You too, Erick.
Phil Hughes (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will match up against Joe Saunders (3-1, 3.41 ERA) in the finale of the four-game set. Saunders has been the anchor on the Angels injury-riddled pitching staff, but he's been smacked around lately. The left-handed starter has allowed 17 hits in his last 11 innings. Saunders picked up a no-decision in his one start last season against the Bombers, allowing six hits and three runs through seven innings. Hughes was terrific in his first start this season, allowing just two hits over six scoreless innings in a 11-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Hughes started one game against the Halos in 2007 and it wasn't very good. Hughes allowed five runs on four hits and walked five through 6 1/3 innings, but picked up a no-decision. But that was the "old" Hughes.
Let's see if the new and improved Hughes can give the Yanks three out of four against the Angels.
Sabathia did not pitch badly yesterday...the 7th inning became a problem when Damon didn't catch the can of corn hit to him in the 7th....all of a sudden we had 2 on and no outs. Johnny should've caught that ball.
I like the new format...I could give a hoot about the Sick-sers....
Thanks and agreed. Sabathia also didn't make that bad of a pitch on Hunter's double. He arguably pitched well enough to win in his past two starts, but the Baseball Gods are fickle folks. Still, the Yanks paid him a ton of money to win -- not almost win. But I think he'll be fine.