Showing posts with label rays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rays. Show all posts

10.04.2009

A new Mr. October?

Alex Rodriguez is known for being terrible in October, the time of the postseason, but today he showed once again that this season may be different.

With the Yankees trailing 2-0 to the Rays in the last game of the regular season, A-Rod launched a three-run homer. Then, when the Yankees batted around, he hit a grand slam. 1 inning. 2 at-bats. 2 home runs. 7 RBI. 30 homers, 100 RBI for the season.

Let's hope he keeps this up once the playoffs start.

The Yankees are waiting for either the Minnesota Twins or Detroit Tigers to win today, with the winner being New York's first-round opponent for the coming week.

With the 10-2 win over the Rays (10 runs in the sixth inning), the Yankees showed that they're not looking too far ahead. A.J. Burnett recorded the win.

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9.09.2009

Derek ties Lou, Yankees notch another comeback win

Derek Jeter snapped his 0-for-12 hitting streak and had three hits tonight to tie Lou Gehrig for the most hits in Yankees history. Gehrig's record of 2,721 had stood since his last hit on April 29, 1939.

Meanwhile, Jeter and company came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0.

Jorge Posada pinch-hit in the bottom of the eighth and blasted a three-run homer that gave the Yankees their winning margin. Nick Swisher batted home the Yankees' other run after his big game last night, and Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez both went 2-for-4 in the win.

Johnny Damon had the only other New York hit.

Joba Chamberlain, in his third straight three-inning start, allowed two earned runs again. (His last three games have been exactly three innings, and exactly two earned runs: see it here.) Four Yankees relievers, including the always-sharp Alfredo Aceves, held the Rays scoreless for the rest of the game.

The Yankees get a day off tomorrow before hosting the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game set this weekend.

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9.08.2009

90.

Yes, that's walkoff win #12 for the Yankees, who take down the Rays 3-2 with a Nick Swisher home run in the bottom of the ninth.

The win is the 90th of the season for the Yankees.

Swisher's left-handed bomb redeems him for leaving men on base earlier in the game and gets New York reliever Phil Hughes off the hook after the first run he allowed in 13 games turned out to be a game-tying homer. Swisher also hit a right-handed home run in the second, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI for the game.

Derek Jeter, with the pressure on to catch up to Lou Gehrig's Yankees hits record, went 0-for-4, marking the third game in a row without a hit for the New York captain.

Other than Swisher, only Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez (RBI) and Robinson Cano had hits in a quiet night for the Yankees.

After a chance to sweep the Rays tomorrow, the Yankees host the Orioles for three games this weekend before heading west to face the Angels.

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8.10.2009

Revenge of the N.Y. front office

Tonight was the revenge of the New York front office, with three Yankee steals hitting homers to vault the Bronx Bombers past the Boston Red Sox 5-2.

The Yankees nabbed Johnny Damon out of the free agency market from under Boston's nose a few years back, then repeated the process while outbidding the BoSox for Mark Teixeira this year. And everyone remembers the bitter taste left in Boston's mouth when A-Rod chose the Bronx over Beantown.

Tonight, all three New York steals belted homers.

A-Rod, the new Red Sox-slayer, used his picture-perfect swing to put the ball past the fence in the same place as Friday night (or Saturday morning), breaking up an 0-0 tie once again, this time in the bottom of the 7th.

His bomb was especially important because the Yankees were facing a great pitcher in Jon Lester, whom New York had never beat (before tonight's game, Lester was 3-0, with a 3.43 ERA in six starts against the Yankees in his career, and 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA and 17 Ks in two starts this year). Lester had retired the previous nine batters before the home run.

One inning after A-Rod went yard, Damon plunked one over the fence, then Teixeira hit a towering fly that settled into the right upper deck. This is the sixth time this season Damon and Teixeira hit back-to-back home runs, a Yankees record.

Their blasts started a Yankee hit parade that put New York comfortably ahead 5-2, enough to leave a cushion for Mariano Rivera to close the game. (The rampage was interrupted by a two-run homer from Boston's Victor Martinez, who broke up a 31-inning shutout by New York pitchers when he scored. But I think the Yankees were just letting the Sox in to get their hopes up before crushing them again.)

With the win, the Yankees completed their four-game sweep of the Sox and jumped ahead six-and-a-half games in the American League East standings (the Rays are eight games back). New York still has the best record in the majors.

This was an awesome series, through and through, from the slugfest on Thursday night to the standoff on Friday, to the balanced attack on Saturday to tonight's late-inning explosion. The Yankees showcased their best batters, untouchable starting pitchers and a bullpen that is looking rock-solid.

Next up, New York hosts the Toronto Blue Jays.

In individual rankings, Rivera leads Major League Baseball with 32 saves, out of 33 chances. Teixeira leads the American League in home runs with 29.

And in case you're wondering, David "I didn't use steroids" Ortiz was 1-for-14 this series. Beautiful.

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8.07.2009

1-0 so far

Let's leave those other Red Sox-Yankees series behind us and consider the one occurring today through Sunday, which New York now leads 1-0.

Tonight's 13-6 win by the Yankees had many beautiful moments.
Take your pick:
1. David Ortiz, the meat-headed juicer, going 0-for-5
2. Joba Chamberlain recording his third win in a row (he's now 8-2)
3. Three-run dingers from both Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera
4. 3 RBI from Hideki Matsui in his recent return
5. Mark Teixeira tying the American League lead for home runs with his 28th deep shot (he was 3-for-4 on the night)
6. Johnny Damon going 3-for-5 with a homer
7. Robinson Cano batting 2-for-4, raising his average to .309
8. The largest crowd in the new Yankee Stadium (49,005)
9. Torching John Smoltz in the third inning (but really, who didn't
see that coming?)
10. Well, we could go on for a while...

And in the obligatory standings update, that puts New York up three-and-a-half games on Boston, with Tampa Bay six behind. Another three wins by New York could even the Yankees up with the Red Sox in the American League East loss column (a potential tie-breaker at the end of the season, if needed).

Oh, and this win gives the Yankees the best record in Major League Baseball, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Good night.

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8.04.2009

Home Run Derby

The Yankees have had trouble against Roy Halladay in the past, but three home runs was enough tonight to get New York a 5-3 win over Toronto.

Mark Teixeira, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui all went yard, and Andy Pettitte struck out six while allowing only one run. It was his first win in six games, and pulled him up to 4-4 at home, where he's had trouble all season.

The Yankees are trying to rev up their attack after a poor 1-3 series at the Chicago White Sox. New York plays Boston Thursday through Sunday before hosting Toronto. New York, at 64-42, has a one-game lead in the American League East over the BoSox (62-42), who are holding on in the ninth inning of a 2-2 game at Tampa Bay (58-48).

UPDATE: Boston falls 4-2 to the Rays in the bottom of the 13th, dropping them one-and-a-half games behind the Yankees.

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7.29.2009

W, sweep

New York swept Tampa Bay tonight with a 6-2 win, and with a Red Sox loss, that puts the Yankees up another game in the American League East.

Joba Chamberlain went eight huge innings, allowing no runs, before Brian Bruney let things get scary in the bottom of the ninth as two runs scored. Bruney hasn't been the same since his injury earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Chamberlain has won four of his last eight starts and rose to 7-2 on the season.

Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira both had two home runs and two RBI to lead the Bombers. Teixeira is tied for the lead in American League homers and is third in RBI.

Next, the Yankees head northwest to face the Chicago White Sox.

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Joba into the seventh

Joba Chamberlain is pitching into the seventh inning once again, making the reliever-turned-starter one of the Yankees' most solid pitchers this season. In his last couple starts, Joba has one earned run and 10 strikeouts to his credit, spread over 13 innings and a win (and maybe another, depending on how tonight's game against the Rays turns out).

Chamberlain is leading New York past Tampa Bay 3-0 right now.

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7.28.2009

Yes, I lll-ove you!

As the fearsome American League East-threatening Tampa Bay Rays charged into their 10-game homestand, one could only hope for the safety of New York, fat off its 9-1 home furlough.

But it was the Yankees who devoured their southern division foes tonight, gulping an 11-4 win that keeps the Bombers a step ahead of the Sox.

A.J. Burnett went seven again, making him one of the hottest pitchers of late in the hitter-friendly half of the league. But the real hero tonight was Nick Swisher, who hit long bombs from both sides of the plate.

He led a Yankee offense that had 15 hits, including three from Derek Jeter and two apiece from Robinson Cano (2 RBI), Melky Cabrera, Mark Teixeira and Swisher (3 RBI). Alex Rodriguez doubled home two runs, and Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer.

The Yankees (61-38) have ticked off the first game in their string of the next 26 games, 19 of which will be away from home. They lead Boston (58-40) by two and a half games, and Tampa Bay (54-46) by seven and a half. Toronto (48-51) has slipped to 13 back.

New York trails the L.A. Dodgers (62-37) for the best record in the majors.

Tuesday and Wednesday's bouts will also be against the Rays, then New York heads to Chicago to face the White Sox into the weekend.

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7.24.2009

Eight runs, eight wins in a row

Rumor had it that the A's were sending their ace to the mound tonight.

Well, the Yankees were sending their bats, and they would not be denied.

First it was a modest 2-1 lead, then it built. 3-1 in the fifth. 4-1 in the sixth.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, when the Yankees could have hung their cleats and let Mo come in to finish off the Non-Athletics, New York ripped it open to lead 8-1.

Eight runs, eight wins in a row.

With the 8-3 win, New York kept its edge in the American League East as the Red Sox slipped past the Orioles 3-1 tonight. (Tampa Bay and Toronto, never satisfied to let a game go a mere nine innings, went into the 10th before the Rays won 4-2.)

The Yankees knocked out A's ace Brett Anderson, who was scoreless in 21 innings and hadn't lost in his past six starts. The Bombers countered with a sharp pitcher of their own, the recently surging Joba Chamberlain, who went into the eighth inning with a new durability that wasn't present earlier in the season.

Joba let a first-inning run score then shut down Oakland the rest of the way.

Derek Jeter went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI, and Johnny Damon's one hit sent home three runs. Melky Cabrera was 3-for-4, Robinson Cano went 2-for-3, and Jorge Posada continued to break out of his recent hitting slump with a four-bag dinger for the second time in three games.

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7.01.2009

Huh. That was easy.

Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera combined for yet another win-save combo (their 60th) as the Yankees moved past Seattle 4-2 on the back of home runs by Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez.

Next up, New York welcomes Toronto in a hot matchup in the searing-hot American League East. The Yankees (44-32) are two and a half games back from the Red Sox (48-30), two and a half in front of the Rays (44-36) and four and a half in front of the Blue Jays (42-38). Boston and New York have the top two records, respectively, in the American League.

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6.08.2009

Numbah 2

"Now batting for the Yankees: Numbah 2, Derek Je-tah."

Derek Jeter brought his legs to the ballpark today, turning double plays and scooping up grounders like it's 1996. He followed up his sparkling fielding with his first hit of the night in the eighth, a lining home run to right. The captain is batting .306 this season and may not even be peaking yet, the way his numbers have been rising throughout the season.

Mariano Rivera sealed the win with his 14th save in 15 tries, closing out the 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Meanwhile, Mark Teixeira continues to scale the home run and RBI charts. His home run tonight put him in the lead for American League home runs, at 18, and he's four back on the League lead for RBIs.

Next up: A-Rod's continued resurgence. He missed a month, but he's been great in 2003, 2005, and 2007. He's due.

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5.08.2009

What's that nasty smell from the Bronx?

The Yankees flat-out stink right now. That's all I can say to describe the preposterous situation they're in. At 13-15 and going into Baltimore for a three-day stint, they face the possibility of becoming the American League East cellar occupants, and trailing the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. And while you can say a lot of nice things about the AL East being tough this year, the Yankees have earned every one of their losses.

At first, I thought it was just the bullpen, which consistently gave up multi-run leads at the beginning of the season. Then the starting pitching faltered. The $15 million batters (there's several...and a few in the $20 million range) are barely batting over the Mendoza line. Tonight Mariano Rivera blew another save and let two guys go deep off of him for the first time in forever.

The Yankees' best hitter right now is Johnny Damon, the very man who brought the curse with him from Boston. Derek Jeter's artificial hip isn't helping him grab grounders at short, and Mark Teixera's famed first base play has been less than flawless. Chubs Molina continues to blow it behind the plate, but that's better than having Grandpa Posada and his gimpy legs and arms anchor the backstop.

Who else? All of them. They all stink right now.

The Yankees are good at one thing right now: taking something good and changing it, for no reason. A couple examples: Joba Chamberlain was the best reliever the Yankees have had for decades, so instead of relying on his heat to anchor the seventh and eighth innings, they brought him into a starting pitching spot, where he's been decent but not great. Meanwhile, Yankees' relievers regularly give up four earned runs a night and walk the bases full every other game.

My other example: you had the world's best stadium, with DiMaggio's ghost in the basement, and you tore it down to build a palace across the street. Fine. But in the process, you happened to create a wind tunnel that helps the other team win (you can't even get your own hitters to pull for right field) and also spread the stinking grandstands out so far that it's no longer loud within the stadium. That's fine, too, because with all the white-collar bums that are "packing" the stadium now in the Berkaloungers down near home plate, the only cheering you'll get is, as John Lennon would say, rich people rattling their jewelry.

Argh.