Compared to his first 3 frightening starts, Wang actually wasn't as bad as his numbers indicate. His sinker was working, as he recorded 7 ground ball outs. He did struggle against the lefties though, as Chris Davis laced 2 doubles off of him, knocking in 2 runs and scoring on a wild pitch. Hank Blalock also hit a two-out single for a run. Perhaps he ran out of steam, pitching out the bullpen recently. In my opinion, I would love to see him return to the bullpen. I think he has better stuff and strikes out batters at a better rate than he typically does as a starter.
The Yankees actually had a 1-0 lead after the first, as Johnny Damon led off with a HR that just cleared the fence in right. Their offense then went into a little lull, as they stranded Nick Swisher who hit a double after Damon's shot, and stranded Mark Teixeira who led off with a double in the 4th. They woke up in the 5th against Texas pitcher, David McCarthy. Swisher did what he does best, working a walk with the bases loaded. Big Tex, by far the Yanks MVP in the first third of the season, hit a cue shot double past 3rd to clear the bases and tie the game. ARod followed up with a single to put them up 6-5.
Alfredo Aceves, who relieved Wang, quickly let Texas tie it up on an Ian Kinsler blast that hit the upper foul pole in the 6th. It would remain tied till the bottom of the 8th, when Melky Cabrera, who's been struggling at the plate since he lost his battle with the Cleveland centerfield fence, hit a 2-run shot that scraped the back of the left field fence. Enter the Sandman, Mariano Rivera. He scared some Yankee fans by giving up 2 hits and allowing the hot-hitting Nelson Cruz to come to plate representing the go-ahead run. The Hammer of God struck out Cruz and got David Murphy to pop up to record his 12th save of the season and 494th of his career.
Other notes: Boston kept pace with the Yanks as they downed Detroit 6-3. Dontrelle Willis walked 5 guys in the 3rd that led to a 6-run rally. Yesterday, I lamented how the luck of Boston by dodging the likes of Justin Verlander and Roy Halladay. But not only did they not faced the Tigers ace pitcher in this 3 game set, they avoided their #2 stud as well, Edwin Jackson, who's been pitching as well as anybody in baseball right now. I'm amazed they faced Johan Santana in the Met series (thankfully, the frauds lost).
Randy Johnson won his 300th game in front of just 16,000 people in D.C despite the fact that he may well be the last pitcher to reach that milestone for a very long time. There's a team in D.C. because...? It's time to start contracting teams. If you can't economically compete year after year (Pittsburgh, anyone) or draw fans, it's time to fold shop. Less teams would equal better talented teams.
Yankees Record: 32-22, tied for 1st and 1/3 of the season down. Projected win total: 96 - I'll take it.
No comments:
Post a Comment