Game 55 - Pitching Duel Blows Up

The Saturday matinee featured a doozy - CC Sabathia vs. David Price.  The cheap, upstart Tampa Bay Rays vs. the free spending, capitalistic Yankees.  What the customers watched was a slop fest, as Tampa prevailed 9-7.  Crooked Cap limited Tampa to one hit through the first 4 innings, as the Yanks led 2-0 on an ARod homer and Robinson Cano's RBI groundout.  In the top of the 5th, the Crooked One served up a dinger to the hot-hitting Ben Zobrist.  The Rays tied the Yanks in the inning, when Johnny Damon took minor league journeyman Joe Dillon's single in leftfield and promptly tossed it into short rightfield.  If you didn't know there was a game going on, one would have thought he was trying to have a catch with Yankee RF, Nick Swisher.  What really happened was he airmailed the throw over second that Nick Swisher had to go chase down.  Rays catcher and ex-Yankee, Dioner Navarro followed up with a sac fly to tie the game.

David Price pitched 2-hit ball through 5.2 innings, walking 5 and striking out 3.  He gave up 3 runs, but only 1 earned.  Tampa would commit 4 errors in the game, with Navarro throwing the ball all over the place, committing 3 throwing errors himself.  He left the game with the lead, 5-3 after Willie Aybar deposited a pitiful changeup from Sabathia into the leftfield seats for a 3-run blast.  

The Yanks rallied back to tie it up at 5 against the Rays pathetic bullpen in the 8th, with Teixeira hitting his 17th HR and Melky Cabrera's RBI fielder's choice.  The only thing more pathetic than the Rays pen today, though, was Mariano Rivera.  He was brought in the top of the 9th to hold Tampa, but instead got torched for 4 runs.  He wasn't helped out by Phil Coke, who came in and allowed a run scoring single and ARod committed the Yanks second gaffe of the day for the last run.  

In the bottom of the 9th, the Yanks, following a trend all season, would not go away quietly.  Mark Teixeira's double knocked in Jeter and Damon to close the gap to 2 runs.  In a move that saved the game, Rays manager, Joe Maddon, moved back CF BJ Upton after Damon doubled over his head.  Upton normally plays a very shallow centerfield, so when Maddon moved him back, he was able to catch Jorge Posada's deep fly to center and corral and absolute bullet from Cano to end the game and stranding Teixeira.  

It was a tough loss for the Yanks, especially in the first game of a series where your staff ace pitched.  Mariano continues to struggle in non-save situation games, which follows his career trend.  This season, in 10 non-save games, his ERA is 5.59 and opponents are batting .310 off of him.  Maybe he doesn't bring the same adrenaline into those games, because he looks mortal, almost Edwar Ramirez-like.  It's easy to spot when Mariano is not on his game.  His pitches will be lower in the zone and not have the rising movement or dart down like a slider which his cutter normally does.

Tomorrow brings another good matchup with 2 more hard throwers - Joba Chamberlain vs. Matt Garza.  

Yankees Record:  32-23

Blown Games:  5