YANKEES DON'T CLINCH; ORIOLES FORCE A GAME 5

It started as a somber night, as manager Joe Girardi announced the passing of his father Jerry Girardi this past Saturday. We at BYB offer our condolences to the Girardi family, and we admire Joe's resiliency in continuing to manage during this difficult time. His leadership was needed and appreciated this night.

Phil Hughes came out for a big game. Not only was he looking at completing the series win for the Yankees, but also he had the opportunity to let the Yankees start the ALCS with Sabathia starting Game 1. Hughes looked masterful at getting into and out of trouble. He retired the side in order in the second and the sixth innings. He allowed runners to reach scoring position in every other inning.

Hughes started the game by allowing Nate Mclouth and JJ Hardy to reach base before retiring the next three batters on fly balls. He walked MannyMachado and gave up a double to Mclouth before inducing bouncer back to Hughes, which resulted in an out at the plate. Hughes then retired the next two batters to end the third. In the fourth, Hughes allowed men on first and third as the result of a Matt Wieters walk and a Ryan Flaherty base hit, before striking out Manny Machado to end the inning. In the fifth, the Orioles finally got to Hughes as he left a fastball out over the plate to Nate Mclouth. Mclouth put it in the right field seats. Nevertheless, that was all Hughes would allow, as he finished having pitched 6 2/3 innings and recording eight strikeouts.

Joe Saunders held the Yankee batters to just one run over the first six innings. He did not allow more than one base runner in any inning until the sixth inning. Derek Jeter led the sixth off with a double to right field and Ichiro Suzuki sacrificed him over to third. Mark Teixeira worked a walk when Robinson Cano hit a bouncer to second. Instead of going for the inning-ending double play, second baseman Ryan Flaherty chose to throw to first, allowing Jeter to score. Ryan Flaherty would make another blunder in the field in the bottom of the seventh, when a routine pop up by Russell Martin bounced out of his glove.

We cannot say enough about the failures to bring in runners in scoring position, and it was the story of the night. The only one we brought in was on a weak grounder. In total, they were 0 for 9, ending an inning with runners in scoring position four times, including three of the final four innings of the game. This is not going to be a successful campaign without an improvement in this category. It was just a painful set of extra innings during the Yankees turns at bat, watching one opportunity after another evaporate. The Yankees only got one base hit and one walk after the 8th inning.

Joba Chamberlain came in to relieve Rafael Soriano in the top of the 11th, and retired the side in order. The first batter in the top of the 12th, Matt Wieters got a broken-bat single. Unfortunately, the broken bat landed on Joba's pitching elbow, ending his night. David Phelps came in to replace Joba, but there is great concern for Joba's health and ability to continue in the postseason. Phelps did his part, retiring each batter he faced that inning. Ultimately, he gave up the double to JJ Hardy that would become the go-ahead run in the 13th.

Honorable mentions go to Boone Logan, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano. They came in and provided excellent relief, keeping all Baltimore batters but one from reaching base. That one that reached was erased by an awesome pick off of Lew Ford at first by Soriano. Another honorable mention goes to Alex Rodriguez, who maintained a good attitude despite the famous pinch-hit for the night before. He reached base twice on a walk and a base hit.

The bottom line is that getting hits when the runners are in scoring position will win you games. Each failure to score with a runner in scoring position is an opportunity for the opposition to stay in the game. The Yankees kept giving the Orioles opportunities until they finally scored in the 13th. So, on to a winner-take-all Game 5. We look to CC Sabathia to get us to the next round of postseason play.

Final Score: Orioles 2, Yankees 1

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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