WHY GOD MUST BE A YANKEE FAN

(Photo: Getty)
When the Yankees finally took the field today after an 89 minute rain delay, I just had a bad feeling. Not sure why or for what reason but it just felt like it was going to be a long day in the Bronx. And once the game got underway my gut feeling became a reality. Phil Hughes just didn't have it today. When Hughes is bad, he's really bad. There is no gray area with Mr. Hughes. More on his day in a minute...so Hughes is getting knocked around and the thought of the Yankees getting swept at home in late August by the A's got the best of me. So I did what any good Yankee fan would do, I prayed to the man upstairs for a rain out!

I know, it's very bush league of me to do that, but you know I just wanted this series washed away, pardon the pun. There is no way we can get swept at home knee deep in a pennant race by the A's. Well, I believe Garth Brooks said it best in one of his songs, "Some of God's greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers." Thank God, God didn't listen to this knucklehead!

Not only did the Yankees win today, they made history! The New York Yankees became the first team EVER to hit 3 grand slams in one game! It was a game where you had to see it to believe it!

Don't worry fans, if most of you were working or at school this will be an instant YES Classic, so stay tuned. We all know this team is built around the long ball and today, as they say, the proof was in the pudding. The Yanks 5 home runs accounted for 14 of the Yankees 22 runs. Behind these record setting grand slams and another outstanding performance by the bullpen, the Yankees came all the way back from a 7-1 deficit and beat, scratch that, destroyed the Oakland A's 22-9.

Robinson Cano hit the first grand salami in the bottom of the 5th which cut the Oakland lead to one run. Cano had another fantastic day at the plate going 2-4 with 5 RBI and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

But, believe it or not, despite Cano knocking in 5 runs he was not the player of the game. That honor has to go to Russell Martin. Heading into the the bottom of the 6th the Yanks were down 7-6, until Martin knocked in 4 runs with one swing to give the Yankees a 10-7 lead and they never looked back. Martin had a career day today going 5-5, including that grand slam, a solo HR, and he knocked in 6 runs! The 5 hits and 6 RBI are both career highs. He also walked once so he was, literally, perfect today at the plate. Then it was onto the 8th inning where history was made. "The 2011 AL MVP", Curtis Granderson hit the 3rd grand slam of the day for the Yankees and the rest, as they say, is history!

And how about the Yankee bullpen? Probably the unsung heroes of today's game and really the 2011 season. Phil Hughes just struggled today. He just got flat out knocked around. Hughes only went 2.2 innings allowing 6 earned runs. But despite his awful day on the mound he did not get a loss. After today's game Hughes needs to buy a round of drinks, not only for the offense, but his buddies out of the bullpen. The bullpen kept the A's at bay...again, pardon the pun. They only allowed 3 runs for the rest of the game. The combination of Cory Wade, Hector Noesi, Boone Logan, and Luis Ayala all took the ball from Girardi and gave our offense the opportunity to begin the historic comeback. And what a comeback it was! In a game where the Yankees were actually trailing 7-1, the historic grand slams brought them all the way back, and then some.

Final Score: New York Yankees 22 - Oakland A's 9.

GAME NOTES:

• The Yankees came at bat an incredible 17 times with the bases loaded today.
• The "2011 AL MVP"'s grand slam now gives him 36 home runs and 103 RBI for the season.
• The Captain was the DH today and went 3-6, including his 4th triple of the year. Incredibly, Jeter has come all the way back and is now batting .299!
• Eduardo Nunez, who started for Jeter at SS also had three hits, going 3-5.
• ARod got his first hit and more today since coming off the DL. He went 2-4 and walked twice. He also had three runs scored.
• The Yankees batter around for 4 straight innings today (5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th)
• Boone Logan faced four batters today and struck out all four and he also got the win.
• Posada played 2nd base in the 9th inning. It was the first time in his MLB career he played 2nd. The last time was in the minors in 1991...low A ball! Nice!
  

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23

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