Momentum and major advantage in the 2012 ALDS were hanging in the
balance as the Orioles and Yankees squared off in game three of this
playoff series that was tied at 1-1 after two games in Baltimore. If
Charles Dickens was still around to recap the early innings of this
game, he might have titled his story "
A Tale of Two Pitchers."
Oriole
rookie starter
Miguel Gonzalez was dominant through seven innings and
Hiroki Kuroda was almost as strong for the Yankees, but he teetered on
the brink in innings three through five of his eight innings of work.
The Orioles produced a run in the third on a HR off the
bat of
Ryan Flaherty. They followed with a major threat in the fourth
by sending six batters to the plate. A hit, a walk, and hit batsman
loaded the bases with Orioles, but Kuroda was able to retire Flaherty
this time on a come-backer to the mound. That was a significant moment
in the game that could have been disastrous for the Yankees. Kuroda
yielded a second HR leading off the fifth. This time Oriole youngster
Manny Machado ripped a Kuroda pitch to left field for the Birds' second
run of the game and a 2-1 Baltimore lead.
The Yankees had scored in the bottom of the third on a
Russell Martin double and
Derek Jeter RBI triple to center. Oriole
outfielder
Adam Jones broke in on Jeter's ball and could not recover as
the wind seemed to push the Jeter fly ball just out of his reach.
Martin's run produced a 1-1 tie after three innings. Otherwise,
the Yankee offense struggled against Gonzalez. During his seven innings
of work, Martin and Jeter each had two hits. Unfortunately, the rest
of the Yankee lineup went 1 for 20 against the Oriole starter! Gonzalez
really hit his stride in innings six and seven as he struck out five of
the last six Yankee hitters he faced. Gonzalez did not allow a run
after the third inning.
Kuroda was almost as good. He retired the last eleven batters he faced and allowed zero runs after the fifth.
With
one out in the ninth, things looked shaky for the Yankees. Trailing
2-1 with Oriole relief ace
Jim Johnson on the mound, the Birds were two
outs away from their second win of the series. At that juncture, Yankee
manager Joe Girardi made a major decision. He sent Raul Ibanez to the
plate to pinch-hit for
Alex Rodriguez. Some of the media mavens acted
shocked by Girardi's move in the post-game interviews, but it was an
imminently logical move. Girardi got the left-handed Ibanez up to bat
for the struggling Rodriguez and got the lefty-righty match-up that Joe
loves to see in the Stadium.
Girardi's move paid off in spades! Ina very dramatic
moment, Ibanez homered to tie the game at 2-2! Both bullpens were
strong in innings ten and eleven and
David Robertson remained strong for
the Yankees in inning twelve. The Orioles were not so lucky. Raul
Ibanez led off the twelfth for New York and was facing lefty
Brian Matusz who was beginning his second inning of work.
Ibanez produced a
result that forever more labeled this Yankee win as the Raul Ibanez
game. In an even more dramatic moment than the ninth,
Raul Ibanez slammed a
second HR to right, this one into the second deck, that secured the
Yankees second win in this ALDS series and staked the Yankees to a 2-1
lead heading into game four tomorrow.
In an odd twist, the Yankees finished the game without
both Rodriguez and Jeter. Jeter departed after the eighth inning with a
foot injury that was evidently sustained on a foul ball off his foot
early in the game. Jeter assured Yankee fans that he would be available
tomorrow but he was hobbled by a noticeable limp when he departed in
the eighth. Regardless, the Yankees have a chance to close out the
series tomorrow as
Phil Hughes takes the mound against the Orioles and
Joe Saunders.
Wednesday's happy final:
New York 3 Baltimore 2. New York leads the ALDS by two games to one.
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