THE YANKEES DOUBLE SHOT TUESDAY

Today’s Tuesday workday led to a Yankee win day at the stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 and 2. First... Game 1.  Here’s how it went down:

Robinson Cano was red hot for the lunch hour crowd slapping four hits including his 200th career home run.

"As a kid, you always dream to be able to hit one," Cano said. "Then, to hit 200, it means a lot to me. We're in a situation where we need to win games. It's good to hit 200, but the great thing is that we won."

Also clobbering a home run was catcher Chris Stewart after a three-month drought.  When we hit, we win- it’s that simple and when you hit 11 on the day as a team, that’s even better.  Ichiro Suzuki picked up his 3,999 career combined MLB and Japan hit today bringing him one closer to 4,000.  Manager Joe Girardi, still fired up from Sunday’s game against Boston, will be a lot happier when Ichiro hits the milestone so his right fielder can calm down a bit and focus better on the game.

Ivan the Great took us to the top 7th where he was replaced by Boone Logan and later by Shawn Kelley.  Joba Chamberlain came into the game for the 9th but was quickly replaced with Mariano Rivera, a frustrating move by the manager who recently stated that “the Yankees will need some 'big innings' from (Joba Chamberlain)…so he's going to have to get it done.”  Girardi was not taking any chances in the 9th, so he yanked Joba for Mo who got it done in eight pitches.

Game 1: Yankees 8 - Blue Jays 4.

And then, the “we have to win every game” momentum carried through to the evening bout as the scorching hot Yankees swept the double-header against the Jays.  Oh and Mo got the win!  Phil Hughes threw a great game but did not get the offense to support him tonight.  He threw seven-ground ball put outs, which helped the Yankees keep things close through the first half of the game.

The Yankees picked up a run in the third with a Robinson Cano RBI.  Then Jayson Nix tied the game in the 7th with a solo home run. Preston Claiborne, called back up from minors, came in and was spot on.  Then, Mo came into the game in the 9th to hold the Jays to two.  Tied in the ninth, the Mark Reynolds walked in four pitches and Ichiro Suzuki came in as a pinch runner.

Ichiro got to second on a beautiful Eduardo Nunez bunt.  Ichiro stole third setting up for Jayson Nix’s first ever game-winning hit.  Thaaa Yankees walk off win against the Jays!!!

 Game 2: Yankees 3 - Blue Jays 2

The Yankees have won 9 of the last 12 games and picked up their 6th walk off win of the season.  We are now 5 ½ games out of the wild card race.  We have to win every game seems to be the right mindset for the Yankees.  Let’s keep the momentum going!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof




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