Tuesday night’s
loss was pretty awful considering the Yankees had a multitude of
opportunities to put the game away early, but they failed to do so
before
David Robertson lost the game in the ninth. I can tolerate the
losses to teams like the Rays and Orioles to some extent since both of
those teams are in contention, but losing games to Boston at this time
of year is basically unacceptable. However, the Yanks were able to pick
themselves up off the mat and hold onto a 5-4 victory at Fenway.
The Yankees followed up last night’s 1-for-12 showing with RISP with an
0-for-13 showing on Wednesday night. Thankfully, the Yankees were able
to club three home runs, two of which were by
Curtis Granderson. The
Grandyman hit his first off
Aaron Cook in the fourth, a solo shot,
before hitting his second in the seventh, good for a two run shot. In
between those two homers was a two-run shot by
Robinson Cano over the
Green Monster in the fourth off Cook.
Speaking of Cook, he shut down the
Yanks through the first three innings before they were able to get to
him for three in the fourth. He lasted 5 innings while allowing three
runs.
In what could be
David Phelps’ last start, he was able to
prove that his last two starts against the Orioles were a fluke. He
pitched a strong 5.2 innings, allowed just one run on five hits while
punching out five and walking just one. With the possible return of
Andy Pettitte next Tuesday, this could theoretically be Phelps’ last start
of the season, unless of course another injury arises. Either way, big
ups to big Phelps.
Following Phelps was
Clay Rapada in the
sixth. With two out and a runner on at first, he was able to strike out
James Loney in what was a 3-1 game at the time. Cody Eppley and Boone
Logan combined to get one out while allowing a run each in the seventh.
Joba followed Logan, and he allowed his inherited runner to score on a
Mike Aviles double. David Robertson picked up two outs in the eighth
before
Rafael Soriano came on to attempt for a four-out save.
The game was 5-3 when Rafael Soriano came in following a
James Loney double. He was able to punch out
Cody Ross on a nasty slider, and
moments later, he and Bobby V were both ejected for arguing the called
strike three. Soriano was then able to finish off the save in the ninth,
though he certainly made it interesting. He gave up a long solo homer
to Jarrod Saltalamacchia to lead off the frame. He nearly gave up the
lead to the next batter,
Daniel Nava, as he flew out to the wall in
left. Soriano, thankfully, picked up the final two outs for his 37th
save of the season.
A scary moment in this game for the Yanks
came in the eighth, as
Derek Jeter suffered a bone bruise in his left
ankle after grounding into an inning-ending double play. However, after
the game he said that he’ll play on Thursday. Read
JETER TAKEN OUT OF GAME, INJURY POSSIBLE, for more info.
Final was 5-4, Yankees
The Yankees have been alternating wins and losses for a week now, and
that pattern continued with a win on Wednesday. Hopefully they’ll break
that trend and pick up the series win on Thursday. If they do, it’ll be
the first time they’ve won back-to-back games since winning the second
and third game of the series against the Rangers on August 14 and 15.
That’s nearly a month’s worth of baseball without winning consecutive
games. No wonder they’re hanging on for dear life in the AL East
Standings.
Anyway, the Orioles walked off against the Rays, so
we’re still tied in the race for the AL East crown. In the rubber game
against the Red Sox on Thursday, the Yanks will send out team win leader
Phil Hughes (14-12, 4.13 ERA) against
Felix Doubront (10-8, 5.21 ERA).
--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse
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