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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AN UGLY YANKEE LOSS IN A MUST WIN GAME

Is it time to hit the panic button? The Yankees have dropped 9 of their last 12, fourth in a row - all against division rivals, and have seen their 10-game lead in the division cut in half over the last two weeks. Tonight was a game they should have won, and used as a pacesetter game to get back on track.

Ivan Nova started the game with a 3-up 3-down inning, and the Yankee bats came out roaring in the bottom half of the first. For those of us thinking this one was in the bag, we were the victims of a cruel joke as Nova had one of the worst outings of his career.  Staked to a 5-0 lead, Nova allowed the first two runners to reach in the top of the second. He responded by striking out the next two and was one out away from getting out of the inning. What happened next was hard to watch. A double and a couple of singles cut the lead to two. Then Nova gave up Chris Davis' first career grand slam, slamming the door on all the momentum the offense garnered a half inning earlier.

What made it especially difficult to swallow was that the Yankees, in the bottom of the first, were finally doing what they have not done all season, and yet needed to do. They were manufacturing runs, not exclusively relying on the long ball. Derek Jeter led the game off with a double, and Curtis Granderson followed with a base hit. Robinson Cano then hit a 2-run home run for his 23rd of the season. 

The hit parade continued as Nick Swisher got a single, and two batters later Eric Chavez got a base hit. With men on first and third,Ichiro Suzuki hit a hard grounder back to the pitcher that Chris Tillman could not field, scoring the fourth run. Russell Martin got the final hit of the inning, scoring the fifth run, but also resulted in the second out as he strayed too far off of first.

After falling behind 7-5, Ivan Nova extended his lead in extra-base hits allowed, giving up the eighth run on back-to-back doubles Lew Ford and Wilson Betemit in the top of the third. He gave up a lead off double to Adam Jones, who came around to score on a Wilson Betemit single. To his credit, Ivan Nova did not call it quits, giving the Yankees 5 innings and keeping the bullpen from being completely depleted.

Boone Logan and Cody Eppley did their best, holding the Orioles down in the hopes of keeping them in the game. But Clay Rapada gave up a two-run home run to Nick Markakis - the first batter he faced - in the top of the 8th to extend Baltimore's lead to 11-5. Nevertheless, our hitting never recovered. Following the first inning, the Yankees reverted to the hitting patterns that have gotten them in trouble of late. They went 0 for 4 with men in scoring positions, putting eight consecutive zeroes up on the scoreboard.

In other news, Joba Chamberlain was activated from the disabled list prior to the start of tonight's game. This should provide a nice boost to the bullpen and to the morale of the team. 

Also, the Yankees acquired third baseman Casey McGehee from the Pirates for pitcher Chad Qualls just before the non-waiver trade deadline. He is expected to join the team tomorrow, and should provide Joe Girardi some good options for third base.

Final Score: Orioles 11, Yankees 5

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer




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