We got the pitcher’s duel that we expected. Okay, it wasn’t a 1-0 game with both starters going the distance, but it was pretty good. Cole Hamels allowed two runs over six innings; scattered eight hits, didn’t walk a batter, and struck out six. CC Sabathia gave up a bunch of hits too, nine, over eight innings. He didn’t walk anyone either, struck out four, but allowed three runs. Not bad, but not good enough.
The Phillies scored first. Carlos Ruiz reached on a two-out single in the top of the third inning and then Jimmy Rollins lifted a fly ball to shallow right-center field. Brett Gardner raced in and dove for it, but he could not make the catch and the ball rolled behind him. Ruiz was waved home. Right fielder Melky Cabrera, picked up the ball and made a good throw to the cut-off man, Robinson Cano. Cano dropped the ball and Ruiz scored easily. It was a careless play on Cano’s part. I don’t know if he would have nailed Ruiz, but it certainly would have been close. Shane Victorino singled Rollins home to make it 2-0.
The Yanks got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a two-out, RBI double by Johnny Damon. Mark Teixeira followed with a sharp base hit to left and Damon was thrown out at the plate–nice throw by Jason Werth, excellent job of blocking the dish by Ruiz. Each team added another run in the sixth–Teixeira hit a broken-bat home run into the left field stands, believe it or not.
There wasn’t anymore scoring until the bottom of the ninth. Cano led off with an infield single against Brad Lidge. Ramiro Pena came in to run for him and promptly stole second base. Melky Cabrera squared to bunt, missed and then bunted one foul. With the count 2-2, Cabrera grounded a single up the middle, Pena came around to score and the game was tied. Hideki Matsui, who has looked awful of late, struck out and looked terrible in the process. Nick Swisher followed, pinch-hitting for the catcher Francisco Cervelli. After taking a ball, Lidge located a strike but Cabrera took off and swiped second. He moved to third when Swisher grounded out softly to second and was stranded there when Gardner tapped out to first.
Mariano Rivera pitched to the heart of the Phillies order in the tenth on a day when his stuff was not electric. “It feels a little short,” said John Flaherty on the YES broadcast, “it doesn’t have the usual pop.” Rivera jumped ahead of Victorino 0-2 and then froze him with a back-door fastball but didn’t get the call. So he went back to the same spot on the next pitch and Victorino grounded out to short. Rivera fell behind Raul Ibanez 3-1 and then served up a single to right. Ryan Howard, who reached first earlier on an excuse-me/check-swing, checked his swing again hit the ball a few feet from the plate. Kevin Cash picked up the ball and threw to first for the second out.
Rivera went to 2-0 against Werth who then took two huge hacks, fouling both pitches off, to even the count. The crowd cheered. Werth fouled off a cutter in on his fists and a hush fell over the park. Cash went to the mound to speak to Rivera, the crowd started up again, Rivera went outside, and Werth, bailing out, fouled it off. More noise. Cutter inside, perfectly placed. Werth lifted his arms, the umpire rung him up and Rivera was out of the inning.
Fella named Clay Condrey relieved Lidge and gave up a single to Derek Jeter to start the bottom of the tenth. It was Jeter’s third hit of the day (he fisted an inside breaking ball into left; a nice piece of hitting). Damon followed and didn’t square to bunt. He singled to right–there was a huge hole between first and second–on the 3-1 pitch. Teixeira took strike one and then fouled a sinker into the left field stands. He looked at a ball, skipped away from another sinker that almost hit him and then took a fastball high to load the count. The crowd got loud and Teixeira spoiled a tough pitch, ball four, in the dirt (he almost threw his bat at that one). But he grounded into a 4-6-3 double play on the next pitch and much cursing ensued in my apartment. Rodriguez was walked intentionally and Ramiro Pena lined the first pitch to center field for the final out.
It started to rain as Brett Tomko came in. Sitting in my living room, I was red-faced with frustration at this point, anticipating the sour end that was all but inevitable. He got the first two men out quickly, of course–Fool’s Gold!–before walking Chase Utley. Ruiz was next, already with three hits on the day, and worked the count full, fouling off a bunch of pitches. Utley stole second and on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Ruiz ripped a double down the left field line. Utley scored and that was that.
Melky led off the bottom of the inning against Condrey and grounded out to second. Groundzilla tapped out to Howard and Cash looped a harmless liner to Rollins to end it.
There were plenty of cheers to be heard as the Phillies fans came out in force.
The Yanks blew a chance to move into a tie for first place what with the Blue Jays losing today. Winning the tough ones doesn’t make losing the tough ones any less painful. I know these things even out, I realize the team has been playing very well, but this one hurts.
Teixeira grounding into that double-play was very painful especially to watch esp with A-Rod getting walked so they could pitch to...Ramiro Pena. Perfect example where they need another bat for the bench and they've needed that bat for at least the last two weeks.
These are the games they lose because of the roster. It's simply inexcusable for Angel Berroa to be on this team.
What on earth are we going to do with Matsui? Earlier in the year it looked like he might be healthy enough to help a little, but now...Did you see him trying to run to 1st after hitting his 78th groundout in a row in the 11th? Looked like he was in 2 feet of wet cement. I guess he gets a little more time to come around, but what if he's no better by the time Jorge and Nady are ready?
[1] Not disagreeing about Berroa, but IMO they lost this game because Tex failed to get Jete over to 3rd with less than 2 out.
I think Sabathia pitched better than "not bad" - sure, it ended up not being good enough, but I'll take 3 runs over 8 innings any day.
There's something particularly infuriating about watching Brett Tomko lose a game.
Melky is a better CFer than Gardner despite the speed differential.
I agree with Mattpat11 about Tomko. Just because he pitched well at AAA in his mid-30s, it doesn't mean that he's a good reliever.
It's crazy that Robertson and/or Melancon aren't getting a shot.
My apologies to Joe Torre. I thought he was the reason that young relievers weren't getting an opportunity. Apparently not.
Okay the homestand ended on a sour note. Losing with Sabathia pitching well is really a missed opportunity. But at least they came back again, and almost won it. I find it frustrating they lost 2 of 3 at home to a Phillies team you'd like to beat just to show who's boss. It sticks in my craw. But they are leaving after a very, very successful 8-2 residence at the Stadium. The Mets took 2 of 3 from Boston, which is great.
In happier news, Jeter's line: .287/.359/.455
Starting to come together for him.
[2] Matsui's generally be untouchable here in Japan but recently..some mild grumbling about his lack of production..He's got a few "clutch" hits but I wonder if the end is near..
[8] HOF calling, "#2..shortstop Derek Jee-tahhh...#2..."
anyone see this? http://www.firestevephillips.com ? not quite FJM but still funny.
I suspect the Matsui situation WILL be resolved when Jorge and Nady return ... if he gets it together again, he sticks as main DH. If he doesn't, we then have options. He has a couple of weeks, it looks like. That's fair. He might even be DLed then, to see if the knee can be eased by rest and rehab ... if not the possibility actually exists his career is over. If it hurts too much to DH, what else is there?
We KNOW why Berroa is 25th, just that a lot of us don't really agree (I'm one of them). Not long ago some people wanted Pena STARTING over Jeter, remember? Now his having an at-bat, needing only a single, is seen as the end of days.
Tomko didn't 'lose' them that game. Lots of small glitches, as always ... Cano's dropped relay, Phillies perfect gunning of Damon. Tex, as someone said, not getting Jeter to 3rd (and he had ball 4). But baseball's a game where you mess up at bat way more often than you don't. I suspect we'll see RobertMelanch at some point, and have little doubt they'll elicit outrage when they mess up, too.
It was a good game, we almost pulled it out again.