It’s overcast and with the odd drop of drizzle here at Yankee Stadium, but the teams are taking batting practice and baseball is a go.
I’m in the press box today, so I’ll be liveblogging the action. Here are the lineups. Back with more in a bit:
A’s
L – Ryan Sweeney (CF)
R – Orlando Cabrera (SS)
L – Jason Giambi (DH)
R – Matt Holliday (LF)
L – Jack Cust (RF)
R – Kurt Suzuki (C)
R – Mark Ellis (2B)
S – Landon Powell (1B)
R – Bobby Crosby (3B)
LHP – Brett Anderson
Yankees:
R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Johnny Damon (LF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
S – Melky Cabrera (CF)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
LHP – CC Sabathia
Melky is making just his second start in center of the season. Robinson Cano stays in the fifth spot despite the opposing lefty on the mound. He’s hit .301/.347/.431 against lefties on the season thus far. With the rainout on Monday and the off-day tomorrow, Posada is starting the day game after the night game. Save for Melky, this is the same lineup Joe Girardi posted last night.
The A’s are sitting lefties Eric Chavez and Travis Buck against Sabathia.
Big Texan Brett Anderson is emerging as the key player the A’s received from the Diamondbacks in the Dan Haren trade. The 21-year-old rookie lefty got hit around a bit by the Mariners in his major league debut, but turned in a great outing against the Red Sox his last time out (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K), only to have his bullpen blow the game in the eighth.
Update: There’s a steady drizzle now, but the groundskeepers are tending the field as if it was 70 degrees and sunny. Look below the jump for further updates.
Surely the rain is playing a part, but the stands are nearly empty at 1:00. There are some folks clustered under the overhangs, but since the decks don’t hang over each other as much as they used to, that doesn’t leave many folks in their seats. The umbellas are out, but the Yanks are playing catch in front of their dugout (Jeter with Cano, Ransom with Ramiro Peña). Mark Teixeira is running sprints in the outfield.
Just before the Yankees took the field, there was a huge burst of white noise from the P.A. system. I’ve had that happen at a gig, and it’s loud and embarrassing. Never heard it in a venue this large, however.
Top 1st:
Sabathia’s first pitch to lefty-swinging Ryan Sweeney is low and outside. His second is fouled straight back into the net. His third is also low, 2-1. Low and outside again, 3-1. Sabathia throws a strike and Sweeney flies out to left.
It was just announced that Monday’s rainout has been rescheduled for Thursday July 23 at 7:05.
Orlando Cabrera hits one well toward the right-field gap, but it hangs up for Melky. Jason Giambi comes up again to a good hand mixed with a few boos. He fouls a 0-1 pitch back to fall into a quick 0-2 hole. Sabathia comes up and a bit inside for ball one, then goes low and away for ball two. J-Bombs don’t play that. Low and away again, full count. CC throws a strike and Giambi rips it foul hard past first base. Sabathia then gets called strike three on a pitch that catches the corner up and in.
Bottom 1st:
SNY’s seat in the press box is choice, top row almost directly behind home, but it’s hard to see the location of pitches from up here, so I’m caught between watching the action and the monitors. I think I’ll lean toward the field, which may mean less pitch info here in the blog.
After Jeter taps back to the pitcher, Johnny Damon reaches on what amounts to a swinging bunt down the first base line.
On 1-2, Teixeira pops one straight up. Landon Powell, a backup catcher playing first base, drops it in fair territory. Damon had to hold and is forced out at second on what amounts to a fielder’s choice. It’s actually a worse result for the Yankees than if Landon had made the catch because they lose Damon’s speed on the bases. Rookie mistake: I let out a big “oh” when Landon dropped the ball. No cheering in the press box, Corcoran!
Posada follows with a bouncer up the middle that Cabrera fields, but is unable to do anything with as Tex was running on contact with two outs. That’s two infield singles. Men on first and second, two outs for Cano.
On 1-2, Cano hits a slighly faster bouncer up the middle that Mark Ellis gets to and flips to Cabrera, just beating Posada at second for the final out.
0-0 after one.
Top 2nd:
Holliday fouls the first pitch right off Posada’s mask. It hit him flush between the eyes, but Jorge’s okay. He didn’t even take much extra time between pitches. CC then throws three straight balls. He’s already been in a lot of three-ball counts. this after walking five men in two of his first three starts. And there he walks Holliday to start the inning. Sabathia typically has outstanding control, but he’s not the same pitcher in April that he is the rest of the year. Don’t get worried quite yet.
As I write that Jack Cust serves a first-pitch single into right. First and second, none out. Fortunatley the bottom of the order is up for Oakland.
Checking his career splits, Sabathia’s K/BB is 1.94 in April and 2.65 or better every other month save for July (when it’s 2.26). His career BB/9 in April is 3.65 vs. 2.9 career overall.
Kurt Suzuki just hit a 2-2 pitch to the wall in left field that was caught by a fan reaching over the wall. It was called a home run, but the umpires are going in to review it. Watching the replay, the fan caught it a good two to three feet above the top of the wall, so it likely would have reached the seats if untouched. Damon was at the wall and lept for it, but he certainly wouldn’t have caught it as his glove hit hte wall on his way up and the ball was way over his head. I say this will remain a home run, but we’ll see what the umps say. If they say homer, it’s 3-0 A’s.
That didn’t take long. Home run Suzuki (his first of the year and just the fourth by an Athletic all season). 3-0 A’s.
Mark Ellis follows by hitting a sinking liner to Robinson Cano’s right, but Cano makes a nice diving catch for the first out.
Sabathia goes full on Landon Powell. He’s at 35 pitches and has gotten just four outs. Two more tosses award Powell first base via Sabathia’s second walk. Dave Eiland and Posada visit the mound.
Bobby Crosby pops foul to Cano on Sabathia’s first pitch after the mound visit. The YES Network gun has Sabathia at 95 miles per hour, so there’s no problem there. Two more pitches and Ryan Sweeney grounds out to end the inning. Good work, Eiland!
Bottom 2nd:
Swisher leads off with a hard groundout to third. Matsui follows with a home run into the right-field bleachers. That was no cheapie. Melky then hits Anderson’s next pitch into the visiting bullpen. A right-handed homer for Melky! Anything is possible in this ballpark. 3-2 A’s.
Ransom follows the two homers by striking out looking on three pitches.
Jeter hits a very hard grounder to first which Powell boots. Mark Ellis gets to it, but by then there’s no one on first but Jeter. It’s ruled an error on Powell.
The rain has been constant thus far and looks like it’s really starting to bug some of the players. Damon was fussing and wiping his helmet brim in that at-bat before popping up to Powell. The crowd “oooo”s as they see Powell attempting to make another play, but Powell fights the raindrops to squeeze the last out.
Top 3rd:
Sabathia starts the third inning at 40 pitches. He gets Cabrera to ground to second. Robinson Cano is getting a lot of work in this game, he’s been involved in the last four outs (his great diving catch, a foul pop-up, and two grounders).
Sabathia falls behind Giambi, 3-1. Giambi them pops up to shallow left, but Damon Calls off Jeter only to realize he’s overrun the ball. It tips off his glove for a two-base error. CC didnt’ need that.
Holliday rips the next pitch toward left field. Leapin’ Cody Ransom manages to get his glove on it, but he can’t squeeze it and it falls for an infield single with Giambi reaching third. Runners on the corners, one out for Jack Cust, who singled his last time up.
Cust hits a chopper back to CC. He checks Giambi and throws to second to get Holliday. Giambi then takes off for home. Jeter steps on second for the force, then fires home to get Giambi, but there’s no one covering home. Posada had run up the line to back up first, Sabathia, having made the play, didn’t have time to cover, and Ransom was holding Giambi in place. The ball bounces off the backstop as Giambi scores.
Suzuki then flies out. 4-2 A’s.
Bottom 3rd:
Tex leads off with a single to left. Posada follows with a double into the left-field corner. The Yanks are set up with the tying runs in scoring position and no outs. Cano, Swisher, and Matsui due up.
Cano takes ball one. Fouls one away to even the count. The next pitch is up and in and Cano fouls it off in the process of dodging it. Low and away, even at 2-2. Up and in, Cano hits a chopper to second that plates Teixeira and moves Posada to third. Cano swung at a bad pitch, but got the job done. Swisher’s turn . . .
Swish takes low and in, then a strike on the outside corner, 1-1. He then rips what looks like a double off the bat to the left-field gap, but Sweeney cuts it off and throws Swisher out at second. Again, a bad decision (trying for second), but Swisher got the job done. Tie game, 4-4.
Matsui grounds out to first to end the inning.
Top 4th:
We’ve got a new ballgame here with a 4-4 score. Sabathia is at 54 pitches after three frames.
Ellis grounds out to third. CC has just one strikeout thus far, and that was Giambi looking on a full count in the first.
It’s downright chilly in the Bronx, but the rain appears to have stopped. I don’t doubt that the cold, rainy weather has adversely affected both pitchers.
Sabathia goes full on Powell, who flies out to left. The crowd gives Damon the business as the ball is in the air, but he makes the catch and gets a long hand for doing so.
Looking at the batter’s eye, I think I still see some drizzle, but my eyes could be playing tricks on me.
Sabathia gets ahead of Crosby1-2, then wastes one up and away. Crosby fouls off a slider down and in, then hits a looper to Jeter for the final out. That was the first 1-2-3 inning in the game since the top of the first.
Bottom 4th:
The Yanks tied up the game and CC held the A’s. The offense can really swing the feel of this game with a go-ahead run here. Unfortunately, the bottom of the order is up.
Melky leads off with a hard grounder to third, but Bobby Crosby makes a nice spining catch and throw to get him at first.
Ransom falls into a quick 0-2 hole, after which Anderson throws an outside pitch right past his catcher, then one well inside and in the dirt to even it at 2-2. Ransom grounds out to shortstop. That’s the first time in the game Anderson has retired the first two batters of an inning in order.
Boom goes the dynamite, Jeter homers to the right-field side of Monument Park, 5-4 Yankees. That’s a great inning-and-a-half turnaround for the Yanks.
That’s four homers in this game through four innings, by the way. Only Matsui’s cleared the wall by more than a few feet.
Damon flies out to right to end the inning.
Top 5th:
Sweeney grounds to second, Cabrera hits a broken-bat liner to Ransom, and Giambi strikes out swinging on a 2-2 slider. That’s seven-straight retired by Sabathia and finally his second K. Lock-down time.
(Incidentally, it was hard not to start clapping with the crowd with two strikes on Giambi.)
Bottom 5th:
I quite enjoyed this exchange in comments:
Mark Teixeira grounds out to third on the first pitch, a rare bad at-bat by Tex, though it wasn’t in a particularly big spot (which isn’t to say the Yankees couldn’t use some insurance runs here). Anderson then gets Posada swinging on a breaking ball, that’s just his second K of the game; the first was Ransom looking.
Cano hits a ground ball into left field, just beyond Cabrera’s range, for a two-out single, but Swisher flies out to strand him.
Top 6th:
CC’s at 84 pitches. The Yankees will let him throw 120 with regularlity, so he could go seven full or even beyond if he’s able to keep the A’s at bay (no pun, or rhyme, intended).
Holliday grounds out to Jeter. That’s a good start and eight-in-a-row for CC.
Cust works the count full as the rain begins to come down again. He then walks. CC’s only other two walks in this game were in that ugly second inning.
Kurt Suzuki almost beheads the ball boy with a foul the other way. He then grounds to third. Ransom makes a nice play, looping around the ball to get in position to throw and Teixeira makes a nice scoop on the throw. Cust moves to second. Two outs for Ellis.
Ellis almost beheads Sabathia with a single up the middle that plates Cust. He goes to second on Melky’s throw home, which misses the cutoff man and is too far up the third-base line for Posada to have a play. Tie game, 5-5. I wonder if it’s the rain that’s bugging CC.
Powell breaks his bat on an inning-ending groundout, but the damage is done. Yanks have the bottom of the order due up, though that starts with Matsui, who homered in the second.
Bottom 6th:
Matsui pops up Anderson’s 1-1 offering. Suzuki and Crosby nearly collide in pursuit of it, but Crosby makes the play on the fading Opening Day logo in foul territory.
Melky draws a four-pitch walk and Bob Geren pops out of the dugout to pull Anderson at 97 pitches. His line (pending Melky): 5 1/3 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 HR, 1 BB, 2 K.
Righty Michael Wuertz, formerly of the Cubs, is in to face Cody Ransom with the go-ahead run on first and one out.
Melky runs on the 1-1 pitch and is thrown out by Suzuki. He had a good jump, but Suzuki’s throw was perfect. That caught stealing hurts immediately as Ransom doubles into the left-field corner on 3-1. Jeter is up with the go-ahead run on second and two out.
Jeter quickly falls behind 0-2, the second strike coming on a pitch he drives into the dirt in front of home that mercifully rolls foul. Jeter then lifts an apparent RBI single over Cabrera’s leap, then stretches the hit into a double, despite the fact that Sweeney’s throw appeared to beat him to second (it did, but Ellis’s tag was high and the ump didn’t give it to him). 6-5 Yanks. That’s two huge clutch hits for the captain in his last two at-bats.
Damon follows with another swinging bunt single, this one up the third base line. Runners on the corners, two out, for Teixeira. I bet he’ll have a better at-bat here.
Tex takes the first three pitches to go up 2-1 then singles home Jeter. I told you so.
Posada grounds out to end the inning, but the Yankees did it again and lead 7-5.
Top 7th:
Anderson’s line above is final (all his runs were earned).
Sabathia is back on the mound at 100 pitches with Coke warming in the pen, likely for Giambi if CC gets in trouble.
Crosby hits a grounder in the shortstop hole. Jeter makes his pattented jump-throw, but can’t get enough on it to get Crosby, who reaches with a leadoff single.
Sabathia then walks Sweeney on a full count. Barring a double-play, Cabrera should be CC’s last batter. He’s at 109 pitches. Albaladejo is also warming.
Cabrera bunts the runners up. Girardi stays put. Well, I guess CC is a lefty too, and Cabrera only used one pitch.
Giambi gets the first run in on a broken-bat grounder. Girardi visits the mound and leaves CC in, likely telling him this is his last batter.
That was one too many as Holliday hits Sabathia’s last pitch back up the middle for an RBI single to tie the game at 7-7.
Phil Coke is in to face Cust with a man on first and two out. the grounds keepers are applying a ton of drying agent to the area around home.
Sabathia’s line pending Holliday: 6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R (6 ER), 1 HR, 4 BB, 2 K.
The rain seems to have stopped again, but too late for CC (though he could still get the win if Coke holds it and the Yanks rally again).
Coke falls behind Cust 2-0, but gets a grounder to second to end the inning and keep the game tied.
Bottom 7th:
Ex-Yankee Russ Springer, who is old enough to have been trade with J.T. Snow for Jim Abbott in 1834, is in for the A’s.
Cano, Swisher, Matsui due up.
Today’s paid attendance: 43,342.
Cano takes a ball and shoots a single to left.
Swisher just misses a home run down the right-field line, it tails into the front row right at the corner. On 2-2, he rips another foul down the first base line. Good thing there’s nobody in those seats to get hit.
Sabathia threw just 58 percent of his 112 pitches for strikes. His line above is final.
Swisher goes full.
. . . and takes a walk to put the go-ahead run on second for Matsui with none out.
Matsui is coming to the plate to vintage Billy Joel tunes this year, it seems: “Big Shot,” “You May Be Right.” At least they played Blue Öyster Cult when he hit his dinger.
Springer (who is actually only 40 years old) misses badly with his first two pitches, bringing pitching coach (and another ex-Yankee) Curt Young to the mound. Springer then misses again to go 3-0 on Matsui. A pitch inside and low gets called strike one.
Matsui lifts a ball into the middle of the shallow right-center-field triangle and it drops in just beyond Mark Ellis’s reach. Bases loaded for Melky with none out.
Melky hacks at the first pitch and misses. Then fouls of the second to get behind 0-2 with a quickness.
The A’s have their closer, Brad Ziegler, warming furiously in the bullpen in the seventh inning of a tie game on the road.
Springer comes inside at Melky’s waist, forcing him to jump back, then Melky hacks at a pitch way high. Terrible AB for Melky.
Gardner’s hitting for Ransom against the righty Springer despite Ransom’s double in his last at-bat. Do you look squeeze here?
Nope, Brett’s swinging.
Springer comes up and in on Gardner on 0-1. This is some old-fashioned hardball from the grizzled old vet. Gardner fouls the next pitch off, 1-2.
Gardner lifts a shallow pop up to third. No dice.
Here’s Jeter looking to go 3-for-3 in clutch two-out hits.
Bases loaded, two out. Tie game. Bottom 7. Jeter vs. Springer.
First pitch is in the dirt, but Suzuki keeps it in front of him and the runners hold.
Jeter successfully checks his swing on a high ball two (he never took the bat of his shoulder, but turned his body).
Springer throws a perfect pitch on the low outside corner for strike 1, 2-1.
Jeter fouls the next back, 2-2.
He fouls off another.
The Captain can’t come through a third time, popping out to Ellis. Don’t blame him, blame Cabrera for a particularly awful at-bat.
Still tied, 7-7 heading into the eighth with Albaladejo coming on for the Yanks.
Top 8th:
Ramiro Peña is in for Ransom/Gardner at third base, which improves the defense if nothing else, though Gardner’s been lost as a pinch-runner, defensive replacement. I don’t agree with Girardi’s decision to pinch-hit for Ransom, though it’s easy to say that now. I just didn’t have quite enough time to say it before.
Albaladejo is facing Suzuki, Ellis, Powell.
Suzuki doesn’t hit it past a diving Jeter. Rather he hits one up the middle that Jeter gloves, but too deep to do anything with, including throw out a catcher. Infield single.
Ellis shows bunt, but Albaladejo’s pitch is high and inside, ball one.
Ellis gets his second attempt down to put Suzuki on second with the go-ahead run. One out and Landon Powell up (he’s 0-for-2 with a walk).
Powell works the count full (Albaladejo’s 2-2 pitch just missed outside), then grounds to second. Suzuki moves to third, but there are two out for ninth-place hitter Bobby Crosby (1-for-3, run scored).
Albaladejo quickly gets ahead 0-2.
The 0-2 is inside at Crosby’s shoetops, 1-2. Albaladejo then gets Crosby swinging over a pretty pitch on the inside corner. He’s demonstrably psyched about that, as well he should be.
Still tied, 7-7.
Bottom 8:
Rookie right-hander Andrew Bailey, who dominated in last night’s game and has been simply awesome in the early going thus far, is in for the A’s. Mo’s warming for the Yanks.
Bailey on the season: 10 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R (on a homer), 2 BB, 13 K.
Damon and the heart of the order up.
Damon, who hit that homer off Bailey last night, draws a walk to lead of the inning. Tex up.
Tex takes the first three pitches to go up 2-1, then fouls one away to run it even.
He pops the 2-2 up behind third and Cabrera comes over to squeeze it, though not without some difficulty. Posada up, one out, Damon still on first.
Posada takes to 1-1, then fouls one away into the first row down the left-field line, 1-2.
Bailey misses way outside, bringing Suzuki to the mound for a chat.
Jorge flies out to shallow left center. Damon’s still stuck on first. Cano up.
Cano swings at the first pitch and bounces it foul to the right side. He then takes a strike low and inside to fall behind 0-2.
Bailey throws strike three, but Suzuki’s target was outside and has to reach back to get it, so the A’s don’t ge thte call. No matter, cano grounds out to strand Damon.
Top 9th:
Rivera’s in for the Yankees, as he should be. “Enter Sandman” doesn’t have the same impact in a tie game, however.
Top of the order for Oakland.
Sweeney pops Mo’s second pitch to Ransom just across the foul line. One out.
Mo gets ahead of Cabrera 0-2, then buzzes him up and in, 1-2.
Cabrera responds with a line-drive single into left field. Giambi up.
Giambi hits a slow grounder to short. Jeter and Cano try to turn the double play, but it was hit too slow to double up even Giambi, and Cano’s throw is a bit off the mark due to his trying to rush it. Nonetheless, two out and a much slower runner on first.
Matt Holliday, who tied the game against Sabathia, quickly falls behind 0-2.
After a foul and a ball, Holliday hits a grounder through where Teixeira would have been playing had he not been holding Giambi on. Nonetheless, Cano makes a far-ranging play into shallow right and a nifty spin throw to first for the final out. Hang a star on that one.
Still tied, 7-7.
Bottom 9th:
Tie game on the road and the A’s go to their closer in the ninth, as well they should. Submarining righty Brad Ziegler is in for Oakland to face three lefties in Swisher, Matsui, and Melky.
Swisher checks his swing on 2-2 to run the count full, then takes inside for a leadoff walk. This is where they should have used Gardner, as a pinch-runner for Swisher here in a walk-off situation (and a defensive replacement for Swish if the run doesn’t score).
Groundzilla strikes with a rally destroying double play. Ouch.
Melky up with two out and none on.
Cabrera Ks on four pitches, another ugly at-bat.
Extra innings . . .
At this point I must warn you that I need to shut this liveblog down at 5pm regardless of the state of the game. That said, Damaso Marte is in the game, so the end might be near.
Top 10th:
Marte is in against Cust with Edwar Ramirez warming.
Marte walks Cust. Stays in against Suzuki.
Marte gets ahead 0-2.
Rajai Davis, who ran for Cust, takes off on 1-2 and takes second without a throw. Huge jump.
On 2-2, Suzuki swings through a slider diving down and in and screws himself into the ground, ending up literally sitting on home plate with his legs out in front of him, bat still in hand. Posada tags him to be sure.
Girardi calls on Edwar to pitch to Ellis with the go-ahead run on second and one out.
I’d walk Ellis and pitch to Powell here hoping for a double-play.
Oh, I forgot, Edwar doesn’t get grounders. Scary fly ball to center for the second out. Davis to third. Powell up with the go-ahead run on third and two out. Powell is 0-for-3 with a walk.
Edwar falls behind 3-1.
Powell walks. Well, glad they didn’t try my idea. Bobby Crosby up.
Dave Eiland visits the mound.
There’s no action in either pen.
Edwar gets ahead 1-2 as Crosby misses badly on a changeup.
The crowd comes alive and Crosby flies out to Jeter in shallow center.
Bottom 10th:
Okay, guys, this is it for me. I have to split at 5:00. Hopefully the Yanks will win it quickly with some sort of walk-off in this inning, but if not, I may have to split mid-inning. My apologies, but I have given you four hours of liveblog, so don’t complain.
Davis stays in center. Sweeney moves to right. Ziegler is in for a second inning of work. Ramiro Peña leads off with a groundout to second.
Here’s the captain. He also grounds out to second.
Well, it might be a quick inning, but for the wrong reasons.
Incidentally, all these ground balls (including Matsui’s double play in the previous frame) are why Ziegler is the Oakland closer (that and Joey Devine’s elbow).
Damon’s up following a mid-inning highlight package set to “Johnny B. Goode.”
He works the count full.
Then draws a two-out walk. Here comes Mark Teixeira looking for his “Giambi in the rain” moment (though it’s no longer raining).
On 1-0, Tex makes first base coach Mick Kelleher skip rope over a hard foul grounder.
Tex is way out in front of a 74 mile per hour changeup, 1-2.
He then flies to left.
On to the 11th, but without me.
It’s been fun. Hopefully next time I can get a result and some clubhouse reaction.
I’ll be back late tonight with a recap.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:31 pm edit commentWhat is with all of the solo homers? I am happy that the Yanks are hitting, but this year it seems like most of the Yanks’ homers are solo shots.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:33 pm edit commentYeah, [63], that’s weird, huh? It must be because base runners disrupt the infamous wind tunnel effect.