Yankees lose to Nats

The New York Yankees were embarrassed by the Washington Nationals tonight by the score of 3-2. The starting pitcher John Lannan was the story of the game pitching 8 innings of 1 run ball with 2 hits allowed. The Yankees couldn't do anything with him, they tried being patient and aggressive and nothing worked. I was at the game so I didn't really see if he was that good or they were that bad or in the middle but he still pitched 8 innings so I have to give him credit. The Yankees had their shot in the ninth when Johnny Damon led off with a homerun and then they put runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out and couldn't tie it. Robinson Cano had a great battle with Mike Macdougal but grounded into the game ending double play which is just unacceptable. I am not a Kevin Long fan and I think after these two games where they are being shut down by the worst team in baseball and the worst pitching staff in baseball he deserves to lose his job or at least be in trouble. The story of the game for the Yankees though was Chien-Ming Wang who was much better pitching 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. I don't like the fact he only went 5 innings but I am sure he will get another start, the bottom line for me is they are winless in his starts and for a world series contender that is unacceptable. Phil Hughes came on in relief and threw two shutout inn ings giving up a single. He had 2 strikeouts. Phil Coke pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Alfredo Aceves got the last two outs. The Yankees will try and win the series tomorrow afternoon with Joba Chamberlain on the mound, the weather is supposed to be bad so we will see if they can get it in, it may be a long day at the ballpark.

Nationals at Yankees(Wang's Big Start)

The Yankees will try to make it three in a row tonight with Wang seeking his first victory of the year. I will be at the game tonight so here is the lineup without notes. I will try and check in from the game with twitter like updates. Derek Jeter is out of the lineup with a bad ankle, this is the time to rest him against the awful Nationals. Yankees Lineup: Damon(LF) Swisher(RF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Cabrera(CF) Pena(SS)

Chien-Ming Wang=Big Start

Chien-Ming Wang will take the hill tonight in need of a win. I don't know what he has to do tonight to get another start but he clearly needs to pitch better then he has at any point this year. I don't think its enough to say he needs to win the game. He could go out there and get hit hard and survive 5 innings and have the Yankees score a ton of runs and win the game 9-8, that wouldn't be enough for him. In his culture the birth of a child is supposed to bring luck to the parents so lets hope the birth of his son does that for him. I think the best thing that could happen for Wang tonight is the Yankees scoring some runs early and he can relax and go to work. I really don't know what to think, his stuff was there in his last start, he just couldn't get it over the plate. Joe Girardi has said repeatedly this is a big start for Wang but hasn't said what he needs to do or what he needs to see from him. It should be an interesting night, what do you guys think Wang needs to do?? I wonder if Posada will catch him or they will let Cervelli work with him which brings up a whole other issue that I will talk about in another blog entry.

Yanks/Nats game recap

The New York Yankees defeated the Washington Nationals tonight by the score of 5-3 thus avoiding embarrassment. The Nats starting pitcher really handcuffed the Yankees for 6 innings leaving with a 3-2 lead but then the Yankees scored 2 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th to secure the win. CC Sabathia pitched well going 7 2/3 innings giving up a 3 run homerun. Brian Bruney made his return by getting Ryan Zimmerman to ground out to second and MO had a 1-2-3 ninth for the save. Robinson Cano was the offensive star as he went four for four. Mark Teixeira had a rbi double. Derek Jeter left the game with what appears to be a ankle injury but doesn't appear to be too serious. Ramiro Pena had a rbi single in the 8th. Jorge Posada had a hit and so did Johnny Damon. The Yankees will try and make it two in a row tomorrow with Chien-Ming Wang getting the start. I didn't get to this before but Hideki Matsui will not be used in the OF for any of the upcoming interleague games on the road. He could be used in a double switch though according to Joe Girardi, the Yankees are worried about his knees flaring up if he plays a full game in the OF. It doesn't look like Nady will be back for this roadtrip but we shall see what happens with him. A-rod was in monument park before the game posing for pictures, the Yankees are now doing these type of things once a homestand which is a nice touch. The Yankees number 1 pick Slade Heathcott was with the team today and it appears he will try and sign quickly and get his pro career started.

Washington Nationals at New York Yankees

The New York Yankees will take on the Washington Nationals tonight from Yankee Stadium. The game is on MY9 in NY at 7:00pm. CC Sabathia gets the start for the bombers. Here are some pregame notes and the lineup via Peter Abraham. The Nationals are 6-23 on the road and have gone 3-12 in their last 15 games overall. The Yankees have won 14 of thier last 19 at home. The Yankees were 93-63 in interleague games over the first 8 years but have gone 33-27 since. I think this is the time for them to play really well again playing the NL east now for 15 straight. Derek Jeter has the most hits, at bats and runs scored in interleague play. He is also batting 339 against the National League. Nick Swisher has gone 15 of his last 46 which is 326 with 11 runs scored, 8 rbi's, 14 walks and 8 extra base hits. The Yankees were 32-31 after 63 games the last 2 years and are 36-27 this year a 4 game difference. Derek Jeter has gone 9 of his last 18 with 4 rbi and 4 runs scored. He is now batting 310. Hideki Matsui is 6 of his last 16 with 2 homeruns, 5 rbi's, 5 walks and 5 runs scored. A-rod is 8 of 45 in June and is batting 178 in his last 9 games. He is in a slump but this may be a good time to come out of it against these weaker NL teams. The Yankees have committed at least one error in 10 of their last 12 games. One roster move to report also is that the Yankees DFA'D Jose Veras and activated Brian Bruney. I am very happy about this move, i was afraid they would send Robertson back down but Veras had become useless and now they ust need to get rid of Berroa and I will be really happy. Bruney may not go right into the 8th inning as they want to bring him back slowly and also won't go back to back days right away according to Joe Girardi. Yankees lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF)