Yankees winning streak ends at four as they are buried by the Angels

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this afternoon by the score of 7-1. Phil Hughes started and was not very good, David Phelps was great out of the bullpen. Phelps saved the Yankees bullpen from extra work. The Yankees offense only had six hits and left many runners on base. C.J. Wilson started for the Angels and got his first career win against the Yankees. 
Hughes pitched 3 1/3 innings giving up six runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out six. Phelps pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up one run and one hit. He walked two and struck out four. Clay Rapada faced one batter and got him out. Wilson for the Angels got the win pitching six innings giving up one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out two. The Angels bullpen pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Nick Swisher had a hit and Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI. Mark Teixeira had a hit, Curtis Granderson drew a walk and Russell Martin drew a walk. Eduardo Nunez had a hit. The Yankees were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left nine on base.

Erick Aybar had a hit, Howie Kendrick had three hits and three RBI and Albert Pujols had two hits and an RBI. Vernon Wells had two hits and an RBI, Chris Ianetta had a hit, two RBI and drew two walks. Pujols had a double, Ianetta, Kendrick and Wells each hit a homerun. The Angels were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Wilson and Aybar each made an error.

Ianetta hit a two run homerun in the second inning to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. Pujols hit an RBI double in the third and it was 3-0 Angels. In the fourth Kendrick hit a three run homerun to make it 6-0. That was the end for Hughes as he walked off the mound to some boos. In the fifth Wells hit a solo homerun to extend the lead to 7-0. The Yankees finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a Cano RBI single. That was the final run of the game as it ended 7-1 in favor of the Angels.

The two teams will play the rubber game of the three game series tomorrow night at 8:00PM. Ivan Nova will make his second start of the season against Jerome Williams who is making his first start of the season. The Yankees record is now 4-4 as the four game winning streak ends. The Angels are now 3-5 on the season. The Yankees will look to win the game tomorrow and then play four against the Twins at home before hitting the road once again. The Yankees would love to be 5-2 or 6-1 on this seven game homestand. They will try to begin a new winning streak tomorrow night.

Yankees Postgame Notes after the home opener

The Yankees had their home opener.  They won it 5-0 in two and a half hours.  It was a nice tidy win.  There was all the pomp and circumstance.  They also had Jorge Posada throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Here are the notes from today.

There are just four men standing ahead of Alex Rodriguez now on the all-time home-run list — Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Willie Mays (660). A-Rod tied Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth by hitting No. 630 in this 5-0 home-opening win over the Angels.  It is amazing, of course he will always have that he played in the steroid era and that he did them himself which he was caught and did confess to it. 

“It definitely means I’m getting old,” said Rodriguez, who has sent up 69 of the homers against the Angels, his top total against any team. “Obviously Griff is special to me because we came up together. It was kind of like the same relationship that Melky (Cabrera) and (Robinson) Cano have with me, kind of flip it a little bit. He was a teammate, he was a brother and a mentor all in one. So it was a special day today.

“You never dream of anything like this. I remember being in a cab when we were about 18 years old. We were in a cab, Derek (Jeter) and I. And we were just thinking if we could ever just get five years in the major leagues, or if we can ever make a million dollars, that would be like the biggest day of our life. So you dream of just being in the major leagues. You never dream of winning world championships or reaching milestones.”

Joe Girardi said the chase for the next milestone will be an “interesting sidebar” this season. …
I didn't even realize it but he is right.  If he hits 30 more homeruns this season he will tie Willy Mays four fourth place. 

Hiroki Kuroda scattered five hits, fanned six and walked two over eight-plus in his Bronx debut, a marked improvement from his first start at Tampa Bay. The 37-year-old righty showed why he can be an upgrade as the No. 2 man in the rotation.

“His splitter was good today,” Girardi said. “… Today it appeared to be a strike and then dipped down.”

He became the first Yankees starter to go at least eight scoreless in his first start at Yankee Stadium, this version or the previous one, since Bob Shirley in 1983, and the first to do that in a home season opener since Rick Rhoden in 1988. Kuroda walked off to a standing ovation.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” Kuroda said through interpreter Kenji Nimura. “I’d like to repeat it as much as I can this season.” …

Nick Swisher delivered a two-out three-run double in the first. That means eight of his nine RBI have come with two outs. He’s at .417 (5 for 12) with two homers in those situations, and he has hit safely in six of the first seven games after this 2-for-4 day took him to .250 overall. …

The Yankees won their fourth straight game after losing the first three. They took their 14th home opener in the last 15 tries. And they dropped the Angels to 2-5 in the process. After managing only a single in four at-bats, Albert Pujols is sitting at just .222 with no homers and two RBI. Manager Mike Scioscia knows Pujols will get going.

“Obviously sooner is better than later, but this isn’t about Albert,” Scioscia said. “This about our team doing some things better on the mound and playing a little more fundamentally sound baseball. Albert is going to be there, but we have to be more than Albert and we are.” …

The teams have a Fox game scheduled for Saturday at 1:05. The pitching matchup will be Phil Hughes vs. C.J. Wilson.

Mets end two game losing streak with a win in Philadelphia

The New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 5-2 tonight. R.A. Dickey started and pitched very well. Jason Bay hit a homerun for the Mets. They had six hits and not one player had more then one hit. Bobby Parnell and Frank Francisco each pitched a scoreless inning. 
Dickey won his second game pitching seven innings and giving up nine hits and one run. He walked one and struck out seven. Parnell gave up a hit in one inning and struck out one and Francisco gave up a hit and a unearned run. He struck out the sides. Cliff Lee started for the Phillies and took the loss. He pitched seven innings giving up five hits and four runs with no walks and seven strikeouts. The bullpen pitched two innings giving up a hit and an unearned run. They walked three and didn’t strike out a batter.

Ruben Tejada had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit, RBI and a walk and Ike Davis drew a walk. Bay had a hit and two RBI, Lucas Duda had an RBI and Scott Hairston had a hit and an RBI. Ronny Cedeno drew a walk, Josh Thole had a hit and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit. Tejada and Murphy each had a double, Bay and Hairston each had a homerun. The Mets were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base. Murphy had an error and Thole a passed ball. Bay had an outfield assist.

Shane Victorino had a hit for the Phillies, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and Jim Thome had a hit and drew a walk. John Mayberry Jr. had a hit, Carlos Ruiz had a hit and Freddy Galvis had two hits and an RBI. Lee had two hits. Rollins and Ruiz each had a double and Galvis had a homerun. The Phillies were 0-8 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Rollins committed an error.

In the first inning Murphy hit an RBI double and Bay hit a two run homerun to make it 3-0 Mets. In the third inning Galvis hit a solo homerun to make it a 3-1 game. In the fifth Hairston hit a solo homerun to make it 4-1 Mets. In the ninth Duda hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1 and in the bottom of the ninth Juan Pierre reached on a fielding error to let a run score.

The Mets ended their two game losing streak and are now 5-2 on the season. The Phillies are 3-4 on the young season. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon at 4:05PM. The Mets are off to a great start, probably better then they could of hoped for. They are getting the pitching. If you have good pitching you will always have a chance to win.

Yankees win their home opener behind a dominant Kuroda

The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this afternoon by the score of 5-0. It was a very tidy two hour and 33 minute game. It was a beautiful day in New York City and Jorge Posada was in the house to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Yankees Opening Day is something special and today was no different. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and was brilliant. Dave Robertson finished the game off pretty easily and the offense was led by a big hit by Nick Swisher. Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson each added a homerun. Albert Pujols was shutdown. 
Kuroda pitched eight innings giving up no runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out six in earning his first victory of the season. Robertson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Ervin Santana took the loss for the Angels going six innings and giving up six hits and five runs with three walks and five strikeouts. The Angels bullpen pitched two innings giving up two hits and no runs.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had three hits and an RBI. Robinson Cano drew a walk, Mark Teixeira drew a walk and Nick Swisher had two hits and three RBI. Russell Martin had a hit, Brett Gardner drew a walk. Swisher and Jeter each had a double, Rodriguez and Granderson each had a homerun. The Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Rodriguez and Martin each had a stolen base and Gardner was picked off.

Erick Aybar had two hits, Bobby Abreu had a hit and Albert Pujols had a hit. Mark Trumbo drew a walk, Maizur Izturis drew a walk and Peter Bourjos had a hit. They were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. The Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Santana got the first two outs then a single to Rodriguez. Cano and Teixeira walked and then Swisher hit a three run double. Rodriguez hit a solo homerun in the third inning to make it 4-0 Yankees. Granderson hit a solo homerun in the fifth inning to make it 5-0. That was the final run of the game.

The Yankees have now won four games in a row and are 4-3 on the season. The Angels record fell to 2-5. Kuroda looked like a completely different pitcher then he was in Tampa Bay. It could have been that it was his first start as a Yankee, it could of just been a bad start. Whatever the case was for him he was the complete opposite today. Rodriguez looked like a completely different player. Rodriguez may have needed to get home also to get him going. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees will be looking for their fifth straight win as they send Phil Hughes to the mound.

The Yankees sweep the Orioles with another extra inning win

The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 6-4 on Wednesday night. It was the Yankees third win in a row as they earned the sweep over the Orioles. It also completed the opening six game road trip, the Yankees finished 3-3. The Yankees will have the day off on Thursday and then have their home opener on Friday afternoon. CC Sabathia started the game and wasn’t very good once again. He was a little bit better then his first start. The Yankees bullpen was outstanding once again. Nick Swisher had a big two run homerun to win the game for the Yankees. 
Sabathia pitched six innings giving up four runs and eight hits. He walked two and struck out eight. Boone Logan pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout, Rafael Soriano picked up the win pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up one hit and two walks with two strikeouts. Mariano Rivera saved his second game pitching a inning and giving up a hit and striking out one. Jake Arrieta started for the Orioles and pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up five hits and four runs with a walk and five strikeouts. Luis Ayala got charged with a blown save pitching 1 1/3 innings and giving up two hits and and two walks with two strikeouts. Kevin Gregg took the loss pitching two innings and giving up three hits and two runs with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had a hit, RBI and drew a walk, Curtis Granderson had two hits and three RBI and Alex Rodriguez had a hit. Eduardo Nunez had a hit, Mark Teixeira had two hits and Swisher had a hit and two RBI. Raul Ibanez drew two walks, Russell Martin had a hit and Brett Gardner had a hit. Jeter and Teixeira each had a double. Granderson and Swisher each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Nunez and Ibanez each had a stolen base and Nunez was caught stealing.

Nick Reimold had a hit for the Orioles. J.J. Hardy had two hits and drew a walk, Nick Markakis drew an intentional walk and Adam Jones had a hit. Matt Wieters had two hits, Mark Reynolds had a hit, two RBI and drew two walks. Ronny Paulino had two hits, Robert Andino had a hit and two RBI. Reynolds and Reimold each had a double. The Orioles were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Jones had a stolen base and Wieters had an error.

The Yankees got on the board first in the first inning. They took a 2-0 lead on a Granderson homerun. The Orioles tied the game at two in the second inning. Andino hit a two run single to make it 2-2, the Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning. Jeter grounded out to score a run and then the Orioles took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Reynolds hit a two run double and the Yankees tied it in the seventh. Granderson hit an RBI single to tie the game at four. The Yankees would take a 6-4 lead on a Swisher two run homerun in the tenth inning.

The Yankees and Orioles are both now3-3 on the season. The Yankees lost their first three game and then came back to sweep the Orioles in this three game series. The Orioles began 3-0 and got swept by the Yankees. The two teams are headed in different directions right now. The Yankees will have off on Thursday and then play their home opener on Friday afternoon. The Yankees will take on the Anaheim Angels. Hiroki Kuroda will make the start against Ervin Santana. Jorge Posada will be in attendance and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Posada will be in town tomorrow night for the annual welcome home dinner. He will receive the pride of the Yankees award. I am sure it will be an emotional couple of days for him as he just retired over the winter. The Yankees will open their home schedule with a seven game homestand. They will play the Angels three games and then the Minnesota Twins for four games.

Mets lose second in a row and series to the Washington Nationals

The New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals by the score of 4-0 this afternoon. Johan Santana started and pitched well but once again only lasted five innings. Stephen Strasburg started for the Nationals and pitched even better for six innings. The Mets offense did nothing, managing only three hits. Ian Desmond and Xavier Nady each had two hits. 
Santana pitched five innings, five hits and one run with three walks and eight strikeouts. Manny Acosta pitched 1 1/3 innings with one hit and one run with three walks, Ramon Ramirez pitched an inning with two hits and one run with two walks and a strikeout. Jon Rauch faced two hitters and got both of them out, Miguel Batista had a hit, run and drew a walk and Tim Byrdak pitched an inning walking one and struck out one. Stasburg got the win and pitched six innings giving up two hits and no runs with three walks and nine strikeouts. The bullpen pitched three innings giving up a walk and a hit.

Ruben Tejada had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit and drew a walk and Lucas Duda drew a walk. Ike Davis had a hit, Josh Thole drew a walk and Kirk Nieuwenhuis drew a walk. The Mets were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Thole had a passed ball.

Desmond for the Nationals had two hits, Danny Espinosa had a hit and drew two walks and Ryan Zimmerman had a hit and drew a walk. Jayson Werth had a hit and drew a walk, Mark DeRosa had a hit, RBI and drew three walks and Adam LaRoche drew a walk. Xavier Nady had two hits, Jesus Flores had a hit, RBI and drew two walks. Chad Tracy had an RBI, Desmond had a double and the Nationals were 1-14 with runners in scoring position. They left 14 men on base, Nady had a stolen base. Espinosa had a throwing error.

DeRosa and Nady singled, they had runners on second and third on a throwing error. Flores walked and then a wild pitch made it 1-0 Nationals. Desmond doubled, Espinosa walked and Zimmerman walked and DeRosa walked for an RBI. It was 2-0 Nationals. Tracy grounded out to score another run and make it 3-0 Nationals. The final run of the game came in the ninth and Flores walked to make it 4-0.
The Mets lost the three game series, only winning one game. They finished 4-2 overall on the six game homestand. They have the day off tomorrow and then they play the Philadelphia Phillies three games and then on to Atlanta to face the Braves for three games. The Mets hopefully won’t be without their star David Wright for too long.

Yankees at Orioles-Yankees go for the sweep Pregame

The New York Yankees started off their season losing three straight games to the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Yankees came into Baltimore and have won the first two games.  They are looking for the three game sweep tonight.  CC Sabathia is starting against Jake Arietta.  Here are the lineups and some notes. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner. 

Orioles Lineup:Nick Reimold, J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Mark Reynolds, Ronny Paulino, Wilson Betemit, Robert Andino. 

The Yankees will have off Thursday and have their annual Welcome Home Dinner at night.  Jorge Posada will be in attendance and be presented with the Pride Of the Yankees award.  Posada will also throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Friday afternoon in the Home Opener. 

Mariano Rivera was able to secure his first save of the season last night.  Rafael Soriano broke a fingernail and was probably not available last night.  The Yankees still haven't announced if he is available for tonight's game. 

The Yankees really used their bullpen last night and will need Sabathia to go deep into the game.  If Sabathia is on this may be a game where he needs to go eight or even get a complete game.  The Yankees will not use David Phelps or Cory Wade.  They could probably use Rivera for an inning in a save situation and they may not have Soriano. 

The Yankees once again last night were 2-18 with runners in scoring position.  They haven't hit in the clutch so far at all this season.  This has been a problem for the last couple of years.  It is why they lost game five last year to the Tigers.  If they would of just got one hit or one sac fly they would of been back in the ALCS.  They really need to improve on this to be a championship team. 

Nick Swisher got hit in the foot last night but he appears to be fine and is in the lineup. 

Mets vs. Nationals Pregame

Here are the lineups for this afternoons rubber game. The Mets lost their first game last night 6-2 to the Nationals.

Mets Lineup:Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, Ike Davis, Jason Bay, Josh Thole, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Ronny Cedeno(3B), Johan Santana

Nationals Lineup:Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Mark DeRosa, Adam LaRoche, Xavier Nady, Jesus Flores, Stephen Strasburg.

The New York Yankees win a marathon 12 inning game 5-4 in Baltimore

The New York Yankees won their second straight game on Tuesday night. They defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 in 12 innings in Baltimore. Freddy Garcia started and had nothing right from the start. He was very wild which is unusual for him. It looked like he was uncomfortable with the weather and just couldn’t get a grip on the ball. Garcia had five wild pitches in the game which is more then he had in the last couple of seasons combined. It was the most wild pitches in a game since 1989. A.J. Burnett didn’t even accomplish that feat, as wild as he was with the Yankees. The Yankees bullpen was great and Raul Ibanez became the hero with the game winning RBI. 
Garcia pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up four hits and four runs with three of them being earned. He walked three and struck out three. David Phelps pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings with four strikeouts, Dave Robertson pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout and Boone Logan gave up a hit to the only guy he faced. Cory Wade pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up one hit and a walk with four strikeouts, Clay Rapada got the win pitching 2/3 of an inning and striking out one and Mariano Rivera earned his first save of the season. Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. I thought Chen the Baltimore pitcher pitched really well. He pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up seven hits and four runs with two of them being earned. He walked one and struck out six. The Orioles used five other pitchers, they pitched well and Strop took the loss pitching two innings and giving up two hits and one run with two walks and two strikeouts.

Derek Jeter had two hits and an RBI, Nick Swisher had a hit and Robinson Cano had three hits. Mark Teixeira had a hit, Curtis Granderson drew two walks and Andruw Jones had an RBI. Ibanez had two hits and an RBI, Russell Martin had a hit and drew a walk and Brett Gardner had two hits and an RBI. Swisher, Cano and Ibanez each hit a double. Jeter hit a homerun, the Yankees were 2-18 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. Ibanez had a stolen base and Martin committed an error with a passed ball.

The Orioles had six hits but not one Oriole had more then one hit. Adam Jones and Robert Andino each had a double. J.J. Hardy hit a homerun, the Orioles were 0-8 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Jones had a stolen base and Reynolds was caught stealing and committed an error. Chavez had an outfield assist.

Jeter hit a leadoff homerun to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Orioles came right back and scored two runs in the bottom of the first. Hardy hit a solo homerun and a wild pitch scored another run. The Orioles scored another run in the fourth inning on a Nick Johnson ground out which was a fielders choice. In the bottom of the fifth Garcia threw another wild pitch for a run and it was 4-1 Orioles. The Yankees broke through in the sixth inning. Jones hit a sacrifice fly, Martin reached on a fielding error and it was 4-3 Orioles. Gardner hit an RBI single to tie the game at four. The Yankees scored their fifth and final run of the game in the 12^th inning. Ibanez hit an RBI double which was the game winning hit.

The two teams will play game three of a three game series on Wednesday night. The Yankees will be looking for their third straight win and a sweep of the three game series. CC Sabathia will start for the Yankees and Jake Arrietta will start for the Orioles.

The New York Mets suffer their first loss of the season to the Washington Nationals

The New York Mets came into tonight’s game with a 4-0 record on the season. They have been doing just about everything right. The Mets lost to the Washington Nationals by the score of 6-2 on Tuesday night. Dillon Gee started and pitched ok. The bullpen wasn’t great for the first time this season. The Mets offense didn’t do a whole lot. Ronny Cedeno had three of the teams seven hits. 
Gee pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs with three of them being earned. He took the loss and had one walk and six strikeouts. Bobby Parnell pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits and one run with a walk and four strikeouts and Miguel Batista pitched two innings giving up two hits and one run with two walks and one strikeout. Ross Detwiler got the win, he pitched five innings giving up two hits and no runs with a walk and six strikeouts.

Ruben Tejada had one hit and one walk, Cedeno had three hits and an RBI and Jason Bay had a hit. Justin Turner had a hit and an RBI, Kirk Nieuwenhuis drew a walk and Mike Nickeas drew a walk. Josh Thole had a hit. Tejada, Bay and Cedeno each had a double. The Mets were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Murphy committed an error.

Jayson Werth had a big game for the Nationals with four hits and two RBI. Ian Desmond had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Wilson Ramos had two hits and an RBI. Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, Ramos, and Adam LaRoche each had a double. Desmond hit a homerun, the Nationals were 4-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

Desmond hit a leadoff homerun in the first inning to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. In the sixth the Nationals took a 4-0 lead. Werth hit an RBI single, Roger Bernadina reached on a fielders choice and an error by Murphy allowing a run to score. It was 3-0 Nationals and Ramos hit an RBI double to make it 4-0. Werth hit an RBI single in the seventh to make it 5-0 Nationals. In the bottom of the seventh the Mets got on the board with an RBI single by Turner. In the eighth Zimmerman hit an RBI sacrifice fly. It was 6-1 and then the Mets added a run in the eighth on a Cedeno RBI double.

The Mets are now 4-1 on the season and the Nationals are 3-2. The two teams will play the rubber game of the three game series on Wednesday afternoon. Johan Santana will start for the Mets and Stephen Strasburg for the Nationals.

Yankees vs. Orioles Pregame

The New York Yankees will take on the Baltimore Orioles in game two of a three game series tonight in Baltimore.  Freddy Garcia will make his first start of the year.  The Yankees won their first game of the season last night 6-2 in Baltimore.  Here are the lineups and some notes to get you ready for the game. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones(DH), Russell Martin, Brett Gardner. 

Orioles Lineup:Endy Chavez, J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Nick Johnson(DH), Mark Reynolds, Chris Davis, Robert Andino. 

The Yankees avoided their first 0-4 start since 1973.  The panic has subsided for now.  It would of really been bad if the Boss was still around.  The Yankees were 0-3 and Tampa Bay and the New York Mets were 3-0.  That wouldn't have sat well, but Hal is a little bit calmer then his dad was. 

Wei-Yin Chen starts for Baltimore tonight.  He is from Taiwan and will make his first ever major league start.  He is a 26 year old left-hander who was signed to a three year deal this past winter.  He had a pretty good spring but the regular season is a whole new ballgame. 

Jeter leads all active major leaguers in games(253), runs scored(194) and doubles(63) against the Orioles.  He is second with 125 RBI against them.  Rodriguez has the most against them of active players with 187 and also has 57 homeruns against them which is the most among active players. 

Andy Pettitte made his first start last night with A Tampa.  He pitched three innings and allowed a run on two hits.  99 years ago today was the first time the Yankees used the name Yankees.  It was April 10, 1913.  They were the Highlanders prior to that. 

Robinson Cano is a career 365 hitter in 58 games at Camden Yards and has hit safely in 29 on his 31 games there.  Nick Markakis is a 385 career hitter against Garcia while Reynolds has four hits against him.  Two homeruns and two doubles.

The Yankees like Baltimore having won 23 of their last 32 games played in Camden Yards. 

New York Yankees postgame notes after their first win

Here are the Yankees postgame notes, locker room reaction, Chad Jennings from the Journal News and Lohud Yankees blog has that covered.  The Yankees won their first game of the season and will play two more in Baltimore before a day off and then the home opener on Friday afternoon. 

One-by-one, the Yankees walked side-by-side through the middle of the infield. There was no over-the-top celebration, just a standard postgame ritual after the first win of the season.
“It’s nice to shake hands again,” Mark Teixeira said. “In spring training, not many of us are there in the ninth inning to shake hands, so it’s nice to go through the line again.”
Offensively, the Yankees didn’t do many things differently tonight. They scored six runs — same number they scored Friday and Saturday — but some hard-hit balls found holes at the right times, and Ivan Nova made the offensive production hold up with big pitches in big spots.  It usually does come down to pitching, the offense yesterday was shut down but the offense hasn't been the problem.  If the Yankees top two starters pitched that way in the first two games the Yankees win. 

“It’s good to get the first anything of the season,” Derek Jeter said. “Whether it’s the first hit, the first RBI, first anything – first win. … You don’t want to think about it too long. A lot of guys, when you’re trying to get your first hit, the more days that go by, you start to panic a little bit. It’s a little different In terms of getting a win, because we feel as though we have a good team. But yeah, it’s good to get the first one.”

This was a tied game until a three-run fourth gave the Yankees some breathing room. From there, they pulled away a little bit, and kept potential Orioles rallies from becoming real problems. In other words, they played a winning baseball game. Nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary except that it was the first of the season.

“I thought our guys were pretty loose today, and that’s what I want,” Joe Girardi said. “I want our guys relaxed and playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played. But I’m sure everyone exhaled a little bit.”  It is because it was the first three games of the season against a divisional foe and also in New York.  The media and fans are relentless in New York and it is hard. 

Nice outing by Nova, who struggled with command and consistency in spring training, but put together seven walk-less innings to continue his winning streak. Counting last season, he’s won 13 straight decisions. “You can see what happened last year,” Nova said. “I know last year is last year, but when I get the lead, I feel really good about it. I want to go for the win, so that’s the first thing I put in my mind.”  He is really good with protecting a lead.  I think that is the competitor in him, he doesn't want to lose and can smell those wins. 

This was the 37th four-hit game of Jeter’s career. He has four more five-hit games. Two of his four-hit games have come at Camden Yards. “I just want to be comfortable,” he said. “If you’re comfortable, good things will happen. We’ve only played a couple games, but you want it to continue, and to be comfortable. If I’m comfortable, then I’m confident the success will be there.”

Russell Martin was laughing about what he called a “yapping session” with Robert Andino at the end of the game. Although Martin wouldn’t come right out and say it, it seemed that Martin might have been accusing Andino of trying to steal signs. He admitted that he said something first. The two shouted at each other a little bit as they went off the field. “Probably maybe a look that I gave him,” Martin said, smiling. “Maybe he didn’t like the way I looked at him or something. I don’t really know. Is this Sherlock Holmes? Are you guys looking for clues and stuff? That’s all I’ve got. I think he was inviting me to a sparring session next offseason, by the way. I don’t know. I’ll get his number. We’ll talk it over later.”  I thought that was a very funny exchange with the media that Martin had.  He obviously isn't too concerned with it. 

 As for the game itself, here’s Martin on Nova: “He was great. Just located his fastball both sides of the plate, elevated when he needed to, he gets his curveball in there nicely, sprinkled a couple of sliders. He was just in control and getting ahead of hitters and when you do that you’re going to be successful.”

 Nova said he told Freddy Garcia that he expected to be the guy to end the Yankees losing streak. “A lot of times last year, in the same situation, when we had lost a couple games in a row, and I came back and stopped it,” Nova said. “I told Freddy, maybe that’s the day, that I was ready to win. I think that’s what happened. When you’re mentally prepared and ready to do something, it’s easier to do it.”

 Andruw Jones came out of the game strictly for defensive purposes. He’s not hurt, the Yankees just wanted Brett Gardner in left field.

Andy Pettitte wound up pitching three innings tonight. He allowed one run on two hits and no walks. He struck out two. “It sounds like he threw a lot of strikes,” Girardi said. “I’ll try to give him a call either later tonight or tomorrow morning to see how he feels, but it sounds encouraging.”

 Pettitte threw 32 pitches, 26 for strikes. Pettitte told the Associated Press that he’s getting an extra day off because he’s been throwing a lot. His next start will be Sunday in Tampa.

 Michael Pineda had the day off today. He did long toss yesterday and will do long toss again tomorrow.

 The Yankees have scored six runs in three of their four games, but they’ve hit just three home runs. Tonight, their only homer was a solo shot. For the most part, they’ve been able to manufacture some offense. “I like that,” Girardi said. “We have speed and we can do some things with this club. We don’t always have to be station to station. Some of the guys are a little bit more station to station than the others, but we do have speed and we can do some things.”  I agree, they can hit and run and steal some bases.  They just need to get better with runners in scoring position.

The New York Yankees get in the win column with a victory over the Baltimore Orioles

The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 6-2 on Monday night. Ivan Nova made the start and pitched really well. It was the best start any Yankees pitcher has had so far this season. Derek Jeter led the offense with four hits. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera each pitched a scoreless inning. 
Nova got the win pitching seven innings and giving up two runs on ten hits. He walked none and struck out seven. Robertson pitched an inning giving up two hits and no runs and striking out two and Rivera pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Brian Matusz took the loss pitching four innings and giving up six hits and four runs with four walks and he struck out one batter. The Orioles used four pitchers out of the bullpen who gave up two runs and five hits with three walks and one strikeout. They pitched five innings.

Jeter had four hits and an RBI, Nick Swisher drew two walks and Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk. Alex Rodriguez drew a walk, Mark Teixeira had a hit and an RBI and Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk. Andruw Jones had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Brett Gardner had a hit and an RBI and Russell Martin had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Eduardo Nunez had a hit and an RBI. Jeter and Granderson each had a double. Jones hit a homerun, the Yankees were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Gardner had a stolen base and Jeter was caught stealing.

Nick Reimold had a hit, Adam Jones had a hit and Matt Wieters had four hits and an RBI. Mark Reynolds had two hits, Wilson Betemit had a hit and Chris Davis had two hits and an RBI. Robert Andino had two hits.

The Yankees got on the board first for the first time this season. They scored in the first inning on an RBI single by Teixeira. The Orioles tied it in the second inning on a Wieters solo homerun. In the fourth the Yankees took a 4-1 lead. Martin had an RBI single, Nunez had a sacrifice fly for an RBI and Jeter had an RBI double. In the sixth the Yankees extended their lead to 5-1 on a Jones solo homerun. In the seventh Gardner hit an RBI single to make it a 6-1 game in favor of the Yankees. The Orioles scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the seventh on a Davis RBI single.

The Yankees and Orioles will play game two of their three game series on Tuesday night. The Yankees will send Freddy Garcia to the mound and the Orioles will have a pitcher making his major league debut from Japan. The Yankees are now 1-3 and the Orioles 3-1. The next two games will be night games and then the Yankees have Thursday off. They will open up at home on Friday afternoon against the Anaheim Angels.

The Mets continue their hot start with a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals

The New York Mets are 4-0. It almost seems surreal but they have played really well and probably more then any other team needed to start fast. The Mets have gotten good pitching, especially from their bullpen. They have gotten enough hitting, some power and they are playing with confidence right now. Mike Pelfrey started this game and wasn’t great but he hung in there and got the win. The bullpen was good again. Daniel Murphy had two hits and an RBI to lead the offense. Murphy has been playing great. 
Pelfrey pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up 10 hits and three runs with a walk and eight strikeouts. Miguel Batista pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two walks and striking out one, Ramon Ramirez pitched a perfect inning and Jon Rauch earned the win pitching two innings, walking one and striking out one. Edwin Jackson started for the Nationals and pitched five innings giving up four hits and three runs with two walks and six strikeouts. Tom Gorzelanny pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up two hits and three walks and Henry Rodriguez pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up one hit, one unearned run and one walk with a strikeout.

Ruben Tejada had a hit and a walk, Murphy had two hits and one RBI and David Wright had a hit, RBI and a walk. Jason Bay drew a walk, Josh Thole had a hit and walked two guys and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and two RBI. Pelfrey had a hit and Mike Baxter drew a walk. Pelfrey, Tejada and Thole each had a double. Nieuwenhuis hit his first major league homerun. The Mets were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Murphy was caught stealing and Pelfrey made an error. Bay had an outfield assist.

The Nationals got two hits from Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and Jesus Flores. Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Jayson Werth and Xavier Nady each had a hit. Zimmerman had a double and Werth had a triple. The Nationals were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. LaRoche and Rodriguez each made an error.

LaRoche had an RBI single in the first inning to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. In the third inning the Nationals took a 3-0 lead. Zimmerman had an RBI double and LaRoche had an RBI single. In the bottom of the third Wright had an RBI single to make it 3-1 Nationals. In the fourth Nieuwenhuis hit a two run homerun to tie the game at three. The Mets won the game in the bottom of the ninth, Baxter walked and Tejada tried to sacrifice him to second. The pitcher Rodriguez made a throwing error setting up second and third no outs and Murphy hit a walk-off RBI single. The Mets won the game 4-3.

The Mets are now 4-0 to start the season. They swept a three game series with the Atlanta Braves and now won the first of three against the Nationals. The Mets and Nationals will play tomorrow night and then conclude their series on Wednesday afternoon.

New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles Pregame

The New York Yankees begin a three game series tonight in Baltimore against the Orioles.  The Yankes are 0-3 to start the season and Baltimore is 3-0.  The last time the Yankees were 0-3 to start was in 1998 and they went on to win 114 regular season games and the World Series.  Here are the lineups and some notes. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez(DH), Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones(LF), Russell Martin, Eduardo Nunez(SS). 

Orioles Lineup:Nolan Reimold, J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Mark Reynolds, Wilson Betemit, Chris Davis, Robert Andino.

The pitching matchup is Ivan Nova and Brian Matusz.  They will both be making their first starts of the year.  Matusz had a tough year last year and Nova was in the running for rookie of the year winning 16 games. 

The Yankees were 13-5 against the Orioles last season.  The Yankees have begun a season 0-3 or worse nine times in their history.  1912, 1930, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1975, 1985, 1998 and this season.  They have won one world series, appeared in two and had a record above 600 three times in those seasons. 

Andy Pettitte will make an appearance tonight for the A Yankees in Tampa.  He will be facing Clearwater which is a minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Dave Robertson the Yankees eighth inning man turns 27 years old today.  Freddy Garcia will start tomorrows game against Wei-Yin Chen who pitched in Japan last year.  CC Sabathia will face Jake Arrieta on Wednesday night and the Yankees will have off on Thursday.  The three games in Baltimore are all 7:00PM starts.  The Yankees will have their home opener on Friday afternoon against the Anaheim Angels. 

New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals Pregame

Here are the lineups for tonights Mets vs. Nationals game and some notes.  The Mets are 3-0 and riding a wave of enthusiasm and good momentum.  Will they be able to keep it up?  We will see but through the first three games they have looked good.  They were playing an Atlanta team that just can't score runs but it was still an impressive weekend.  I think the Mets more then anyone needed to get off to a good start and they have so far. 

Mets Lineup:Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Ike Davis, Jason Bay, Lucas Duda, Josh Thole, Kirk Niewenhuis, Mike Pelfrey

Nats Lineup:Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche, Jayson Werth, Mark DeRosa, Roger Bernadina, Jesus Flores, Edwin Jackson

Andres Torres has made no progress with his strained calf and needs at least two more weeks rest with it according to Mets manager Terry Collins.  Collins also said he has to keep a close eye on Francisco who saved all three games so far and is still experiencing some knee pain.  He stated if Francisco or Jon Rauch couldn't close then Miguel Batista would be the closer. 

Collins said Ike Davis would be off tomorrow with the left handed starter and Justin Turner would play first base.  Pelfrey starts tonight for the Mets.  He is making his first start of the year.  In his last two spring starts he allowed two runs in 10 1/3 innings pitched.  Pelfrey is 19-13 at Citi Field with a 3.44 ERA in 51 career games there.  Jackson will start for the Nationals and in 31 starts last year with the Cardinals and White Sox he was 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA.  He faced the Mets once last year and allowed five runs on nine hits with four walks in five innings. 

According to the Elias Sports Bureau the last time the Mets had eight of nine homegrown starters in their lineup not counting August or September was April 19, 1990 against the Cubs.  The names in that lineup were Gregg Jefferies, Darryl Strawberry, Dave Magadan, Kevin Elster and Dwight Gooden.  Those are the most recognizable names. 

Yankees Sunday Night notes after a lost weekend in Tampa

Here are the postgame notes after the Yankees were swept in Tampa.  They didn't play particularly well but everything seemed to go wrong.  The Rays played extremely well and seemed to do everything right.  Here are some quotes from the Yankees clubhouse mixed in with some notes coming from the Yankees beat and also press notes. 

After a third-straight loss to open the season, sentiment in the Yankees clubhouse seemed to be universal.

“The at-bats have been consistent and pretty solid, swinging at strikes,” Alex Rodriguez said. “Everything they did worked out perfectly. Everything we did worked out imperfectly.”

Even after a three-hit, 3-0 shutout, the Yankees seemed to be shaking their heads more than hanging their heads. This isn’t usually a make-excuses clubhouse, but the Yankees seemed honestly happy with the way they hit this weekend, they just weren’t happy with the number of hits. In terms of line drives and hard-hit balls, the Yankees didn’t have a particularly bad weekend, but the Rays aggressive use of a defensive shift worked incredibly well. With three losses by a total of six runs, missed opportunities carried considerable weight.  It was a very frustrating series.  I think only the Rays can get away with all the shifts, Joe Maddon is known as being quirky and if the Yankees or Red Sox did it, the press would go crazy. 

“That’s a defense I’ve never seen before,” Nick Swisher said. “I don’t think anybody has ever seen that, especially to everybody. You’re talking about everybody from Curt to Al, Cano, Tex, myself. I can even think of a hard-hit ball Tex had last night, man, takes that run away. Curt hit two lasers up the middle yesterday and (Sean) Rodriguez was standing right behind second base. We can’t get frustrated because we’re not getting results because we are putting great at-bats together. We’re doing things the right way. We just haven’t picked up that first W yet.”  I would agree with Swisher, I have seen extreme shifts but to every player??  I have never seen that and the thing is it worked, the Yankees so many times in the series looked to have hits and RBI and boom a fielder was right there, I have no idea how they did it but they seemed to be playing with extra fielders. 

Even with the shift, the Yankees scored six runs both Friday and Saturday, but still couldn’t get a win. Today the Yankees finally had a well-pitched game, but it came with a near complete-game shutout from Jeremy Hellickson.  You can say a lot of things but the bottom line is pitching and if the Yankees 1 and 2 starters pitch the way they should, the Yankees win the first two games and we are singing a different tune right now.  They didn't pitch well, the Yankees lost and now they are 0-3.  It is a long season though with many peaks and valleys, you just don't want the valley to happen in the beginning. 

“I don’t want to take anything away from the kid,” Joe Girardi said. “But we lined out a number of times, and that’s going to happen.”

Said Mark Teixiera: “That’s why I like hitting home runs, because they can’t catch it when you hit home runs. You can score a lot of runs that way. But if you’re not hitting home runs, you’re at the mercy of the balls falling it. I thought we swung the bats well all weekend, we just didn’t have much to show for it.”  I don't like this statement because I think too often the Yankees think that way.  If you have second and third one out, just hit a sac fly or a single, they try to do too much and end up doing nothing because of it. 

 Not a bad outing for Phil Hughes, just a short outing. He allowed two runs — one on a misplayed ball by Raul Ibanez, another on a solo homer by Carlos Pena — but runs weren’t the problem. “I just have to put guys away early in counts and try and have some quick innings in the middle innings,” Hughes said. “Obviously you’re going to have jams every now and then, but if you can get some quick innings to move things along, it helps. The pitch count was the issue today.”

 Hughes actually broke Matt Joyce’s bat on that first-inning triple, but Ibanez — starting in right field for the first time since 2005 — misread the ball, then misplayed it. “He hit it off the end and it had some top spin on it,” Ibanez said. “I misread it, the velocity of the ball, and then I tried to make a play instead of laying up. I tried to go for it with a guy on second base and it didn’t work out. I screwed it up.”

 On the Pena home run, Hughes went to a fastball at 3-2. He said he’d thrown so many offspeed pitches in the at-bat that he thought he could surprise Pena with a fastball in that situation. Obviously Pena was ready for it.

This was the first time since Hughes’ major league debut that the Yankees were held scoreless in a Hughes start. Last year, Hughes led all major league pitchers in run support per nine innings.

Girardi on Hughes: “I thought it was a pretty positive outing. Obviously you don’t want to see 100 pitches in five innings but overall I thought it was a pretty positive outing today. We saw his velocity the whole way throughout. He threw a really good changeup. His curveball and cutter were decent. He just got into some really long counts.

 Aside from the home run by Jeff Keppinger, Boone Logan looked pretty sharp in his first outing since feeling lower back tightness on the last day of spring training. He struck out three in an inning and a third. “I felt good,” Logan said. “Arm felt really good. I felt like there was more arm than whole-body in my delivery tonight. But I expected that. It felt like it got looser and looser the more pitches I threw, it didn’t get tighter, which is a good feeling to have. That (home run) ball just ran over the plate. What can you do?”

Girardi on the decision to let Logan stay in to face Keppinger: “I can’t use Mo, Robertson and Soriano every day, and when we’re losing, we try to get some innings out of some other guys down there. Boone had thrown the ball really well to three hitters, and then he made a mistake with the fastball. He finished up getting Molina, looking good.”

 Both Ibanez and Granderson fouled balls off their right legs and were limping a little, but both said it was no big deal. They expect to be fine tomorrow.

Another fan reached over the right-field wall to affect a ball in play today. This time it was properly ruled a double without the need for replay. Ibanez said it was the right call. He said the ball was going to hit the top of the wall, but he had no chance of catching it.

 Pretty good debut for David Phelps who faced two batters, getting a strikeout and a groundout. “It’s a great feeling,” Phelps said. “You dream about it your whole life. Jogging out to the mound when they called me, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really happening.’ I was fortunate enough to get ahead of the first guy. We had a good scouting report on him. Russ called all the pitches, and I just had to throw them. It was awesome. It’s what you hope for.”  This was the bright spot for the Yankees. 

 Last time the Yankees opened a season 0-3 was 1998. That season they were actually 1-4 and ended up winning 114 games, 125 overall as they won the World Series.  It is not a good start but it isn't the end of the world either.  The Yankees will now head to Baltimore for three games.  They usually enjoy success in Camden Yards and have a lot of Yankees fans in the house.  The Yankees will then have Thursday off and begin their home schedule on Friday afternoon againt the Anaheim Angels. 

The New York Mets sweep the Atlanta Braves with a 7-5 win

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 7-5 on Sunday afternoon. It was a three game sweep for the Mets to open up the season. They may have needed this more then any other team or at least just as much as maybe a couple of other teams. The Mets haven’t been good in the last couple of years and they have also taken a beating in the public relations department. The only way they can win back the fans is by going out and winning games. Jon Niese started and pitched great until he ran out of gas in the seventh inning. Ruben Tejada had four hits and two RBI and Daniel Murphy had two hits and two RBI. 
Niese pitched six innings giving up two hits and four runs with three of them being earned. He walked four and struck out seven. Niese got the win, Manny Acosta pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two strikeouts, Tim Byrdak got out the only hitter he faced and Frank Francisco earned his third save of the season in three chances. He pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Mike Minor started for the Braves and took the loss. He pitched five innings, giving up six hits and six runs with four walks and six strikeouts. Cristhian Martinez pitched one inning giving up two hits and one run with two strikeouts, Kris Medlen pitched one inning giving up two hits and a walk and Eric O’Flaherty pitched one inning giving up a hit and striking out one.

Tejada had four hits and two RBI for the Mets. Murphy had two hits and two RBI, David Wright had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks and Ike Davis drew a walk. Jason Bay had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Lucas Duda had a hit and drew a walk and Scott Hairston had a hit and an RBI. Niese had a hit, Tejada had two doubles and Murphy had a double. Hairston had a double and the Mets were 3-9 with runners in scoring position. They left seven men on base, Duda had an error and Nickeas a passed ball.

Martin Prado drew a walk for the Braves, Brian McCann had a hit and an RBI and Dan Uggla drew two walks. Freddie Freeman had a hit, Matt Diaz drew a walk and Jayson Heyward had a hit and two RBI. Jack Wilson had an RBI, Heyward had a double and McCann had a homerun. The Braves were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base. Heyward had a stolen base and Diaz had an outfield assist.

The Mets got on the board first in the first inning. Tejada doubled and moved over to third on a Murphy ground out. Wright hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. In the fourth Bay hit a sacrifice fly which was a double play. He flied out to left field, the throw came in to third where Wright got caught in a rundown and was forced out at third. It was 2-0 Mets. In the fifth Murphy hit a two run double to make it 4-0 Mets. In the sixth Hairston hit an RBI double and Tejada hit a two run double and it was 7-0 Mets. The Braves got on the board in the seventh, they also got their first hit in the inning. Uggla walked and Freeman hit a single. Diaz reached on a fielding error by Duda and a run scored. Heyward doubled home two runs and it was 7-3 Mets. Wilson hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-4 Mets. McCann hit a solo homerun in the eight to make it 7-5 and that would be the final score.

The Mets swept the three game series and will now take on the Washington Nationals in a three game set at home. They will play Monday and Tuesday night and then Wednesday afternoon. The Mets will have Thursday off and then go to Philadelphia for their first road series of the year.

The New York Yankees get swept by the Tampa Bay Rays to open the season

The New York Yankees have not begun the season the way they envisioned. They got swept in a three game series in Tampa to start the season. The three losses can’t really be pinned on one thing. The two starters in the first two games were not very good but that wasn’t the only reason they lost. Phil Hughes was pretty good today but didn’t give them length and they couldn’t score. The Yankees lost today’s game by the score of 3-0. They couldn’t get big hits when it really counted in any of the games and that cost them. The Yankees are 0-3 and the last time that happened was in 1998 and they went on to win 114 games and the World Series. It is very early and it is a long season, you never want to get swept but it isn’t the end of the world just yet. The Yankees now head to Baltimore for three games before coming home on Friday to take on the Anaheim Angles in their home opener. 
Phil Hughes started this game and pitched better then the other two starters did. Hughes wasn’t able to give the Yankees length though because of a high pitch count. Hughes pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out five. Boone Logan pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run and struck out three batters, Cory Wade pitched an inning giving up one hit and striking out two and Clay Rapada walked a batter and got another out. David Phelps got both batters out that he faced and struck one out. Hughes took the loss in the game and Jeremy Hellickson got the win pitching 8 2/3 innings giving up no runs on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Fernando Rodney earned his second save by getting the only batter that he faced out.

Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira each got a hit and that was it for the Yankees. The three hits were all doubles. The Yankees were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Rodriguez had a stolen base.

Carlos Pena had two hits and an RBI for the Rays. Evan Longoria had two hits and drew a walk, Matt Joyce had a hit, RBI and drew a walk and Ben Zobrist drew a walk. Jeff Keppinger had two hits and an RBI, Longoria and Pena each had a double. Joyce had a triple and Pena and Keppinger each hit a homerun. The Rays were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base.

In the first inning the Rays scored on an RBI triple by Joyce, Ibanez misplayed it though and it shouldn’t have been anything but an out. In the third inning the Rays made it 2-0 on a solo homerun by Pena and in the sixth Keppinger hit a solo homerun to make it 3-0.

The Yankees are 0-3 and the Rays were 3-0. The Yankees didn’t really do anything right in this series. They didn’t pitch too well in the first two games and in this game they didn’t hit at all. The Rays also drove them crazy with their shifts and it always seemed like they were in the right position. The Yankees felt overall that they had good at bats but a lot of times they were hitting balls right at people. The Yankees will now head to Baltimore for a three game series before coming home on Friday for their home opener against the Anaheim Angels.