New York Yankees Thursday notes

Here are the Yankees Thursday night notes after a loss to the Rays avoiding the sweep.  They are courtesy of the Lohud Yankees blog and the Journal News. 

Despite earning a win for the second straight start last week in Anaheim, Ivan Nova knew he hadn’t “earned” it. He’d allowed five earned runs and 11 more baserunners in a start that was all too emblematic of his season.

In the wake of another so-so performance, Nova demanded more of himself. He worked on keeping his front side closed longer so his sinker could pound the bottom of the strike zone. The result was eight-plus innings of four-hit, one-run ball and a 4-1 Yankees’ win.

“He has an understanding of what he needs to get done. He wasn’t kidding himself,” pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. “Sometimes, with young pitchers, they will delude themselves into thinking other things, but he knew. He knew he wasn’t throwing the ball the way he can and making the pitches that he should. That’s the start of making some adjustments. If you don’t feel like you need to do that, you’re not going to do it. But he knew after the game he needed to make some adjustments both mentally and physically and he did it tonight.”

The key word emanating throughout the Yankee clubhouse tonight was “aggressive.” That was the difference with this Nova, who attacked the Rays all night. He recorded 12 ground outs to just five fly outs, coming out on the better side of that ratio for just the fourth time in 12 starts.

“You know that’s when his stuff is on, when he’s getting ground ball outs with his fastball,” Joe Girardi said. “You know his ball is sinking and he’s locating where he wants to and he’s down in the zone.”

Nova allowed a leadoff single to Desmond Jennings in the first, but quickly erased the runner with a strikeout and a double play. He didn’t allow another hit until Sean Rodriguez slashed a double to right with one out in the eighth. Jennings and B.J. Upton later knocked Nova from the game with back-to-back triples to open the ninth, but Rafael Soriano retired three straight to strand Upton at third.

“That’s the type of start we expect from him,” Nick Swisher said of Nova.

 Nova improved to 4-0 with a 2.82 ERA in six career starts vs. Tampa. He has won his last four starts against the Rays, pitching to a 1.29 ERA in that stretch.

Of course, the Yankees have pitched pretty well as a team during this turn in the rotation. They tossed a season-high 22 straight scoreless innings until the run scored in the ninth. It marked the club’s longest stretch since a 31-inning stretch from Aug. 7-9, 2009. The starters are 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA (38.1 IP, 25 H, 7 ER, 9 BB, 32 K, 3 HR) in their last turn through the rotation.

Mark Teixeira hit a solo homer, his 10th, in the second. He now has five home runs and 13 RBI since May 23. He also reached double-digits in each of his 10 seasons, joining Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Adam Dunn and Carlos Lee as the only active players to do so.

 Robinson Cano also homered, giving him six in his last 17 games after swatting just three in his first 38.

 Rafael Soriano is now 8 for 8 in save chances this year. He escaped a jam in the ninth, getting Matt Joyce, Ben Zobrist and Hideki Matsui to retire the side after entering with no one out and B.J. Upton on third in the ninth.

 Is the home run important to the Yankees? Um, yes. They are now 31-12 when hitting a homer and 23-5 when hitting two or more. Conversely, they are 0-12 when not homering.

The Yankees are now just a half-game out of first. Those guys from Boston and your pal Josh Beckett could not hold a one-run lead. They lost to the Orioles, who still lead the division by a hair.

The Yankees batter around Santana in Subway Series victory

The New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets by the score of 9-1 on Friday night. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and was brilliant. Johan Santana started for the Mets, his first start since the no hitter last week. Santana got hit around hard on Friday night. The Yankees hit four homeruns in the game including back-to-back-to-back. Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones led the Yankees offense. The Mets offense only managed two hits and their only run came in the ninth during garbage time. 
Kuroda pitched seven innings giving up no runs on one hit. He left the game after getting hit on the foot by a line drive. He walked one and struck out seven. Kuroda improved his record to 5-6 on the season. Cody Eppley pitched a perfect inning and Ryota Igarashi pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks and two strikeouts. Santana took the loss his third of the season. He pitched five innings giving up seven hits and six runs. Santana walked one and struck out five. Elvin Ramirez pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits and three runs with four walks, Miguel Batista faced one batter and retired him and Jon Rauch pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Jayson Nix had a hit, Curtis Granderson drew a walk and Mark Teixeira had a hit. Alex Rodriguez had a hit, RBI and drew a walk, Cano had two hits and four RBI and Swisher had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Jones had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk, Raul Ibanez had a hit and Russell Martin had a hit and drew a walk. Martin, Teixeira and Swisher each had a double. Cano hit two homeruns, Swisher and Jones also had a homerun. The Yankees were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Jeter committed an error.

Josh Thole drew a walk, Lucas Duda had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Omar Quintanilla had a hit and drew a walk. Quintanilla and Duda each had a double. The Mets were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base.

Cano hit a two run homerun in the second inning to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Cano hit a two run homerun followed by a Swisher solo homerun which was followed by a Jones solo homerun. It was 6-0 Yankees in the fourth inning. The Yankees also accomplished that same feat last year in Baltimore with the same exact players in the same order also. In the seventh Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly, Swisher hit an RBI double and Jones hit an RBI single to make it 9-0 Yankees. The Mets scored their only run in the ninth inning. Duda hit an RBI double.

The Yankees have now won 11 of their last 15 games. They are now 32-25 on the season, the Mets record dropped to 32-27. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday night and then complete the series on Sunday afternoon. The Yankees are tied for first in the loss column with the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays but the Rays are ½ a game ahead.

The New York Mets salvage the final game in Washington

The New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals by the score of 3-1 on Thursday afternoon. The game took place in Washington D.C. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and became the major leagues first nine game winner. Dickey pitched great once again. Lucas Duda carried the Mets offense. Chien-Ming Wang pitched ok for the Nationals and their bullpen did a good job. Ryan Zimmerman led the Nationals offense. 
Dickey pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up four hits and no runs. He walked two and struck out eight. Dickey is now 9-1 on the season. Bobby Parnell pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and Frank Francisco earned his 15^th save of the season pitching an inning. He gave up a hit and a run. Wang took his second loss of the season. He pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and two runs with three walks and a strikeout. Tom Gorzellany pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and four strikeouts. Mike Gonzalez pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit, Josh Thole had a hit and David Wright had two hits and drew a walk. Duda had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had two hits and an RBI and Scott Hairston drew a walk. Ike Davis drew a walk, Omar Quintanilla had two hits. Duda had a double and a homerun and Wright had a triple. The Mets were 2-13 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base. Nieuwenhuis, Murphy and Wright each had a stolen base. Thole had two passed balls.

Zimmerman had two hits and an RBI, Adam LaRoche drew a walk and Michael Morse had a hit. Ian Desmond had a hit, Solano had a hit and Rick Ankiel drew two walks. Zimmerman hit a homerun, the Nationals were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base.

In the fifth Duda hit a two run homerun to break a scoreless tie. The Mets grabbed a 2-0 lead. Murphy hit an RBI single in the seventh and it was 3-0 Mets. In the ninth Zimmerman hit a solo homerun and the final score of the game was 3-1 in favor of the Mets.

The Mets improved their record to 32-26 and the Nationals record dropped to 32-23. The Mets will kick off the first installment of the Subway Series for 2012. The game will take place at Yankee Stadium and will be a three game series.

The New York Mets salvage the final game in Washington

The New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals by the score of 3-1 on Thursday afternoon. The game took place in Washington D.C. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and became the major leagues first nine game winner. Dickey pitched great once again. Lucas Duda carried the Mets offense. Chien-Ming Wang pitched ok for the Nationals and their bullpen did a good job. Ryan Zimmerman led the Nationals offense. 
Dickey pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up four hits and no runs. He walked two and struck out eight. Dickey is now 9-1 on the season. Bobby Parnell pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and Frank Francisco earned his 15^th save of the season pitching an inning. He gave up a hit and a run. Wang took his second loss of the season. He pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and two runs with three walks and a strikeout. Tom Gorzellany pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and four strikeouts. Mike Gonzalez pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit, Josh Thole had a hit and David Wright had two hits and drew a walk. Duda had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had two hits and an RBI and Scott Hairston drew a walk. Ike Davis drew a walk, Omar Quintanilla had two hits. Duda had a double and a homerun and Wright had a triple. The Mets were 2-13 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base. Nieuwenhuis, Murphy and Wright each had a stolen base. Thole had two passed balls.

Zimmerman had two hits and an RBI, Adam LaRoche drew a walk and Michael Morse had a hit. Ian Desmond had a hit, Solano had a hit and Rick Ankiel drew two walks. Zimmerman hit a homerun, the Nationals were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base.
In the fifth Duda hit a two run homerun to break a scoreless tie. The Mets grabbed a 2-0 lead. Murphy hit an RBI single in the seventh and it was 3-0 Mets. In the ninth Zimmerman hit a solo homerun and the final score of the game was 3-1 in favor of the Mets.

The Mets improved their record to 32-26 and the Nationals record dropped to 32-23. The Mets will kick off the first installment of the Subway Series for 2012. The game will take place at Yankee Stadium and will be a three game series.

The Mets lose another sloppy game in Washington

The New York Mets were defeated by the Washington Nationals by the score of 5-3 on Wednesday night. The game took place in Washington D.C.. Jeremy Hefner made the start as Johan Santana gets a couple of days extra rest following his no hitter. Hefner pitched ok and so did the bullpen. Miguel Batista pitched well in relief. The Mets offense only managed three hits. Edwin Jackson started for the Nationals and pitched well. Adam LaRoche had a big game to lead the Nationals offense. 
Hefner suffered his third loss of the season pitching six innings and giving up seven hits and four runs, three of them were earned. He walked one and struck out three. Tim Byrdak pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and Batista pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit with two walks and a strikeout. Jackson earned his second win of the season pitching seven innings and giving up three hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked four and struck out six. Sean Burnett pitched an inning striking out one and Tyler Clippard pitched an inning walking one batter.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and an RBI, David Wright had a hit and Lucas Duda had an RBI and drew two walks. Ike Davis had a hit and drew two walks, Omar Quintanilla had an RBI and drew a walk. Davis had a double and the Mets were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base. Murphy committed two errors.

Steve Lombardozzi had a hit and drew a walk, Bryce Harper had a hit and Ryan Zimmerman had a hit and drew a walk. LaRoche had two hits and four RBI, Michael Morse had two hits an RBI and drew a walk and Espinosa had a hit. Jesus Flores had a hit, Bernadina drew a walk. LaRoche hit a homerun and the Nationals were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. Harper had a stolen base, Jackson and Desmond each committed an error.

The Nationals took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a LaRoche three run homerun. In the third Nieuwenhuis hit an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game. Duda grounded out scoring a run in the fourth and making it a 3-2 game. Morse hit an RBI single in the fifth and the Nationals had a 4-2 lead. Quintanilla grounded out to score a run in the seventh to make it a 4-3 game. LaRoche hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to make it 5-3 and that was the final score.

The Mets have lost the first two of this three game series. The two teams will play the final game of the series on Thursday afternoon. The Mets record dropped to 31-26 and the Nationals record improved to 32-22.

The Yankees cruise to victory with another well pitched game

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 4-1 on Wednesday night. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched really well. Rafael Soriano closed it out for the Yankees. The Yankees offense produced a couple of homeruns and not one player had more then a hit. Alex Cobb started for the Rays and pitched ok. Desmond Jennings had half of the hits for the Rays, they only managed four in the game. 
Nova pitched 8+ innings giving up one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out five. Nova earned his seventh victory of the season. He tried to complete his first game of his career but couldn’t do so. Rafael Soriano came on and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Soriano earned his eighth save in as many chances. Cobb lost his second game of the season pitching seven innings and giving up five hits and four runs. He walked one and struck out four. Badenhopp pitched to two batters and retired them both and J.P. Howell faced one batter and retired him.

Alex Rodriguez drew a walk, Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI and Mark Teixeira had a hit and an RBI. Raul Ibanez had a hit, Nick Swisher had a hit and an RBI and Eric Chavez had a hit and an RBI. Swisher and Chavez each had a double and Cano and Teixeira each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left one man on base.

Jennings had two hits, B.J. Upton had a hit and an RBI and Matt Joyce drew a walk. Sean Rodriguez had a hit which was a double. Jennings and Upton each had a triple and the Rays were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base.

In the second inning Teixeira hit a solo homerun giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Cano hit a solo homerun in the fourth to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. The Yankees in the eighth inning expanded their lead on back-to-back RBI doubles by Swisher and Chavez. It was 4-0 and the Rays scored their only run in the ninth inning on back-to-back triples by Jennings and Upton who had the RBI.

The Yankees have won the first two games of this three game series. The Yankees have moved ahead of the Rays in the standings and in a tie with Baltimore for first in the loss column. The Orioles still remain ½ a game ahead overall. The Yankees have now won three games in a row and ten of their last 13. Their record improved to 31-24 and the Rays to 31-25. The two teams will play the third and final game of the series on Thursday night. The Yankees will then remain home to play the New York Mets in the first game of the Subway Series on Friday night.

The Mets lose a wild on in the nations capital

The Mets lose a wild one in the nations capital

The New York Mets were defeated by the Washinton Nationals by the score of 7-6 in 12 innings on Tuesday night. Chris Young started for the Mets, making his 2012 season debut. Young pitched ok for the Mets and the bullpen blew three different leads. Jordan Zimmerman started for the Nationals and pitched pretty well. The Nationals bullpen also pitched pretty well. Scott Hairston, David Wright, Josh Thole and Jordany Valdespin each had good days at the plate. Bryce Harper was the star of the game for the Nationals as he had the game winning hit.

Young pitched five innings giving up six hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked one and struck out two. The Mets used five relievers to pitch 6 2/3 innings giving up seven hits and three runs. They walked five and struck out nine batters. Zimmerman pitched six innings giving up five hits and two runs with five strikeouts. The Nationals used seven relievers to pitch six innings giving up five hits and four runs. They walked five and struck out three.

Scott Hairston had two hits, an RBI and a walk, Andres Torres had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk and David Wright had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Lucas Duda had a hit, Ike Davis drew a walk and Thole had two hits. Vinny Rottino drew a walk, Jordany Valdespin had two hits and an RBI. Valdespin and Torres each had a double. Valdespin, Wright and Hairston each hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Hairston had a stolen base, Quintanilla and Valdespin each committed an error.

Lombardozzi drew a walk, Bernadina had a hit and Xavier Nady drew a walk. Bryce Harper had two hits and two RBI, Ryan Zimmerman had two hits and an RBI and Michael Morse had two hits and drew a walk. Ian Desmond had two hits and three RBI, Espinosa had a hit and Jesus Flores had a hit and drew two walks. Zimmerman had two hits and Detwiler drew a walk. Morse had two doubles, Zimmerman and Desmond each had a double. The Nationals were 7-20 with runners in scoring position and they left 14 men on base. Espinsoa and Flores each had a stolen base. Flores had a passed ball.

Harper hit an RBI single in the third to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. Zimmerman hit a two run single in the fifth to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead. In the sixth Valdespin and Wright each hit a solo homerun to make it 3-2 Nationals. In the eighth Torres hit a two run double giving the Mets a 4-3 lead. Desmond hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at four. In the tenth the Mets scored on a wild pitch to take a 5-4 lead. In the bottom of the tenth Desmond reached on a fielding error by Valdespin. The game was tied at five. In the 12^th Hairston hit a two run homerun to give the Mets a 7-5 lead. Desmond hit an RBI double and Harper hit an RBI single. The hit was a game winning hit.

The Mets record dropped to 31-25 on the season and the Nationals improved their record to 31-22 on the season. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Wednesday night.

Andy Pettitte shines in Yankees blowout win over the Rays

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 7-0 on Tuesday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx,NY. Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees and he was brilliant. Freddy Garcia finished off the last five outs for the Yankees. Russell Martin had a big night to lead the Yankees offense. James Shields started for the Rays and didn’t pitch well but he also didn’t get any help from his defense. The Rays offense managed four singles in the game. 
Pettitte pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up no runs and two hits with two walks and ten strikeouts. Garcia pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up two hits with a strikeout. Pettitte earned his third win of the season, Sheilds took the loss, his fourth of the season. Shields pitched five innings giving up seven hits and seven runs with five of them being earned. He walked four and struck out two, Cesar Ramos pitched three innings giving up one hit, he struck out four batters.

Curtis Granderson had a hit, Alex Rodriguez drew a walk and Robinson Cano had two hits. Raul Ibanez had two RBI, Nick Swisher had two hits and an RBI and Eric Chavez drew a walk. Martin had three hits and four RBI. Cano and Swisher each had a double and Martin had a homerun. The Yankees were 3-12 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Desmond Jennings had a hit, B.J. Upton had a hit and Sean Rodriguez drew a walk. Carlos Pena had a hit, Jose Molina had a hit and drew a walk. The Rays were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Rodriguez had a stolen base. Elliott Johnson and Ben Zobrist each committed an error.

The Yankees improved their record to 30-24 and the Rays record dropped to 31-24. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Tuesday night.

The Mets fail to complete the four game sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals

The New York Mets were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-4 on Monday afternoon. The game was played at Citi Field in Flushing,NY. Dillon Gee started for the Mets and pitched well. Jon Rauch didn’t pitch well in relief and then was placed on the DL after the game. Scott Hairston had a couple of RBI to lead the offense. Kyle Lohse started for the Cardinals and pitched well, their bullpen struggled a little bit. Allen Craig led the Cardinals offense. 
Gee pitched seven innings giving up six hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked two and struck out eight. Rauch took the loss pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout. Rauch is now 3-5 on the season, Tim Byrdak pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a walk and he struck out one and Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect inning. Lohse pitched six innings giving up two hits and a run and struck out three. Mark Rzepczynski won the game his first of the season. He pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout. Eduardo Sanchez pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run and Motte got his ninth save of the season. He pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings and he struck out two.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit, Andres Torres had an RBI and David Wright had a hit. Lucas Duda had a hit and an RBI, Hairston had a hit and two RBI and Quintanilla had a hit. Josh Thole had a hit, Quintanilla and Nieuwenhuis each had a double. Duda and Hairston each had a homerun. The Mets were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base. Gee committed a throwing error.

Rafael Furcal had a hit and an RBI, Matt Holliday had two hits and Craig had two hits, three RBI and drew a walk. David Freese had two hits, Daniel Descalso drew a walk and Adron Chambers had a hit and drew a walk. Holliday had a double and Craig had a homerun. The Cardinals were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Descalso and Furcal each had a stolen base.

Craig hit an RBI single in the fourth to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Duda hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at one. In the seventh Descalso reached on a force attempt and on the error a run scored making it 2-1 Cardinals. Furcal grounded out and a run scored making it 3-1. Hairston hit a two run homerun in the seventh to tie the game at three. Craig hit a two run homerun in the eighth to make it 5-3 Cardinals. Torres hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning to make it a 5-4 game. 5-4 was the final score. The Mets record dropped to 31-24 and the Cardinals improved their record to 28-27. The Mets won three out of four games in the series. The Mets will head to the nations capital to take on the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. It will be the start of a three game series before returning to New York and facing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

The Mets continue to be hot as they win their third straight over the St. Louis Cardinals

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 6-1 on Sunday night. The game was played at Citi Field in Flushing,NY. Jon Niese started for the Mets and pitched well. Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Andres Torres led the Mets offense. Jake Westbrook started for the Cardinals and got roughed up a bit. The bullpen used four pitchers and they pitched pretty well. Yadier Molina and Chambers led the offense for the Cardinals. 
Niese pitched six innings giving up six hits and no runs with one walk and ten strikeouts. He earned his fourth win of the season. Bobby Parnell pitched an inning walking two and striking out one, Elvin Ramirez pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run and he struck out one and Tim Byrdak got the one batter out that he faced. Frank Francisco pitched a perfect inning striking out two batters. Westbrook lost his fifth game of the season. He pitched five innings giving up nine hits and five runs with two walks and two strikeouts. The Cardinals bullpen used four relievers to pitch three innings giving up two hits and a run. They walked one and struck out two.

Nieuwenhuis had three hits and three RBI, Torres had three hits and two RBI and David Wright drew a walk. Lucas Duda had a hit and an RBI, Daniel Murphy had a hit and Omar Quintanilla drew a walk. Josh Thole had a hit and drew a walk and Niese had two hits. Torres had a double and a triple. Nieuwenhuis had a homerun. The Mets were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Davis and Wright each made an error. Torres had an outfield assist.

Allen Craig had a hit, Matt Holliday had a hit and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit. David Freese had a hit, Molina had two hits and drew a walk and Adron Chambers had two hits and an RBI. Daniel Descalso drew a walk, Craig had a double and the team was 2-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. Molina had a stolen base.

Duda had an RBI single in the first to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. In the fourth Nieuwenhuis hit a two run homerun to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. Nieuwenhuis hit an RBI single in the sixth and Torres hit a two run triple to make it 6-0 Mets. Chambers hit an RBI single in the eighth to make it 6-1 and that would be the final score.

The Mets have won the first three games of this four game series. The Mets improved their record to 31-23 and the Cardinals dropped their record to 27-27. The Mets are in a three way first place tie, they have exceeded expectations to this point. They have had a string of great starting pitching which is carrying them. The Mets and Cardinals will play a Monday afternoon game to complete their series.

Phil Hughes dominant start earns the Yankees a series victory in Detroit

The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers in Detroit by the score of 5-1 on Sunday afternoon. Phil Hughes started for the Yankees and pitched great. He pitched the first nine inning complete game of his career. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Eric Chavez each had a couple of hits. Justin Verlander started for the Tigers and for the first time lost three consecutive games. Jhonny Peralta was the only tiger with a multi hit game. 
Hughes pitched nine innings giving up one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out eight. He is now 5-5 on the season. Hughes had a rough start last time out but has pitched well in five of his last six starts. Verlander pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up nine hits and five runs with three of them earned. He walked four batters and struck out four. He is now 5-4 on the season and has really struggled in his last three starts. Duane Below pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and Villarreal pitched one inning giving up a hit and he struck out two.

Jeter had two hits and an RBI, Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk and Rodriguez had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI, Mark Teixeira had an RBI and Nick Swisher had a hit and drew a walk. Chavez had two hits and Russell Martin had a hit and drew a walk. Granderson and Martin each had a double. Cano had a triple, Jeter and Rodriguez each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Martin had a passed ball.

Prince Fielder had a hit and an RBI, Delmon Young had a hit and Peralta had two hits. Danny Worth, Miguel Cabrera and Don Kelly each drew a walk. Fielder hit a homerun and the Tigers were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Worth had an error and Santos had a passed ball.

Jeter hit a homerun on the first pitch of the game to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Teixeira hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Yankees. In the third Rodriguez hit a solo homerun to make it 3-0. Fielder hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it a 3-1 game. In the fifth Cano hit an RBI triple and scored on a throwing error to make it 5-1 Yankees. 5-1 was the final score of the game.

The Yankees won two out of three in the series. The Yankees will have off on Monday and start a three game series at home against Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. The Yankees record improved to 29-24 and the Tigers record dropped to 25-29.

The New York Yankees suffer a tough loss in Detroit

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers by the score of 4-3. The game took place at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. The Yankees twice came back to tie the game but couldn’t hold it either time. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched well. Rick Porcella started for the Tigers and pitched well. The Yankees as has been the case all year long couldn’t get a big hit with runners in scoring position. Joe Girardi and Kevin Long were ejected from the game which became a big story also. 
Kuroda pitched seven innings giving up two runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out four. Kuroda got a no decision. Cory Wade pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run, David Phelps took the loss pitching 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run. Phelps is now 1-2 on the season and Boone Logan pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a walk. Porcello pitched six innings giving up six hits and one run with a walk and three strikeouts. Phil Coke gave up two hits without getting an out, Jaquin Benoit pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Octavio Dotel pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a strikeout. Jose Valverde blew his third save of the season but picked up his third win of the season. He pitched an inning giving up a run with two walks.

Derek Jeter drew a walk, Curtis Granderson had a hit and Alex Rodriguez had a hit. Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk, Mark Teixeira had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks and Raul Ibanez had an RBI. Nick Swisher had a hit and an RBI, Eric Chavez had two hits and Andruw Jones had a hit. Russell Martin had a hit. Chavez had a double and the Yankees were 1-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. Granderson, Swisher and Jeter each had a stolen base and Wise had two.

Quintin Berry had a hit, RBI and drew a walk, Miguel Cabrera had three hits and two RBI and Prince Fielder had a hit. Delmon Young had a hit, Brandon Boesch had a hit and Jhonny Peralta had a hit. Don Kelly had a hit, Ramon Santiago drew a walk and Omir Santos had a hit and an RBI. Fielder and Cabrera each had a double. Cabrera hit two homeruns. The Tigers were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Berry had a stolen base and was picked off and Santos committed two errors.

Cabrera hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it 1-0 Tigers. Berry hit an RBI single in the fifth to make it 2-0 Tigers. In the sixth Ibanez grounded out to score a run and make it a 2-1 game. Swisher hit an RBI single in the eighth to tie the game at two. In the bottom of the eighth Cabrera hit a solo homerun to make it 3-2 Tigers. In the ninth Teixeira walked to drive in a run and tie the game at three. The Tigers would win the game in the bottom of the inning on a Santos walk-off sacrifice fly.

The Yankees record dropped to 28-24 and the Tigers improved their record to 25-28. The two teams will complete their three game series on Sunday afternoon. The first two games were split so the final game will be the rubber game. The Yankees are trying to make a good road trip very good.

The New York Mets get another complete game shutout as they win again

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-0 on Saturday afternoon. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and pitched brilliantly. The Mets offense had good days by David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole. Lance Lynn started for the Cardinals and struggled. The Cardinals offense had a couple of players with two hits each. 
Dickey pitched a complete game shutout giving up seven hits. He walked none and struck out nine. Dickey improved to 8-1 on the season. Lynn suffered his second loss of the season. He pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up five hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked four and struck out three. The bullpen pitched 3 1/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs. They walked one and struck out four.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had an RBI, Andres Torres had a hit and an RBI and Wright had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Lucas Duda had a hit and drew a walk, Murphy had two hits and Ike Davis had a hit and drew a walk. Quintanilla drew two walks, Josh Thole had two hits and Dickey had an RBI. Wright and Murphy each had a double. Wright hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

Rafael Furcal had a hit, Daniel Descalso had two hits and Carlos Beltran had a hit. Yadier Molina had a hit and Shane Robinson had two hits. Beltran and Robinson each had a double. The Cardinals were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Adams and Holliday each committed an error.

Dickey reached on an error and a run scored in the second inning. Nieuwenhuis grounded out scoring another run and Torres grounded out to score a third run. The Mets had a 3-0 lead at the end of the second inning. In the seventh a wild pitch scored a run to make it 4-0 Mets. Wright hit a solo homerun in the eighth to make it 5-0. That was the final score of the game as the Cardinals were held scoreless once again.

The Mets improved their record to 30-23 and the Cardinals record fell to 27-26. The two teams will play game three of their four game series on Sunday night. They will conclude their series on Monday afternoon. The Mets have won the first two games of the series and have yet to allow a run to the Cardinals.