Raul Ibanez leads the New York Yankees to an improbable win in Game Three of the ALDS

The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 3-2 in the 12^th inning. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched very well, the Yankees bullpen was great and the unsung heroes of this game. Raul Ibanez is the offensive hero with a game tying and winning homerun. Miguel Gonzalez started for the Orioles and was very good, the Orioles bullpen wasn’t as good. The Orioles offense was led by Nate McClouth. 
Kuroda pitched 8 1/3 innings giving up two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Boone Logan faced one batter and struck him out, Rafael Soriano pitched 11/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out one and David Robertson picked up the win pitching two innings giving up a hit and striking out two. Gonzalez pitched seven innings giving up five hits and a run. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight, Darren O’Day pitched a perfect inning and Jim Johnson blew the save pitching two innings giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout. Brian Matusz lost the game pitching an inning and giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had two hits and an RBI, he also got taken out with a bruised foot. Ibanez had two hits and two RBI, Nick Swisher had a hit and Russell Martin had two hits. Martin hit a double, Jeter hit a triple and Ibanez hit two homeruns. The Yankees were 1-3 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.

McClouth had two hits, Chris Davis drew a walk and Adam Jones had a hit. Mark Reynolds had a hit, Flaherty had a hit and an RBI and Robert Andino had a hit. Manny Machado had a hit and an RBI, Flaherty and Machado each hit a homerun. The Orioles were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. McClouth had a stolen base and was caught stealing.

Flaherty hit a solo homerun in the third giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Jeter hit an RBI triple in the third to tie the game at one. The Orioles took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a Machado solo homerun. The Yankees tied the game in the ninth on a Ibanez pinch hit solo homerun. The Yankees won the game in the 12^th on a Ibanez solo homerun. The final was 3-2 in game three with game four to come on Thursday night.

The Yankees and Orioles have played three games in this ALDS and the Yankees have a 2-1 lead. They played 18 times in the regular season and split them 9-9, so the Yankees now have a 11-10 advantage this year over the Orioles. This series has been tied or a one run game in the ninth in each game. This was the Orioles first walk-off loss of the season. It was their first extra inning loss after winning 16 straight of them. The Yankees are the only team that has beat Baltimore in extra innings this season. Phil Hughes will pitch against Joe Saunders on Thursday night. The game is scheduled for 737PM, if the Tigers win tonight and advance to the ALCS then it will be moved back to 837PM.

The New York Yankees rally to tie and then beat the Boston Red Sox in 12 innings

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday night. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. David Phelps started for the Yankees and pitched pretty well. The Yankees bullpen pitched well and Raul Ibanez led the Yankees offense. Jon Lester started for the Red Sox and was in trouble all night but limited the damage. The Red Sox bullpen was pretty good and their offense was led by Dustin Pedroia and James Loney. 
Phelps pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Boone Logan faced two hitters and struck out one, Joba Chamberlain pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Rafael Soriano pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts and Derek Lowe pitched two innings giving up two hits and a walk with a strikeout. Lowe picked up his ninth win of the season. Lester pitched five innings giving up eight hits and an unearned run with a walk and a strikeout. Rich Hill pitched an inning giving up two hits and two strikeouts, Junichi Tazawa pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Craig Breslow pitched an inning giving up a hit. Andrew Bailey pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with two walks, Mark Melancon pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with a strikeout and Vincente Padilla pitched an inning giving up a hit. Andrew Miller took his second loss of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks and a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Nick Swisher had two hits and drew two walks and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and drew a walk. Robinson Cano had two hits, Russell Martin had a hit and Francisco Cervelli drew a walk. Curtis Granderson had two hits and drew a walk, Eduardo Nunez had two hits and an RBI and Ibanez had two hits and three RBI in pinch hitting duty. Ichiro Suzuki had a hit, Swisher, Jeter and Nunez each hit a double. Ibanez hit a homerun, the Yankees were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base. Granderson had a stolen base and Gardner was picked off.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Pedroia had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Daniel Nava drew a walk. Cody Ross had an RBI, Loney had two hits and an RBI and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a hit and drew a walk. Pedro Ciriaco had two hits and drew a walk, Pedroia hit a double and Loney hit a homerun. The Red Sox were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Ciriaco had a stolen base and committed an error. Breslow had a pickoff.

In the first inning the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead. Pedroia hit an RBI double and Ross had a sacrifice fly. The Yankees cut the lead to 2-1 in the second on a Nunez RBI single. The score stayed that way until the ninth inning. Loney hit a solo homerun to make it 3-1. Ibanez hit a two run homerun in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at three. The Yankees won the game 4-3 in the 12^th inning when Ibanez hit an RBI walk-off single.

The Yankees have won the first two games of this three game series. The Yankees record improved to 94-67 and the Red Sox record dropped to 69-92. The Yankees and Red Sox will play the final game of the regular season on Wednesday night. If the Yankees win they will clinch the number one seed in the American League and not play until Sunday against the wild card team in their home ballpark. If they lose and the Orioles win then they have to play a one game playoff to determine the division winner.

The New York Yankees use the long ball to beat the Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins by the score of 6-3 on Monday night. The game took place at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees and pitched well and their bullpen made it interesting. The Yankees offense was led by Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez. Hendriks started for the Twins and wasn’t very good. The Twins bullpen was good and their offense was led by Denard Span and Pedro Florimon. 
Pettitte pitched six shutout innings giving up seven hits. He walked one and struck out three and won his fifth game of the season. Joba Chamberlain pitched a perfect inning, Cory Wade pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run and Justin Thomas pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout. Dave Robertson pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a strikeout. Liam Henriks pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and six runs with a walk and four strikeouts. He lost his eighth game of the season. Lewis Perdomo pitched 2/3 of an inning walking a batter, Tyler Robertson pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out one and Matt Capps pitched an inning giving up two hits.

Derek Jeter had a hit and drew two walks. The hit extended his hitting streak to 18 games, Ichiro Suzuki had a hit, Alex Rodriguez had a hit and Robinson Cano had an RBI. Nick Swisher had a hit and two RBI, Curtis Granderson had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Ibanez had two hits and an RBI. Chavez had three hits and an RBI, Suzuki hit a double, Swisher, Granderson, Ibanez and Chavez each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Granderson had an outfield assist.

Span had two hits, Ben Revere had a hit and Joe Mauer had a hit. Josh Willingham drew a walk, Justin Morneau had a hit, Ryan Doumit had a hit and drew a walk and Jamey Carroll had a hit. Chris Parmalee had a hit and drew two RBI, Florimon had two hits and an RBI. Doumit hit a double, Parmalee hit a triple and Florimon hit his first major league homerun. The Twins were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

The Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a Cano groundout and Swisher two run homerun. In the fourth Granderson hit a solo homerun to extend the lead to 4-0. Ibanez and Chavez each hit a solo homerun in the seventh to make it 6-0 Yankees. The Twins would get on the board in the eighth on a Florimon solo homerun. In the ninth Parmalee hit a two run triple to make it 6-3 and that was the final score.

The Yankees have now won eight of their last nine games. The Yankees took the first game of three and will play game two on Tuesday night. The Yankees lead in the AL East is now 1 ½ games in the AL East. The Yankees record improved to 89-64 and the Twins record fell to 64-90.

Raul Ibanez leads the Yankees to victory and a series win

The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners by the score of 6-2 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees and pitched ok, he just didn’t pitch that deep into the game. The Yankees bullpen pitched well and Raul Ibanez led their offense. Hisashi Iwakuma started for the Mariners and pitched ok but not great. The Mariners bullpen mostly pitched well but Josh Kinney didn’t. Jesus Montero led the Mariners offense. 
Garcia pitched five innings giving up five hits and two runs. He walked four and struck out two and won his fifth game of the season. The win was also the 150^th of his career. Boone Logan pitched two perfect innings, Dave Robertson gave up a walk in one inning and Rafael Soriano pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. Iwakuma lost his third game of the season pitching five innings and giving up seven hits and four runs with three of them being earned. He walked two and struck out four. Kinney pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout, Oliver Perez pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a walk and Shawn Kelley pitched an inning giving up a hit and Lucas Luetge pitched an inning giving up a walk.

Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk, Derek Jeter had two hits and an RBI and Robinson Cano had two hits. Mark Teixeira had a hit, an RBI and drew three walks, Ibanez had two hits and three RBI and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit. Chris Stewart had two hits and drew a walk, Stewart and Suzuki each hit a double. Ibanez hit a homerun and the Yankees were 3-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Stewart had a stolen base and Swisher had an outfield assist.

Dustin Ackley had a hit, Michael Saunders had a hit and Montero had two hits and two RBI. John Jaso drew two walks, Craig Seager had a hit and drew a walk and Kawasaki drew a walk. Chone Figgins drew a walk, Saunders hit a double and the Mariners were 3-5 with seven left on base. Ackley committed an error and Montero had a passed ball.

In the first Montero had an RBI single to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. It could have been 2-0 but Swisher threw Montero out at home plate. Teixeira hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first and Granderson reached on a fielding error scoring a run to make it 2-1 Yankees. Jeter hit an RBI single in the fourth inning to make it 3-1. Montero had an RBI single in the fifth to make it 3-2. In the fifth inning Ibanez hit a solo homerun making it 4-2 Yankees. Ibanez hit a two run single in the sixth inning to make it a 6-2 game. That would be the final score.

The Yankees won two out of three in the series. The Yankees completed their nine game homestand with a record of 4-5. The Yankees improved their record to 63-44 and the Mariners record dropped to 51-59. The Yankees will head to Detroit for a four game series and then to Toronto for three games.

Yankees Monday postgame notes

Here are the Yankees postgame notes courtesy of Chad Jennings and the Lohud Yankees blog.  This is after a big Monday night victory over Toronto.

There probably isn’t a more mild-mannered guy on the Yankees than Raul Ibanez. Ask him a question, and you’re going to get a polite, politically correct answer.

But aside from answering questions in a way that would make Bill Belichick proud, Ibanez has also done something else extremely well for the Yankees — hit in the clutch.

“I don’t really think about it too much,” he said. “I just try to do whatever I can to help out.”

Ibanez did more than help out tonight, coming through with the decisive blow in a 6-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. After Nick Swisher struck out with the bases loaded for the second time in the game, Ibanez came up with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and blasted a grand slam into the right field seats to break a 2-2 tie.

“It works the opposite,” Ibanez said when asked if he was looking for a pitch he could take out. “If you allow yourself to think grand slam, you’ll end up hitting a groundball, usually, or something good doesn’t happen. Bases loaded with two outs, there’s no advantage to hitting a fly ball, really. I was just trying to hit a line drive and not do too much.”

Of Ibanez’s 12 homers this season, eight have come in the sixth inning or later. His grand slam tonight was the first by a Yankee in the eighth inning or later to give the team the lead since Bobby Abreu did it in 2008 (also against Toronto).

“He had really almost a week off because we saw all of the lefties in Boston, and then we had the four days off (for the All-Star break), and then we see C.J. Wilson on the first night back,” Joe Girardi said. “I figured it might take him a little while to find his swing, but he found it at the right time.”

 With the early-season injury to regular left fielder Brett Gardner (and in case you missed it, the news on Gardner didn’t get any better today), Ibanez has been pressed into playing the field much more often than the Yankees originally anticipated. Some have pondered whether or not that has helped his focus at the plate, but Ibanez dismissed that notion. “I just check the lineup, and if I’m out there, I’m ready,” he said.

 Phil Hughes didn’t dominate the Blue Jays’ lineup tonight, but he continues to show his maturity as a pitcher. He didn’t have his best swing-and-miss stuff, but he gutted his way through seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four. “It was a battle today,” Hughes said. “I had a good fastball, but I was constantly behind in count. … It was a grind, and I just tried to hang in there and keep it close.”

Hughes got out of a bit of a jam in the second inning, and that seemed to give him some confidence. After allowing a leadoff double to Edwin Encarnacion and walking Adam Lind, Hughes bore down to record the next three outs without allowing a run. “That was big,” he said. “You don’t want to fall into a hole like that, and I was able to get some outs and get us going there.”

Here’s Girardi’s thoughts on Hughes’ performance: “I just love the way that he competed. He used his fastball, curveball and changeup pretty effectively, and he stayed away from big innings. He got some big outs when he needed to.”

When Hughes was asked about Ibanez’s big homer, he cracked a smile and said, “I figured he’d be taking 3-1 with the bases loaded, but he obviously thought otherwise.” Ibanez’s response? “I was not looking to take in that count,” he said, before reverting back to his typical generic answer. “But at the same time, you try not to do too much, either.”

 Ibanez also heaped praise on the rest of the Yankees’ lineup, particularly some of the at-bats that came before him. “It’s a lineup that when we do what we’re capable of doing and grind out at-bats and guys see a lot of pitches and fight, it puts a lot of pressure on the other team’s pitcher,” he said. “He knows he’s got to throw a lot of pitches… It’s advantegous for the offense when guys see a lot of pitches, and pitchers know that they have to make pitches. Guys aren’t going to swing at everything.”

 Lost in all of the Ibanez-mania was the fact that Russell Martin had himself a bit of game. He was subject to a lot of criticism on this blog throughout the day in our trade deadline post, but he answered the bell tonight. He hit an opposite field solo homer in the second to give the Yankees an initial 1-0 lead, and then almost hit one out to left-center in the eighth. He broke a 66 at-bat homerless streak, dating back to June 10.

 Robinson Cano had an RBI double in the third to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 19 games, which is also the longest active streak in the majors.

Alex Rodriguez was originally scheduled to play third, but was moved to DH due to neck stiffness. As he has done all season, A-Rod hit the ball well as the DH, going 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. “Alex woke up with a little bit of a stiff neck,” Girardi said. “He tried to work through it and he took groundballs, but it was on his right side. He was able to turn left, but it was hard for him to turn (right). When he would throw, it would seem to aggravate it. He’ll probably DH again tomorrow.”

Raul Ibanez leads the Yankees to victory over the Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 6-3 on Monday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx,NY. Phil Hughes started for the Yankees and pitched well. The Yankees bullpen made it interesting but shut it down. The Yankees offense was carried by Raul Ibanez. Wilson Alvarez started for the Blue Jays and pitched well and the Yankees got to their bullpen. Edwin Encarnacion and Rajai Davis led the Blue Jays offense. 
Hughes pitched seven innings giving up two runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Dave Robertson pitched an inning to earn his first victory of the season. He walked a batter, Cody Eppley pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and an unearned run with a walk and a strikeout and Rafael Soriano pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit to pick up his 23^rd save of the season. He struck out a batter. Alvarez pitched six innings giving up five hits and two runs with four walks and six strikeouts. Chad Beck pitched one perfect inning with a strikeout, Aaron Loup pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs and took his first loss of the season. Jason Frasor pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout and Chad Cordero pitched to one batter and got him out.

Curtis Granderson had a hit, Alex Rodriguez had two hits and Robinson Cano had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Mark Teixeira drew two walks, Nick Swisher had a hit and Ibanez had a hit, four RBI and drew a walk. Eric Chavez drew a walk and Russell Martin had a hit and an RBI. Rodriguez and Cano each hit a double. Martin and Ibanez each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Wise had an error.

Jose Bautista drew a walk, Ben Francisco drew a walk and Encarnacion had two hits and an RBI. Adam Lind had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Kelly Johnson drew a walk and Davis had two hits. J.P. Arencebia had a hit and drew a walk. Encarnacion had two doubles, Davis hit a double. Lind hit a homerun and the Blue Jays were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Arencibia had a passed ball.

Martin hit a solo homerun in the second to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. In the third Cano hit an RBI double to make it 2-0 Yankees. Lind hit a solo homerun in the fourth to cut the lead to 2-1. In the sixth Encarnacion had an RBI double to tie the game at two. Ibanez hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead. Arencibia had an RBI single in the ninth to make it 6-3 and that would be the final score.

The Yankees improved their record to 55-34. The Blue Jays record dropped to 45-45. The Yankees took the first game of three, the two teams will play on Tuesday night and then complete the series on Wednesday afternoon.

The New York Yankees even the Subway series at a game

The New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets by the score of 4-3 on Saturday night. The Mets got out to a 3-0 lead and the Yankees rallied late. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched ok, the Yankees bullpen was great. Raul Ibanez had the big hit for the Yankees. Chris Young started for the Mets and pitched pretty well, the bullpen pitched well. There wasn’t a Mets batter who had more then one hit. 
Nova pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up five hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked three and struck out seven. Clay Rapada won his second game of the season pitching to one batter and striking him out. Cody Eppley pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit, Boone Logan faced two batters and struck them both out and Dave Robertson pitched an inning walking two and striking out three. Rafael Soriano earned his 14^th save of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit and striking out two. Young pitched six innings giving up four hits and three runs with three walks and four strikeouts. Jon Rauch took the loss and is now 3-7 on the season. Rauch pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout, Tim Byrdak pitched to two batters and retired them both and Jeremy Hefner pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson drew a walk and Robinson Cano drew a walk. Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Nick Swisher had two hits and Ibanez had a hit and three RBI. Chavez had a hit and an RBI, Swisher had a double and Ibanez and Chavez each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base. Jeter and Granderson each had a stolen base. Jeter and Rodriguez each committed an error.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and an RBI, Jordany Valdespin had a hit and David Wright had a hit. Lucas Duda had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit and drew a walk and Omar Quintanilla had a hit and drew a walk. Josh Thole had an RBI and drew three walks, Young had a hit and an RBI. Quintanilla, Murphy and Valdespin each had a double. Nieuwenhuis hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-14 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Nieuwenhuis hit a solo homerun. In the fourth Thole grounded out and it was 2-0 Mets. Young had an RBI single in the sixth to push the lead to 3-0. In the seventh Ibanez hit a three run homerun and Chavez a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. The four runs in the seventh were the final runs scored in the game.

The Yankees ended their three game losing streak and secured a season series win over the Mets. The Yankees improved their record to 42-28 and the Mets record fell to 39-33. The two teams will play the rubber game of their three game series on Sunday night. It will be a marquee matchup as CC Sabathia and R.A. Dickey faceoff on national television. The Yankees will try to make it five wins in six games for the season series.

The Yankees win their fourth straight game in Atlanta as they shutout the Braves

The New York Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 3-0. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched well. The Yankees used a mix and match bullpen as their closer Rafael Soriano was out with a blister. Robinson Cano led the Yankees offense which wasn’t great, they left a lot of runners on base. Delgado pitched ok, he bent but didn’t break. Delgado didn’t have good command and was only able to last five innings. The Braves bullpen did a good job of holding the Yankees down. 
Nova pitched seven innings giving up no runs on five hits with a walk and he struck out six. Nova improved to 8-2 and has won his last four starts. Cody Eppley faced one batter and retired him, Clay Rapada retired both batters that he faced striking out one and Cory Wade struck out the only batter that he faced. Boone Logan faced two batters retiring them both, one of them by strikeout. Delgado lost his sixth game of the season pitching five innings giving up five hits and three runs with six walks and five strikeouts. Gearrin pitched two innings giving up three hits and a walk with a strikeout, Chad Durbin pitched an inning striking out a batter and Venters pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk and Alex Rodriguez had a hit and drew a walk. Cano had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Mark Teixeira had a hit and drew a walk and Raul Ibanez had a hit and an RBI. Nick Swisher drew two walks, Nova had a hit his first major league hit. Rodriguez and Cano each had a double and Ibanez hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

Michael Bourn had a hit, Martin Prado had a hit and Dan Uggla drew a walk. Chipper Jones had a hit, Jason Heyward had a hit and Delgado had a hit. The Braves were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base. Jones committed an error.

Cano hit an RBI single in the first to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Ibanez hit a solo homerun in the second to extend the lead to 2-0. In the third a wild pitch gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead. That was all the scoring in the game although the Yankees had plenty of chances to break the game open. The Yankees problem this year has been hitting with runners in scoring position, that was a problem in this game although they won the game.

The Yankees have won four straight and are tied for first place in the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees are also tied for best record in the American League. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Tuesday night.

Yankees notes on a Saturday night

Here are the postgame notes following a Saturday evening victory over the Mariners.  The Yankees have started to get on a good roll.  They have gone one turn through the rotation plus one with all good starts.  The bullpen even without Rivera for the most part has continued to be very good.  The hitting is just starting to come around.  The Yankees are five games over 500 for the first time and look to keep it going with the return of Andy Pettitte on Sunday afternoon.  The Yankees will look for the three game sweep.  These notes are courtesy of Chad Jennings of the Journal news and Lohud Yankees Blog. 

According to Phil Hughes, the pitch that we’ve heard so much about in the past few seasons was his biggest key today. The right-hander turned in his best start of the season, pitching 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball while relying heavily on his changeup to lead the Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Mariners.
“It was a good day,” Hughes said. “I probably didn’t have my best fastball or my best curveball today, but my changeup really allowed me to get out of some jams and make some good pitches when I was behind in counts. I think that was the pitch that I really look at as the equalizer today.”

Granted, Seattle’s lineup won’t be mistaken for the ’27 Yankees anytime soon, but Hughes has now turned in three consecutive good starts after looking very shaky to start the season. Each has been better than the last, and this is certainly something he can continue to build on.

“It’s been a process overall to get myself right,” Hughes said. “There’s sometimes when you can hang onto momentum when you’re pitching well, but as far as a turning point, it’s kind of hard to get any worse than I was in the beginning of the year. I’m just trying to build on every start and get us some wins.”

Hughes talked about taking a “reliever mentality” into the game, which meant attacking hitters and not shying away from contact. He didn’t have a ton of strikeouts (four), but he was efficient, pitching deeper into a game than he has all season.

“Larry and him talked about just being aggressive – going as long as you can, as hard as you can,” Joe Girardi said. “He was so successful coming out of the bullpen and locating everything, it’s just been an attitude that we want him to take on.”

 The fact that Hughes’ changeup was his most consistent pitch today was very encouraging. That’s a pitch that he’s been working on for quite some time, but has never had tremendous success with. Coupled with a fastball that hit 95 on the gun several times today, it was very effective. It’s also worth noting that Hughes used very few cutters today, which usually sit in the 88-91 MPH range. “I think the main thing is probably that there were eight left-handers in the lineup today,” Hughes said. “I feel like my cutter is a little bit more effective to right-handers. I did throw a few to Montero, but other than that I feel better with my four-seamer going into lefties.”

While the rotation did not have a good month of April, the tide seems to have turned here in May. Ace CC Sabathia has won five consecutive starts, and the rest of the rotation is shaping up. With Andy Pettitte completing his comeback tomorrow, the five-some of CC, Pettitte, Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova is looking pretty formidable. “CC sets the pace for everybody,” Hughes said. “If we get him pitching the way that he has been pitching, everyone kind of feeds off of that.”

 The big inning for the Yankees came in the bottom of the second. After Mark Teixeira doubled, Nick Swisher recorded the second out of the inning with a fly out to left. As he has all season, Raul Ibanez followed with a clutch two-out RBI double. Russell Martin broke out of his 1 for 16 slump with a laser to dead CF to score Ibanez, and then Jayson Nix laced a two-run homer. Just like that, it was 4-0 Yankees. “I love it,” Girardi said. “Those are the runs that kill teams. Those are the runs that are big for you and hurt other teams, and we got them today.”

Ibanez continued his hot play with a solo shot in the fourth. I’ve interviewed him several times, and while he’s a really nice guy, he’s not one for juicy quotes. “I’m just trying not to do too much,” he repeated several times. “Trying to hit a ball hard and put it in play.”

 Girardi talked about Nix, who broke an 0 for 20 slump that dated back to last season with his opposite field homer in the second. “I’m sure it’s extremely gratifying,” Girardi said. “This kid just goes out and does his business every day. He’s a pleasure to watch work… He gave us a huge cushion with that two-run homer.”

 Girardi strongly disagreed with the umpire’s decision to allow a runner to score in the ninth when Carp’s homer was overruled after a replay review and changed to a double, which cost Boone Logan a run. “He said he slowed up and he would have scored, and I don’t necessarily agree with that,” Girardi said. “We’re about wins, but guys care about what they give up – that’s the bottom line. They have pride in their work.”

 Hughes talked about what it’s going to be like watching Pettitte take the ball tomorrow. “I can’t speak for everybody else, but I’m really excited about it,” he said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere, and obviously he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think he could do it.”

New York Yankees Phil Hughes continues his winning form

The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners by the score of 6-2 on Saturday evening. Phil Hughes started for the Yankees and pitched great. Boon Logan finished the game off and was ok, he struggled a little bit. Raul Ibanez had a couple of clutch hits for the Yankees. Hector Noesi started for the Mariners and got roughed up a little bit by his old team. 
Hughes pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out four. Logan pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and a run, he didn’t walk a batter and struck out four. Hughes is now 3-4 on the season. Noesi started for Seattle and pitched seven inning giving up six hits and five runs with no walks and four strikeouts. Noesi is 2-4 on the season. Tom Wilhelmsen pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI and Mark Teixeira had a hit. Ibanez had two hits and two RBI, Martin had a hit and an RBI and Jayson Nix had a hit and two RBI. Teixeira, Martin and Ibanez each had a double. Nix and Ibanez each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 4-8 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base. Jeter had a stolen base and Swisher had an outfield assist.

Dustin Ackley had two hits for the Mariners. John Jaso had a hit, Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and Jesus Montero drew a walk. Kyle Seager had a hit, Mike Carp had two hits and two RBI and Justin Smoak had a hit. Carp had a double and a homerun. The Mariners were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base.

In the second inning the Yankees scored four runs. Ibanez and Martin had an RBI double to make it 2-0 Yankees. Nix hit a two run homerun to make it 4-0. Ibanez hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it 5-0. In the seventh Carp hit a solo homerun to make it 5-1. In the ninth Carp had an RBI double to make it 6-2. The call on the field was homerun but after a review they overturned it and made the right call though. 6-2 was the final score.

The Yankees improved their record to 19-14 and the Mariners saw their record drop to 15-20. The Yankees will go for the sweep of the three game series on Sunday afternoon. The Yankees pitching staff has gotten much better with a full turn through the rotation and now Hughes pitching for a second time. All of the starters have had good outings.

The Yankees take the first game of their series with the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 5-3 on Tuesday night. The game took place in the Bronx,NY at Yankee Stadium. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched very well. The Yankees new tandem of Rafael Soriano and David Robertson were able to close the game out. Raul Ibanez led the Yankees offense. James Shields started for the Rays and lost his first game of the season. 
Nova pitched seven innings giving up two runs on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He improved his record to 4-1 on the season and hopes this will start a new winning streak. Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and he struck out the side and Robertson earned his first save of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit and two walks. He did strike out two batters. It was the Yankees first save situation since Mariano Rivera went down with a season ending injury. Robertson made it interesting but he got the job done. Shields pitched six innings giving up three runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out four. Burke Badenhop pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run, Jake McGee pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run and striking out one and Joel Peralta pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had a hit and drew a walk. Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk, Mark Teixeira had a hit, RBI and drew a walk and Ibanez had two hits and three RBI. Eduardo Nunez had a hit, Cano and Teixeira each had a double. Ibanez hit two homeruns and Granderson had a homerun. The Yankees were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.

Ben Zobrist had two hits and drew two walks for the Rays. Matt Joyce drew a walk, Luke Scott had a hit and an RBI and Jeff Keppinger had a hit and drew a walk. Will Rhymes had two hits and drew a walk, Sean Rodriguez had a hit and Jose Molina had a hit and an RBI. Rhymes had a double and Zobrist had a triple. Molina and Scott each hit a homerun. The Rays were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Zobrist was caught stealing and Upton committed an error.

The Yankees got on the board first in the fourth inning on an Ibanez two run homerun. Granderson would make it 3-0 with a solo homerun in the fifth inning. The Rays would score their first run of the game in the sixth on a Molina solo homerun. In the seventh the Rays cut the lead to 3-2 on a Scott solo homerun. The Yankees got the run back in the bottom of the seventh on a Ibanez solo homerun. In the eighth the Rays would cut the lead to one again on a wild pitch by Soriano after he gave up a leadoff triple but came back to strike out the next two guys. It was a 4-3 game. The Yankees would get that run back in the bottom of the inning on a Teixeira RBI double. In the ninth Robertson got the first out but then walked Rhymes, Rodriguez singled and after a strikeout he walked Zobrist. The bases were loaded and he struck out Pena to end the game. It was a little different then having Mariano Rivera out there that is for sure.

The Yankees improved their record to 16-13 as they won their second game in a row. The Rays record fell to 18-11 and they are tied for first place with the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees are 2 ½ games back tied with the Toronto Blue Jays. The two teams will play the second game of their three game series on Wednesday night weather permitting. The two teams will complete their series on Thursday night.

New York Yankees Postgame notes from Wednesday night

Here are the postgame notes from after Wednesday nights game in Texas.  The Yankees lost two out of three and were off today.  They are getting ready for a three game series with the Detroit Tigers at home beginning tomorrow night. 

Phil Hughes said he thought this was going to be a good start. His stuff was good in the bullpen, he looked pretty sharp in the first two innings, and he opened the third inning with a strikeout. But things got out of hand in a hurry and when six of the next seven batters reached base — two of them hit by pitches — Hughes was finished. He’d lasted just two and a two-thirds of an inning, but even he couldn’t argue with the decision to make a change.  I really don't know what to say about him.  His stuff appears to be there so I wouldn't say he is hurt.  I just don't think he is locating and part of it could be a lack of confidence.  The Yankees really need him to be good and they will have to figure it out. 

“I haven’t really earned the trust to (stay in the game),” he said.

Hughes was the Yankees best starter this spring, but he’s lost three of his first four starts this season. Russell Martin said there are times he hasn’t look comfortable on the mound, then Martin made a not-so-flattering comparison.

“(Hughes) is guy who has tremendous confidence in his fastball,” Martin said. “For him to be successful, he’s got to locate. A.J. had the same problem every once in a while. He’d get into a hitter’s count — he’s confident in his fastball as well — it’s just when you leave one over the middle of the plate, especially those 3, 4, 5 guys, they’re not going to miss it. They’ve got a tremendous lineup. You’ve got to be able to pitch them tough. You’ve got to be able to pitch them backwards. Even when we tried to pitch them backwards, they were still on it.”  I don't think you ever want to be compared to Burnett. 

Joe Girardi said the Yankees are committed to keeping Hughes in the rotation. With Michael Pineda lost for the season and Andy Pettitte at least two minor league starts away from the big leagues, the Yankees have little choice but to show some patience. Hughes isn’t the only starter struggling.  I tthink they want him to succeed, it would be easier to take Garcia out of the rotation, they have no long-term investment in Garcia. 

“We believe he can do it, and I know he believes he can do it,” Girardi said. “But right now, sometimes the ball’s running back a little, he’s leaving the curveball up, the cutter’s sometimes not getting to where he wants to so it is frustrating. But you’ve got to keep working at it.”

Andy Pettitte allowed four runs — three earned — through five innings in Trenton. He struck out three, walked one and allowed seven hits. “I don’t feel the strength is there yet,” Pettitte said afterward. “… I was a little disappointed in my command.”

 This is from Mike Ashmore: “(Pettitte) was going to go a minimum of two starts after this outing regardless,” Brian Cashman said. “He went in here knowing that this wasn’t a situation where he’d be pulled out of here. Even if I lost every starter in our rotation in New York right now, he wouldn’t be coming to New York to replace anybody after this outing.”

 Hughes said tonight’s problem wasn’t particularly complicated or hard to figure out. He left too many balls over the middle of the plate: “I’d throw a good fastball on an 0-0 count, but that doesn’t really get you anything,” he said. “I have to continue to make good pitches all the way through the at-bat. It’s hanging curveballs, fastballs out over the plate. It’s pretty much everything.”

 Hughes showed some emotion when he came off the mound in the third, but he said it was all directed at himself, not at Girardi or the umpire. “Absolutely at myself,” Hughes said. “It’s been frustrating. It’s been disappointing these first starts. Something’s got to change. A little too much frustration probably came out physically. I try not to do that, but sometimes it gets to be too much.”

 Before today’s outing, Hughes had never allowed a run in 15.1 innings at this ballpark.  He was looking really good early on also, seems to be a good luck place for him but not on this night. 

 Girardi on the decision to bring Clay Rapada into the game in the third inning. “I had a chance to bring in a lefty to face a lefty, knowing that I had another lefty later on in the game and believing that Ron Washington wouldn’t pinch-hit that early. So I took a chance, it worked, and unfortunately we weren’t able to shut them down the rest of the way.”

 Girardi said tomorrow’s off day also played a role in his decision to pull Hughes after just 2.2 innings. “Knowing that I wasn’t going to need to use anyone, and there’s some guys that hadn’t pitched in a while,” Girardi said. “Soriano hadn’t pitched in a while. I knew that I could do that, try to keep it close, see if our offense could catch up.”

The Yankees offense couldn’t catch up, but Derek Jeter did get two more hits to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. That’s the longest in the American League this season. Jeter has 17 hits in his past 34 at-bats.

 Raul Ibanez was 2-for-4 with an RBI double and his third home run of the season. That led to my favorite Tweet of the night from my good buddy Dan Barbarisi: “Raul Ibanez has 3 home runs this year. From my estimations, they have traveled a total of 4,822 feet.” It’s true, when Ibanez gets hold of one, he crushes it.

The Rangers were using nothing but relievers tonight, beginning with a spot start from Scott Feldman, but the Yankees couldn’t get anything going against five different bullpen arms. “Sometimes that can be difficult because you don’t see the same guy twice very often,” Girardi said. “You get a different look every at-bat. Sometimes that can be harder.”

Martin always has a way of bring unexpected perspective to things: “I’ve got confidence in Phil,” he said. “I know he’s got the stuff to do it. He’s tough mentally. I don’t think his start’s as bad as mine, and I’m not too worried, so I don’t think he is either.”

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.

New York Yankees Wednesday notes

Here are the Wednesday night Yankees notes.  Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog as always has the information and I offer my opinions as well. 

It was the first four innings that Hiroki Kuroda held the Braves scoreless. It was in his last three innings that he gave up a couple of runs. In spring training, though, results are only part of the story, and Kuroda was much happier with the way he finished today’s next-to-last spring start.  Kuroda was good and if he does what he did today in the regular season he will win a lot of games. 

“In the beginning I didn’t feel right, but I was able to make adjustments,” he said. “… Every game that I start I have to make some kind of adjustment, and I was able to do that the last few games that I pitched in spring training. I think I’m ready for that. I just hope I don’t get hurt.”

As long as he remains injury free, the Yankees seem happy with their offseason free agent signing. Pitching outside of the National League West for the first time, Kuroda has been exactly what the Yankees were expecting. He doesn’t overwhelm hitters, but he mixes pitches and throws strikes. Today he struck out six and walked none.  He knows how to pitch and it seems the league won't bother him, he will figure it out and get wins. 

“I was pleased with what I saw, really pleased,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s the guy that I thought we were getting.”

The Yankees have planned all year to slot Kuroda into the No. 2 spot in the rotation, and that’s exactly where Kuroda will open the season, as the game-two starter against Tampa Bay. That leaves him lined up to start next month’s home opener.

“I try not to think that far ahead,” Kuroda said. “I’m just focused on this next start that I have to do.”

 The Yankees got good news on Curtis Granderson’s right elbow. An MRI showed no problems, and Girardi didn’t rule out the idea of Granderson playing as early as tomorrow.  That is what the Yankees thought but it is always good to have confirmation. 

 More good news on Nick Swisher who managed to get 10 at-bats at the minor league complex today. He’ll go back to the complex tomorrow, and Girardi said he might play the outfield depending on how he feels. Girardi doesn’t expect him to take so many at-bats this time.  He should be ready to go for the opener next Friday in Tampa against the Rays. 

 Speaking of minor moves, Sweeny Murti reported this afternoon that the Yankees have signed Jack Cust to a minor league deal. That would seem to be clear insurance just in case Raul Ibanez can’t shake off his rocky spring. Cust is also a left-handed hitting designated hitter.  I think they are worried enough about Ibanez that they thought why not with Cust. 

 Speaking of Ibanez, he went 1-for-3 today and very nearly had his second spring home run. He was robbed by Jason Heyward’s leaping catch over the wall in right field.

 Speaking of struggles, Cory Wade gave up another run this afternoon. The big hit was a double by Eric Hinske, and Girardi said he felt that was the only truly bad pitch Wade threw (he left it up). Wade has a 7.27 ERA this spring and hasn’t looked sharp, but Girardi made it clear that he’s planning to have Wade in his Opening Day bullpen.

 One more Wade note: Just a few days ago he threw a three-inning simulated game. The Yankees want him to be a little bit stretched out so that he could give multiple innings if necessary. The loser of the rotation competition will likely be the regular long reliever. “You’d like to have two guys down there that could really give you some multiple innings,” Girardi said.

Yankees Saturday notes

Here are the Yankees notes from Saturday after their win over the Detroit Tigers.  The notes are coming from Chad Jennings at the Journal News.  I as always offer my thoughts as well. 

Freddy Garcia could have made things easy for the Yankees this afternoon. Instead, he might have made things harder. Showing absolutely no rust in his first start back from a swollen right hand, Garcia pitched 4.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and two walks. The only hit he allowed was a comebacker — of course — that glanced off his leg.  I believe he will be the odd man out, I think the Yankees want the young guys in the rotation but there is a chance that they put Phil Hughes in the bullpen especially now with what happened to Joba Chamberlain.

“Freddy was great today,” Joe Girardi said, not even waiting for a reporter to ask him a question. “I mean, everything; slow curveball he used to get ahead in the count sometimes, located his fastball, his split was good, his backdoor slider was good. He had it all. We got him to 64 pitches, so I was very pleased.”

“Last year, I signed a minor-league deal and came to spring training to earn a spot,” Garcia said. “Everything was harder for me because I had to come here and pitch really good and show them I can pitch in this league. (This winter) I signed early, but they signed guys and (Girardi) said he liked competition, and we’re in competition. I like that. It’s making my thinking straight. I concentrate better on what you’re doing.”

After last week’s hand injury — on a comebacker in Dunedin — Garcia might have fallen to the back of the pack, but he looked today as if he hadn’t missed a step. Whether you believe him or not, Girardi has said the Yankees will take their five best starting pitchers, and right now Garcia has been more consistent than anyone but Phil Hughes.

“I have to worry about myself and go out there and pitch,” Garcia said. “The way I pitched today, you know, I needed it.”  He is right but he may have needed it even more then the other guys. 

 Raul Ibanez’s two-run home run in the seventh inning not only gave the Yankees the lead, it also snapped him out of a hitless streak dating back to March 10. “It felt good to be able to make a left turn instead of a right turn,” Ibanez said.  It is only spring training but he has been really bad.  He has a couple of weeks now to get it going the other way.

Ibanez credited extra work with Kevin Long. The two spent an extended session in the cage yesterday, and Ibanez said it paid off. “I felt like I was in a better position to hit,” he said. “And in a better position to take a good swing.”

 Because the Yankees are facing a left-handed starter tomorrow, Ibanez will go to the minor league complex to get at-bats. It’s not uncommon for big league hitters to leadoff every inning in minor league spring training games. They can often get more at-bats by hitting in multiple games. “I told him, as many (at-bats) as he wants,” Girardi said.

 Garcia was fine after being hit by a Jhonny Peralta comebacker in the third inning. He quickly dismissed the training staff and stayed in the game, but it was kind of freaky to see a pitcher hit in his first game back from a comebacker. “It happened to me twice,” Garcia said. “But it’s nothing to worry about.”

 Francisco Cervelli was taken out of the game after being hit by a pitch in the seventh inning. “He’s fine, too,” Girardi said. “He just got hit in the calf. Well, the shin. He’ll be fine.”  Cervelli always seems to be getting injured during spring training. 

 Dewayne Wise continued his strong spring training with a game-winning, two-run double in the 10th inning. The Yankees went into extras after the Tigers tied the game with two-runs in the ninth. Both runs came off D.J. Mitchell, who was pitching his third inning of work and seemed to lose the strike zone a little bit.

Another strong showing for Cesar Cabral who had one strikeout in a hitless bottom of the 10th. The Rule 5 pick has 12 strikeouts and only one walk this spring.  If the Yankees want to carry a second lefty out of the pen they seem to have a couple of good choices.  Clay Rapada has also been very good this spring. 

 Justin Maxwell picked up his fourth stolen base of the spring as part of a double steal in the 10th inning. Maxwell stole third. … Jose Gil’s batting average is down to .563 after a 1-for-2 day. … Mark Teixeira and Colin Curtis also had hits today. … Boone Logan retired the two batters he faced, and Kevin Whelan retired the three batters he faced.

 Although Joba Chamberlain is being released from the hospital tomorrow, Girardi said he’s not sure when Chamberlain will stop by Yankees camp. Girardi expects Chamberlain to be in camp again at some point, but it might not happen right away. “He’s not capable of driving, so we might see him next week some time,” Girardi said. “It just depends what he wants to do.”  I think it may be good for him to get back around the guys as soon as he can. 

The New York Yankees defeat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in ten innings

The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers by the score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees won the game in ten innings. Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees and pitched very well. DeWayne Wise won the game with a two run double. Raul Ibanez had a hit and two RBI. 
Garcia pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up one hit and no runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Kevin Whelan pitched a perfect inning, Boone Logan faced two hitters and got them both out and D.J. Mitchell blew a save but got the win. Logan struck out one batter and Mitchell pitched three innings giving up three runs and two runs with three walks and one strikeout. Cesar Cabral got the save pitching one perfect inning with a strikeout.

Jayson Nix drew a walk, Jose Gil had a hit and Mark Teixeira had a hit. Ibanez had a hit and two RBI, Bill Hall had a walk and Colin Curtis had a hit and a walk. Wise had a hit and two RBI, Gil and Wise each had a double. Ibanez hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Hall and Maxwell each had a stolen base.

The Yankees will take on the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon at 1:05PM. This game will be at home in Tampa. The Yankees are now on a roll in the grapefruit league. They improved their record to 13-9 and it was their fifth win in their last six games. They haven’t lost in those six games as they have a tie. They also have only lost once in their last ten games.

Yankees Spring Training Notes From The First Workout

I wouldn't say that anything really big came out of spring training today.  Mariano Rivera did show up on time though and spoke with the media.  He had an announcement well sort of.  He said he has made up his mind on retiring or not.  He isn't going to say what his decision is right now though.  It sure sounded like this will be his farewell tour.  If it is everyone needs to watch and admire every time you see him pitch especially in person.  Rivera is a living legend and there will never be another like him. 

Joe Girardi also spoke about a few small items which he usually doesn't do.  Girardi basically announced that the first five in his lineup would be Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.  I think that was assumed but it is unlike Girardi to do that so early.  I like the lineup that way and feel it is best that way.  I would expect Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin and Brett Gardner to round out the lineup.  That is a pretty good lineup if you ask me. 

Girardi also said David Robertson would be his eighth inning guy and Rafael Soriano the seventh inning guy.  He also said that Francisco Cervelli is almost certainly going to be the backup catcher.  That was a little bit surprising with Austin Romine also being there.  I think the Yankees like the idea of Romine developing more and being in AAA this season.  I think they also like him working with the pitchers who are on the cusp of coming up and maybe having them all come up together.  Romine appears to be the catcher of the future and with Martin the Yankees can afford to wait on him. 

The notes from Girardi are coming from the beat writers who are down in Tampa covering the team already.  There was also some A.J. Burnett talk as the trade was just finalized.  I am going to paraphrase what was said but Martin basically said that sometimes he would let negative thoughts get in his way.  He said that Burnett was always his own toughest critic.  He said he probably cared more then anybody and he worked extremely hard, he just couldn't get it figured out. 

Sabathia said it is tough because they came into this together.  He also said though he thinks it will be good for him.  He said sometimes a change of scenery is just what is needed.  He said that their families became very close and that will be the tough part.  Joe Girardi said a lot of nice things.  He said from his point of view he did everything that was asked of him.  Girardi said he worked hard and came prepared.  He said he had a good time with him and that A.J. won a lot of important games for the Yankees.  Martin said he text him after the trade and told A.J. he was going to bunt off of him. 

Martin also revealed today the Yankees were talking to him about a possible three year deal.  He said that the talks never progressed though.  He said numbers were discussed but he won't say what they are and he loves being with the Yankees.