TrueFriend, Brett Gardner (Courtesy AP)
Brett Gardner didn’t start the game, but he sure ended it. In the bottom of the 12th with Granderson at 2nd and Cano at 3rd, Gardner rapped a single to right field that plated the go ahead run and led to the Yankees sweep over the Rangers. Professional pastry chef AJ Burnett, A.K.A “Da Bakah”, greeted him at home with a frothy, gross towel full of shaving cream. To the victor go the spoils indeed.
Much discussed and equally frothed about Brian Gordon started the game and was pretty good for the Yankees. He went 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. You really can’t expect much more than that for a 32 year old journeyman making his first MLB start (unless it’s against the Yankees of course).
Despite going 2-11 with runners in scoring position, 2 intentional walks of Josh Hamilton and actually playing Ramiro Pena, the Yankees overcame what could have been a frustrating afternoon to finish up their home stand winning 6 out of 10 games. This was the worst the Texas Rangers have looked since James Vanderbeek, Ashton Kutcher and Dylan McDermott donned cowboy hats and destroyed the Western genre.
Obscured by , his space age baseball glove and the professional bag of garbage that is Eduardo Nunez, CJ Wilson was the star of the afternoon. Wilson struck out 10 in 8 innings while Dusty Baker Ron Washington actually let him throw 129 pitches, a career high.
The Yankees got on the board early with a Russell Martin RBI single in the 2nd. Gordon was cruising until the 5th when an Ian Kinsler double tied the score. After an IBB to Hamilton loaded the bases, Gordon hit Beltre with a pitch to put Texas up 2-1. Former rotting bag of trash Jorge Posada tied the game up in the 6th with a double, scoring Cano all the way from 1st. After a frustrating sequence in the 9th with one out and the bases loaded where the Yankees failed to score, Corey Wade (Joe Torre survivor) pitched two scoreless innings, striking out 2 on only 21 pitches (thanks Rays!). Then in the bottom of the 12th, Granderson blooped a single, Cano cheated and then Gardner stroked his 2nd hit in as many innings to win it.
Seeing as Gardner’s two hits both came off lefties, here’s hoping that annoying platoon stops in LF with Andruw Jones. Russell Martin also was back finally, giving us sane people a respite from the Frankie Cervelli follies. Get this: our real catcher threw out two base stealers, had 2 hits and a walk! That’s so exciting. Kudos also to the bullpen which was outstanding. Noesi, Robertson, Rivera and Wade pitched a combined 6.2 scoreless innings to keep the Yankees in it. Curtis Granderson continued to be astounding, going 3-5 pushing his line up to .285/.361/.608.
The Yankees next travel to Chicago to play the Cubs in interleague. Yes it will be terribly unfamiliar for all, going north to play a team with a checkered past in a dilapidated, run down stadium with a bunch of angry drunk malcontents. Terribly unfamiliar. For some reason, probably related to a Daley and the 1960’s, the game starts tomorrow at 2:20, which is terribly inconvenient for everyone involved. See you then, adieu.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Girardi could’ve possibly shaved three innings of bullpen work off the game had he batted A-Rod in place of Nunez after Martin led off the ninth getting on base. A-Rod takes over 3B, Pena moves to SS, in case the game goes to extra innings, a defensive upgrade at both positions esp.SS Pena’s natural or primary position.
The way I saw it, A-Rod hitting in place of Nunez was better than giving up an out having Nunez bunt Martin over to 2B and A-Rod batting for Pena. Give A-Rod a chance to win the game via double, triple, or homerun. By giving up an out with Nunez and batting A-Rod next, you take the bat out of A-Rod’s hands, a no-no late in any game, home or away.
Thankfully, these stupid moves by Girardi didn’t help cost the Yankees the game and the Yankees won the game. Once again, the Yankees win in spite of him.
[Reply]
Steve S. Reply:
June 16th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Since you’re so smart and Girardi’s so stupid, tell me why A-Rod got the day off.
[Reply]
Joe G Reply:
June 17th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Wow a new low for Duh!
[Reply]
Gordon looked good. He threw strikes, seemed to have a lot poise on the mound, and had better velocity than I thought he would. He topped out at 91 I believe, but he changed speed quite well going all the way down to 68 on a curve. He certainly pitched well enough to warrant his next start against Cincy.
A lot of people complaining about the bunt, and then having Alex pinch hit when he was going to be walked. Honestly I didn’t have a problem with it at the time, and I’m still in favor of the play. The only way Martin scores from first in that situation is on a home run (or an unlikely triple), so even if Alex gets a hit Pena still has to come through with the game winner. I can see the argument for either way, but I can’t see this overt anger for the course of action taken.
Looks like we have found our RHP for the pen. Hector Noesi looks to be taking over the role once held by Robertson, I think he adds more value in the pen than he ever will in the rotation.
Tough luck for Posada. He finally gets smoking hot, even notching an extra base hit off a tough lefty, and we immediately go on a road trip to the NL. It’s going to be interesting to see how he comes out of this trip, if he stays locked in he’s probably good the rest of the season. But, if cools down he may not getting going like this again. Let’s hope for the best.
Funny side note. The Scranton Yankees are taking on the Columbus Clippers tonight with Zach McAllister on the bump, Shelley Duncan playing DH, and Nick Johnson manning first base for the opposition. David Phelps is on the hill for the Yankees, the game is in a rain delay in the 5th with Columbus up 1-0. Phelps’ (probably) final line is 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 K, and Montero is 1-2 with a single.
[Reply]
Steve S. Reply:
June 16th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
I like Noesi in the pen. He throws strikes, and I’m not sure his secondary stuff is good enough to go through lineups multiple times.
We may also have another lefty for the pen as well. JC Romero was released by the Phils today, and I’ll be shocked if the Yanks don’t grab him. He’s not great, but Logan has set the bar pretty low.
[Reply]
Jersey Reply:
June 16th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
My feelings about Noesi exactly – talented guy, but I wouldn’t stick him in the rotation just yet.
[Reply]
T.O. Chris Reply:
June 16th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I wouldn’t stick him in the rotation at all, to me he fits that Alfredo Aceves mold perfectly. A guy who can come out of the pen and give you 3+ innings when he has to, and at the same time is good enough to pitch 1 important inning late in the game.
[Reply]
T.O. Chris Reply:
June 16th, 2011 at 10:20 pm
I actually have been thinking the Yankees are going to call up Greg Smith to be the second lefty, JC Romero makes just as much (if not more) sense at this point. Romero is at an all time low in velocity, but Greg Smith never really had velocity in the first place.
[Reply]
Scott Proctor coming in to pitch for the Braves. I haven’t seen him pitch since Torre blew out his arm the first time in NY.
[Reply]
Steve S. Reply:
June 16th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Velocity was good (93) and his season numbers coming into the game were terrific, but he just gave up a 3-run jack to Scott Hairston of all people.
[Reply]
Wilson struck out 10 in 8 innings while Dusty Baker Ron Washington actually let him throw 129 pitches, a career high.
I think that’s all on Nolan. I seem to recall him saying that he doesn’t believe in pitch count.
[Reply]
Dustin Ackley got the call to the show today. I’ve seen Yankee fans griping about how all these prospects are being called up while Ackley “rots” in the minor leagues. I thought it would be interesting to compare the two in triple A this year, keep in mind Ackley is a 2nd base prospect with no where near the power of Montero.
9 HRs, 34 RBI, 7 steals, 55 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 267 ABs .300/.418/.487 with a wOBA of .402
5 HRs, 25 RBI, 0 steals, 13 walks, and 50 strikeouts in 209 ABs .292/.338/.421 with a wOBA of .333
Ackley is outperforming Montero in every category, including power numbers, by a wide margin. Besides the lack of defensive polish, Montero is showing fairly large holes in his swing and a lack of any patience whatsoever. If Montero was hitting anywhere near the level of Ackley I doubt he would be “rotting” away, but then again given the numbers I don’t see how he can be doing much rotting in the first place.
People have to face the facts that Montero is farther behind than any of us had hoped at this point in the season, this is the main reason he isn’t seeing a call up anytime soon, not Yankee hatred of prospects.
[Reply]
[...] Yankees Sweep Rangers, Win 3-2 in 12 | New York Yankees blog … AKPC_IDS += "22217,"; AKPC_IDS += [...]
129 pitchesv isnt some insane number. In college I had a 160 pitch game.
In the 70s and the 80s that was standard. I honestly feel that 140 is where you are pushing it. I just think a guy of wilsons age can occasionaly throw 130. Anf it would help if media and blogger types stopped making a big deal out of it without any data to back up this alleged correlation between high pitch counts and injury.
Just saying.
[Reply]
Professor Longnose Reply:
June 17th, 2011 at 7:02 am
This question really needs a lot more study than it gets.
[Reply]