CC Sabathia exited after pitching only 1 1/3 innigs due to what the team is calling left biceps tightness. The Yankees were then unable to hold an early 3-1 lead, and a ninth-inning rally fell short, as the Yankees fell to the Marlins 6-5 Sunday evening in the rubber game of the three-game series.
It was easy to tell that something was wrong with Sabathia early on. He was leaving his pitches up and he was getting hit hard. Joe Girardi and the trainers came out in the second inning to check up on the big lefty before Sabathia talked them away. They would then return soon after, and Girardi wouldn’t be talked out of removing him this time. In 1 1/3 innings, he allowed three hits, one earned run and one walk, only throwing 28 pitches. He was then relieved by Alfredo Aceves.
The Marlins scored early against Sabathia. Chris Coghlan led off with a double and was driven home by the next batter, Wes Helms. Sabatha was then able to work around it to escape further trouble. He then allowed a one-out double in the second before being taken out.
Aceves cruised in his 2 2/3 innings, allowing only one hit. He was in line for the victory when the Yankees scored three runs in the top of the third, allowing Michael Kay to once again call him a “vulture.”
Derek Jeter hit a two-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Nick Swisher then walked and Jeter stole third with Mark Teixeira at-bat. Teixeira hit an infield chop that went over first base and down the right-field line. Teixeira reached second on the double and Jeter scored to tie the game. Alex Rodriguez then followed with a two-run signgle to left to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.
Aceves pitched two more scoreless innings before getting replaced by Brett Tomko. Tomko allowed the game-tying, two-run home run to Hanley Ramirez in the bottom of the fifth and the go-ahead solo shot to Cody Ross in the bottom of the sixth. Once falling behind, the Yankees’ offense fell asleep.
The hole grew deeper when David Robertson (with the help of a Melky Cabrera throwing error) gave up a two-run single to Jorge Cantu in the bottom of the seventh to give the Marlins a 6-3 lead.
Those two runs would be costly, as the Yankees put together a two-out rally in the top of the ninth against closer Matt Lindstrom. Jorge Posada singled to right and Cabrera singled to center. Brett Gardner then tripled into the right center field gap to score both runners. However, after a Johnny Damon walk, Jeter grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
Something kind of screwy happened in the eighth inning. The Marlins had the wrong player out in left field to begin the inning. After one pitch was thrown, Girardi came out and brought it to the umpire’s attention. After the game, the Yankees announced that they were playing under protest. If the protest is upheld, the game would be resumed at that point.
The Yankees have now lost two straight series against NL East foes – the Washington Nationals and the Florida Marlins. They are now 38-31 and four games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox. After a day off tomorrow, they will begin a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Chien-Ming Wang will start the series opener.
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In typical Michael Kay fashion, he doesn’t know how to use the term vulture. The guy who blows the lead and then wins the game.
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