2010 Season Record: 69-42

The Yankees went through a disappointing 3-4 week against a pair of AL East foes, but remained ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the divisional race.

The Yankees kicked off the week with a three  game series against the very dangerous Toronto Blue Jays.  Game 1 turned out to be an offensive battle, as both starting pitchers were hit hard.  AJ Burnett lasted only 4.1 innings and gave up eight earned runs.  Toronto starter Brandon Morrow wasn’t much better; he lasted only 5.1 innings and allowed 5 runners to cross the plate.  In the end the Jays beat the Yankees 8-6 with the help of a major league record six doubles.

The Yankees were probably wishing they had saved some of Game 1′s output for the second game of the set.  Ricky Romero, who the Yankees pounded back in July, limited the Yankees to just two runs and a pair of hits.  The Blue Jays offense continued to roll over Dustin Moseley and the Yankees pen en route to an 8-2 win.

Suddenly the Yankees found themselves in 2nd place in the AL East as play began in the series finale.  A-Rod helped kick the game off on the right foot, finally belting his 600th career home run.  Derek Jeter went 4-4 on the day and  Phil Hughes allowed a single run in 5.1 innings before the pen shut down the Jays the rest of the way.  The 5-1 victory, coupled with the Rays loss to the Twins put New York back into a first place tie with Tampa.

After a day off, the Yankees took on their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox, in a big four game set at the Stadium.

The Yankees struggled offensively and defensively in the opener and the Red Sox took advantage.  Javier Vazquez streak of great starts ended with a 5.1 inning, three earned run performance that was magnified by Francisco Cervelli’s critical error.  Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz was solid in Boston’s 6-3 win.

In Game 2 the Yankees sent their big gun to the mound and CC Sabathia did not disappoint.  The Pinstripe’s ace threw eight strong innings and allowed just two earned runs.  Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano led the offense with two hits and an RBI each and the Yankees were able to turn the table on their rivals with a 5-2 win.

The Yankees kept the ball rolling in Sunday night’s prime time affair thanks to Dustin Moseley’s strong pitching performance.  The Bombers right hander went 6.1 innings, allowed only two earned runs and outdueled the much hated Josh Beckett.  The Yankees offense also did their part and smacked Beckett around the park.  Derek Jeter drove in thee runs and Lance Berkman enjoyed his first big day as a Yankee, going 3-4 with an RBI and two doubles.  The Yankees cruised to a 7-2 victory.

The final game of the series pitted Boston’s new ace, Jon Lester, against one of the game’s brightest stars in Phil Hughes. Unfortunately for the Yankees, it was a pitcher’s duel that Lester won.  Hughes survived a shaky first two innings and trailed just 2-0 when he departed after six innings.

Lester, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon shut down a number of late opportunities and the Yankees could only manage a Mark Teixeira home run in the 2-1 loss.

Pinstriped Positives:

Despite a mediocre week, the Yankees still managed to gain a half a game over the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Rays fell to 1.5 games back in the division after going 4-6 over their last 10 games.  (The stretch included a 5 game losing streak.)

Robinson Cano’s bat is back on fire. The All-Star second baseman is 12-35 (.343) over his last 10 games.

Derek Jeter continued to snap out of his season long doldrums with a 13-40 (.325) streak.

Negatives:

Jorge Posada’s bat continues to be dormant; the Yankees’ catcher is just 6 for his last 33 which translates to a .182 average.  Posada’s time behind the plate hasn’t been much better as teams continue to run on him at will.  And to top everything off, he’s been bothered by a sore knee caused by a cyst.

What’s Next:

The Yankees will now take their show on the road as they first travel to Texas for a two game set with the AL West division leading Rangers.  Then the Bombers move on to Kansas City for a four game set with the Royals.

John Fetter is a regular Yankees contributor for Baseball Digest.  He can be reached at jfetter@sportstalk88.com.

WP – Bruney (3-0)  SV – Rivera (19)  LP – White (2-1)

Jorge Posada congratulates Mo Rivera after ceremonial 1st pitch

Joba Chamberlain and Brandon Morrow have both heard the debates.  Should they be closers, future closers, set up men, starters (though we’re sure that Morrow has no equivalent of the bag of hot air that is debating it onJoba’s behalf.)?  Last night’s Yankees-Mariners game was a good fodder for throwing them both back in the pen.  Both starters were mediocre, but the Seattle bullpen did a worse job than the Yankees’ relief corp.  The end result was an 8-5 Yankees win that moved them to within 2.5 games of Boston in the AL East.

Brian Bruney had just blown a two run lead when the Yankees came to bat in the bottom of the 8th against Sean White.  Hideki Matsui greeted him with a double up the alley in right-center and the Yankees had an instant rally.  Nick Swisher ill advisedly laid down a bunt, but it was a perfect one.  Pinch-runner Brett Gardner moved to 3rd base and Swisher reach 1st base safely for a base hit.

Melky Cabrera’s double to center put the Yankees ahead 6-5 (the Melkman’s 3rd Ribbie of the night) and Derek Jeter followed with a 2-run single to give Mariano Rivera plenty of breathing room in the 9th.  Rivera had the honor of throwing out the game’s first pitch in commemoration of his 500th save and then had the opportunity of throwing the night’s last pitch as well.  He cruised through a 1-2-3 9th inning for the 501st save of his illustrious career.

Things weren’t so illustrious for Chamberlain, who reverted back to “the nibbler” after his excellent start against the Braves his last time out.  He couldn’t hold the 3-1 lead his teammates had given him and lasted just 5 1-3 innings.  Of his 96 pitches, just 55 were strikes.  He allowed 9 hits, 3 walks, and went deep into counts all night.

Morrow’s night was worse (98 pitches, 58 strikes)- 4.2 IP, and although just 1 of the 3 runs he allowed were earned, he issued 5 walks and gave up 5 base hits.  Both teams failure with runners in scoring position is the only thing that kept the game from being a 14-12 shootout.

Alex Rodriguez belted a long 2-run home run off of Chris Jakubauskas in the 7th to put the Bombers back on top 5-3.  But Joe Girardi pulled Phil Hughes, who had pitched a dominant 9-pitch 7th inning, in favor of his 8th inning “follow the script” guy.  It backfired as Bruney allowed 3 hits and a walk.   Russell Branyan’s bases loaded sacrifice fly tied the game before Bruney finally got Jose Lopez to ground out to end the inning.

Game Notes

The Red Sox have had their way with the Orioles all season, but last night the O’s suddenly woke up.  Boston built a 9-1 lead before the rains came to Camden Yards and delayed matters.  Down 10-1, the Orioles rallied late and pulled out a stunning 11-10 victory.

Eric Hinske’s flight out of Pittsburgh was delayed by the weather and he wasn’t able to get to the game in time.  Ramiro Pena is expected  to be sent down to learn to play the outfield.  The Yankees envision a Mark Mclemore type of player.

Telling stat from mlb.com’s Noah Coslov – 12 of Melky Cabrera’s 29 RBI have came in the 7th inning on and have tied the game or given the Yankees the lead.

Mariners 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery Tuesday to remove bone spurs in his shoulder.

The Yankees-M’s series continues tonight with Andy Pettitte facing Jarrod Washburn (or is that Keifer Sutherland?).

His return to the Blue Jays is just a few days away, but his old job is gone. When B.J. Ryan is activated from the disabled list today, it will not be as the closer. General Manager J.P. Ricciardi said on Tuesday that the team will continue to use Scott Downs in the ninth inning even after Ryan rejoins the team.

Well, if you’re like me, and own both Ryan and Downs, it’s somewhat of a predicament. On one hand your obvious self is saying drop Ryan. On the other, you’re skeptical of the decision and mull over how long Downs keeps the job.

The ultimate answer is going with your instinct, and dropping Ryan. Besides his last outing, Downs has been lights out this season. Since installed as the team’s closer, Downs is three-for-four in save chances and had not allowed a run until his first blown save which came on May 9. Downs is sporting an absurd 20:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In last week’s blown save, Downs was roughed up for three runs on five hits. If not for that, Downs ERA would be 0.59. There is no guarantee that he holds onto this job long-term, but it’s the best bet if you are a betting man.

Before being shelved on April 23, Ryan struggled with his velocity, consistency, command, and overall effectiveness. Ryan’s ERA ballooned to 11.12 in his last outing before being put on the disabled list, and has walked more hitters than he’s struck out. In addition, there is really no way to tell that he’s righted the ship either. In his minor league rehabilitation, Ryan threw a total of three innings and allowed a hit, a walk, and a run. Not a bad stint, but these were against minor league hitters at Single-A Dunedin. It’s questionable how he will do against major league hitters again next week.

It’s important to remember how quickly things can change, and that Ryan is the first in line to claim the role if Downs should falter. But, it’s more important to utilize your roster spots. If you are in a deeper league with a deeper bench, it may be worthwhile to hang on to Ryan. Otherwise, it is time to move on.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the league in some of the regular weekly sections of the ‘Pen. Not many pitchers sounding the alarm this week, which is probably a good thing. But a lot of pitchers seem to be gaining a second wind after losing their jobs.

Check out the rest of the Call To The Pen article over at our #1 source for Fantasy Basebal — FantasyPros911.com

Coming off the excitement from the night before when the Rangers defeated the Mariners in walk-off fashion.  Hank “The Hammer” Blalock’s two-RBI double off of closer Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the eleventh inning sent the Ballpark in Arlington into a state of pandemonium.

Wins like that don’t happen every day, so there is no way it could happen again, right?

Texas and Seattle played a day game on Thursday, the Mariners looking to avoid the sweep and the Rangers attempting to improve their record against Seattle this season to 5-0.

Seattle sent their ace, King Felix, to the mound to face-off against Matt Harrison and his 19 scoreless inning streak.

Felix Hernandez started the year off 4-0 before losing last week to the Rangers and Kevin Millwood, the young phenom definitely was looking for some revenge for that outing.

Harrison was simply looking for zeros, the only two pitchers in baseball this season with longer scoreless streaks are Zack Grienke and Hernandez.

Hernandez who struggled in his first outing against the Rangers was on today, going seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, none for extra bases, and striking out six.

Harrison keep his scoreless inning streak going for three more innings, until the fourth when the Mariners put two on him.  His streak ended at 22 innings, tying Hernandez mark for the second longest of the season.

However, Matt would again complete what he had started, pitching another complete game (his second consecutive), allowing only five hits and striking out seven.  Three of the five hits he allowed came in the fourth when the Mariners scored their two runs.

Another superb outing from Harrison, but going into the ninth he was on the hook for the loss, unless the bats could rescue him.

Again Seattle sent their closer Morrow to the mound looking for some redemption after the night before, and as fate would have it the first batter he faced was The Hammer.

Like the night before, Morrow used 96 and 97 mph fastballs and worked the count full, when The Hammer took the payoff pitch for a ride.

Hank’s 10th home run of the season was a bomb eight rows up in the right field upper deck home run porch.  Though it was only a solo home run and the Rangers still trailed 2-1, the feeling around the park and in the home dugout was of another rally.

Texas rallied from behind three times in the game the night before, won in walk-off fashion, and it seemed as though it was happening again.

To bring the team back down to Earth the next batter Nelson Cruz flied out to shallow center on the first pitch and Morrow was two outs away from avoiding disaster.

David Murphy batted next as the potential tying run, he would see only fastballs as well from Morrow.  With the count 2-2, Murphy lined a double down the right field line and the stadium was hopping.

Now the Rangers had the tying run in scoring position with only one out and Chris Davis coming to the plate.

Last night Davis set a new franchise record striking out in 21 consecutive games, so far in this contest he had yet to strikeout.  Morrow again would only throw fastballs looking to get the free-swinging Davis to extend his streak.

But on the 2-1 pitch, Davis would later say he was looking for a fastball high in the strike zone, he got his pitch and “Crush” Davis blasted the ball to deep center field.

As soon as he hit it Davis flipped his bat and began his trot, a no doubt shot that won the game in walk-off fashion for the second time in less than 24 hours.

With the 3-2 victory the Rangers completed the sweep of the Mariners, improved their record to 20-14, and will now face the red-hot Angels.

The Angels are still only 1.5 games behind the Rangers as they took two of three games at home from the Red Sox.

The Rangers come into the series winning four straight and a 10-2 record over the past two weeks.

The Angels also enter the series having won nine of the last eleven games.

Both teams do have some potent offense but the real story line will likely come from the pitching match-ups.  Friday Joe Saunders (5-1, 2.66) takes on Ranger ace Kevin Millwood (3-3, 2.92).  Saturday John Lackey makes his first start of the season for the Halos against Vicente Padilla (2-2, 4.97), who is coming off back-to-back one-hitters.  Finally in the series finale Jered Weaver (3-1, 2.45) will take the mound against  Scott Feldman (2-0, 4.85).

This is a big series as both teams attempt to make statements about the upcoming race for the divisional title.

Perkins took the mound and gave up just one run on five hits and two walks in eight innings. 72 of his 106 pitches were strikes. Washburn also went eight innings. He did not allow a run. He gave up five hits and a walk and threw just 96 pitches.

An insurance run off of Luis Ayala in the top of the 9th gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead which they handed over to Brandon Morrow. Certainly Mariners  fans were nervous when Morrow walked Michael Cuddyer on four pitches to lead off the inning. But Morrow settled in and struck out Justin Morneau and Joe Crede, both looking, before pinch hitter Jason Kubel flew out to end the game.

The Twins top three hitters (Denard Span, Alexi Casilla and Michael Cuddyer), who have come through so far this season for the Twins, went a combined 0-11 in the game. All told, the Twins left 14 runners on base. The lone bright spot in the lineup was Brendan Harris who made his first start of the season and went 2-3.

The Twins now head to Chicago for three games against the White Sox.

Seattle trailed 7-2 heading into the eighth inning, but scored four runs in the eighth to pull within a run and then pulled ahead, 8-7 on LaHair’s blast in the top of the ninth with Adam Moore aboard. Journeyman right-hander Randy Messenger retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth for his third save of the spring. Dodgers manager Joe Torre used four relievers in the final two innings to try to close the game out, but his leaky ‘pen couldn’t hold the lead.

Right-hander Gaby Hernandez, acquired from the Marlins last July in the trade that sent Arthur Rhodes to Florida, started the game in place of Brandon Morrow, who was scratched due to forearm stiffness. Hernandez, 22, retired the first seven batters of the game, but ran into trouble in the third and didn’t make it out of the inning. Hernandez allowed 3 runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Closer candidates Miguel Batista and Roy Corcoran each pitched scoreless innings, as did right-hander Tracy Thorpe, but non-roster left-hander Chris Seddon surrendered four runs (two earned) in the sixth thanks in part to an error by right fielder Mike Wilson.

On the hitting side, Wladimir Balentien hit his first home run of the spring, a long bomb to center field in the fifth inning and infield candidate Chris Woodward added a double. Balentien and Mike Morse had two hits each but both were caught stealing in the second inning. Non-roster outfielder Brent Johnson hit a two-run single in the four-run eighth. Mike Sweeney saw his first action of the spring and went 0-for-2 with a walk.

The Mariners (5-2-1) host the Arizona Diamondbacks tomorrow at 1:05PM (12:05PM Seattle time). Oufielder Ken Griffey Jr. is expected to make his second appearance of the spring tomorrow.