It was a game of disappointment and frustration.
Phil Hughes continued to be his own worst enemy, Gary Sheffield belted a two-run homer against his former mates and the Yanks couldn't take advantage of eight hits and eight walks as Kenny Rogers and the
Tigers downed New York 6-4 in the Bronx. Robinson Cano drove in half of the Yankee runs with his line drive dinger in the second and the Bombers mounted rallies in the final two frames, but it wasn't enough.
The Good:The bullpen. Once again the pen was called upon to stop the bleeding and once again it responded. The trio of Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez and LaTroy Hawkins combined for 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Ohlendorf was the first guy out of the gate and really impressed, striking out five in 3 1/3 innings. Ramirez was
called up before the game (Chris Britton, who was brought up on April 25, was sent down without throwing a pitch) and looked sharp. The Hawk finished things off for the Yanks with a nine-pitch ninth. The triumvirate's totals: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. That's two stellar performances in a row for the bullpen, but if the starters can't get go at least five, the relievers are going to be cooked before June.
The Bad:Phil Hughes. It was the same old story for the kid -- too many pitches and not enough quality strikes. Hughes walked the first batter of the game and it went downhill from there. You can make excuses and say the Tigers didn't hit him hard during their two-run first inning, but Hughes continued to get into trouble after that frame. Hughes also had problems getting in sync with the newest Yankee catcher
Chris Stewart. It seemed like Stewart was crossed up on every other batter as Hughes finished with two wild pitches. The one positive for Hughes this season was he kept the ball in the park. Well, he gave up his first two gopher balls of the year in the third inning -- a solo shot by Curtis Granderson and a two-run blow by Gary Sheffield. Hughes fell to 0-4 with this mess: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 2 WP.
The Ugly:Another bat hits the DL. The Yanks placed
Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list after Tuesday's game. A-Rod strained his quad on April 20 and returned to the lineup on April 25 in Cleveland. But Rodriguez felt his leg "
pull a little bit" running out a grounder in the fourth inning last night. A-Rod also said that he "probably" came back too soon from the original injury and that it took
him "a couple of months" to recover from a similar injury when he was a senior
in high school. An MRI revealed a Grade 2 sprain that will keep the MVP out at least two weeks. This lineup is already struggling to score runs and now they'll be without two of their best hitters. On a positive note, the news on
Jorge Posada seems to be better than expected. I say "seems" because his shoulder has gone from OK to shot to not that bad. But even in a best-case scenario, it could be a while before Jorgie comes back.
Andy Pettitte (3-2) will try and get the Yanks back in the win column (and give the pen a much-needed day off) on Wednesday. Pettitte wasn't sharp in his last start and lasted only five innings in a loss to the Indians. Andy has pitched well against the Tigers in his career. He owns a 10-8 record with a 3.49 ERA. Detroit Rock City will counter with the talented, but inconsistent Jeremy Bonderman (1-2). Bonderman has kept the Tigers in games this year, but he's allowed 28 hits and 21 walks in 27 1/3 innings so far. And three Yanks that are still in the lineup have excellent numbers against him -- Johnny Damon (.438, 2 HR, 6 RBI), Hideki Matsui (.526, 3 HR, 9 RBI) and Bobby Abreu (.667, 1 HR, 3 RBI).
Things may look bleak right now in Yankee Land, but considering the injuries, shaky starting pitching and 18 out of the past 20 games played on the road before Tuesday night, a .500 record at this point isn't that bad.
But it's time to start turning things around.
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