The sixth inning proved quite devilish for the Yankees Friday night.
Phil Hughes started strong, but couldn't finish, LaTroy Hawkins couldn't stop the bleeding and Daniel Cabrera was effectively wild (or is it wildly effective?) as the Orioles scored seven times in the bottom of the sixth and
trounced the Yanks 8-2 in Baltimore. The loss is the second straight for the Bombers and drops them to the .500 mark (again).
The Good:Chad Moeller. You're not going to win many ballgames if you have to rely on a journeyman backup catcher to be your offense and that was the case Friday night. Moeller drove in the only two runs for the Yanks -- one on an RBI-ground out in the fifth and one on his first homer of the year in the seventh.
Jorge Posada is nearing his return behind the plate (I think) and
Jose Molina's injured left hamstring "felt good" after jogging and performing some drills Wednesday, but Moeller has done a more than serviceable job in their stead. Moeller also threw out Luis Hernandez at third. Chad finished 1 for 3 with a run scored and 2 runs batted in.
The Bad:
Phil Hughes. This start was a lot better than his last one in Boston, but it still wasn't good enough to avoid his third loss of the season. To be fair, the O's didn't tear the cover off the ball and Alex Rodriguez's error in the fateful sixth inning was big, but the thing that really struck me tonight was Hughes' inability to put hitters away. The kid was throwing strikes and was able to get ahead on most batters with his fastball, but he needs to gain better control of his off-speed pitches if he expects to take that next step as a Big League pitcher. Again, Hughes wasn't awful (and his final totals will look worse than how he pitched), but you can't keep patting a guy on the back when the "L's" start to pile up (no matter how young he is). Hughes fell to 0-3 with this: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K.
LaTroy Hawkins. The Hawk came into the game with the Yanks down 3-1 and runners and second and third with one out. He could have been a hero of sorts if he pitched well. It didn't work out that way. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Jay Payton flared a two-run, pinch-hit single and the game quickly deteriorated from there. Hawkins hadn't allowed an earned run in his past five appearances before Friday night. L-Train's night: .1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 K.
The Ugly:Taking two for the team. Hideki Matsui has been one of the Bombers most consistent hitters this season, but he took two pitches to the body on Friday night. Godzilla was struck on the right arm and/or stomach in the second inning and then got drilled in the left thigh in the sixth. Matsui took a standing eight-count, but seemed to be OK. Good thing. The Yankees can't afford to lose his bat in the lineup.
The Bombers made a
roster move before the game. Jonathan Albaladejo was sent down to Triple-A and righty reliever Edwar Ramirez was called up. Albaladejo pitched three innings Thursday night and the Yanks need arms with the absence of Joba Chamberlain. The Yanks didn't waste any time getting Edwar acclimated -- he pitched 2 1/3 innings Friday night (36 pitches). And believe it or not, he looks thinner than he did last season. Somebody give that kid a sandwich!
The Yanks and Orioles will have an unusual nighttime start for the second game of the three-game set. Ian Kennedy (0-1) will take the hill for New York and Brian Burres (1-1) will toe the slab for the O's. Kennedy pitched well in his last start, a no-decision against the Rays in Tampa. He left that game in the seventh after a line drive hit him in the hip. Burres has made seven career appearances against the Yanks (three starts) and has a 1-2 mark with a 4.64 ERA.
Another test for another Baby Bomber.
CODA:Just a few quick notes on my experience at The Stadium last night. Obviously I didn't even my mark in the Bronx to 1-1 thanks in large part to Manny Ramirez as the
Red Sox topped the Yanks 7-5. I failed to mention in my first trip to the ballyard that the Yanks have a countdown of home games left in the "old" stadium in right center. Former Yankee Joe Pepitone flipped the number a few weeks ago and Tino Martinez did the honors Thursday night. The "new" Stadium is coming along nicely, but the parking situation is a nightmare. We trained it in, but if you're thinking about driving in -- don't. It'll cost you 30 bucks to park your car in a lot.
Also, a fan sitting four seats away from us caught a foul ball. The ball was popped into the upper deck, but someone with butter fingers couldn't hang on and it plummeted down to us. Vinny from Kearny was closer than me, but I guess that other guy just wanted it more.
Like I said yesterday, we were in the sweet section which meant cushy seats and cup holders. It also meant waitress service. Sounds good, right? Well, the service was lousy. It took forever for someone to take our order and it cost almost 20 bucks for chicken fingers, waffle fries and a coke. But the guys sitting next to us had it worse. They ordered their food in the second inning and didn't get it until the sixth.
Oh, and I took some pictures for some out-of-towners who sat in front of us. And I gotta admit, I took some pretty fine shots.
Maybe I missed my calling.
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First of all, I didnt try to catch that ball, if I made half an effort it would of been mine but at what cost?? Broken finger, cracked finger nail?? I think not...
By the way, Santana pitched yesterday, I think he had a little better game than Hughes but thank god we didnt sacrifice any of our young guns for the old man (28 years old) Santana...