And it was all going so well until the fifth inning.
Jason Giambi belted two homers and Hideki Matsui added another, but the rest of the lineup managed only three hits and Andy Pettitte fell apart with two outs in the fifth as the
Indians dropped the Yanks 6-4 in Cleveland. On a positive note, Alex Rodriguez returned, but went 0 for 4 on the night.
The Good:Jason Giambi. I've been hard on my paisano (and really who could blame me?), but Jay Jay was responsible for three-quarters of the Bomber offense Friday night. Giambi ripped a monster homer on the first pitch he saw in the second inning to tie the score at 1-1. Then with Jorge Posada on first, The Giambino pulled a ball over the right field wall to give the Yanks a short-lived 3-1 lead in the fourth. It wasn't all rainbows and gumdrops for Giambi though, as he made an error in the first that led to run. But if Giambi finds a groove, the Yanks could start scoring runs in bunches (in theory, anyway). Giambi finished 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. Keep it up, cuz.
Jonathan Albaladejo. The man with the difficult-to-pronounce last name (it is for me, at least) was back for his third go-round in pinstripes this year and gave the Yanks much needed relief. The Yanks sent down catcher Chad Moeller Friday to make room for the 25-year-old righty. The bullpen has been overworked so far and it's starting to spring leaks, but Albaladejo came off the plane throwing strikes and kept the Yanks in the game. JA's line: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K.
The Bad:Andy Pettitte. It looked like the Yankee lefty was on his way to another grind-it-out win, but his fortune changed in the fifth. Travis Hafner picked up what seemed to be an innocent two-out single and the before you knew it, the wheels fell off. Victor Martinez followed with another single and then Jhonny Peralta slammed a three-run home run to give the Indians a startling 4-3 lead. Then Franklin Gutierrez turned it into back-to-back jacks and a 5-3 deficit to complete Pettitte's meltdown. Pettitte suffered his first road loss of the year with this: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 earned), 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR.
Billy Traber. The lefty was handed the ball in the sixth with specific instructions: give the team some innings and keep it a two-run game. He came up snake eyes on both counts. Traber tossed 31 pitches in his one inning of work, allowed two stolen bases and gave up a run. His run also came after he retired the first two batters of the inning. This will not stand. Traber's outing: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K.
Robinson Cano. The whole Yankee lineup did almost nothing Friday night, but Cano continues to struggle at the dish. Cano was batting .333 after the first game of the season, but it's gone downhill from there. Robbie has gone hitless in half of the 24 games he's played and is batting a lowly .156 for the year. It's still early, but I'd like to see his average inch closer to his playing weight before the calendar flips to May. Cano finished 0 for 2 with a walk.
The Ugly:Shot down. The Maltese Falcon may have thrown his last pitch of the year Tuesday night.
Brian Bruney slipped attempting to cover first against the White Sox that night and wound up injuring the
Lisfranc joint in his right foot. The Yanks placed Bruney on the DL and are hoping he'll be back later in the season, but it's unlikely. Bruney was 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in nine appearances this year. Right-hander
Chris Britton will take his place.
Ian Kennedy (0-2) will try and stop this mini two-game losing streak on Saturday. He'll go against lefty Jeremy Sowers (0-0). Kennedy threw a ton of pitches in his last start in Baltimore, walking five men in only 2 2/3 innings en route to a loss. Right-handed batters are also hitting a chunky .393 against Kennedy. Sowers will be making his 2008 debut. He finished 1-6 with a fat 6.42 ERA last season.
If I was a betting man, I'd expect a ton of runs to be scored at Progressive Field (when did it stop being called Jacobs Field?) on Saturday.
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