Right now, this team refuses to lose.
Chien-Ming Wang was off again and Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Vidro drove in two runs each to help the M's build a three-run advantage late in the game, but Jose Molina's double capped a four-run eighth inning as the
Yanks stunned the Mariners 6-5 in New York. The Bombers were helped out by Seattle's spotty D during their outburst and sometimes that happens when a team is on a roll (like the Yanks) and when a team is spiraling downward (like the Mariners).
The Yanks snagged their fifth straight win, moved back to the .500 mark and stepped out of the basement in the AL East.
The Good:Hideki Matsui. Godzilla's day started on the bench and he only registered one at-bat, but he was a big player in the game. With one out and runners on first and second in the eighth, Matsui tapped the first pitch he saw from Seattle closer J.J. Putz toward the mound. Putz made a nice diving play to corral the ball, but he fumbled the exchange and launched an air ball past Richie Sexson at first. A run scored and Alex Rodriguez moved over to third on the throwing error. Putz shouldn't have made the throw, but Matsui was running hard right out of the box and was rewarded for it. The next hitter, Robinson Cano, smacked a sacrifice fly to score A-Rod and Matsui smartly tagged up at first and hustled to second on the play. He would then come around to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run. Not bad for about 15 minutes of playing time. Matsui finished 1 for 1 with a run scored.
Jose Molina. I didn't think the ball had any carry when it came off the bat, but I was wrong. And I guess Ichiro was wrong as well. Molina hit a fly ball to right center in the eighth which seemed destined to be the final out of the eighth, but Ichiro lost sight of it and it fell to the ground for a gift double as Matsui motored in from second to give the Yanks a 6-5 lead. Hits have been hard to come by for Molina lately, but he finished with his first multi-hit game since April 13. Molina finished 2 for 4 with the game-winning ribbie.
Edwar Ramirez. The little guy has been flying a bit under the radar, but he turned in another scoreless appearance and vultured his first win of the season. Ramirez has pitched in 11 games in 2008 and has yet to surrender an earned run. Urkle fell into trouble last year by relying too much on his change-up, but he's throwing more fastballs now and it's made a world of difference. He's also received counsel from Mariano Rivera on how to pitch. Good for him. Ramirez's afternoon went like this: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
The Bad:Shelley Duncan. Frankenstein had a tough fourth inning. With one out and the bases loaded, Duncan botched a ground ball off the bat of Ichiro for his second error of the year. A run scored on the play and Seattle took a 3-1 lead. It looked like Shelley had a chance to step on first and throw home for the inning-ending double play, but he may have gotten ahead of himself. But Duncan redeemed himself on the next batter as he began one of the ugliest double plays in recent memory. OK, that's a bit much, but he knocked down a liner from Jose Lopez, lofted the ball to Molina for the force out at home and Molina gunned out Ichiro at second for the final out of the inning. Just your typical 3-2-6 inning-ending DP. Duncan was also the only Yankee regular who didn't reach base with either a hit or a walk. Shake it off, Shelley. Duncan finished 0 for 3.
The Ugly:Pettitte's name in the paper. It's the story that won't die and it reared its ugly head once again. A report from
The Daily News claims that a Texas trainer supplied performance-enhancing drugs to Roger Clemens, Jeff Bagwell and Andy Pettitte. According to a source, Kelly Blair reportedly loaded steroids and human growth hormone into a box with separate compartments for
what the source said Blair described as each player's drug regimen. This story contradicts Blair's earlier account in which he admitted to dealing, but not to Clemens or Pettitte's dad. I'm not sure who or what to believe anymore, but MLB just approved a
new drug testing policy so expect more allegations and names in the future.
The Yanks head down to Baltimore to take on the O's in a three-game set starting Monday. Darrell Rasner (3-0, 1.89 ERA) will try and keep his charmed season going and will take on Garrett Olson (3-1, 5.19 ERA) in a re-match of a May 21 game at the Stadium which the Bombers won 8-0. Garrett was tagged for his first loss in that one and was hit pretty hard -- 6 runs on 8 hits in 2 2/3 innings. Rasner is holding righties to an incredible .188 average so far this year.
Time to take this winning show on the road.
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