It was either going to be an uplifting win or a devastating loss.
It was the latter.
Chien-Ming Wang pitched his guts out and Hideki Matsui ripped a game-tying solo homer in the ninth, but Mariano Rivera gave up the game-winning hit in the 11th inning as the
Rays edged the Yanks 2-1 at The Trop. Jason Giambi finished 2 for 2 with two walks, but the rest of the offense looks like it's in a fog. The Yankees have dropped two in a row and trial the first place Rays by 4.5 games in the AL East.
It's dogs and cats living together!
The Good:Chien-Ming Wang. Holding a team to one run through seven should be good enough to earn a win. It
should be, but not with the way the Yanks are swinging the bat. The Wanger was lucky he didn't earn another tough-luck loss. Wang almost worked out of a leadoff double in the fourth, but he left a two out, 0-2 off-speed pitch up to Erik Hinske that turned into an RBI-single. It was the only run Wang would allow. He deserved better. Wang's totals: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K.
Hideki Matsui. Godzilla provided the Yanks with their only offense of the night when he turned on a Troy Percival fastball with one out in the ninth to knot the score at 1-1. Homers like that can sometimes supercharge a team. Not this time. It just delayed the frustration. Matsui finished 1 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Bad:Mariano Rivera. It was bound to happen sooner or later -- I just wish it was later. Rivera hadn't allowed a run all season, but he ran into trouble in his second inning of work. The ageless Cliff Floyd (I can't believe he's only 35-years-old) led off with a single to get the ball rolling for the Rays. Jonny Gomes pinch ran for Floyd, swiped second, and then came around to score on a Gabe Gross single. Rivera will be fine, but the Yanks really could have used this win. The Sandman suffered his first loss of the year with this: 1+ IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Jose Molina. Remember when Molina was swinging a hot bat? Seems like a million years ago, doesn't it? Molina is 3 for his last 41 and his average has dropped from .346 to .203 during that span. Nobody expects Molina to hit .340, but he has to do better than .200.
Bobby Abreu. Abreu had a chance to put the Yanks on the board in the sixth and failed miserably. Derek Jeter smacked a one out triple and the Bombers needed just a fly ball from Abreu to even the score at 1-1. It didn't happen. Bobby hit the ball sharply, but grounded out to short. Abreu has been solid in the clutch this season (he came into the game batting. 500 with a runner on third and less than two outs and had a .467 average overall with runners in scoring position), but the Yanks really needed to get that run in. Abreu's at bat was a microcosm of what is wrong with this offense right now. Bobby finished 0 for 4 with a walk.
The Ugly:Power outage. Believe it or not (and if you've been watching, you can believe it) the Yanks have scored a grand total of two runs in their past 24 innings. Math isn't my strongest subject, but even I know that kind of run support isn't going to win you many ballgames.
Mike Mussina (5-3, 4.36 ERA) will try and stop the bleeding for the Yanks on Wednesday and James Shields (4-2, 3.14 ERA) will try and keep the good times rolling for the Rays.
The Moose has been dancing on a razor's edge, but has won four straight games and is 17-7 with a 3.44 ERA in 30 career starts against the Rays, including a 6-1 win on April 7. Shields is probably Tampa's best pitcher, but the Yanks have had tremendous success against him. In six career starts, Shields is 0-5 with a plump 7.83 ERA. Check out these Yankees career averages against him: Jeter (.389), Robinson Cano (.400), Melky Cabrera (.333), Abreu (.364), Matsui (.600), Johnny Damon (.500) and Molina (.667). Every player except Molina has at least 10 at bats against him.
Let's see if those numbers translate into runs on Wednesday.
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