One good beatdown deserves another.
Joba Chamberlain earned his first win as a starter, Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a perfect night at the dish and Robinson Cano collected three more hits as the
Yanks leveled the Pirates 10-0 at PNC Park. The offensive assault started in the first with a hard takeout slide at second base by Alex Rodriguez that led to two runs and reached its peak thanks to a three-run bomb off the bat of Bobby Abreu in the sixth -- his second dinger in as many nights.
Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Veras provided shutdown relief as the Yanks moved their record to 20-19 on the road -- becoming only the fifth team in the Majors with a winning mark away from home this season.
The Good:Joba Chamberlain. The Yankee phenom is really starting to take to this starter bit. Chamberlain had three 1-2-3 innings during his 6 2/3 innings, but he was most impressive when he found himself in jams. The Pirates opened the second with two straight singles, but Joba worked out of it (with help from Abreu in right, who gunned down Ryan Doumit at the plate for the final out). The Bucs then put runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. No problem. Chamberlain choked off that rally without giving up a run. The final score doesn't indicate it, but those two innings were key moments in the game. The Yanks held a 2-0 lead in the second and a 4-0 lead in the fifth. If Joba gives up a run or two, it could have changed the tenor of the ballgame. Anyway, Joba earned the first of what should be many wins as a starter with this: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 hit batsman.
Bobby Abreu. El Comedulce is back! Abreu started off by legging out an infield single in the first and eventually came around to score the Yanks second run. Then Abreu took former Yankee T.J. Beam deep with a three-run shot in the sixth to help put the game away. Bobby capped off his three-hit night with an RBI-double in the eighth to give the Yanks a 9-0 lead and drove in his 50th run of the season in the process. Abreu has had a rough month (.212 average in June heading into tonight's action), but he's starting to heat up. Abreu has six hits in his past 13 at-bats. As sweet as candy, indeed. Abreu finished 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 4 ribbies.
Derek Jeter. The Captain is also starting to find his stroke. Jeter helped the Yanks jump ahead early with a booming double in the first and scored the first run of the ballgame. In the fourth, DJ got the green light on 3-0 and launched another two-bagger to give the Yanks a 4-0 lead. It's just a matter of time before Jeter gets his average above .300 (where it belongs). No. 2 finished 3 for 3 with a walk, three runs scored and an RBI.
The Bad:Alex Rodriguez. The Yanks banged out 16 hits on Wednesday night, but only one of those came from A-Rod. Oh sure, his takeout slide at second was key, but he's not on this team to do the grunt work. His job is to drive in runs! Yes, I'm being a complete idiot (more so), but there's really nothing to complain about on this night. Every Yankee regular had at least one hit and even Wilson Betemit picked up a hit after coming in as a late-inning replacement. I think A-Rod can take my good-natured ribbing. Rodriguez finished 1 for 3 with a walk.
The Ugly:Two MIAs.
Johnny Damon and
Hideki Matsui both missed their second straight games. Damon is nursing a sore left arch and Godzilla's left knee is still hurting. JD said his injury has improved and he was hoping to start Thursday. Matsui had his ailing knee drained last week and was also trying to shake off a stiff neck. His status isn't clear. Justin Christian is doing a fine job filling in (he went 1 for 4 with a pretty bunt single Wednesday night), but the Yanks really need these guys back in the lineup.
Mike Mussina (10-5, 3.93 ERA) will go for the Yanks in the rubber game and will oppose lefty Paul Maholm (5-5, 4.41 ERA). Maholm has had an up-and-down season (2-2 with a 3.26 ERA in April, 1-3 with a 5.92 ERA in May and 2-0 with a 3.58 ERA in June). He's 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA in one career start against the Bombers. The Moose will be pitching in front of the home folks (he was born in Williamsport, PA) and is 1-0 against the Bucs in his one career start. In that start, Mussina scattered five hits, struck out six and spun a complete game shutout.
A repeat performance would do just fine.
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Good to see Chamberlain get that first win. Doesn't seem like a bad move, so far. Also nice to see Jeter coming around. We definitely need him to perform.