Summer is almost here and it looks like the boys in pinstripes are finally hitting their stride.
Andy Pettitte was terrific for the second straight start, Jason Giambi cranked two homers and Alex Rodriguez added another as the
Yanks stomped the Padres 8-0 in the Bronx. This one was over early as the Bombers picked up two runs in the second, five in the fourth and added one more for good measure in the eighth. The Yanks have now won five in a row, 10 of 13 and moved five games over .500 for the first time this season.
The Good:Andy Pettitte. The loss of Chien-Ming Wang means that everyone else on the pitching staff needs to step up and the cagey lefty did his part on Tuesday night. The Padres were overmatched almost from the get-go and their only threat (as it were) came in the seventh when they put runners on first and second with one out. But by then Pettitte and Co. were up 7-0. A-Rod and Melky Cabrera made some sparkling plays in support of Pettitte and the old vet was a strikeout machine as he matched his season-high in K's with nine. Nice work, No. 46. Pettitte improved his record to 7-5 on the season and passed Ron Guidry for fourth place on the all-time Yankee win list with his 171st in pinstripes. Andy's night: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 1 WP.
Jason Giambi. The big guy just keeps on mashing. Giambi's solo shot to right gave the Yanks a 2-0 advantage in the second and his two-run bomb in the fourth extended the lead to 4-0. The Giambino now has 17 homers on the year, which ranks him second in the American League. Jay Jay also upped his season average to .268 with his two-hit night. Keep on keepin on, Jason. Giambi finished 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs.
Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod got the offense off and running when he led off the second inning with his 13th homer of the year. Rodriguez had a good night at the plate, but he really impressed with his play in the field. A-Rod made a pretty backhanded stop on a grounder at deep third in the sixth, planted his feet and, with one foot in foul territory, gunned out Edgar Gonzalez at first. Rodriguez made another nifty play down the line in the eighth as he flagged the grounder and then delivered a jump pass to Wilson Betemit (who made a snazzy scoop) to nab Adrian Gonzalez at first. I guess it was a bad night to be a Gonzalez. Rodriguez finished 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Bad:Melky Cabrera. Oh, Melky, Melky, Melky. The Yanks have put up 21 runs in the past two games and you have zero hits to show for it. The Melk-Man was the only regular who failed to tally a hit on Tuesday night. It wasn't all bad, however, as Melky made a diving catch to end the fourth inning. Still, it would be nice to see Cabrera contribute offensively. Melky finished 0 for 4.
The Ugly:Sloppy seconds. San Diego's Craig Stansberry had a rough night at second base Tuesday night. His error in the fourth on a potential inning-ending double play helped the Yanks score three more runs during the frame. Stansberry actually botched another potential DP on the very next batter, but managed to get the force out at second base and was spared another error. But for good measure, Stansberry managed to pick up that second error in the seventh when he bobbled a weak ground ball off the bat of Hideki Matsui. Stansberry hasn't seen a lot of action at second base for the Padres this season and his performance Tuesday night might be a reason why.
The Yanks made a roster move before Tuesday's game. Wang was placed on the disabled list and lefty reliever
Billy Traber was called up from Scranton. Traber started the year as the only lefty in the pen, but was sent down after lefties batted a sizzling .375 against him. Now he's back to reprise that roll (the roll as the lone lefty reliever that is, not left-handed batting practice pitcher). Traber jumped right back into the fray Tuesday and retired lefty Adrian Gonzalez (even though it was because of a great play by A-Rod). Let's see how long Billy can stick around this time.
Darrell Rasner (3-4, 3.64 ERA) will look to bounce back from a poor performance in Oakland and will go against last season's National League Cy Young Award Winner Jake Peavy (5-3, 2.64 ERA). Rasner has dropped four straight decisions after starting out 3-0, but he's pitched well at home. The Ras sports a 2-1 record in the Bronx with a 1.71 ERA. This will be his first look at San Diego. Peavy came back from a stint on the DL last week and held the Los Angeles Dodgers scoreless through six innings in a 9-0 San Diego victory. Peavy is holding righty batters to a .180 average this season and is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in his lone career start against the Yanks. This will be his first visit to Yankee Stadium.
Let's make it a bad one.
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A-Rod has been awesome and, ultimately, who cares if he keeps hitting like he is and the Yankees keep winning but he's been admiring one too many shots that don't leave the ballpark. Manny Ramirez he's not, but 27.5 million a year should show a little more hustle. Again, who cares if they win. He just looks dumb because of it.