Much better.
Sidney Ponson twirled six innings of shutout ball, Robinson Cano went deep and drove in three and Bobby Abreu collected four hits and three RBIs as the
Yanks pummeled the Mets 9-0 at Shea for a split of the two stadium doubleheader. How dominating was the nightcap for the Bombers? Kei Igawa came in for the ninth and actually put up a zero! It's now obvious that Igawa's role has been defined.
The Good:
Sidney Ponson. What a pleasant surprise! The Yanks really needed someone to give them a shot in the arm after absorbing a drubbing in Game 1 and Ponson was the guy. It wasn't easy and it wasn't necessarily pretty, at least at the beginning, but the Arubian Knight got the job done. The Mets loaded the bases with nobody out in the second, but Sid struck out Pedro Martinez, popped up Jose Reyes and got Luis Castillo to ground out. The encore in the third wasn't as dazzling, but impressive nonetheless. The Metropolitans had the bases juiced with one out and Ponson induced Ramon Castro to tap into the inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Sid also did the job with the bat: sacrificing Jose Molina to second during the Yanks two-run sixth inning. Ponson picked up his first win in pinstripes and upped his mark to 5-1 this season with this: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB (1 intentional), 4 K, 1 WP.
Bobby Abreu. El Comedulce started to heat up in Pittsburgh and his smokin bat made its way back to New York. Abreu went hitless in Game 1, but went to work in the nightcap. Bobby walked, swiped second and eventually came around to score the Yanks first run of the night on a Cano groundout in the fourth. Bobby kept the good times rolling with an RBI-single in the fifth to give the Yanks a 3-0 advantage and doubled home Derek Jeter in the sixth to pad the lead to 6-0. Abreu eventually capped the Yankee offensive outburst with a two-run single in the seventh. Four innings -- three RBIs and a run scored. Not too shabby. Abreu finished 4 for 4 with a walk, a run scored, 3 runs batted in and 2 stolen bases.
Robinson Cano. Robbie also began swinging a hot wand during the Yankees abbreviated stay in Pittsburgh and he stayed in the zone Friday night. Oh, he can still frustrate, especially when he swings at the first pitch in key situations, but the results were there. Cano came up with the bases full and nobody out in the fourth and gave the Yanks a 1-0 lead with an RBI groundout. Robbie reprised his role in the fifth (this time with one out) and hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Jeter. It wasn't very sexy, but Cano had two ribbies on two swings. Then Cano really dug in and ripped his sixth homer of the year to start off the seventh. It was his only hit of the game, but Canu looks like he's finally locked in. The hits should be coming in bunches now (hopefully). Cano finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and 3 RBIs.
The Bad:
Melky Cabrera. Every Yankee regular had at least one hit or scored a run Friday night. All but one. Melky was the guilty party. Cabrera got off to a good start this season, but his average has really dipped in the past two months. The Melk-Man hit .299 with 5 homers in April, but has followed that up with a poor May (.234, one homer) and June (.228, one homer). The falling power numbers don't concern me, but Melky isn't a .230 hitter. Is he? Cabrera finished 0 for 4 with a walk (intentional).
The Ugly:Awkward. Johnny Damon looks like he's recovered from his arch problem, but his slide into home in the fifth had disaster written all over it. Damon motored home on an Abreu single to right and (slid? fell? collapsed?) on the dish for the Yanks third run. Nothing JD does on the field would be considered "pretty" by anyone other than his closest and dearest family and friends, but he was lucky he didn't snap an ankle on that play.
It will be a battle of lefties on Saturday as Andy Pettitte (8-5, 4.04 ERA) will go against Johan Santana (7-6, 2.93 ERA). These two matched up on May 17 in the Bronx with Santana earning the victory in the Mets 7-4 win. Santana has a 1.87 ERA for June, but that hasn't translated into W's. He's 1-3 in his past five starts and is fresh off of giving up a grand slam to Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez on June 23. Still, Johan is 4-0 in nine regular season games against the Bombers with a 2.98 ERA and posts a 2.05 ERA in 5 lifetime appearances at The Stadium. Pettitte hasn't given up a run in 19 innings and is 3-0 with a 3.89 ERA in June. Andy is also 5-0 in his past seven starts and hasn't lost since that showdown against Johan and the Mets in May.
Time for some retribution.
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