This is madness!
Joba Chamberlain, Dan Giese, David Robertson and Jose Veras combined for eight solid innings, but Ian Kinsler doubled off Mariano Rivera to open the ninth, swiped third and then scored on a Michael Young RBI-single as the
Rangers outlasted the Yanks 3-2 at The Stadium. Kinsler was a one-man wrecking crew Tuesday night: he banged out two hits, worked out two walks, stole three bases and scored the winning run.
The Bomber offense continued to sputter, even though they doubled their run total from Monday night and managed more hits than in their previous two games combined.
This game was also a second-guesser's dream. Chamberlain labored through his four innings and threw 91 pitches, but you could have made an argument for him to go out for the fifth. But the pen pitched well, so that's a moot point. Also, Joe Girardi left David Robertson in to pitch the seventh against the heart of the Ranger offense after the Yanks tied the score in the bottom of the sixth. It was a bit sweaty, but the rookie rewarded his manager's faith in him by putting up a zero.
But the biggest head scratcher came in the bottom of the ninth. Wilson Betemit led off with a walk and Alberto Gonzalez came in to pinch-run. Melky Cabrera was up next and I assumed the bunt was on. It wasn't. Melky has been stinking it up at the plate and it was a situation that screamed for a sacrifice. Instead, Melky fell behind 0-2 and eventually bounced into a double play. Frustrating.
The Yanks have now dropped three straight and trail the first-place Tampa Rays by 7.5 games.
The Good:
David Robertson. When Michael Kay asked Ken Singleton if he was surprised Robertson was in to pitch the seventh, I responded with a "Yes!" out loud to no one. Well, Robertson shut me up by maneuvering through the meat of the Ranger order. It wasn't a clean inning -- in fact, Robertson dodged a few land mines -- but he struck out Young on a nasty curveball, got Josh Hamilton to line out to left and retired David Murphy on a fly ball to center. The performance should give D-Rob confidence the next time he's in a jam. Robertson's night: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB (1 intentional), 3 K.
The Bad:Melky Cabrera. The Melk-Man is behind on his deliveries. Cabrera twice came up during Yankee rallies and both times made the final out of the inning. Melky flew out to left with runners on first and second in the fourth and flew out to center with runners on first and second in the sixth. True, both of those situations came with two outs, but sometimes you have to come through with a clutch hit. And Cabrera has been due. He's 0 for his last 18 at-bats and his average has plummeted to .240 on the season. At least there's nothing wrong with Melky's arm -- he gunned out Chris Davis at third in the second inning. Cabrera finished 0 for 4.
The Ugly:The Bronx is no place for the wave. Here's the situation: Seventh inning, tie game, Rangers have a runner on second with one and Hamilton, the league's RBI leader, at the plate. The count is 1-2 and the crowd is on their feet. Are they cheering for the strikeout? Negative. They're doing the wave! It was a disgraceful display. I'm ashamed to be a Yankee fan today.
Sidney Ponson (5-1, 3.50) will try and avert the sweep and will match up against Luis Mendoza (1-2, 5.40 ERA). Mendoza has worked as both a starter and reliever for the Rangers this season. He's holding right-handers to a .194 average, but southpaws are hitting a robust .417 against him. This is his first look at the Yankees. Ponson started the season as a Ranger, but was let go for disciplinary reasons. The Arubian Knight spun six innings of shutout ball against the Mets in his first start as a Yank last week. Ponson is 8-2 with a 4.82 ERA in 17 career appearances against Texas.
Let's see if Ponson can deliver another shocker.
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I can't believe fans still get joy out of doing the wave. Very frustrating to accompany an even more frustrating loss.