What a heartbreaker.
Darrell Rasner pitched well enough to win, Ivan Rodriguez went deep and Hideki Matsui drove in two, but Robinson Cano's error in the seventh inning opened the door to five unanswered runs as the
Blue Jays shocked the Yanks 7-6 at The Stadium. The Bombers blew leads of 2-0 and 6-2 en route to a devastating loss.
The turn of events were both quick and brutal and dealt a serious blow to the Yankees already dwindling playoff hopes. Let's see if I can make sense of things with this roundup.
The Good:Ivan Rodriguez. I was tempted to leave this category empty since this was such a horrible loss, but I'm trying to be adult about things. I-Rod has been scrapping since putting on the pinstripes (and that's putting it politely), batting .173 with two extra base hits and one RBI in Aug., but had a solid game Saturday afternoon. Rodriguez hit his second home run since coming over from the Detroit Tigers to give the Yanks a 4-2 lead in the fourth. Pudge also reached on an infield single in the eighth to give the Yankees a short-lived two-out rally. It was I-Rod's first multi-hit game since Aug. 9, which was strange because I didn't remember him getting more than one hit in any game as a Yank. Rodriguez finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and a run batted in.
The Bad:Robinson Cano. I've been sleeping a bit on Cano, but No. 24 has been hot with the bat lately. Cano ripped a solo shot in the fourth to give the Yanks a 3-2 lead. Robbie also singled and moved his average to .271 with his ninth multi-hit game of the month. Unfortunately, his defensive lapse in the seventh overshadowed his offensive contributions. Lyle Overbay grounded a tailor-made double-play ball to the Yankees second baseman, but Canu's flip to Derek Jeter was wide. Overbay reached on the fielder's choice and Adam Lind raced to third on the error. Instead of two outs and nobody on, the Blue Jays had runners on the corners with no outs. The Yanks were up 6-2 at the time, but that play changed the tenor of the game. Jose Bautista's single sliced the lead in half and Rasner was pulled after walking Gregg Zaun to load the bases. When the dust settled, the Jays had cut the lead to 6-5 and doom was in the air. Maybe Jeter could have made a better attempt at the ball and Rasner could have picked up his team by bearing down a little, but it was all set up by Cano's lazy throw. It's just the way things have been falling this year. Cano finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI, but he shouldn't feel good about it.
Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Edwar Ramirez. I really didn't want to put these guys in here since they've pitched well despite being overworked, but someone had to give up the runs. Bruney was put in an impossible situation in the seventh as he came in with the bases loaded and nobody out, but almost worked out of it. Almost. The Maltese Falcon struck out rookie Travis Snider for the first out, but then allowed a two-run single to Joe Inglett that cut the lead to 6-5. Bruney retired the next two batters to end the inning, but Vernon Wells singled to start the eighth and Joe Girardi turned to Marte. It wasn't a bad outing, but it wasn't good either. Marte allowed a single to put runners on first and second and recorded an out on a sacrifice bunt by Overbay. Enter Edwar with runners on second and third and one out. Bautista singled in the tying run and then Zaun pounded a ball into the dirt that traveled maybe 65 feet, but the fielder's choice was good enough to drive in the go-ahead run. The worst part? Bautista and Zaun, the guys who drove in the tying and eventual winning runs, were 0 for 27 and 0 for 20, respectively, before performing their magic. Unreal. The trifecta's finally tally: 2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
The Ugly:The rally that died. The Yanks were set up to tie and maybe win this game in the ninth, but it didn't happen. Jeter singled off the right field wall to start things and Bobby Abreu followed with a walk against closer B.J. Ryan. Alex Rodriguez stepped up to the plate with a chance to be the hero, but couldn't get the job done. A-Rod hit the ball hard, but right to third baseman Bautista (he sure was busy Saturday) who turned a 5-5-3 double play. Cody Ransom (who came in defensively for Jason Giambi in the eighth) flew out to left to end the game. Soul-crushing.
Andy Pettitte (13-10, 4.37 ERA) will go against Roy Halladay (16-9, 2.69 ERA) in the rubber game Sunday afternoon. Halladay has ripped off three wins in a row, including a victory against the Yanks Aug. 21 in Toronto, and hasn't given up more than three runs in seven straight starts. And in case you forgot, he likes pitching against the Bombers. Halladay is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in four starts against the Yanks this season. Pettitte was slapped around in his last start against the Red Sox (4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 3 K) and has only one win in his past six starts. But that win came against the Jays in Toronto on Aug. 20.
Let's see what happens.
Leave a comment
Cano! Don't cha know... how to play like a professional?! I'm beating a dead horse here, but my hatred for him grows more everyday. I know it's a team effort and they had rallies cut short, blah, blah, blah, but as far as I'm concerned his "way of playing" cost them the game. I agree with whoever made the comment, he was too far for that nonchalant backhand toss. That double play being made didn't gurantee them a win but let's play the odds here. They probably win the game.