Oh, the humanity!
Darrell Rasner made one mistake through 6 2/3 innings, A.J. Burnett was a strikeout machine and Johnny Damon committed a huge error that wasn't ruled an error in the eighth as the
Blue Jays shocked the Yanks 2-1 in Toronto. This was a pitchers' duel from start to finish and the Bombers were in the lead for the majority of it. Unfortunately, this wasn't a boxing match and they didn't go to the judges to decide the winner. Actually, I don't know if the Yanks would have come out on top even if they did do that.
Bobby Abreu's hit-and-run RBI-double gave the Yankees a quick 1-0 lead in the first, but the bats were silenced after that. Alex Rodriguez led off the ninth with a bloop single over first, but was pegged out trying to take second. Some may question A-Rod's decision, but it was the right play. The ball was headed down the right-field line and Lyle Overbay made a great stop and an even better throw to nail A-Rod. Them's the breaks.
Any loss at this point of the season is painful, but this one was like a shot to the temple. Let's do this quickly.
The Good:Darrell Rasner. It wasn't as impressive as Burnett's 13-strikeout performance, but it was just as effective. Rasner worked out of a second and third, one-out jam in the first (set up by a Damon error that was ruled an error in center) and induced two double plays in the third and fourth as he breezed through six. But with one out in the seventh, Adam Lind drilled a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right to knot the score at 1-1. It was the lone blemish on Rasner's ledger. The Ras did everything the Yanks could have asked for, but I'm sure he would have liked to have that one pitch back. I sure wish he had it back. Rasner picked up a no-decision with this: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 hit batsman, 3 K, 1 HR.
The Bad:Johnny Damon. JD may have scored the Yankees lone run Tuesday night, but his defensive lapses in center were the real story. Damon was charged with an error in the first, but Rasner was able to work around it. Too bad it didn't happen the second time around. Marco Scutaro smashed a drive to center with a runner on first and two outs in the eighth. Damon had to go a long way, but had the ball in his sites. Unfortunately, he couldn't squeeze it home. The ball tipped off Johnny's glove and Joe Inglett scampered home on the "double" to give the Jays a 2-1 lead. I realize the only reason Damon is in center is to get Hideki Matsui's bat in the lineup (Godzilla went 0 for 3 in his return), but he should have made both of those plays. Sometimes things just don't go your way. Damon finished 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jason Giambi. Burnett was striking everybody out Tuesday night (actually Abreu and Robinson Cano were the only two Yankees who didn't K), but nobody went down more than The Giambino. Giambi struck out swinging not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times. For the sake of proper bookkeeping, the first three were courtesy of Burnett and the final one came against B.J. Ryan. In baseball lingo that's called the
golden sombrero. Sounds nice, but it's not something anyone strives for. Giambi finished 0 for 4 with the 4 Ks.
The Ugly:Fading away? The loss dropped the Yanks 6.5 games behind the Red Sox and 5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the wild card hunt. That's bad enough, but a quick look at the standings shows the Bombers lead the Blue Jays by just one game for that final playoff spot. If the Yanks don't get their act together during these next two games in Toronto, they could find themselves behind three teams in the wild card chase.
Andy Pettitte (12-9, 4.30 ERA) will try and get the Yanks off the mat Wednesday night against David Purcey (2-3, 5.93 ERA). Purcey hurled six scoreless innings in a 4-3 Blue Jays victory over the Detroit Tigers in his last start. Purcey has made as many starts in August (three) as he's made during the first four months of the season (three). This will be his first career look at the Yanks. Pettitte pitched seven solid innings in his last start against the Kansas City Royals, but picked up a no-decision in a 4-3 Yankee loss. Actually, Pettitte's past two starts have been no-decisions and both games ended in 4-3 Yankee losses. Pettitte is 0-2 in his last four starts and hasn't picked up a victory since July 26 against the Boston Red Sox.
Time to turn the tide, Andy.
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Bunch of overpaid, under-achieving bums. Ironically enough, I think Melky would have made both catches. You're right though, just bad luck on Damon's part. He makes those catches 99% of the time.