It wasn't pretty, but beggars can't be choosers right now.
Darrell Rasner had nothing and David Robertson and Edwar Ramirez followed suit, but Johnny Damon ripped a three-run homer, Robinson Cano smashed the go-ahead tater and Mariano Rivera earned a four-out save as the
Yanks outslugged the Orioles 8-7 to sweep the three-game set in Baltimore. The Bombers blew a 7-2 lead in this one, but never hung their heads and came through when it mattered most. The win kept the Yankees five games back of the Boston Red Sox in the wild card hunt.
I said about
10 days ago that the Yanks needed to go at least 7-2 during this nine-game stretch and while they fell short of my expectations (finishing at 6-3), they haven't fallen out of the playoff race. And they managed to cut the Red Sox's lead from 6.5 games in the wild card down to five games. There's still a chance here, people.
The Good:Robinson Cano. It's going to be a disappointing season for Robbie no matter how he finishes out, but he can partly redeem himself if he can get on another hot streak. Cano drove in the Yankees first run with a booming double to right in the second and later scored on Damon's home run. Then Canu put the Yanks ahead to stay with a solo shot over the center field wall in the seventh. Cano started strong after the All-Star break, but has cooled off in August. Maybe this series in Baltimore gets him going again. Cano finished 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI.
Johnny Damon. Never underestimated an athlete's pride. It's almost like Damon has been determined to make up for his shaky play in center during the Toronto series. So far he's doing a good job redeeming himself with the bat. Damon laced a three-run bomb in the second to give the Yanks their first lead of the afternoon at 4-2. JD also got the party started with a single to lead off the Yankees three-run fourth. Shame is indeed a powerful motivator. Damon finished 2 for 6 with 2 runs scored and 3 runs batted in.
Mariano Rivera. You know things are nip and tuck when the Yanks turn to Mo for three straight days. But Rivera knows what's expected of him and he delivered once again. The Sandman closed out the first two games in Baltimore and it was more of the same Sunday afternoon. Rivera came in with a runner on first and two outs in the eighth and quickly disposed of Jay Payton. The ninth was a little more exciting, but Rivera wasn't rattled. Brian Roberts worked out a two-out walk, stole second and advanced to third on Ivan Rodriguez's throwing error. But Rivera calmly struck out Nick Markakis to end the game. All in a day's work. Rivera earned his 31st save of the year with this: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
The Bad:Darrell Rasner. It started well for Rasner as he retired the first two Orioles he faced, but things quickly fell apart after that. Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff went back-to-back to give the O's a quick 2-0 lead after an inning of play. The Yanks battled back and gave Rasner a 4-2 lead and later a 7-2 advantage, but he couldn't hold it. In fairness, Derek Jeter and Xavier Nady's errors in the Orioles three-run fourth didn't help, but The Ras never had it. Rasner's location was off and his frustration level was running in the red. Just one of those days. Rasner got the offensive support, but picked up a no-decision with this: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R (3 earned), 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR.
Edwar Ramirez. Urkel came into the game to face the lefty-hitting Brian Roberts with two outs and a runner on third. Made sense. Ramirez's best pitch is his change-up and he was holding lefties to a .200 average this season. The Yanks were up 7-5 when Edwar entered, but Roberts crushed his 0-1 fastball over the fence in right-center to knot the score at 7-7. Very frustrating. Ramirez looked shocked after the homer and honestly I can't blame him. I didn't think that ball was gone off the bat. Still, it wasn't all bad for Ramirez as he came away with the win. That's why you can't predict baseball. Ramirez improved to 4-1 with this crappy line: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR.
The Ugly:Home cookin? There are always a ton of pinstripe boosters in Baltimore when the Yanks come to town (it's the same story when the BoSox make it in), but it's almost shocking when you crunch the numbers. YES had a stat that should make every Oriole fan want to retch and vomit. The O's have drawn 1,630,651 fans this season. The Yanks have drawn 296,039 through the turnstiles and the Red Sox 355,237. Forty percent of the Orioles' attendance is made up when the Bombers and Sox hit Baltimore. For shame, O's fans.
Monday is an off day for the Yanks as they travel back to New York and prepare to take on the Boston Red Sox in an important three-game series beginning Tuesday night (yes, they're all important now). Andy Pettitte (13-9, 4.17 ERA) will go against Tim Wakefield (7-8, 3.67 ERA) in the opener.
Josh Beckett was originally scheduled to make this start, but the BoSox are pushing him back because of continued numbness in his fingers. Wakefield has been on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, but will be activated for Tuesday's game. The knuckleballer was pitching well in August before hitting the DL -- 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA in two starts. Wakefield is 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA in two starts against the Bombers this season. Pettitte was terrific in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays and it was good enough to give him his first victory in nearly a month. Andy has gone at least seven innings in his past three starts and is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox this year.
I'll be in the Bronx for Tuesday's tilt courtesy of
Mr. Brian so that means a late night for me. Expect no roundup. In fact, I'm hoping I can make my train in time to get home.
A three-hit shutout from Pettitte should do the trick.
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Yes, there still is hope. Have a good time at the game on Tuesday. Try to catch any foul balls clean this time!