07/24: Yankees Win 4th Straight Game in Opener vs. Royals
Posted by: Seamus
Look out. Here come the Yankees. The Bombers pulled off another dominating performance, as they routed the red-hot Royals (very possibly the first time that phrase has been used since about 1985) by a score of 9-2. Roger Clemens turned in a great performance, allowing just four hits in 7 innings and every Yankee starter recorded a hit for the second straight game. The win brings the Yankees within 5.5 games of the wild card race as the Red Sox defeated Cleveland.
The Yankees jumped ahead early, scoring two in the first on a two-run single by Hideki Matsui and two more in the second on a two-run double by Johnny Damon. They wouldn't score again until they put up a 5 spot in the 9th, but they didn't need it as the Rocket turned back the clock (well, not really), allowing only two runs, one scoring on a wild pitch and the other on a home run via Ross Gload.
Alex Rodriguez added RBI #100 in the 9th with a base hit that scored Johnny Damon. Kind of odd that I'm mentioning this in July, and more incredible that even through two-thirds of the season, Rodriguez is still on pace for a whopping 165 RBI (165.306 to be exact but that's not possible).
The Yanks will go for five in a row tonight as Chien-Ming Wang will take the mound against Scott Elarton. Elarton is 2-3 with a 9.17 E.R.A. in eight starts this season. Game starts at 8:10 ET.
And lastly, I know this is a Yankee site but kudos to Jon Lester, who won in his first appearance in nearly a year after a battle with cancer. I was kinda hoping he'd pitch an 8-inning shutout performance before Papelbon or someone in the bullpen coughed up the lead in the 9th, but even as a Yankee fan I gotta be happy for the guy. It's a shame but sometimes it takes things like that for people to realize that we're talking about a game here.
The Yankees jumped ahead early, scoring two in the first on a two-run single by Hideki Matsui and two more in the second on a two-run double by Johnny Damon. They wouldn't score again until they put up a 5 spot in the 9th, but they didn't need it as the Rocket turned back the clock (well, not really), allowing only two runs, one scoring on a wild pitch and the other on a home run via Ross Gload.
Alex Rodriguez added RBI #100 in the 9th with a base hit that scored Johnny Damon. Kind of odd that I'm mentioning this in July, and more incredible that even through two-thirds of the season, Rodriguez is still on pace for a whopping 165 RBI (165.306 to be exact but that's not possible).
The Yanks will go for five in a row tonight as Chien-Ming Wang will take the mound against Scott Elarton. Elarton is 2-3 with a 9.17 E.R.A. in eight starts this season. Game starts at 8:10 ET.
And lastly, I know this is a Yankee site but kudos to Jon Lester, who won in his first appearance in nearly a year after a battle with cancer. I was kinda hoping he'd pitch an 8-inning shutout performance before Papelbon or someone in the bullpen coughed up the lead in the 9th, but even as a Yankee fan I gotta be happy for the guy. It's a shame but sometimes it takes things like that for people to realize that we're talking about a game here.
James wrote: