08/03: Yankees vs LA Angels; 8/3/08
Posted by: James
Well, here we go. The Yankees are looking to salvage a split with the Angels (after getting handled in the first two games, a split would feel like a win to me). On the hill, Darrell Rasner who is pitching for his roster spot versus John Lackey who has been in a groove lately.
Anddd, here we go with Rasner as the first two men are on. After getting Texiera to ground out for the first out, Garrett Anderson drives in 2 with a single.
In the second, with one out, a single and double puts runners on the corners with one out and an Eric Aybar single plates another run. 3-0 Angels.
And after an uneventful 3rd, here we go again. With two outs, a walk and a single puts men on first and second for Eric Aybar again...and he delivers again, doubling them both home. 5-0 Angels.
While all this is going on, Lackey has been mostly cruising through 5 with the only run given up being a Pudge solo homer. The Yankees did have an opportunity in the 4th with the bases loaded with one out but Bobby Abreu got caught not getting back in time on a Xavier Nady fly out. Unconventional double play...but it worked out. 5-1 Angels.
Rasner has thankfully been replaced by Dan Geise and after Ponson's last start, Rasner will be the one to go and it has to happen now. You can't keep giving the guy starts when he does this. Either start Geise or bring up IPK. They can't possibly be worse than Rasner right now.
Here comes Lackey for the sixth and while he had been cruising, the Yankees have gotten him to use up some pitches and it might be helping them out now as he's stumbling in this inning. Single, single, walk loads the bases for the Yankees with Giambi up. Jason pops up (as hot as he had been, that's how cold he is now...yeesh). However, Xavier saves the day with a ground-rule double that makes the score 5-3. A Betemit groundout scores another one and all of a sudden, we're looking at a tight 5-4 game.
Another good inning from Dan Geise and here come the Yankees in the bottom of the seventh against Jose Arredondo. With one out, Jeter hits a fly ball that Gary Matthews should have had and ends up at second on the error. Next up is the red hot Bobby Abreu who singles in the tying run. A-Rod follows with a single and there are men on first and second with one out for Jason Giambi, who pops out for the second out. Come on Jason. Here comes Xavier Nady...and he promptly deposits a 1-1 pitch in the left field bleachers...and the crowd goes nuts. There hasn't been this much love for an Xavier in NY since the X-Man, Xavier McDaniel (okay, I'm reaching...). 8-5 Yankees.
Here comes Bugs, excuse me, Edwar, whom the announcers just said had a 95 mph fastball. Seriously guys? Do you not check the guns...or at the very least read a quick scouting profile when someone comes into the game? This is why there are so many fans think they can do your job...
After striking out the first two, Edwar gets in serious trouble. A walk, a single, and another walk has loaded the bases for Tex-Mex...and Edwar stays in to face him. THIS IS A BAD IDEA JOE. And I am proven right as Texiera pounds the second pitch into the right field bleachers for a grand slam. 9-8 Angels. ARE YOU SERIOUS?
The Stadium got realll quite now. Well, here we go Yankees against Scott Shield. First up I-Rod. Nice at bat results in a clean single through the left side on a breaking ball. Melky up...and after a few pitches, Justin Christian comes in to run (why didn't they do that to begin with? I guess they wanted to wait for the 3-2 count). 3-2 pitch, easy double play groundball to short which is BOOTED by Eric Aybar. Whoo - first and second, no one out, Damon up at bat...and there goes Christian to third. The throw issss...past the third baseman so here comes the tying run and Melky goes to third. WOW. Damon ends up walking and Derek Jeter grounds out so we have runners on second and third with one out and Bobby Abreu up. Scot Shields issues the free pass to Abreu (the last pitch being nowhere close) so here we go, bases loaded for A-Rod (who apparently has no go-ahead RBI after the seventh inning). First pitch grounder to third, could be two...and CHONE BOOTS IT, throw to first, SAFE. 10-9 YANKEES! 3rd Angel error of the inning! What a game! Get Mo warming!
Bases are still loaded with one out forJason Giambi Robbie Cano who comes in to pinch hit so let's see some insurance runs. First pitch coming in, easy breezy swing put the ball right up the middle and scores two. 12-9 Yankees with Nady up and runners on first and second. A Nady single scores A-Rod and a Justin Christian single plates Cano before the inning comes to an end. 14-9 Yankees on 9 unearned runs in the 7th and 8th. Whoo!
With a 5-run lead, you don't gotta go to Mo...so here comes Jose Veras. A couple pitches and Howie Kendrick is out. Following a Juan Rivera double, a strikeout of Gary Matthews and a flyout from Jeff Mathis close out the game and the Yankee win. What a win for the Yankees. Let's hope this gets them on a groove because this is gonna be a tough road to hoe. I figure they need 92 wins for a playoff spot. 61 games left and 31 of those need to be wins...a .608 winning percentage. Let's see them pull it off (and get Rasner back to the minors). Update: IPK, who pitched well today against the best hitting team in the International League (though Brandon Moss and Jed Lowrie no longer play there), is even on the same schedule as Rasner. This pretty much writes itself, no? Rasner helped early...but just take a look at what has happened since his last great start.
Anddd, here we go with Rasner as the first two men are on. After getting Texiera to ground out for the first out, Garrett Anderson drives in 2 with a single.
In the second, with one out, a single and double puts runners on the corners with one out and an Eric Aybar single plates another run. 3-0 Angels.
And after an uneventful 3rd, here we go again. With two outs, a walk and a single puts men on first and second for Eric Aybar again...and he delivers again, doubling them both home. 5-0 Angels.
While all this is going on, Lackey has been mostly cruising through 5 with the only run given up being a Pudge solo homer. The Yankees did have an opportunity in the 4th with the bases loaded with one out but Bobby Abreu got caught not getting back in time on a Xavier Nady fly out. Unconventional double play...but it worked out. 5-1 Angels.
Rasner has thankfully been replaced by Dan Geise and after Ponson's last start, Rasner will be the one to go and it has to happen now. You can't keep giving the guy starts when he does this. Either start Geise or bring up IPK. They can't possibly be worse than Rasner right now.
Here comes Lackey for the sixth and while he had been cruising, the Yankees have gotten him to use up some pitches and it might be helping them out now as he's stumbling in this inning. Single, single, walk loads the bases for the Yankees with Giambi up. Jason pops up (as hot as he had been, that's how cold he is now...yeesh). However, Xavier saves the day with a ground-rule double that makes the score 5-3. A Betemit groundout scores another one and all of a sudden, we're looking at a tight 5-4 game.
Another good inning from Dan Geise and here come the Yankees in the bottom of the seventh against Jose Arredondo. With one out, Jeter hits a fly ball that Gary Matthews should have had and ends up at second on the error. Next up is the red hot Bobby Abreu who singles in the tying run. A-Rod follows with a single and there are men on first and second with one out for Jason Giambi, who pops out for the second out. Come on Jason. Here comes Xavier Nady...and he promptly deposits a 1-1 pitch in the left field bleachers...and the crowd goes nuts. There hasn't been this much love for an Xavier in NY since the X-Man, Xavier McDaniel (okay, I'm reaching...). 8-5 Yankees.
Here comes Bugs, excuse me, Edwar, whom the announcers just said had a 95 mph fastball. Seriously guys? Do you not check the guns...or at the very least read a quick scouting profile when someone comes into the game? This is why there are so many fans think they can do your job...
After striking out the first two, Edwar gets in serious trouble. A walk, a single, and another walk has loaded the bases for Tex-Mex...and Edwar stays in to face him. THIS IS A BAD IDEA JOE. And I am proven right as Texiera pounds the second pitch into the right field bleachers for a grand slam. 9-8 Angels. ARE YOU SERIOUS?
The Stadium got realll quite now. Well, here we go Yankees against Scott Shield. First up I-Rod. Nice at bat results in a clean single through the left side on a breaking ball. Melky up...and after a few pitches, Justin Christian comes in to run (why didn't they do that to begin with? I guess they wanted to wait for the 3-2 count). 3-2 pitch, easy double play groundball to short which is BOOTED by Eric Aybar. Whoo - first and second, no one out, Damon up at bat...and there goes Christian to third. The throw issss...past the third baseman so here comes the tying run and Melky goes to third. WOW. Damon ends up walking and Derek Jeter grounds out so we have runners on second and third with one out and Bobby Abreu up. Scot Shields issues the free pass to Abreu (the last pitch being nowhere close) so here we go, bases loaded for A-Rod (who apparently has no go-ahead RBI after the seventh inning). First pitch grounder to third, could be two...and CHONE BOOTS IT, throw to first, SAFE. 10-9 YANKEES! 3rd Angel error of the inning! What a game! Get Mo warming!
Bases are still loaded with one out for
With a 5-run lead, you don't gotta go to Mo...so here comes Jose Veras. A couple pitches and Howie Kendrick is out. Following a Juan Rivera double, a strikeout of Gary Matthews and a flyout from Jeff Mathis close out the game and the Yankee win. What a win for the Yankees. Let's hope this gets them on a groove because this is gonna be a tough road to hoe. I figure they need 92 wins for a playoff spot. 61 games left and 31 of those need to be wins...a .608 winning percentage. Let's see them pull it off (and get Rasner back to the minors). Update: IPK, who pitched well today against the best hitting team in the International League (though Brandon Moss and Jed Lowrie no longer play there), is even on the same schedule as Rasner. This pretty much writes itself, no? Rasner helped early...but just take a look at what has happened since his last great start.
Seamus wrote: