08/25: Yankees @ Orioles; 8/24/08
Posted by: James
Man, this could have been a lot of things...it's could have been an brutal loss (if the Yankees had lost after leading by 5) or GREAT win (if Red Sox had lost to the Jays which they allllmost did)...but thanks to Robbie Cano, it turned out to be a good win anyway.
Let's start at the top. Darrell Rasner started the game, coming off his best performance in a while, and promptly got into trouble by giving up back to back homers to Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff in the first. 2-0 Orioles. Rasner had problems all afternoon and ended up throwing 97 pitches in 3 1/3 innings.
The Yankees got right back in it by scoring 4 in the second, with 3 coming on a homer by Johnny Damon. They put up another 3 in the fourth from a Giambi sac-fly and a 2 run double off the bat of Xavier Nady. 7-2 Yankees and you would think that this would be a cruise to the end...
Well, the Yankees started giving in back in the fourth. With one out, a Derek Jeter error and a Nady miscue in left scored a runner and put another one in scoring position. Rasner walked the next batter (which would be his last) and David Robertson came in and allowed both inherited runners to score (by the by, I have major concerns with the Ohlendorfing of Robertson). 7-5 Yankees.
The Orioles tied up the game when Edwar Ramirez came in and ended up giving up a two-run shot to Brian Roberts on a change-up that got all of the plate.
The Yankees took the lead for good in the seventh when Robbie Cano (who went 4-5 on the day with two doubles) hammered a pitch to left-center. Robbie raised his OPS 19 points with this performance and has gotten his OPS+ to 89. Can he make it to 100+ by the end of the season?
After Edwar, Veras was shaky in relief but Damaso Marte came in and tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, with three big strikeouts. Mo came in for the ninth and ran into a little trouble (Brian Roberts worked a walk, stole second and took third on a throwing error by Pudge) before striking out Nick Markakis to end the game.
Now, after a day off to get rested, here come the Red Sox. A tidy sweep would be nice..improbable, but nice. Now, let's see the Yankees make it happen.
Let's start at the top. Darrell Rasner started the game, coming off his best performance in a while, and promptly got into trouble by giving up back to back homers to Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff in the first. 2-0 Orioles. Rasner had problems all afternoon and ended up throwing 97 pitches in 3 1/3 innings.
The Yankees got right back in it by scoring 4 in the second, with 3 coming on a homer by Johnny Damon. They put up another 3 in the fourth from a Giambi sac-fly and a 2 run double off the bat of Xavier Nady. 7-2 Yankees and you would think that this would be a cruise to the end...
Well, the Yankees started giving in back in the fourth. With one out, a Derek Jeter error and a Nady miscue in left scored a runner and put another one in scoring position. Rasner walked the next batter (which would be his last) and David Robertson came in and allowed both inherited runners to score (by the by, I have major concerns with the Ohlendorfing of Robertson). 7-5 Yankees.
The Orioles tied up the game when Edwar Ramirez came in and ended up giving up a two-run shot to Brian Roberts on a change-up that got all of the plate.
The Yankees took the lead for good in the seventh when Robbie Cano (who went 4-5 on the day with two doubles) hammered a pitch to left-center. Robbie raised his OPS 19 points with this performance and has gotten his OPS+ to 89. Can he make it to 100+ by the end of the season?
After Edwar, Veras was shaky in relief but Damaso Marte came in and tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, with three big strikeouts. Mo came in for the ninth and ran into a little trouble (Brian Roberts worked a walk, stole second and took third on a throwing error by Pudge) before striking out Nick Markakis to end the game.
Now, after a day off to get rested, here come the Red Sox. A tidy sweep would be nice..improbable, but nice. Now, let's see the Yankees make it happen.
