09/19: Yankees vs White Sox; 9/19/08
Posted by: James
Well, if the Yankees keep playing this way until the end of the season, a lot of people won't feel quite as bad as if the Yanks just mailed it in. Maybe it's because it's the last homestand at the Stadium or maybe it's just personal and team pride, but the Yankees put forth another good effort in beating the White Sox 9-2.
Javier Vazquez, who was pitching on three days rest and who is now 0-3 when he does that, clearly didn't have his best stuff and got batted around, especially by Bobby Abreu, who launched the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the first, another in the third and drove in 6 of the 9 runs.
Still, the story of the game was Mike Mussina who was making his last start at the stadium. Moose labored through 28 pitches in the first as he loaded the bases twice but was able to escape with only one run scored (on a groundout off the bat of Paul Konerko that was a hair away from being a DP). After the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the inning, Mussina settled down and went six full innings and shut down the White Sox offense, retiring 10 straight batters from the 2nd to the 5th. He went out for the seventh and faced one batter before Girardi came and got him. On his way off the mound, the crowd gave him an ovation that can only be described as thunderous (MOOOOOOSE) and I don't think even Mussina could stop the smile from creeping onto his face.
The bullpen came in and did their job and we got our first glimpse of hometown boy Humberto Sanchez in the 8th. Sanchez, who grew up in the Bronx and whose dad still lives at 183rd and Jerome, was the key piece of the Gary Sheffield trade and will probably be expected to make some significant contributions to the Yankee bullpen next year. Chris Britton even pitched and though he gave up a couple hits and a run, the game had long been decided. A good one for the Yankees and let's see if the good times can keep rolling against the Orioles (a sweep to get to 85 wins before the Sox come to town would sure be nice).
Javier Vazquez, who was pitching on three days rest and who is now 0-3 when he does that, clearly didn't have his best stuff and got batted around, especially by Bobby Abreu, who launched the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the first, another in the third and drove in 6 of the 9 runs.
Still, the story of the game was Mike Mussina who was making his last start at the stadium. Moose labored through 28 pitches in the first as he loaded the bases twice but was able to escape with only one run scored (on a groundout off the bat of Paul Konerko that was a hair away from being a DP). After the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the inning, Mussina settled down and went six full innings and shut down the White Sox offense, retiring 10 straight batters from the 2nd to the 5th. He went out for the seventh and faced one batter before Girardi came and got him. On his way off the mound, the crowd gave him an ovation that can only be described as thunderous (MOOOOOOSE) and I don't think even Mussina could stop the smile from creeping onto his face.
The bullpen came in and did their job and we got our first glimpse of hometown boy Humberto Sanchez in the 8th. Sanchez, who grew up in the Bronx and whose dad still lives at 183rd and Jerome, was the key piece of the Gary Sheffield trade and will probably be expected to make some significant contributions to the Yankee bullpen next year. Chris Britton even pitched and though he gave up a couple hits and a run, the game had long been decided. A good one for the Yankees and let's see if the good times can keep rolling against the Orioles (a sweep to get to 85 wins before the Sox come to town would sure be nice).
