08/06: Yanks End Road Trip on Winning Note
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees needed five pitchers and had to overcome a gutsy performance by Blue Jays' rookie Marc Rzepczynski, but a big 7th inning and some late inning insurance helped the Yankees cap off a two-game sweep of the Jays with an 8–4 victory. The Red Sox loss, putting the Yankees' lead in the A.L. East at 2.5 games.
The Yanks only got 4 and 1/3 innings out of Sergio Mitre, but he kept them in the game, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. Mitre struck out the first two batters he faced, but those strikeouts were followed by four straight two-out hits that brought in two runs to give the Blue Jays an early lead. The other run he allowed was on a solo home run by Adam Lind that broke a 2–2 tie in the 5th.
The Yankees tied the game with a lead-off home run by Nick Swisher in the 7th. The Yankees went on to score three more times in the inning, all on RBI singles. They would hold onto the lead from that point forward, picking up a run each in the 8th and 9th innings.
Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira were the main contributors offensively, driving in five of the Yankees' eight runs in the game. Every Yankee starter reached base at least once with the exception of Melky Cabrera.
The Yankees will be home tomorrow to begin a much anticipated four-game series with the Red Sox. The Yanks can end the series up by as many as 6.5 games if they win all four, and they can fall as much as 2.5 games behind if they are swept. They will need to win only one of four to come out of this series ahead in the standings. Joba Chamberlain will be on the mound for the Yankees tomorrow, and he'll be opposed by John Smoltz, who is nearly twice his age. Game starts at 7:05 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 30–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
The Yanks only got 4 and 1/3 innings out of Sergio Mitre, but he kept them in the game, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. Mitre struck out the first two batters he faced, but those strikeouts were followed by four straight two-out hits that brought in two runs to give the Blue Jays an early lead. The other run he allowed was on a solo home run by Adam Lind that broke a 2–2 tie in the 5th.
The Yankees tied the game with a lead-off home run by Nick Swisher in the 7th. The Yankees went on to score three more times in the inning, all on RBI singles. They would hold onto the lead from that point forward, picking up a run each in the 8th and 9th innings.
Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira were the main contributors offensively, driving in five of the Yankees' eight runs in the game. Every Yankee starter reached base at least once with the exception of Melky Cabrera.
The Yankees will be home tomorrow to begin a much anticipated four-game series with the Red Sox. The Yanks can end the series up by as many as 6.5 games if they win all four, and they can fall as much as 2.5 games behind if they are swept. They will need to win only one of four to come out of this series ahead in the standings. Joba Chamberlain will be on the mound for the Yankees tomorrow, and he'll be opposed by John Smoltz, who is nearly twice his age. Game starts at 7:05 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 30–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
