08/15: Yankees Pick Up Ninth Inning Victory in Seattle
Posted by: Patrick
The first inning was not kind to Andy Pettitte. Yet, he minimized the damage. It started single, single, RBI double. After that, a ground out scored another run. But, he struck out the next two hitters to strand a runner at second and, after that, he flipped the switch.
Over the next five innings, he allowed no runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 10. The last time he struck out that many hitters was when he struck out 10 on August 21, 2006 when he was with the Astros. The last time with the Yankees? October 2, 2003 in the playoffs. Regular season? July 6, 2003. And, yes, he also picked off a runner to end an inning. His ERA is down to 4.09, the lowest it's been since May 17.
Mariners' starter Ryan Rowland-Smith was good, too, though. The Yankees got one off of him when Jerry Hairston Jr. grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Jorge Posada. They added a second run to tie the game in the fifth with a Derek Jeter RBI single (Melky Cabrera scored).
The game would be tied going into the ninth. Brian Bruney pitched a scoreless seventh and Phil Hughes (the eventual winner) did the same in the eighth.
After having only four hits in the first eight innings, the Yankees got off to a quick start in the ninth with a Mark Teixeira lead off home run to break the tie. After two outs were made by Hideki Matsui and Posada, Robinson Cano hit a ground rule double and then came around to score on a Nick Swisher single, giving the Yankees an insurance run.
It wasn't needed. Mariano Rivera sat down the Mariners in order in the bottom of the ninth, collecting his 34th save and dragging his ERA back below 2 (1.98).
The Yankees have now won 11 of their last 12 and maintain a 6.5 game lead on the Red Sox.
Tonight's game will start at 10:10 PM ET once again and Sergio Mitre (1-1, 7.04) will get the ball, against Luke French (2-2, 4.31).
Recap records: Seamus: 34–20, Patrick: 31–14, Andrew: 8–9
Over the next five innings, he allowed no runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 10. The last time he struck out that many hitters was when he struck out 10 on August 21, 2006 when he was with the Astros. The last time with the Yankees? October 2, 2003 in the playoffs. Regular season? July 6, 2003. And, yes, he also picked off a runner to end an inning. His ERA is down to 4.09, the lowest it's been since May 17.
Mariners' starter Ryan Rowland-Smith was good, too, though. The Yankees got one off of him when Jerry Hairston Jr. grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Jorge Posada. They added a second run to tie the game in the fifth with a Derek Jeter RBI single (Melky Cabrera scored).
The game would be tied going into the ninth. Brian Bruney pitched a scoreless seventh and Phil Hughes (the eventual winner) did the same in the eighth.
After having only four hits in the first eight innings, the Yankees got off to a quick start in the ninth with a Mark Teixeira lead off home run to break the tie. After two outs were made by Hideki Matsui and Posada, Robinson Cano hit a ground rule double and then came around to score on a Nick Swisher single, giving the Yankees an insurance run.
It wasn't needed. Mariano Rivera sat down the Mariners in order in the bottom of the ninth, collecting his 34th save and dragging his ERA back below 2 (1.98).
The Yankees have now won 11 of their last 12 and maintain a 6.5 game lead on the Red Sox.
Tonight's game will start at 10:10 PM ET once again and Sergio Mitre (1-1, 7.04) will get the ball, against Luke French (2-2, 4.31).
Recap records: Seamus: 34–20, Patrick: 31–14, Andrew: 8–9
