08/26: Wang Wins 15th; Yankees Win, 7-2
Posted by: Patrick
After stringing together 3 iffy starts (though the 6 IP, 3 ER last one is plenty manageable), I guess some people were a little worried about Mr. Wang. I don't know any of those people, but I have read about them. This should help relax them a bit. Wang pitched a gem last night, allowing just 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts over 8 innings to pick up win number 15.
The Yankees offense gave him 7 runs and that was more than enough. Jeremy Bonderman had held them to 3 runs through the first 5 innings, but the 6th is where they blew it open, thanks to back to back RBI triples - the first from Melky that scored Betemit, Cano and Matsui and then, right after, another one from Johnny that scored Melky. In his first appearance since August 5, Brian Bruney pitched a 1-2-3 9th, retiring Marcus Thames, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen in order.
Melky's 3 RBIs (1 for 4, 1 3B, 1 R) led the offense, but Johnny (2 for 5, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI) and Matsui (3 for 5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI) were right behind them. Abreu (1 R, 2 BB, 3 SB), A-Rod (1 R, 1 SB) and Cano (1 R) all collected a hit. Betemit was 0 for 3, but had a walk and a run. The only Yankees that failed to reach were Jeter and Posada.
Back to Matsui for a second, check out his numbers since July 3 (a span of 48 games): .365/.423/.651 (1.074 OPS), 49 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 15 HR, 44 RBI, 23 BB, 23 K, 2 SB and 5 SF. Hot. Here's some other numbers that will make you happy:
Johnny Damon since July 21 (26 games, 23 started): .358/.420/.557 (.977), 24 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 12 BB, 18 K, 4 SB and 1 SF.
Bobby Abreu since July 2 (47 games, 44 started): .361/.418/.622 (1.040), 41 R, 10 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 50 RBI, 19 BB, 29 K, 8 SB and 2 SF.
A-Rod since August 2 (21 games): .372/.474/.705 (1.179), 23 R, 2 2B, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 14 BB, 1 IBB, 10 K, 7 SB and 2 SF.
Meanwhile, could the White Sox play any worse right now? Come on guys, just beat the Red Sox once. They'll get their last shot today at 2:05 PM ET. They've got Javy Vazquez going against Julian Tavarez, so you'd think they'd have a decent chance, but who knows. They've lost the first 3 games of the series by a combined score of 35-6.
Oh my gosh - the Mariners actually lost a game! I wondered when that would happen again. The Rangers didn't put up 30 runs, but 5 was enough, apparently. So, we gained a game in the Wild Card and are now down 2 games, while remaining 6 and 1/2 back in the division.
We have 33 games left in the season (6 against Boston and 3 against Seattle). Boston has 32 and Seattle has 35. Today, at 1:05 ET, we'll have a match up of 21 year olds as Phil Hughes (2-1, 4.96) will go against Jair Jurrjens (1-1, 3.29).
The Yankees offense gave him 7 runs and that was more than enough. Jeremy Bonderman had held them to 3 runs through the first 5 innings, but the 6th is where they blew it open, thanks to back to back RBI triples - the first from Melky that scored Betemit, Cano and Matsui and then, right after, another one from Johnny that scored Melky. In his first appearance since August 5, Brian Bruney pitched a 1-2-3 9th, retiring Marcus Thames, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen in order.
Melky's 3 RBIs (1 for 4, 1 3B, 1 R) led the offense, but Johnny (2 for 5, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI) and Matsui (3 for 5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI) were right behind them. Abreu (1 R, 2 BB, 3 SB), A-Rod (1 R, 1 SB) and Cano (1 R) all collected a hit. Betemit was 0 for 3, but had a walk and a run. The only Yankees that failed to reach were Jeter and Posada.
Back to Matsui for a second, check out his numbers since July 3 (a span of 48 games): .365/.423/.651 (1.074 OPS), 49 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 15 HR, 44 RBI, 23 BB, 23 K, 2 SB and 5 SF. Hot. Here's some other numbers that will make you happy:
Johnny Damon since July 21 (26 games, 23 started): .358/.420/.557 (.977), 24 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 12 BB, 18 K, 4 SB and 1 SF.
Bobby Abreu since July 2 (47 games, 44 started): .361/.418/.622 (1.040), 41 R, 10 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 50 RBI, 19 BB, 29 K, 8 SB and 2 SF.
A-Rod since August 2 (21 games): .372/.474/.705 (1.179), 23 R, 2 2B, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 14 BB, 1 IBB, 10 K, 7 SB and 2 SF.
Meanwhile, could the White Sox play any worse right now? Come on guys, just beat the Red Sox once. They'll get their last shot today at 2:05 PM ET. They've got Javy Vazquez going against Julian Tavarez, so you'd think they'd have a decent chance, but who knows. They've lost the first 3 games of the series by a combined score of 35-6.
Oh my gosh - the Mariners actually lost a game! I wondered when that would happen again. The Rangers didn't put up 30 runs, but 5 was enough, apparently. So, we gained a game in the Wild Card and are now down 2 games, while remaining 6 and 1/2 back in the division.
We have 33 games left in the season (6 against Boston and 3 against Seattle). Boston has 32 and Seattle has 35. Today, at 1:05 ET, we'll have a match up of 21 year olds as Phil Hughes (2-1, 4.96) will go against Jair Jurrjens (1-1, 3.29).
