07/26: Yanks Clobber Royals Again for 6th Straight Win
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees came away last night with yet another convincing victory, their sixth in a row and the 12th in their first 15 games after the All-Star break. The Yanks are now 17-5 in their last 22 games and the Red Sox' loss brings them within 6.5 games of the A.L. East lead.
Melky Cabrera was the early hero, driving in the Yankees' first three runs in what was at the time a pretty close game with a two-run homer in the 2nd and a sac fly in the 7th that put them up 3-1. The Yankees blew it open in the 8th with back-to-back long balls by A-Rod (#499) and Matsui, and an RBI double by Andy Phillips.
Mike Mussina was decent, allowing a run on six hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. The Yankees used five relievers, who pitched a combined 4 and 1/3 scoreless innings. The new and improved Luis Vizcaino pitched a perfect 8th and Mariano Rivera finished it off with a scoreless 9th.
Kinda funny how some of the naysayers said that this team wouldn't be capable of coming back because of the clip they'd have to play at to catch the Red Sox or Indians, assuming the teams ahead of them played at the same pace. The Yanks' 12-3 record since the break equates to a winning percentage of .800. Not that I expect them to keep that pace up, but let's put it this way: if you were to say they had to go 52-25 in their 77 games after the break, they'd now have to go 40-22 (.645) in their last 62. That's still pretty good baseball, but I doubt many would argue that this team isn't capable of winning at that pace.
The Yankees will send Kei Igawa to the mound tonight as they will go for their first sweep since sweeping the Diamondbacks June 12-14. A-Rod will be going for home run number 500 against Jorge De La Rosa, who coincidentally is the same man who gave up his 400th homer. Game starts at 8:10 E.T.
Melky Cabrera was the early hero, driving in the Yankees' first three runs in what was at the time a pretty close game with a two-run homer in the 2nd and a sac fly in the 7th that put them up 3-1. The Yankees blew it open in the 8th with back-to-back long balls by A-Rod (#499) and Matsui, and an RBI double by Andy Phillips.
Mike Mussina was decent, allowing a run on six hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. The Yankees used five relievers, who pitched a combined 4 and 1/3 scoreless innings. The new and improved Luis Vizcaino pitched a perfect 8th and Mariano Rivera finished it off with a scoreless 9th.
Kinda funny how some of the naysayers said that this team wouldn't be capable of coming back because of the clip they'd have to play at to catch the Red Sox or Indians, assuming the teams ahead of them played at the same pace. The Yanks' 12-3 record since the break equates to a winning percentage of .800. Not that I expect them to keep that pace up, but let's put it this way: if you were to say they had to go 52-25 in their 77 games after the break, they'd now have to go 40-22 (.645) in their last 62. That's still pretty good baseball, but I doubt many would argue that this team isn't capable of winning at that pace.
The Yankees will send Kei Igawa to the mound tonight as they will go for their first sweep since sweeping the Diamondbacks June 12-14. A-Rod will be going for home run number 500 against Jorge De La Rosa, who coincidentally is the same man who gave up his 400th homer. Game starts at 8:10 E.T.
Joe DeRosa wrote: