05/23: Yankees vs. Orioles; 5/23/08
Posted by: James
Well, that was an entertaining...but nerve-racking game to watch. Long and short of it, the Yankees won 2-1 on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth off the bat of Robbie Cano. We'll get to that in a second though.
The bigger story of the night was probably the pitching of IPK, or rather the results of it. He threw 6 innings of one-run ball, giving up four hits and four walks while striking out four. Those walks scare me but let's be serious, this was easily the best start of the season for him. Still, while he worked his way out of a few jams (getting key Ks when he needed them), one or two more hits would have made this a much different outcome for Kennedy. David Pinto over at Baseball Musings makes a point that Kennedy might simply have been lucky last night...and I'm not inclined to disagree. Really, I don't want to be THAT guy, you know who I'm talking about - always negative about everything...but while there was a lot to be happy about, you gotta still be worried what happens if he pulls the same 4 walk performance...and some of those hard hit outs start falling in.
In any case, IPK held the Orioles to one run over 6 while Orioles starter Brian Burres did the same over 7. Veras (who was simply sick with his pitches last night - 95 mph heater followed by good placement of a 80 mph curve), Farnsworth & Mariano each pitched a shutout inning before the fireworks started in the bottom of the ninth.
Hideki started off the inning with a sharp single before A-Rod struck out and Jason Giambi "struck out on a foul pitch". I put that in quotes because Giambi took a pitch that the home plate ump ruled had hit his bat...and Joe Girardi respectfully disagreed.
If Joe was trying to fire up the team or rattle the pitcher, it worked. Jim Johnson walked pinch-hitter Bobby Abreu on 5 pitches before giving up a single to Robbie Cano that plated Matsui with the winning run. 2-1 Yankees win.
The bigger story of the night was probably the pitching of IPK, or rather the results of it. He threw 6 innings of one-run ball, giving up four hits and four walks while striking out four. Those walks scare me but let's be serious, this was easily the best start of the season for him. Still, while he worked his way out of a few jams (getting key Ks when he needed them), one or two more hits would have made this a much different outcome for Kennedy. David Pinto over at Baseball Musings makes a point that Kennedy might simply have been lucky last night...and I'm not inclined to disagree. Really, I don't want to be THAT guy, you know who I'm talking about - always negative about everything...but while there was a lot to be happy about, you gotta still be worried what happens if he pulls the same 4 walk performance...and some of those hard hit outs start falling in.
In any case, IPK held the Orioles to one run over 6 while Orioles starter Brian Burres did the same over 7. Veras (who was simply sick with his pitches last night - 95 mph heater followed by good placement of a 80 mph curve), Farnsworth & Mariano each pitched a shutout inning before the fireworks started in the bottom of the ninth.
Hideki started off the inning with a sharp single before A-Rod struck out and Jason Giambi "struck out on a foul pitch". I put that in quotes because Giambi took a pitch that the home plate ump ruled had hit his bat...and Joe Girardi respectfully disagreed.
If Joe was trying to fire up the team or rattle the pitcher, it worked. Jim Johnson walked pinch-hitter Bobby Abreu on 5 pitches before giving up a single to Robbie Cano that plated Matsui with the winning run. 2-1 Yankees win.
Patrick wrote: