08/12: Yanks Shutout by Twins, Now 2-6 On Road Trip
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankee lineup couldn't manage anything against Glen Perkins, and a decent start by Sidney Ponson went to waste as the Yankees were shutout by the Twins. The 4-0 loss was the Yankees' 4th straight, and their 6th loss in their last 8 games. The Yankees fell further back behind the Rays and Red Sox, and are now 9 and 5 games out, respectively.
Sidney Ponson was not bad, as he allowed 4 runs and 7 hits in 72/3 innings. He probably pitched a little better than his line shows, and a 4-run outing certainly should be more than enough to keep this Yankee lineup in a game. Edwar Ramirez relieved Ponson in the bottom of the 8th and retired the only batter he faced.
The story of this game, however, was the ineptitude of the Yankees' offense. They had a big chance to go ahead in the 2nd, as they had runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out, but Pudge Rodriguez popped up just past the infield dirt, and Melky Cabrera grounded into a double play to end the inning. After that, it was just six more innings of Glen Perkins mowing them down. The Yanks didn't fare any better against Joe Nathan in the 9th, either.
YES was just all over Girardi throughout the game about starting Justian Christian in LF and benching Johnny Damon, and I think rightfully so. There's no way you can sit Damon simply to rest him in a game like this, especially coming off of a three-game losing streak. It's unacceptable at this point in the season to have both Christian and Melky Cabrera in the starting lineup. Perhaps Girardi was on another one of his "sit lefties against lefties" tangents, but YES rightfully pointed out that Perkins has a .353 BAA vs. lefties (.898 OPS). I think Giambi should have played, too.
Hopefully Girardi puts a better lineup in tonight against Nick Blackburn. The Yanks will have Mike Mussina on the mound, who will be looking for his 16th win. Game starts at 8:10 ET.
Sidney Ponson was not bad, as he allowed 4 runs and 7 hits in 72/3 innings. He probably pitched a little better than his line shows, and a 4-run outing certainly should be more than enough to keep this Yankee lineup in a game. Edwar Ramirez relieved Ponson in the bottom of the 8th and retired the only batter he faced.
The story of this game, however, was the ineptitude of the Yankees' offense. They had a big chance to go ahead in the 2nd, as they had runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out, but Pudge Rodriguez popped up just past the infield dirt, and Melky Cabrera grounded into a double play to end the inning. After that, it was just six more innings of Glen Perkins mowing them down. The Yanks didn't fare any better against Joe Nathan in the 9th, either.
YES was just all over Girardi throughout the game about starting Justian Christian in LF and benching Johnny Damon, and I think rightfully so. There's no way you can sit Damon simply to rest him in a game like this, especially coming off of a three-game losing streak. It's unacceptable at this point in the season to have both Christian and Melky Cabrera in the starting lineup. Perhaps Girardi was on another one of his "sit lefties against lefties" tangents, but YES rightfully pointed out that Perkins has a .353 BAA vs. lefties (.898 OPS). I think Giambi should have played, too.
Hopefully Girardi puts a better lineup in tonight against Nick Blackburn. The Yanks will have Mike Mussina on the mound, who will be looking for his 16th win. Game starts at 8:10 ET.
