06/04: Extra-Inning Victory Puts Yanks in First Place
Posted by: Seamus
I got a little nervous after the Orioles' two-run 8th inning, but the Yankees took the game in 10 innings to win for the 7th time in their last eight games. The win gives the Yankees a half game ahead of Boston, who lost 6-2 in Detroit, for first place in the A.L. East. Randy Johnson gave up three runs, but his performance was actually a gem, giving up only three hits while striking out eight in 7 and 1/3 innings.
The Yankees scored two in the 5th inning, courtesy of Derek Jeter who doubled in a run and Bernie Williams, whose sac fly put the Yankees up 4-3. The Yankees went up 5-3 in the 7th when Andy Phillips hit a long home run to left field. The Big Unit was relieved by Scott Proctor in the 8th, who gave up two runs on back to back doubles as the Orioles tied the score at 5 apiece. Proctor pitched a scoreless 9th and the Yankees went back ahead in the 10th on a solo shot to center by Johnny Damon. With both Mariano Rivera and Kyle Farnsworth unavailable for the game, the Yankees were short on staff in the bullpen, so the Yanks went to Chien-Ming Wang on his throw day in between starts to finish the Orioles off in the 10th and record the first save of his professional career.
A lot of people would've been pointing the finger at Scott Proctor had the Yankees blown this one, but the Yankees left 13 runners on base. Melky Cabrera left seven on himself, but we'll let this one slide considering today's subpar 1-6 performance only dropped the rookie's average to .304. Conversely, I guess you could also say the Yankees wouldn't have had the opportunity to blow all those scoring chances if the Orioles' defense wasn't so bad throughout the day. They recorded three errors, but there were also a lot of hits that should've been outs. Either way, the beauty of this game is that this one counts in the standings as much as a 15-0 blowout.
Aaron Small will look for his first win this afternoon and will be facing Rodrigo Lopez. Both starters have an E.R.A. well over 6, so we might be looking at a slugfest. Hopefully Small can give us some innings though since Rivera still won't be available for this one.
The Yankees scored two in the 5th inning, courtesy of Derek Jeter who doubled in a run and Bernie Williams, whose sac fly put the Yankees up 4-3. The Yankees went up 5-3 in the 7th when Andy Phillips hit a long home run to left field. The Big Unit was relieved by Scott Proctor in the 8th, who gave up two runs on back to back doubles as the Orioles tied the score at 5 apiece. Proctor pitched a scoreless 9th and the Yankees went back ahead in the 10th on a solo shot to center by Johnny Damon. With both Mariano Rivera and Kyle Farnsworth unavailable for the game, the Yankees were short on staff in the bullpen, so the Yanks went to Chien-Ming Wang on his throw day in between starts to finish the Orioles off in the 10th and record the first save of his professional career.
A lot of people would've been pointing the finger at Scott Proctor had the Yankees blown this one, but the Yankees left 13 runners on base. Melky Cabrera left seven on himself, but we'll let this one slide considering today's subpar 1-6 performance only dropped the rookie's average to .304. Conversely, I guess you could also say the Yankees wouldn't have had the opportunity to blow all those scoring chances if the Orioles' defense wasn't so bad throughout the day. They recorded three errors, but there were also a lot of hits that should've been outs. Either way, the beauty of this game is that this one counts in the standings as much as a 15-0 blowout.
Aaron Small will look for his first win this afternoon and will be facing Rodrigo Lopez. Both starters have an E.R.A. well over 6, so we might be looking at a slugfest. Hopefully Small can give us some innings though since Rivera still won't be available for this one.
