Yankees baseball blog

Matsui dominates, Yanks win #27

Baseball’s penthouse is again decorated with hand-painted silk Yankees pinstripe wallpaper.

Nine years after their last World Series title, the Yankees earned No. 27 last night when they spanked the defending champion Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 at Yankee Stadium before a record crowd of 50,315 that didn’t include George Steinbrenner.

Tomorrow morning the Yankees will celebrate with a ticker-tape parade up lower Broadway.

“Right where we belong,” Derek Jeter bellowed from a stage in the middle of the $1.5 billion Stadium.

And they looked very comfortable. Alex Rodriguez, who doesn’t have to answer any more questions about choking in the postseason, let loose with a river of victory tears and promised the parade will be a huge party. Continue

Yanks fall short in 9th, back to NY for game 6

By the time the Yankees got into the suspect Phillies bullpen late in Game 5 last night, the early ditch A.J. Burnett had driven them into was too deep to escape.

With a chance to cop their 27th World Series title, the Yankees turned to Burnett on three days' rest instead of the customary four. Using talent evaluator language, Burnett was "short."

Paired against Phillies ace and fellow Arkansas native Cliff Lee, Burnett didn't get out of the third inning, allowed six runs and four hits, walked four and hit a batter in an 8-6 loss that was witnessed by 46,178 at Citizens Bank Park.

"I let 25 guys down. I let a whole city down," Burnett said of the miserable outing which he explained wasn't a byproduct of the short rest. "It's the worst feeling in the world. We had a chance to do something special and to fail like that . . ." Continue

A-Rod's RBI double in 9th seals deal, Yanks up 3-1

 The Yankees are nine innings away from returning to a place Derek Jeter and others firmly believe a season is a failure if they don’t.

Tonight at Citizens Bank Park, a gem of a baseball stadium, the Yankees will attempt to win their 27th World Series title and first since 2000 against the defending champion Phillies.

Thanks to a gutsy effort by CC Sabathia on short rest and enough production from a lineup that produced two runs in the first and fifth innings and three in the ninth, the Yankees won Game 4, 7-4, last night in front of 46,145.

The victory gave the Yankees a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Series. A.J. Burnett, the second Yankees hurler in two games to work on three days’ rest instead of four, opposes Phillies ace Cliff Lee in Game 5 tonight. If a Game 6 is required it will be played Wednesday evening at Yankee Stadium. Continue

Swish and A-Rod power Yanks to a 2-1 lead

 Andy Pettitte grunted through six innings without his best stuff. Nick Swisher finally broke through. Alex Rodriguez’s first World Series hit was a clutch homer that needed a second look. And Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte took the load off Mariano Rivera.

All of that added up to an 8-5 Game 3 victory for the Yankees over the Phillies last night in front of 46,061 at Citizens Bank Park that put the Yankees in position to grab control of the Series tonight in Game 4.

The victory gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Series. The start of the game was delayed 80 minutes by rain.

Because Joe Girardi is using ace CC Sabathia on three days’ rest tonight against Joe Blanton, the Yankees are in position to cop a 3-1 lead. Continue

AJ shuts down Philly O, series 1-1

A.J. Burnett and Mariano Rivera altered the mood in the Yankees’ universe last night better than any drug could have.

Armed with a filthy curveball he was able to throw for strikes, Burnett earned his October pinstripes by allowing the Phillies a run and four hits across seven innings, and Rivera supplied two shutout innings of relief as the Yankees evened the World Series with a 3-1 Game 2 victory before a Yankee Stadium crowd of 50,181.

With the best-of-seven Series tied 1-1, Game 3 is tomorrow night in Philadelphia, where Andy Pettitte opposes Cole Hamels, last year’s World Series MVP the Phillies were wary of pitching in The Bronx.

Instead they went with longtime Yankees villain Pedro Martinez, who allowed three runs and six hits in six-plus innings despite not feeling very well. Continue

 

Lee and Utley domiante Yanks, win opener 6-1

Cliff Lee’s evil arsenal and control good enough to consistently hit a gnat’s backside combined with Chase Utley’s biceps to put the Yankees in a World Series ditch last night in Game 1.

Lee handcuffed the high-powered Yankees lineup across nine innings, turning it into “The Dead Bat Society,” and Utley homered twice off CC Sabathia to lead the Phillies to a 6-1 victory that was witnessed by a Yankee Stadium crowd of 50,207 that had nothing to get excited about.

“You have to tip your hat to the other guy,” Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “That’s the best pitching performance we have seen all year.” 

Lee went the distance, gave up an unearned run in the ninth, didn’t issue a walk and fanned 10. He is 3-0 with a 0.54 ERA in four postseason starts.

“He pitched really well, if he is going to pitch like that, you aren’t going to score many runs,” said Mark Teixeira, who fanned twice. Continue