Yankees baseball blog

Yanks lose 5-3, series tied one each

Saturday night the Tigers resembled the teams from the AL Central the Yankees had gotten used to pummeling in the Division Series.

Sunday came a reminder these aren't the Twins.

Getting a surprisingly dominant six-plus innings from Max Scherzer and a not-at-all surprising standout performance from Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers held off the Yankees in a 5-3 victory in Game 2 of the ALDS in front of 50,596 at the Stadium.

Jose Valerde allowed two runs in the ninth but got Robinson Cano, with runners on first and second and two outs, to ground out to second to end it.

The series, tied at one game apiece, heads to Detroit where Game 3 is Monday night followed by Game 4, in which A.J. Burnett starts with possibly the season on the line, Tuesday night.

Cabrera, the lesser-discussed of the Tigers' AL MVP candidates behind Justin Verlander, who starts Monday, blasted a two-run homer in the first inning off Freddy Garcia and added a run-scoring single in the two-run sixth. (continue)

Cano/Nova lead Yanks to a 9-3 victory over Tigers

The rookie looked out at a roomful of media Friday afternoon and gave a familiar smile. "I don't get nervous,'' Ivan Nova said. And last night, the 24-year-old righthander proved it.

Nova pitched into the ninth inning and Robinson Cano drove in six runs with a trio of two-out hits -- including a grand slam in a six-run sixth -- as the Yankees beat the Tigers, 9-3, in Game 1 of their ALDS in front of a noisy Stadium-record crowd of 50,940.

"I was really excited,'' Nova said. "I was more confident and slowed everything down. So it was good.''

The game, suspended in the bottom of the second inning Friday night because of heavy rain, was resumed at 8:36 last night with Never Nervous Nova, 12-0 with a 3.25 ERA in his last 16 starts of the regular season, taking over for CC Sabathia.

"He did exactly what we needed him to do,'' said Derek Jeter, who went 2-for-5 and scored three runs. "He's been doing it all year.'' (continue)

Yanks drop hammer on free falling Red Sox 9-1

There were plenty of reasons for the Yankees to smile yesterday. They watched Derek Jeter slug a three-run homer. They saw Jesus Montero continue to stake his claim for the present and future with three hits, including a home run. They witnessed six shutout innings from Freddy Garcia. And thanks to some scoreboard watching, they clinched home-field advantage through the ALCS.

Though nobody wearing pinstripes would say it out loud, the fact all of that came in a 9-1 pasting at the expense of the blood-rival turned sad-sack Red Sox had to make the entire experience more than just a little sweeter.

Sure, there were bigger fish to fry for the Yankees. They already had clinched the AL East, and because of the Tigers’ 6-5 loss to the Orioles last night, the Yankees nailed down home-field advantage in the ALDS and ALCS. Now, they must simply make sure nobody gets hurt before the opening of the ALDS on Friday.

Then there is the plight of the Red Sox, in a free fall that could land them outside the playoffs. (continue)

Yanks sweep double header, clinch division

Call it the most important hit of the season.

That’s how Mark Teixeira dubbed it, anyway.

Bottom of the eighth inning, bases loaded, two outs, game tied 2-2, Jorge Posada at the plate, a division title in the balance.

And the embattled Yankees veteran delivered, smacking a pinch-hit, two-run single to givethe Yankees a 4-2 win over the Rays, capping a doubleheader sweep in The Bronx and sealing another AL East crown and igniting a late-night celebration.

“The biggest hit of the season for us so far,” Teixeira said. “It’s a guy who’s been here a long time and won a lot of championships for this team.”

The Yankees officially will be a part of the postseason, with a shot at their 28th World Series title. The clinch came thanks to the doubleheader sweep, coupled with another Red Sox loss at Fenway Park, 6-4 to the Orioles. There was an on-field celebration after Rafael Soriano finished the ninth, with hugs and high fives and clubhouse festivities featuring 250 bottles of champagne. (continue)

Mo knows saves, gets record in 6-4 win over Twins

Mariano Rivera was warming up for his attempt at the all-time saves record Monday when a bizarre cheer caught his ear. When Rivera realized what had caused the applause - Nick Swisher hitting into a double play that ended the eighth inning and ensured he would get a save opportunity - he thought two things:

"These fans are crazy," he recalled, smiling. And, he added, "Oh, my God, these fans are into it."

Truth be told, so was Rivera. He has never loved the spotlight and, he admitted, was tiring of the attention to his personal pursuit of both Trevor Hoffman and history. He wasn't exactly rooting for a teammate to fail, but, he said, "I'll be honest, I was happy, too. I wanted to pitch."

Only Rivera could make Yankee fans cheer when one of their own hits into a double play, and from that moment on, the day turned into a party at the Stadium. Fans got on their feet and stayed there until Rivera completed a perfect ninth inning, slamming the door on a 6-4 victory over the Twins in a makeup game from an April rainout. In a season already soaked with history - Derek Jeter got his 3,000th hit on July 9 - Rivera earned his 602nd career save, one more than Hoffman for the most in history. (continue)

Yanks shut out by jays 3-0

A.J Burnett flew home early Sunday, looking to get a good night's sleep before Monday's matinee in the Bronx. He may as well have taken the rest of the Yankees with him.

The Bombers finished their longest road trip of the season with a dud, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Blue Jays as they were shut out for the second time in eight days. 

The loss did make it practically a lock Mariano Rivera will record his 602nd save at home, where the Yanks start what should be a wild 8-game homestand Monday with a single game against the Twins.

Then the Rays, who are just two games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race come to town for a three-day series that includes a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday. The Yankees close the home stand with a three-game showdown against the Red Sox that could very well determine the AL East title.

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Yanks win 7-6, Mo ties ave record

601 down, one to go.

Mariano Rivera tied Trevor Hoffman for baseball's all-time saves lead Saturday, throwing a perfect ninth in the Yankees' 7-6 win over the Blue Jays in front of 39,288 at the Rogers Centre.

Save No. 601 was the second of historic significance this week for Rivera, who joined Hoffman as the only members of the 600-save club Tuesday night in Seattle.

Rivera's next save will move him ahead of Hoffman for first place on baseball's list, officially establishing the greatest closer in history as the all-time saves king.

"You have to hit 601 to get 602," Rivera said. "It's a great number, but the most important thing is that we won the game."

Rivera's record-tying save came in dominant fashion, as he struck out Colby Rasmus, got a broken-bat groundout to first base from Brett Lawrie, then recorded the final out on Eric Thames' fly ball to center. (continue)

Colon solid but Yanks lose 2-1 to Angels

The Yankees' grueling week may be catching up with them.

Working with a burned-out bullpen, Joe Girardi turned to Aaron Laffey and Luis Ayala to pitch the ninth inning in a tie game Friday night. It didn't remain tied very long, as pinch-hitter Maicer Izturis' bases-loaded sac fly plated the game-winner, giving the Angels a 2-1 victory and handing the Bombers their third loss in a row.

The loss took nothing away from the seven strong innings hurled by Bartolo Colon, who gave up one run - unearned -  on six hits while striking out five and walking only one. David Robertson pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. 

But Laffey gave up a leadoff infield single to Albert Callaspo, bringing Ayala into the game. With pinch-runer Jeremy Moore running on a 1-0 pitch, Veron Wells singled to left, putting runners on the corners. Then Ayala hit Peter Bourjos with a pitch to load the bases. Izturis, hitting for Jeff Mathis, lifted a sac fly to deep center, scoring Moore to end the game. (continue)

Yanks lose to Orioles again in extra innings 5-4

The Yankees would have preferred doing just about anything on their day off rather than playing a makeup game at Camden Yards.

And that was before they lost to the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 in 10 innings on Thursday.

Robert Andino singled home the winning run after tying it in the eighth, giving the Orioles their second straight extra-inning win over the Yankees.

It was the fourth game in four days between the division foes. The first three were held at Yankee Stadium before both teams headed south for a makeup of an Aug. 27 contest postponed by Hurricane Irene.

“It’s not ideal, but the Orioles had to do it, too,” Brett Gardner said. “It’s part of the game. A lot of rain, seems like the whole season.”

Although rain was in the forecast, the game started on time and was played without interruption. Afterward, the Yankees headed to Los Angeles and the Orioles took off for Toronto. (continue)

Montero goes yard twice in 11-10 win over Orioles

Jesus Montero reached across the plate and sent a 93 mph pitch about a dozen rows deep into the right-field seats for his first major league home run, a tiebreaking solo shot in the fifth. A Labor Day crowd of 45,069 at Yankee Stadium coaxed him out for a curtain call.

Two innings later, he leaned for a 94 mph pitch on the outside corner and drove it 10 rows into those same right-field seats, a little bit more toward the foul line. He had another opposite-field homer, a two-run shot. Curtain call No. 2 followed.

"I was dreaming of that before," Montero said Monday after boosting the Yankees over the Baltimore Orioles 11-10. "I was always telling myself before, 'One day, I'm going to be that guy.'"

Four games into his big league career, the 21-year-old catching prospect has made quite an impression. Since his debut at Boston last Thursday, he's batting .385 (5 for 13) with five runs and the three RBIs.

"You don't get too giddy on one game and you don't get too down on another game," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You're going to watch him over a period of time." (continue)