Source: FanGraphs
Despite some less than inspiring play, the Yankees have now won five of their last seven games. They took the second game of the weekend series against the Twins on Saturday afternoon, rallying late behind their ace for a 3-1 win. Let’s recap:
- Tanaka Time: Had it not been for some more bad infield defense, Masahiro Tanaka might have thrown eight scoreless innings or even a shutout on Saturday afternoon. Kelly Johnson booted a hard-hit ground ball to lead off the game, and the runner eventually came around to score on Josh Willingham’s two-out single to right. After that, Tanaka retired 22 of 26 batters faced, including eight on strikeouts. He allowed just the one unearned run on four singles and two walks, fanning nine and getting ten ground ball outs. Tanaka was brilliant against the Twins, just as he has for most of the season. A man among boys.
- Blown Chances: Kevin Correia came into the game with the very worst ERA in baseball (6.34), yet the Yankees let him off the hook in the first two innings. Mark Teixeira struck out and Brian McCann grounded into a double play after they loaded the bases with no outs in the first, then Brendan Ryan grounded into an inning-ending double play with two on in the second. Yangervis Solarte was also thrown out at second after foolishly trying to advance on a throw to the plate on his single in the sixth, just like Derek Jeter on Friday. Correia allowed just one run (Solarte’s solo homer) in six innings. Gross.
- Late Rally: Jacoby Ellsbury set the table for the game-winning rally in the eighth with his legs, his greatest weapon. He singled with one out in the inning, stole second, then moved to third when the throw went into center field. Brian Roberts drew a walk to put runners on the corners, and rather than hit into another inning-ending double play, McCann doubled into the right field corner to drive in a run. Johnson atoned for his error with a run-scoring single later in the inning, after a 30 or so minute rain delay. Those were some mighty big hits.
- Leftovers: David Robertson pitched around a(nother) error in the ninth by striking out the side. I love it when he does that … McCann doubled twice and is quietly hitting .268/.355/.448 in his last 20 games, dating back to the start of the Brewers series. That’s a pretty great approximation of what he can do over a full season … Solarte went 3-for-4 with the homer and has officially broken out of his slump … Brett Gardner and Johnson both singled twice, Jeter singled and doubled, and Ellsbury singled and walked … Alfonso Soriano went 0-for-3 with a rare walk … the Yankees had 4+ extra-base hits for only the second time in their last 15 games.
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs has some other stats, and ESPN has the updated standings. These two teams will wrap up this series with the rubber game on Sunday afternoon, when Phil Hughes makes his first career start against the Yankees. Chase Whitley will be on the bump for New York. RAB Tickets can get you in the door if you want to see Hughes’ return live.
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