Bronx, N.Y., August 13, 2007 — The Yankees overcame the pesky Baltimore Orioles in Yankee Stadium 7-6 Monday night in a game that was every bit as close as the final score indicates. It was the usual 50,000-plus packing the House That Ruth Built, but this crowd brought a spark to the ballpark with them.
The Yanks are firing on all cylinders, and the word has gotten around. The pitching continues to show signs of settling into an effective pattern, while the offense has drifted from professional and effective to borderline dominant. And it’s a good thing too, because righty Taiwanese stud Chien-Ming Wang was rocked early, one start after his worst ever outing as a major league pitcher. Wang wasn’t responsible for all the runs in the 15-4 pounding Toronto applied last Wednesday, but it was against him that the Jays got things rolling.
In this outing, Brian Roberts led off against Wang with a booming double to left center, and seven pitches later Baltimore had a 2-0 lead on a bunt single, a stolen base, a hit by pitch, a wild pitch, and a single up the middle. Although the third run scored when Kevin Millar bounced to third for a 5-4-3, it got the Yanks out of an ugly inning. But Wang steadied himself from there, and he held the O’s at three runs into the fifth with help from a diving Melky Cabrera catch in the second and a Derek Jeter catch and throw from the shortstop hole to close the fourth.
Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie was not immune from a sudden offensive outburst either. Yankee DH Johnny Damon doubled off the right center field wall to start the bottom of the first, and moved to third on a Jeter liner to right. That Damon scored on a first-pitch wild pitch to Bobby Abreu quickly became academic, as the Yankee right fielder connected for a home run to just left of dead center. The Yanks were back in it, down 3-2, and they weren’t done. Jorge Posada led off the second with a single to right and one out later, Wilson Betemit, playing first base Monday night, homered to deep right center for a 4-3 Yankee lead.
After a quiet third, the Yanks tried to put the Birds away with back-to-back two out rallies, with Hideki Matsui scoring on a Cabrera double in the fourth and A-Rod on another Posada single in the fifth. Both scoring plays set the Yanks up with men on second and third with two down, but neither time could they cash in the “ducks on the pond.” The score in the fifth followed one by Baltimore, as Corey Patterson surprised Wang with a one-out homer in the top half, closing the Yankee lead by one before Posada stretched it to 6-4. Wang allowed a single to Aubrey Huff in the sixth, and when ex-Pirate prospect Tike Redman directed a one-base hit to left to start the seventh, Wang’s night was over.
Wang pitched well following his last punishing outing and the sudden mayhem in the first, though this last single did cross after he left for five tallies in six-plus innings. He struck out two, walked one, and allowed eight hits, just five after the first. Chien-Ming threw 12 of 18 first-pitch strikes the first two times through the Baltimore order, but was more tentative at the finish, pounding the zone just two of nine times the last time through. His 57/37 strikes/balls ratio was good, but the best news is that he coaxed yet another 11 ground ball outs. He changed speeds not only with his two- and four-seamer, but with his slider and a rare change as well. He is becoming more and more deceptive, an excellent complement to his usual skill at coaxing outs to his infielders.
Lefty Ron Villone relieved Wang with one man on, but sadly, although he managed three straight outs without allowing a hit, Redman was able to score on the second of his two wild pitches, a high hard one to the back screen on which Posada had no chance. That closed the score to 6-5, too close for comfort as the (mostly) young Baltimore pen came on and held the Yanks at bay. Lefty Scott Burres relieved Guthrie after Posada’s fifth-inning single, and he combined with John Hoey, veteran southpaw Jamey Walker, and submariner Chad Bradford to retire 11 in a row.
Hard-throwing Yankee Joba Chamberlain came out for his Stadium debut in the top of the eighth, and he totally lived up to the hype. He got a called strike on Miguel Tejada with a hard-breaking 88-mph slider, then pounded him with fastballs traveling 98 and 99. He fell behind 3-1 but coaxed a foul and a windmilling strike out swing on a very hard slider. Millar grounded to third at 0-2 and Chamberlain got hard heat past a swinging Huff at 2-2 to retire the side in order. There were 50,000 screaming and jumping during much of the frame. It was love at first sight between the fans and the phenom.
But the O’s had another crack in the ninth and the reliable Mariano Rivera came on for the save. Melvin Mora blooped a single the other way, and when Ramon Hernandez rolled a swinging bunt in front of the plate, the tying run had moved to second with one man down. Redman singled to short center, and Mora tested Cabrera’s arm and paid for it. The strong throw had Posada ready and waiting with the tag. But Redman proceeded to second and Brian Roberts dropped a short fly in front of Abreu in right on the next pitch. Bobby closed quicly, but took the first hop. He fired hard to the plate but high, and Redman slid underneath. We had a tie game at 6-6. Patterson, who had already celebrated his 28th birthday by homering earlier, drove Matsui to the warning track in left to close the top of the ninth.
Bradford came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth, and Andy Phillips, who had replaced Betemit for defense, bounced out to short. But Bradford hit Cabrera with a pitch, and Jason Giambi pinch-hit. Off a long DL stint, Giambi was thrilled to contribute two home runs on the just-completed road trip. He did not disappoint, stroking a 1-1 pitch between Millar and the first base bag for a single that sent Cabrera speeding around to third. With both the infield and the outfield in, Captain Jeter managed to get a bouncer past Bradford, and Melky scored for the scintillating 7-6 victory.
The start of this game was delayed by a roughly 10-minute ceremony honoring Alex Rodriguez for having hit his 500th career home run on the last home stand. Among other things, he received home plate from that game, and his wife and daughter joined him on the field to accept the accolades. Once the game began the matrix board shared the stat that Alex is the first (and only) player ever to hit 35 home runs, while both scoring and driving in 100 runs, for 10 straight seasons. The crowd was appreciatve of Alex’s accomplishment, and he was roundly cheered.
They were also apprecative of their new Yankees, the rampaging hitters, all the home runs, the big scores, the great post-All Star record, and the way old and young arms are combining to give the team a fighting chance in every game. The sounds the joyful throng made bustling down the crowded exit ramps at game’s end were more in keeping with the raucous celebrations following wins over the Red Sox and Mets. The 50,000-plus have been here all year, but now they believe.
The Orioles and Yankees threw very similar things at one another in this one. Both teams stroked 11 hits, both did so in 38 plate appearnces. The Yanks allowed one walk and struck out four, one less than the O’s in both categories. Both teams stole a base. The Yanks homered twice to one for Baltimore, an effect somewhat mitigated by the Orioles’ three to one lead in wild pitches received. Yes, the stats were similar, but not as much as those posted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Superbas on August 13, 1910, exactly 97 years ago. Each of those teams had 38 at bats in an 8-8 tie, each stroked 13 hits, each posted five strike outs, each issued three walks, each hit a batter, each allowed one passed ball and committed two errors. The teams came away with 13 assists apiece, and utilized two hurlers for each side.
In Yankee history, August 13 has been a particularly unkind day. Hall of Fame General Manager George Weiss passed away on August 13, 1972, and a generation of fans mourns the passing of beloved star Mickey Mantle on this day in 1995. And the disastrous sale of 80 percent of the club to CBS went through on August 13, 1964, with the sale going into effect three months later.
But enough of sad thoughts. The team is on a roll, and fans of the older players and enthusiasts of the promising stars of tomorrow emerging on the Yankee scene share a positive outlook on the season’s remaining months. From both perspectives, the team could hardly be further from the mess that CBS ran into the ground 40-plus years ago.
And Joba did the Job!
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!