Bronx, N.Y., June 5, 2014 — It seems a momentous occasion to report on a 2-1 Yankee victory to close a frustrating — but mercifully brief — homestand at 2-5 Thursday afternoon, but it was nothing special really. The Yanks benefited from stellar starting pitching, survived with a gutsy three-headed outing from their bullpen, and even though they failed to come up with enough offense to keep their two-runs-per-game output going, they achieved the number with a little help from the A’s.
Even though fans had to feel good about their team’s chances with Masahiro Tanaka, who has taken major league baseball by storm, on the mound, some concern was warranted after observing the A’s pound long balls from several places in their high-octane lineup the last two days. This concern didn’t become manifest until Tanaka’s seventh pitch. He had recovered well from falling behind 3-0 to center fielder Coco Crisp by coaxing a 3-2 foul popup, an outcome Ma Kun (an honorary name Masahiro earned in Japan) produced five times in the 18 outs he posted on the day. No matter, but then again huge matter, because switch-hitting catcher John Jaso lifted the next pitch to right for a home run, and a 1-0 lead.
The Yanks responded immediately, a one-out Derek Jeter single, then a Jacoby Ellsbury home run just over the wall in right, or was it? Oakland Manager Bob Melvin challenged the call, and it was ruled a double. If you’ve been in the stands the last few days, you were devastated, because you knew what I did, that the two runs that came down off the scoreboard would not be returned there. A liner to third and a swinging strike out, and the game continued at 1-0, A’s.
Two struggling Yankees did equal the score in the second, with a little help. With one down, catcher Brian McCann foiled an overshift by lining a single to left, and made it to second on a bum leg when Brandon Moss let the ball get by him. Alfonso Soriano got over his swing-and-miss blues with a single to right center, for an unearned run, and a 1-1 tie. Then Brett Gardner lined southpaw Drew Pomerantz’s first pitch of the third over the wall in right, for a 2-1 Yankees lead. If you’ve been watching recently, you had no difficulty whatsoever thinking the Yanks may have scored their last run of the game, and you were right. But what of the A’s?
You believed in Tanaka, of course, and why not? And he did retire the next 10 after the Jaso home run, but it got nervous after that. Back to back singles in the fourth and a single and a walk in the fifth were matched by six up, six down by the Yanks. Tanaka clearly was struggling; the splitter, though effective, was not getting its swings and misses, and his pitch count was mounting. An effective sixth inning around a Moss one-out single stretched his pitch count past 100, and Joe Girardi pulled him for Dellin Betances in the seventh. Until recently, the Yankee bullpen has been a strength, but Dellin allowed a key run two nights ago, Adam Warren was lit up in the 10th inning later, and David Robertson has had two rough outings as well. But each of them battled through an inning, and the Yanks, who we knew would not score again, held on for the 2-1 win.
This took the game past four o’clock, but nobody cared, because first, what had been an ugly wet morning morphed into a gorgeous afternoon. And second, the start of the game was delayed briefly for something no one present minded: tributes to the career baseball man Don Zimmer, who after 66 years in the game, passed away yesterday at 83. If there is any controversy over this, it’s because he is beloved of so many teams and fan bases: Dodgers, Mets, Padres, Cubs, Yankees, Rays. Don was married to his still living wife on a baseball diamond in Elmira, New York many decades ago. RIP, Popeye, you will be missed.
But returning to the game, the Yanks, after falling to a .500 record in another ugly loss Wednesday night, moved their mark back into positive territory. They were put in that position by another super solid Tanaka start. And they prevailed because three of their best relievers survived a tough inning apiece.
They were picked up by their undeniable 2014 ace, Ma Kun. The A’s, however, did not roll over. They battled the tough righty throughout, particularly in the fourth and fifth innings. Tanaka was stretched to 26 pitches each frame. But when all was said and done, he prevailed through all
52, and he Picked Up his team.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!