Bronx, N.Y., April 16, 2010 — The Yankees took the rubber game of their third straight three-game series Thursday night, beating Anaheim 6-2 in a game that turned listless once Yankee power had taken control. All of major league baseball honored Jackie Robinson this day, the 63rd anniversary of the day that he broke the color barrier in baseball. But the Yankees took it one step further, as their second baseman, who has carried the first name “Robinson” in honor of Jackie his whole life, hit two home runs and drove in three runs against Anaheim lefty Scott Kazmir. Rewarded with the number five spot in the order beginning this season, Robinson Cano has been on fire at the plate.
Yankee shortstop and Captain Derek Jeter homered on the third pitch of the bottom of the third inning, just as he had in the series-opening win over Anaheim Tuesday afternoon. Newly acquired center fielder Curtis Granderson had a great game too, throwing ex-Yank Hideki Matsui out at the plate in the fourth and tripling twice for a run and an rbi, with the first three-bagger coming off the Angels’ lefty starter.
Perhaps of more importance to the team’s management and its fanbase, however, young Phil Hughes, fresh off his win in the battle to be the team’s fifth starter, turned in a credible performance in his first start of the year to earn the win. Phil walked five, and his pitch count zoomed past 100 as he faced and failed to retire the first two visiting batters in the sixth inning. But he allowed just three hits and two runs and he struck out six, largely relying on his fastball and cutter. It wasn’t a bad season debut following two weeks of not much activity.
Ex-Yank Hideki Matsui put Hughes and the Yanks behind 1-0 with a homer into the Yankee bullpen in his first at bat, but the fans are still just too in love with what Matsui brought to this team during his stay not to cheer when he delivers, even against their team. It was rightly recorded as a tally in the visiting second, but it “felt” like he was still powering balls out of the park for the home team, that it was the precusor to the other Yankee thunder that would follow.
Hughes’s 65/41 strikes/balls ratio was adequate, though it was of course cool that the strike total matched the number on his back, or at least the number he wears pitching for the Yanks on all days but this one (when every player wore Robinson’s number 42). Phil featured his fastball and cutter mostly, seemingly saving the new change of pace that won him the starter job for Matsui once he took something harder out in the top of the second. Phil threw 12 of 22 first-pitch srrikes, but he was called for the rare balk by home plate ump Jerry Layne in the sixth.
Along with the Cano power show, Jeter’s homer and two rbi’s, and Grandy’s three-base-hit prowess, Marcus Thames subbed for Brett Gardner yet again, DHing this time as Randy Winn got the start in left field and failed to do anything (0-for-4 with a strike out) at the plate. Thames’s second-inning double carried to the 399 mark in left center, perhaps a longer shot than all four home runs in the game. David Robertson recovered from surrendering a Tuesday grand slam and struck out three of six batters, Damaso Marte got a key strike out of Bobby Abreu, and Joba Chamberlain both coaxed a dp ball and started a nifty 1-6-3 to get the Yanks out of the seventh inning. He allowed a walk and an infield single in the ninth, however, forcing Mariano Rivera to come on and get a one-out save.
Aside from being the anniversary of Robinson’s courageous act in 1947, this was the 34th anniversary of the day old Yankee Stadium reopened in 1976 after two years’ worth of repairs (they beat the Twins 11-4). The team played two seasons in Shea Stadium back then, interestingly the same place they faced this same Angels squad 12 years ago once several of the two teams’ games in the Bronx were cancelled after a beam fell in the old place. The team beat the Angels 6-3 in Shea twelve years ago in the midst of one of their best ever seasons. Perhaps the fact that they beat them by one more run this time around is an omen of another great season to come.
On April 12, 1969, classic NBC sitcom Get Smart had its last show on that network following a successful four-year run. It’s anyone’s guess what a successful standout 2010 Yankee season would be following last year’s 27th Championship and the 114 regular-season games they won back in 1998. But coming off the trio of 2-1 series wins,
“Would you believe 108-54?”
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!