Bronx, N.Y., May 8, 2007 — Overcoming their anger and frustration at a Monday loss that should not have happened, the Yanks recovered to beat the Texas Rangers 8-2 on a pleasant but cool Tuesday evening in Yankee Stadium. A blown call of rare proportions Monday had soured the mood among players and fans alike. The home team’s repeated failures to produce with men in scoring position had left them vulnerable, and Adrian Beltre made Mariano Rivera pay.
But each game is a new adventure, and veteran southpaw Andy Pettitte was determined to leave the frustration behind. Pettitte was inconsistent to start Tuesday, and though he survived doubles in both the first and second innings, the Rangers reached him after Michael Young’s one-out, two-base-hit in the third. DH Sammy Sosa drove Young in with a hard single to left center, but then Pettitte’s defense picked him up. Hank Blalock followed with his second double in as many innings. Wasting no time, Bobby Abreu recovered the tracer from the right field corner and found cutoff man Robby Cano, who delivered a strike to Jorge Posada. The Yankee catcher tagged Sosa’s foot sliding in and the inning was over.
That was six hits (with four two-baggers) and one run over three innings. But by the time Pettitte turned it over to the bullpen after seven, the Rangers had added just one hit (would you believe a Sosa double?) and no runs. Andy turned in a workmanlike performance, throwing 18 of 29 first-pitch strikes on a strikes/balls ratio of 66/42. He struggled to find his best curve and cutter, but he had a good fastball and used it often. The 11 swings and misses he got from Rangers batters contributed to just two late walks with four K’s. Mark Teixeira was Pettitte’s victim twice, and he struck out four straight times on the night after reaching on a bloop to short center in the first.
The Yankees responded to the Texas tally right away, and once again it was the surging Doug Mientkiewicz who got things started. Had the Bombers held on for Monday’s should-have-been win, it would have been on Doug’s rbi double, one of two he stroked, that got them the lead. And he homered against the Rangers to start a win in a double header sweep a week ago. Mientkiewicz lined a 2-1 Mike Woods curve just left of second to start the home third. Moving to second on a fielder’s choice, he crossed the plate to knot the score at 1-1 when Derek Jeter doubled into the left field corner. The Yanks then took a 3-1 lead when Alex Rodriguez, on first on a hit by pitch, scored with Jeter on Hideki Matsui’s rocketed liner to center. This was rightly ruled an error once it glanced off Jerry Hairston’s glove, but it was flat-out pummeled.
And Doug stirred the Yankee attack yet again in the fourth, this time with two outs and no one on. He lined a single to left, and raced to third on Johnny Damon’s double past first. We’ll never know if Doug could have scored on that hit, as a “fan” in the corner reached out and touched the still-in-play ball. That he was immediately escorted from the park I applaud; that he’ll likely be back again soon angers me almost as much as the relentless and daily swarms of fans who delight in performing the Wave of late. Kudos to the vets in the right field bleachers who repeatedly blunted the attempts at one that would circle the park and (who knows?) continue all game. Jeter followed with his second straight 1-0 rbi hit, but left fielder Nelson Cruz wasted no time in pegging a fine throw home that caught Damon after Doug had scored for a 4-1 lead.
Mientkiewicz has proven his value repeatedly over the season’s first five weeks, but until recently it has been almost exclusively with his defense. In the top of the fifth, he shone in that aspect yet again. Gerald Laird dragged a bunt past Pettitte to start the frame. Doug saw his only chance and charged. He and Andy almost collided, but Doug darted toward the line with the ball; his dive forced Laird to leave his feet. The bad news was that the Texas catcher evaded the tag, but he had dove past the bag as well. In cases like this where athletes go careening past their objectives and need to recoil and retrace their steps, desire usually wins out. Mientkiewicz was first up and his leap and tag of the first base bag finished Laird before he could recover. Pettitte coaxed an 0-2 popup from Hairston, one that came down in the Yankee first baseman’s glove. Then Young drilled a two-hopper in the hole but Doug’s full-body dive did the trick. 3-UA, popup to 3, 3-UA. After fueling the first two Yankee rallies, Mientkiewicz had now become a one-man wrecking crew on defense too.
The Bombers put it out of reach in the bottom half, first when Alex Rodriguez homered deep to right center after a Giambi leadoff walk. Jason batted third this night with Abreu down to seventh, hopefully to work things out. Though Giambi did not do much, Bobby continues to struggle, a single and a walk this game notwitstanding. Matsui and Posada walked and singled, respectively, following the home run. Robby Cano, who has been struggling himself, delivered one run with the first of his two doubles, and three of four times he lashed the ball hard toward right field. The fourth run of the frame, and the Yanks’ last of the game, scored on a first-pitch sac fly by Mientkiewicz, yet again.
The big 8-2 win restored order and confidence to the Yankee clubhouse. Their own failings aside, the team really did deserve to win the Monday game, and young Matt DeSalvo a win in his debut, but umpire Gerry Davis “pulled a rock.” Ironically, it was 10 years ago tomorrow (May 9) that I last saw an umpire error of this magnitude cost the home team a win in Yankee Stadium. With KC’s Jay Bell trapped off third, Dale Ford called Bell out once he saw him pass a player (on his way to the dugout) who had been retired earlier in the play. Once he realized his error, Ford awarded Bell a third base bag he had stood no chance of reaching, the Royals tied the score on the next play, and they beat the Pinstripers in extra innings. Joe Torre was so livid that he was tossed from the next two games running.
And though we’re happy Mr. Mientkiewicz is proving some detractors (me included) wrong, congrats to Andy Pettitte too. Win number two on his second Bronx tour has been a long time coming, with a spent pen blowing lead after lead. The starts are getting longer, the relievers have been catching a break, and the Yanks have won six of eight. Young starters Darrell Rasner and Matt DeSalvo have been a godsend. It was 11 years ago this day during the glorious Yanlkee 1996 season that Doc Gooden won his first American League game. With Pettitte winning his second since returning from the NL, and Roger Clemens on the road to returning after his NL sojourn, things are looking up.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!