Bronx, N.Y., August 9, 2011 – The biggest upset in the Bronx on Tuesday night was that the Angels and Yanks started on time, played nine full innings, andd got no rain. But that was far from the thing(s) that caused the most upset.

First, there was another confounding start from A.J. Burnett, who pitched like an ace – until he didn’t. Given a quick lead on Curtis Granderson’s first-inning home run off
Anaheim right-hander Dan Haren, A.J. dominated the visitors early, pounding six strike outs through four scoreless frames, then survived back-to-back singles leading off the fifth.

He had a 1-0 lead through five having surrendered five hits but no walks. But then ex-Yank Bobby Abreu beat A.J. in a seven-pitch battle with a tying home run on a liner just over the wall in right. Did I say no walks? Well that part of Burnett’s night was over, and three outs later A.J. had walked three, and each scored. The second free pass was intentional but the one to rookie center fielder Peter Bourjos that followed it wasn’t. A two-run double gave the visitors the lead, and a wild pitch, seemingly an A.J. specialty, made it 4-1.

Also upsetting was the lack of offense following the Granderson home run. The home team managed just two more hits and two walks until Russell Marin doubled with two down in the seventh. But in an electrifying rally, the Bombers stroked three straight singles, the last a two-run base hit by Derek Jeter, following yet another Brett Grardner steal, and the game was tied 4-4.

A walk and a hit with two down in the bottom of the eighth got the crowd going but Martin bounced out to short. The Yanks appeared to be in ideal shape, as Cory Wade and David Roberston held the vistors down in the seventh and eighth, and the crowd buzzed when Mariano Rivera came on for the ninth.

Talk about upset. The first clue was that Mo was not throwing strikes. Chris Guccione behind home plate called none of his inside cutters to lefty batters Alberto Callaspo and Manny Aybar strikes. The former reached on a 2-2 single to right, but Rivera threw him out at second when Aybar bunted. But Aybar stole second and a grounder moved him to third. Which brought Abreu up.

Bobby arrived in New York two-thirds of the way through the 2011 season with five total home runs. Mo missed with two straight to him also, then again after a called strike. The fifth pitch left the park and the Angels were up 6-4. An “ex” had “axed” the Yanks.

The home team tried to rally against hard-throwing Jordan Walden on Nunez’s second hit and a one-out Jeter walk. Granderson forced Jeter at second but, desperate to get himself into scoring position, a tack that worked to perfection in the seventh, Granderson was picked off and tagged out in a rundown with a 1-2 count on Mark Teixeira. Yes, no doubt about it, “upset” was the word of the night.

Not the best of days in Yankee history, on August 9, 2001 young Yankee hurler Ted Lilly received a six-game suspension that made his manager Joe Torre ballistic. And on this day in 1987, Yankee catcher Rick Cerone pitched for the second time in two weeks in a 15-4 drubbing at the hands of the Tigers. Detroit beat the Yanks on August 9, 1996 as well, 5-3. Ironically, an ex-Yank beat the Bombers that day too, as Ruben Sierra, traded by New York to Detroit the week before, drove in all five runs.

August 9, 2011 would have been the 192 birthday of famed dentist William Thomas Green Morton as well. Morton is famous in his field for having been the first ever to administer ether to his patients. On this “upsetting” day, where do I sign up for that?

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!