Bronx, N.Y., June 18, 2010 — It’s official. Jamie Moyer really is not Cy Young reborn. He may be a hypnotist, but the pitching spell he weaved around Yankee bats Wednesday night stuck around Thursday long after he finished pitching. Kyle Kendrick, a sinker balller with a 4.69 era and 1.440 WHIP over a four-year career (against lighter-hitting NL lineups), buzzed some pitches near 90, but the effect on the Yankee offense was the same as the night before.
The superb Andy Pettitte took the loss in the 7-1 Philly victory, a final that sounds more dominating than it was because the Yankee bullpen handed the visitors four runs in the top of the ninth. Not fair to Andy certainly, but the sad truth is this the two-run lead the Phils had previously seemed much too high a mountain to climb anyway.
Pettitte and Kendrick zipped through the early innings, though the Yanks threatened in the second once Robbie Cano singled with one down and Nick Swisher walked. But Kendrick retired Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli without breaking a sweat, and the home team wouldn’t manage another baserunner until Cisco singled with two down in fifth. Ramiro Pena, playing third with Alex Rodriguez DH’ing again, popped out to close that frame. In a game where the offense amounted to four singles and two walks, the light-hitting Pena was hardly the only problem. But the popup came on a 2-0 pitch and he bounced to second in seventh at 3-1. Whatever happened to trying to work a walk when the team is struggling for runs?
Unfortunately, that was not the only negative aspect of Ramiro’s night. Pettitte dominated the first nine Phillies batters on a tidy 31 pitches, but Shane Victorino took his 32nd pitch to right for a single to start the top of the fourth. Struggling Chase Utley popped out and Placido Polanco stroked a slow roller toward third. Not a classic double play ball by any means, Pena rushed to grab it only to have it roll under his glove and into left field. Ryan Howard followed with a single and the Phils led 1-0 on an unearned run. It was Victorino again the next inning. Andy issued his first walk to catcher Carlos Ruiz and once he made second on a fielder’s choice, Shane lashed a 2-2 Pettitte pitch past the foul pole in left for a 3-0 lead.
The game was over, in effect, though Pettitte did some fine escape work in the sixth and seventh, and who could have expected the Yankees would barely stir over five frames? The team retains its share of first place largely on its great starting pitching, but it has shown none of the resilience of last year’s bunch. A deficit in any but the early innings virtually assures a loss, as they seem to have no comeback in them. Once Pettitte escaped two sixth-inning singles by striking out the side, however, they did rally for one run. Mark Teixeira walked with two outs, then scored on A-Rod and Cano singles. But it died there as Polanco made a great play on a Nick Swisher foul popup over the tarp next to the stands past third. We had seen the last Yankee baserunner of the night, as Kendrick, one-time Yank Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero retired the next nine.
Kendrick allowed four singles and two walks on 110 pitches through seven. Pettitte worked seven innings too, on two less pitches, allowing two earned runs with three walks and seven strike outs. He had a good moment, two of them actually, as early strikes outs of Utley and Jayson Werth tied, then passed Ron Guidry for the all-time lead in strike outs by Yankee pitchers, with 1,779. It’s interesting that Andy caught Louisiana Lighning on June 17, because it was this day 32 years ago that Gator struck out 18 California Angels for the one-game Yankee high. Guidry should not expect Andy to take that record too.
The less said about the top of the ninth the better, but it needs to be reported that the bad inning owed its start to the up-and-down Joba Chamberlain. Ruiz hit his second consecutive leadoff double on Joba’s first pitch. Philly Manager Charlie Manuel may not look like the sharpest guy out there, but he bested Joe Girardi next. The Yanks had pulled the wheel play, with shortstop Jeter breaking for third, as Ruiz was sacrificed to third in the seventh. With the Yanks set up to use it again, Manuel had Wilson Valdez hit away and he stroked an rbi single into the vacated shortstop hole. Three walks, two sac flies, and a double followed, with Damaso Marte and Chan-Ho Park joining in on the pitching fun. The Yanks finally escaped the carnage on the “you don’t see that every day” moment of the night, as running from second, Raul Ibanez was hit by Ben Francisco’s struck ball, prompting Derek Jeter to run off the field, though the umpires needed a few-minute meeting to confirm the call.
Ten years ago this day the Yanks lost 10-9 to the White Sox despite seven rbi’s by gone but not forgotten Bernie Williams. The run total seems unthinkable coming off two nights of offensive sleep walking in the Bronx. And the Bombers lost the year before that, too, falling 4-2 to the Rangers despite Roger Clemens’s 12 strike outs, as the unfortunate Chili Davis hit not only into a double play but a triple play too. Chili called it a “bad biorhythm day,” something the 2010 team can claim on back-to-back days now.
I’m sure the team will start scoring runs again, and soon I hope. The on-a-tear Mets will probably be able to fly to New York without a plane following back-to-back road series sweeps, and New York and Yankee Stadium become tense places for pinstriped fans if the crosstown rivals do well in the Bronx. Yesterday was the 69th birthday of Detroit performer and uber-songwriter Lamont Dozier. With apologies to the whole Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team and the Supremes for using a title near that of their 1964 Motown hit, this is one Yankee fan wondering,
Where Did Our “O” Go?
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!