Clearwater, FL., March 4 — A lot of good things happened as the Yanks won their fourth straight spring game Saturday, 10-5 over the Phillies in Clearwater. Carl Pavano pitched two effective, though not dominant, innings. Jeff Karstens and Luis Vizcaino threw well later in the game, 18-year-old outfield prospect Jose Tabata showed some signs in left, Melky Cabrera notched his first three hits of the campaign, and Kevin Whelan posted his second save is as many appearances.
On the other hand, these are only exhibition games, and although the Yanks amassed 15 hits and 10 runs, they garnered only two and zero against Cole Hamels, the only Phillies pitcher with significant positive stats in the bigs. The game was hardly a work of art, with two charged errors and a few other miscues. There were nine walks, not surprising when you realize that the hurlers on both teams fell behind in the count 3-0 a collective nine different times. Yankee southpaw Chase Wright actually turned in two effective innings despite throwing the first three pitches off the plate to the first, second, and third Phillies batters in the fifth. Home team Phillies hitters stroked at least one hit in all nine innings, with two in the seventh, and three (plus a walk and an error) off Mike Myers in the ninth.
Pavano was victimized by a Jimmy Rollins dunk into short left leading off the bottom of the first, with Jose Tabata making a game try at a shoestring catch. But Wil Nieves came up huge on the very next pitch, firing a perfect throw to shortstop Miguel Cairo to nab the speedy Rollins trying to steal. Featuring mostly two-seam fastballs, Pavano survived a walk in the first, but a free pass to Pat Burrell leading off the second cost him a run. A strong left-to-right wind lifted Wes Helms’s ensuing fly the opposite way to right further and further over Cabrera’s head, and when it glanced off his outstretched glove high against the wall, Rollins sped to third, from where he scored on a fielder’s choice. That wind gave but it took away too. Yankee third baseman Angel Chavez lost what should have been a home run to left in the second, and Tabata made a nice catch of an Aaron Rowand fly that stayed in the park under the same conditions in the sixth. Robbie Cano should have been awarded a double when his drive to the wall in the fourth was knocked down so dramatically that it eluded left fielder Jayson Werth.
With Hamels going three, the home team held that 1-0 lead until the top of the fifth. Melky got things started with his second of three singles, and Mientkiewicz worked a nine pitch walk off Anderson Garcia after falling behind 1-2. Nieves then showed bunt as Garcia threw ball one and two, then singled sharply past third on a hit and run. No speed merchant, Mientkiewicz looked to be an easy out at third, but he halted his slide briefly and stepped over Helms’s attempted tag. Damon singled in the second score, Nieves crossed on a Cairo 4-3 on which Miguel looked to be safe, and Tabata plated run number four with a single up the middle.
The Yanks then substituted freely, to no effect, as they added two runs in the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth. Bronson Sardinha’s two singles following Melky in right gave the Bombers five hits, an rbi, and three runs scored from that position. Kevin Reese, Chris Basak, Juan Miranda, and Raul Chavez added singles as well. Karstens allowed two hits over two, Vizcaino surrendered a run, and Colter Bean retired three of four.
But the big news in Yankee land, of course, was that Carl Pavano pitched two innings from a mound in a game and appeared to emerge unscathed. He threw 34 pitches, only 18 for strikes, not surprising considering the two walks. But he faced all nine Phillies, and only one of them hit the ball hard. That was Ryan Howard, who smacked a grounder to Robbie Cano to end the first. Retiring Howard on a ground ball is no black mark on any pitcher’s record.
The focus is on Pavano this spring. That can’t be avoided, and he’ll have to put up with the heat. He did so today, pitching effectively, and his team got a win. This would have been the 117th birthday of actress Pearl White, who starred almost a century ago in a series of weekly silent movie cliffhangers grouped under the title The Perils of Pauline. Audiences were dismayed as Pauline was menaced by one villain after another, and thrilled as she eventually escaped all of their clutches. The American League alone has up to 13 opposing teams ready to menace Carl’s pitches with their bats. I can hardly wait for the next chapter.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!