Ben Francisco would drive in all three Phillies runs, but he had no chance against high cheese from Dellin Betances.

Tampa, Fla., February 27, 2011 — Anyone checking for a midgame score of Sunday’s Yankee game vs. the Phillies at Clearwater and discovering Yankee leads of 2-0, then 6-0, might have assumed the Bombers were kicking butt. But although the Phillies never really threatened in the eventual 7-3 Yankee victory, this was no Bombers blowout. Both teams pitched well; the Yanks simply did so for a longer period of time.

The Yanks outhomered the Phils two to one, and outhit them seven to five. But entering the sixth inning, the New York visitors had a 2-0 lead on just one hit, Curtis Granderson’s two-run homer in the fourth. Curtis, upset when home plate umpire David Rackling called him out on a 1-2 Joe Blanton pitch in the first inning, jumped on Justin De Fratus’s first offering to him in the fourth and pounded it the other way over the left field fence in front of Frenchy’s Tiki Bar.

This was a two-run blast because Brett Gardner had reached for the second straight time on a leadoff walk. Jorge Posada and Jesus Montero had made bids for base hits in the second, but Placido Polanco short-circuited each, with a diving catch and throw to get Po, and by being in the right place when Jesus lined hard that way after fouling off five two-strike pitches.

Gardner, who would have 11 of 13 pitches thrown to him off the plate, was the lone baserunner before Curtis went yard, and he made the Phillies’ pitchers pay. Posada walked after the Grandy bomb, but the Yanks were still at one hit when righty Michael Schwimer fell behind Gardner again leading off the sixth. Up 3-1 in the count this time, however, the Yankee left fielder lashed the next pitch over third into the left field corner, and Nick Swisher doubled past Ryan Howard at first for a 3-0 lead. Granderson bounced a 3-1 pitch meekly toward first, and as quickly as you can say the name “Bill Buckner,” the ball trickled through Howard for a 4-0 lead. Posada followed with an rbi double, and Montero singled in pinch runner Daniel Brewer for the 6-0 lead.

All of which detracts from this game’s true highlights. Ivan Nova was dominant in two frames, and with Sergio Mitre, who followed, managed to coax six grounders, two strikeouts (both Nova’s) and a popout on 31 tosses through three. Of note was Mitre’s first offering of the third, which deflected off Montero’s glove and rolled to the screen, prompting an immediate visit to the mound by what we all hope is the team’s catching future. If you’re thinking I see the face time with a veteran pitcher as a positive, good for you.

Betances followed Joba Chamberlain from yesterday's game in making short work of infielder Wilson Valdez.

Boone Logan worked through a one-hit fourth, and then Dellin Betances arrived for his closeup. Looking for a negative? Well, the 3-2 walk to Carlos Ruiz and 22 pitches in one inning will have to do. Betances was electric and overpowering, pounded upper 90s heat, and struck out the side. That closed the fifth, and the Yanks blew the game open in the sixth. Adam Warren followed by allowing one run in two innings, and veteran invitee and lefty Andrew Sisco pitched a fine eighth inning. The Phils reached Buddy Carlyle for a two-run homer in the ninth, but not before Jorge Vazquez upped the Yank total to 7 runs on his second home run in as many days.

Jorge Vazquez obviously did not get the memo that as a first baseman he has little future in the Bronx with his second fence clearer in two days.

So even at a win and a loss, the Yanks are off to face the Tigers in Lakeland tomorrow. The mercury broke 83 degrees at 1:59 this afternoon under a dazzling cloudless sky, and the weatherman promises more of the same for tomorrow. Staff ace CC Sabathia gets the rock. The Yanks like to trot out their young arms on the road, away from legions of Yankee fans at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, as they did with Phil Hughes in Dunedin a few years ago, and Betances today. Any chance Manny Banuelos makes the trip tomorrow?

BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!