07/24: Yankees Win 4th Straight Game in Opener vs. Royals
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees jumped ahead early, scoring two in the first on a two-run single by Hideki Matsui and two more in the second on a two-run double by Johnny Damon. They wouldn't score again until they put up a 5 spot in the 9th, but they didn't need it as the Rocket turned back the clock (well, not really), allowing only two runs, one scoring on a wild pitch and the other on a home run via Ross Gload.
Alex Rodriguez added RBI #100 in the 9th with a base hit that scored Johnny Damon. Kind of odd that I'm mentioning this in July, and more incredible that even through two-thirds of the season, Rodriguez is still on pace for a whopping 165 RBI (165.306 to be exact but that's not possible).
The Yanks will go for five in a row tonight as Chien-Ming Wang will take the mound against Scott Elarton. Elarton is 2-3 with a 9.17 E.R.A. in eight starts this season. Game starts at 8:10 ET.
And lastly, I know this is a Yankee site but kudos to Jon Lester, who won in his first appearance in nearly a year after a battle with cancer. I was kinda hoping he'd pitch an 8-inning shutout performance before Papelbon or someone in the bullpen coughed up the lead in the 9th, but even as a Yankee fan I gotta be happy for the guy. It's a shame but sometimes it takes things like that for people to realize that we're talking about a game here.

James wrote: