06/21: Yanks 9, Howard 7
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees were six outs away from being single-handedly beaten by Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, but the bats finally came through in some big spots as the Yankees defeated the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park by a score of 9-7. The Yankees kept pace with the Red Sox, who beat Washington, remaining two games behind. The Yankees also trail the White Sox by 5.5 games for the A.L. Wild Card spot.
The wheels started turning in the Phillies' favor in the first inning, when Pat Burrell was walked with two outs on a curveball by Mike Mussina that was obviously a strike. The next batter, Ryan Howard, destroyed the first pitch by Mussina for a three-run homer to give the Phillies the early lead. The Yankees chipped away with a one-run 2nd and a two-run 4th to tie the game at 3 before Howard launched another ball into the seats, this time a two-run shot in the bottom of the 4th to put Philly ahead 5-3. Jorge Posada homered to right in the 6th and A-Rod knocked in Johnny Damon with a base hit to tie the score at 5 in the 7th inning, only again to feel the wrath of Ryan Howard, who drove in all 7 Phillies' runs, this time via a two-run triple that put Philadelphia ahead 7-5. The Yankees would come back again in the 8th, highlighted by a two-run, go-ahead triple by Johnny Damon after an RBI single by Melky Cabrera. Damon was brought home by Derek Jeter to put the Yankees up for good, 9-7. Mariano Rivera pitched two perfect innings to record his 14th save, finally retiring Ryan Howard, getting him to ground out to second on the first pitch.
Mike Mussina gave up 5 runs in only five innings, but his performance really wasn't as bad as the box score would lead you to believe. Other than the two home runs to Howard, I thought he was okay. Mussina was pinch-hit for in the 6th inning with the Yanks down a run with a man in scoring position. The bullpen, while not flawless, was for the most part OK despite the two run triple to Howard allowed by Mike Myers. Kinda hard to say whether the pitching was good or bad overall. Seven runs is seven runs, but if it weren't for one guy, the Yankees could have very well shut the Phillies out.
Every Yankee starting position player recorded a hit, including Bernie Williams, who went 5-5 and raised his average to .294. He's just a 2-for-2 away from reaching the .300 plateau and I'm starting to feel more comfortable everyday with him in the lineup. If the Yankees do decide to go out and acquire an outfielder before the deadline it looks like Melky's going to be the odd man out as of now, but hey, in his defense there's still a month to go for the two to turn a complete 180.
The Yankees will try to take the rubber game of this series as Jaret Wright will take on rookie Cole Hamels tonight at 7:05 ET. Hamel is 1-2 with a 4.91 in five starts this season. Wright will try to bounce back from an ugly performance in Washington on Friday in which he failed to get out of the 6th inning. Hopefully the Yanks can escape Philly with two out of three before taking on the red hot Florida Marlins.
The wheels started turning in the Phillies' favor in the first inning, when Pat Burrell was walked with two outs on a curveball by Mike Mussina that was obviously a strike. The next batter, Ryan Howard, destroyed the first pitch by Mussina for a three-run homer to give the Phillies the early lead. The Yankees chipped away with a one-run 2nd and a two-run 4th to tie the game at 3 before Howard launched another ball into the seats, this time a two-run shot in the bottom of the 4th to put Philly ahead 5-3. Jorge Posada homered to right in the 6th and A-Rod knocked in Johnny Damon with a base hit to tie the score at 5 in the 7th inning, only again to feel the wrath of Ryan Howard, who drove in all 7 Phillies' runs, this time via a two-run triple that put Philadelphia ahead 7-5. The Yankees would come back again in the 8th, highlighted by a two-run, go-ahead triple by Johnny Damon after an RBI single by Melky Cabrera. Damon was brought home by Derek Jeter to put the Yankees up for good, 9-7. Mariano Rivera pitched two perfect innings to record his 14th save, finally retiring Ryan Howard, getting him to ground out to second on the first pitch.
Mike Mussina gave up 5 runs in only five innings, but his performance really wasn't as bad as the box score would lead you to believe. Other than the two home runs to Howard, I thought he was okay. Mussina was pinch-hit for in the 6th inning with the Yanks down a run with a man in scoring position. The bullpen, while not flawless, was for the most part OK despite the two run triple to Howard allowed by Mike Myers. Kinda hard to say whether the pitching was good or bad overall. Seven runs is seven runs, but if it weren't for one guy, the Yankees could have very well shut the Phillies out.
Every Yankee starting position player recorded a hit, including Bernie Williams, who went 5-5 and raised his average to .294. He's just a 2-for-2 away from reaching the .300 plateau and I'm starting to feel more comfortable everyday with him in the lineup. If the Yankees do decide to go out and acquire an outfielder before the deadline it looks like Melky's going to be the odd man out as of now, but hey, in his defense there's still a month to go for the two to turn a complete 180.
The Yankees will try to take the rubber game of this series as Jaret Wright will take on rookie Cole Hamels tonight at 7:05 ET. Hamel is 1-2 with a 4.91 in five starts this season. Wright will try to bounce back from an ugly performance in Washington on Friday in which he failed to get out of the 6th inning. Hopefully the Yanks can escape Philly with two out of three before taking on the red hot Florida Marlins.
Jason wrote:
I like our chances. It's never a bad bet to be purely contrary to the opinions expressed on that gabfest.