09/20: Baseball No Match for Sabathia's Body; Yankees Clobber Mariners, 10-1
Posted by: Patrick
CC Sabathia was cruising on Saturday night, having allowed no runs and 3 hits through the first 4.2 innings. Then, we all got a bit of a scare when a liner back to the pitcher struck CC in the chest. It's a good thing he's such a big man: a shorter pitcher might have taken the ball in the face.
But, that was the only way the Mariners would be able to score. After Franklin Gutierrez reached first on the play, Jose Lopez hit a grounder to A-Rod that turned into a throwing error, leading to an unearned run. Sabathia then retired the final seven batters that he faced, yielding to Brian Bruney for the eighth.
Bruney and Jonathan Albaladejo threw back to back scoreless frames to end it, but not without a little drama. Bruney put runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out before settling down, while Albaladejo had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs before he did the same.
The offense gave the pitchers plenty of margin for error. Mark Teixiera drove in the first run, scoring Johnny Damon on his third triple in five games.
Hideki Matsui added a solo homer in the 4th, breaking the record for most home runs in a season by a Yankees DH. Don Baylor, with 25 in 1984, had set the previous mark.
The offense would make the biggest impact in the fifth, when Damon would drive in Francisco Cervelli and Mark Teixeira would clear the bases with a three run homer, bringing around Damon and Derek Jeter.
Cervelli would get his own RBI in the sixth on a single that brought Cano home. Melky would score Cano, as well, with a single in the eighth. Finally, the team added 2 more runs in the ninth, thanks to a second Mark Teixeira home run, solo this time, and a Freddy Guzman sacrifice fly that allowed Brett Gardner to score.
When it was all said and done, the Yankees had 10 runs on 18 hits and 3 walks. Teixiera led the way with a monster 4 for 5 day, including a triple, 2 home runs and 5 RBI. Cano was also 4 for 5 with 3 doubles and 2 runs. He now has 45 doubles, putting him in a tie for 9th all-time among Yankees single season leaders, with Matsui in 2005, Bob Meusel in 1928 and Babe Ruth in 1923. He'll be able to climb higher on the leader board at the 47 (Lou Gehrig, Gehrig again and Meusel), 48 (Don Mattingly), 51 (Alfonso Soriano), 52 (Gehrig) and 53 (Mattingly) marks.
Sabathia picks up win number 18, which leads the American League and ties him for the best in all of baseball with St. Louis' Adam Wainwright. The team has won his last 10 starts, with Sabathia going 8-0 in that stretch and his ERA falling from 3.83 to 3.31. He's now up to 220.1 innings pitched. The Yankees haven't had a pitcher throw that many since Randy Johnson threw 225.2 in 2005.
The Yankees magic number is 9. Today at 4:10 PM ET, we'll have Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.39) going against Ian Snell (6-10, 5.17) in the final game of the series with the Mariners.
Recap records: Seamus: 45–23, Patrick: 39–20, Andrew: 11–11
But, that was the only way the Mariners would be able to score. After Franklin Gutierrez reached first on the play, Jose Lopez hit a grounder to A-Rod that turned into a throwing error, leading to an unearned run. Sabathia then retired the final seven batters that he faced, yielding to Brian Bruney for the eighth.
Bruney and Jonathan Albaladejo threw back to back scoreless frames to end it, but not without a little drama. Bruney put runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out before settling down, while Albaladejo had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs before he did the same.
The offense gave the pitchers plenty of margin for error. Mark Teixiera drove in the first run, scoring Johnny Damon on his third triple in five games.
Hideki Matsui added a solo homer in the 4th, breaking the record for most home runs in a season by a Yankees DH. Don Baylor, with 25 in 1984, had set the previous mark.
The offense would make the biggest impact in the fifth, when Damon would drive in Francisco Cervelli and Mark Teixeira would clear the bases with a three run homer, bringing around Damon and Derek Jeter.
Cervelli would get his own RBI in the sixth on a single that brought Cano home. Melky would score Cano, as well, with a single in the eighth. Finally, the team added 2 more runs in the ninth, thanks to a second Mark Teixeira home run, solo this time, and a Freddy Guzman sacrifice fly that allowed Brett Gardner to score.
When it was all said and done, the Yankees had 10 runs on 18 hits and 3 walks. Teixiera led the way with a monster 4 for 5 day, including a triple, 2 home runs and 5 RBI. Cano was also 4 for 5 with 3 doubles and 2 runs. He now has 45 doubles, putting him in a tie for 9th all-time among Yankees single season leaders, with Matsui in 2005, Bob Meusel in 1928 and Babe Ruth in 1923. He'll be able to climb higher on the leader board at the 47 (Lou Gehrig, Gehrig again and Meusel), 48 (Don Mattingly), 51 (Alfonso Soriano), 52 (Gehrig) and 53 (Mattingly) marks.
Sabathia picks up win number 18, which leads the American League and ties him for the best in all of baseball with St. Louis' Adam Wainwright. The team has won his last 10 starts, with Sabathia going 8-0 in that stretch and his ERA falling from 3.83 to 3.31. He's now up to 220.1 innings pitched. The Yankees haven't had a pitcher throw that many since Randy Johnson threw 225.2 in 2005.
The Yankees magic number is 9. Today at 4:10 PM ET, we'll have Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.39) going against Ian Snell (6-10, 5.17) in the final game of the series with the Mariners.
Recap records: Seamus: 45–23, Patrick: 39–20, Andrew: 11–11
