A day after mustering just one hit off Roy Halladay, the Yankees offense was back in full force on Saturday. They took Brett Cecil to town, knocking him around for seven hits, including two homers, and three walks in 4.1 innings. Only a few missed opportunities with runners in scoring position kept them from blowing the game open. Andy Pettitte pitched well enough, and the Yankees took home a 6-4 victory.
Statistically, this was Pettitte’s worst start since the Red Sox hit him for seven runs over five innings a few weeks ago. Still, it wasn’t that bad in terms of results, especially considering when the runs scored. The Yankees led the entire time, save for a third of an inning where the Jays had tied it.
It was quite a short third of an inning, too. It ended on the very play on which Toronto tied it, as Robinson Cano relayed a throw home to get Jose Bautista at home — though he kinda looked safe. Mark Teixeira would give the Yankees the lead once again, leading off the next inning with a homer.
The one-run lead was in tact heading into the sixth, and the Yankees gave themselves some breathing room. With runners on first and second and two outs A-Rod slapped one back up the middle to plate a run. Posada followed with a single to right, giving the Yanks an airy three-run lead. That would prove important after the bottom of the inning.
The Yanks made a number of defensive miscues in this game, but I wouldn’t count Jose Bautista’s line drive in the sixth among them. Yes, Melky could have played that better, but it was a liner over his head, and he did a decent job of getting there. Adding to the difficulty of the play, the ball was going from sunshine to shade. It wasn’t the cleanest defensive play, but it’s tough to begrudge Melky for it. Not many center fielders would have caught that.
The Jays added two runs on that play, but the Yanks bullpen would make sure that one-run lead stuck. After having troubles with the first hitter he faced, David Robertson settled down and retired the next three hitters. The kid has definitely earned his promotion in the pecking order.
Brian Bruney came out to hold the one-run lead in the eighth, and he showed flashes of himself from earlier this year. It’s thankful that he was to face the latter end of the order, but Cito Gaston threw a monkey wrench in that by pinch hitting Adam Lind. Bruney took care of that, though, blowing a fastball by the lefty for strike three. He did himself no favors by walking Bautista, but Phil Hughes, after a couple days off, was ready to go for the four-out save. A strikeout of pinch hitter Travis Snider led to the ninth.
As mentioned, the Yanks made a number of defensive misplays, and also an offensive one. The first one came in the fifth when Aaron Hill bounced one back to Pettitte. Andy turned and fired to second, and Derek Jeter had to scramble to grab the ball and not let it go into center field. Robinson Cano was the man to cover on that play, but he apparently did not know that. Poor form, but it looked like Mick Kelleher straightened it out with him after the inning.
The next was Pettitte’s own fault. On the Bautista liner over Melky’s head, Pettitte ran to back up home plate. Unfortunately, it was clear that Edwin Encarnacion, whom Pettitte made the mistake of walking, would score. Pettitte should have been backing up third, and if he had he might have been able to recover the inaccurate throw. He was still behind home plate, though, and Bautista scored on the overthrow.
The offensive miscue came in the top of the eighth. Scott Downs didn’t look particularly effective. He hit Mark Teixeira in the foot with a pitch, and then walked Alex Rodriguez on four pitches, loading the bases for Jorge Posada. Downs threw two straight balls to Posada, marking his seventh straight out of the zone. So what did Posada do? Swung at the next pitch, far from an ideal one, bouncing it up the middle. Marco Scutaro did make a great play to start the inning-ending double play, but that doesn’t mean Posada was right to swing at the pitch. On a grass field that play likely would have been a lot easier.
The Yankees did hit the ball hard all night, and every starter except Hairston picked up a base hit. They hit a decent 5 for 19 with runners in scoring position, but man, when you put that many men on second and third, you’d like to bring a few more of them home. Again, the Yanks let the Jays off the hook a few times, and it nearly came back to bite them. The revamped bullpen, though, helped avert disaster.
Series closer tomorrow, Sergio Mitre, on some long rest, against Brian Tallet. Funny, when Tallet entered the rotation from the pen earlier in the year, I thought it would be a temporary thing — a band-aid for a hurting pitching staff. He’s made it all the way to September, though it hasn’t all been pretty. Yanks go for the series win at 1:00.
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