Source: FanGraphs
The much-hyped CC Sabathia-R.A. Dickey matchup turned out to be a total dud, with both starters allowing five runs while failing to pitch beyond the sixth. The battle of the bullpens turned into a win for the Yankees, their second straight and fifth of the 2012 Subway Series. Let’s recap…
- Five Outs: It’s tough enough to win when you have to get three outs in an inning, but it’s damn near impossible when you have to get five. The Mets tied the game with a three-run sixth after Robinson Cano failed to field a ground ball for the second out and Mark Teixeira was unable to reel in a ground ball for the final out. Obviously Sabathia did himself no favors by walking Vinny Rottino on four pitches, but every infielder misplayed a ball in the last two nights. Those miscues are killers. Seriously.
- RISPWIN: We know all about the team’s struggles with runners in scoring position this season, but everyone seems to forget that the Yankees have a men on scoring position even when no one is on base. They’re a club built to hit the ball out of the park, which is exactly what Cano did leading off the eighth. Miguel Batista fell behind in the count, left a pitch up in the zone, and bam. The game was untied. There’s your big hit with a man in scoring position.
- Bullpen Work: Cory Wade allowed the game-tying single in that sixth inning, but after that the relief corps retired ten of the final 13 men they faced including five on strikeouts. Boone Logan recorded four outs without allowing a baserunner while David Robertson and Rafael Soriano each pitched around singles. Another great job by those guys, they won the battle of the bullpens.
- Leftovers: Sabathia failed to complete six innings for the first time this season and only one of the five runs he allowed was earned … I thought they should have sent Mark Teixeira on Raul Ibanez’s single in the second; you have to push the envelope against a great pitcher with Chris Stewart and the pitcher due up … Teixeira’s sacrifice fly and Nick Swisher’s three-run homer gave the Yankees a quick and unexpected lead against Dickey, who was on a ridiculous roll coming into the game …every non-pitcher in the starting lineup reached base at least once except for Derek Jeter and Stewart … the Yankees hit seven homers in the three-game series and all seven cleared the old CitiField dimensions.
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerd score, and ESPN the updated stats. Every team in the AL East won today except for the Blue Jays, so the Yankees remain on top of the AL East by three in the loss column. The Indians — another first place team — come to the Bronx for a three-game set starting Monday; it’ll be Hiroki Kuroda against Josh Tomlin. Check out RAB Tickets if you want to catch that one.