Yanks hold on for 12-8 win over Tigers

August 8, 2012 by Mike Axisa 42 Comments

I was unable to watch Wednesday night’s game and didn’t catch more than the first inning or two on the radio, but it sure looks like I picked a good game to skip. I hear there was some defensive funny business going on in that four-run seventh inning for the Tigers and I don’t quite understand why CC Sabathia would be lifted after just 94 pitches with a four-run lead, but hopefully he’s not hurt. There would have been hell to pay had they fully blown a seven-run lead, especially after the quick hook.

The new-look top of the lineup apparently worked wonders, as the top six hitters in the order went a combined 14-for-27 (.519) with a double, a homer, four walks, and two strikeouts. Curtis Granderson was a triple away from the cycle after slumping pretty hard these last three weeks or so. Oh, and there was some hit-batsmen nonsense early on — I heard that much on the radio — that resulted in a warning for both sides. Robinson Cano took a pitch to the backside and eventually came around to score, which is always the sweetest revenge.

I’m sure it was ugly, but the Yankees got the win on Wednesday and that’s all that matters. No one is looking for style points these days. MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerd score, and ESPN the updated standings. Both the Orioles and Rays won as well, so they remain five and six games back in the loss column, respectively. The Yankees and Tigers will wrap up this four-game series on Thursday afternoon, when Hiroki Kuroda gives it a go against Doug Fister. Rumor has it that the weather may not cooperate.

forensic

Defense and baserunning anyone? Maybe they can go back in time to ST and practice some more.

I didn’t have a huge issue with lifting CC when he did. The last couple of games it seems like he’s starting struggling a bit late in games, though earlier than he usually gets tired for some reason. It is weird that after leaving Nova and Hughes in too long the last two nights that he pulled CC arguably too early tonight, though.

Quick, move Granderson back up to leadoff to mess with him again!
- Laz
  
  CC hasn’t been quite on his game all year.
- Bavarian Yankee
  
  I don’t know why you think the baserunning was bad, I thought that was some of the best baserunning for quite a while. Finally taking some chances instead of playing it safe all the time.
  - forensic
    
    Sending guys home finally instead of holding everyone at 3rd was good. I was more referring to the two terrible pickoffs of Swisher and Ichiro.
RetroRob

Didn’t see a single pitch, but was checking in by phone just as CC was pulled and Robertson came in and seemingly gave up four straight hits, or something. Still not sure what happened there.

Glad it turned out to be a W.
- DT
  
  With D-Rob, A “single” that hit off Tex’s glove, then a soft grounder, an infield single and then a soft line drive into the OF. Basically the Tigers got 4 hits while making terrible contact and hitting maybe one ball hard.
  - RetroRob
    
    Thanks. Was just in the process of looking for a replay of that inning.
DT

The 7th inning was the most BS, lucky, annoying 4 run rally i have seen this year…
- Need Pitching & Hitting
  
  classic Murphy’s law type of inning
captain kiwi

i have the utmost faith in hiroki tomorrow.
Brian S.

The Orioles are calling up Manny Machado.
- forensic
  
  Eh, know he’s highly rated but not exactly an overly impressive triple slash in AA right now and they’re apparently going to have him try a new position in the majors. You can get bonus points in prospect rankings for your age, but it means nothing in the majors when you need results.
  - Laz
    
    Not quite sure on the need to rush him. He isn’t doing great in AAA. His obp isnt bad, but still, he is a top talent, and just turned 20. He is talented but at this point is he really better than their other infielders?
    - Mandy Stankiewicz
      
      Maybe they’re hoping that 2012’s rookie sensations come in 3’s…
Kiko Jones

It was looking early on like the CC Sabathia show but a managerial miscue and sloppy defense on the Yankees’ part, while a persistent Tigers offense chipped away at a 7-run lead, resulted in a classic American League slugfest. (At least as far as the final score is concerned.) No matter what side of this one you were on, it wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure.
But the Yankees ended up in the win column; The Grandy Man can and did, as he was a triple shy of the cycle; Chavez is on fire at the plate; and we caught a glimpse of how many runs this team can score when they are productive in RISP situations. (Which is kinda bittersweet, actually, when you think of how much they fail in that regard.)
VT Yankee Fan

Games like this are why baseball’s unwritten rules are stupid.
- Tom
  
  This was all about Anibal Sanchez being stupid.
  
  I doubt the Tex HBP was intentional (struck me as a move him off the plate pitch). I’m not ever sure the Fielder HBP was intentional (it looked like CC did not mean it from his reaction after the pitch), but even if it was intentional, it becomes a 1 for 1 and it ends there (or should).
  
  Sanchez was just reading from the Cole Hammel F’d up “old school” logic. My guess was that he wanted to impress the new team and show that he had their backs. Perhaps he should figure out that not shitting the bed is a better way to impress your new team (as opposed to drilling batters and putting your own hitters in harms way).
  
  Not that they will, but I hope the Yankees retaliate tomorrow for the Cano HBP. They now are tied for for the highest HBP while the pitchers are among the lowest in terms of opposition hitters plunked.
  - Bunt Gardner
    
    You just said Sanchez shouldn’t have been “drilling batters and putting your own hitters in harms way”, but yet you hope they retaliate for Cano? Doesn’t your advice hold true for the Yankees as well? The last thing NY needs to do right now is give Detroit free base runners.
    - jjyank
      
      This. I am almost never in favor of retaliation for HBPs. Just win the damn games, I do not want free base runners. Seriously, we fans have been bitching about how the Yankees have been scuffling of late, and you want to make it easier for Detroit to score runs? No thank you.
      - toad
        
        Me too.
        
        And I’d like to see umps get as tough as possible on any deliberate HBP. There is nothing dumber than seeing a pitcher give up a HR and then plunk the next batter. That’s nothing but a temper tantrum, and ought to be punished.
Rich in NJ

Removing CC there, barring something he said to Girardi, was inexplicable, but the offense came through, thanks in large part to Chavez, who has been invaluable lately.
OMG! Bagels!

I didn’t see much of the game but Hiroki pitched a great game against Felix and deserves to win tomorrow.
- forensic
  
  So how he pitches tomorrow doesn’t matter, he deserves a win against Detroit no matter what because he pitched well against Seattle 5 days ago?
  - Rich in NJ
    
    Plus he is kind to small children.
  - OMG! Bagels!
    
    Yes, and we should all bow when he comes off the field at YSIII and bring him presents at Christmas.
  - rhetoric, not forensic
    
    It’s bad enough you kill our brain cells with your wrongheaded opinions. Please refrain from putting them in other people’s mouths.
Jimmy McNulty

Even the wins piss me off.
- DT
  
  You might want to try rooting for a tie then.
  - Heisenberg’s Hat
    
    That’s the Japanese way.
- Jim Is Bored
  
  Yikes.
Bavarian Yankee

finally they’re taking some chances on the basepaths, so that’s progress and one of the reasons why they won the game.
LarryM.,Fl.

The Yanks displayed some of that old time magic with their offense but the “D” did not show up in the 7th. Girardi made a good call with the revised lineup but I question McGhee (new guy) over Nix for the start at third. Nix has done well in his fill-in spots all year. And got a hit off og the 98 mph fastball to start the add on runs in the 9th.

It was a win. YES!
Eddard

CC did little to stop the bleeding, which is his job. This was the offense hitting like they should. Joe finally realized that Granderson is a power hitter, not a lead off hitter. Power hitters hit 3-6, not 1st. And Granderson certainly responded. Perhaps Hiroki can serve as the ace of the staff and give us the great performance that we so desperately need.
- Oaktag
  
  CC gave up 2 ER in 6.2 innings until D-Rob let up a 3rd. Granderson hits mistake pitches regardless of where he bats in the lineup.
  
  In sum, your posts bespeak continued stupidity and/or stubborn refusal to reflect upon and improve your baseball IQ. I wish that weren’t the case.
  - Eddard
    
    Not dominant enough. When the team is really struggling aces do what Verlander did to us, throw 130 pitches and gives us club 8 innings of quality pitching. Kuroda can do that, we know he is capable of giving us 8-9 innings of 1 run ball. CC needs to step up his game over these next couple months.
    - Pasta Stumbling Sojo
      
      Verlander never pitches poorly when the team is struggling?
      
      That seems wrong. I checked the Tigers’ schedule from this year, and in the very first rough spot they had, here’s a bad Verlander start: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA201204270.shtml. This led to the Tigers’ 5th loss in a row and 7th out of 8. This was in the very first place I looked, so I’m sure if I continued to look through the schedule from this and past years, there would be more examples.
      
      Not an ace!
      - Jim Is Bored
        
        Shhhh…
    - Kosmo
      
      A little rough on CC but I understand your sentiment. CC did have a very dominant start his last time out and he pitched almost as well last night as Kuroda did his last time out.
      It´s hard to lay a claim that Kuroda is the better of the 2 even though he´s having a fine season.
      - rogue
        
        I’m still pissed at CC when he sucked in the ALDS, opted out, and got rewarded.
    - Oaktag
      
      You’re right, he should have used the Jedi Mind Trick and sent Girardi back into the dugout.
      
      You’re not entertaining enough to be a troll, so I just have to assume you’re a mouth-breathing short-bus-rider.
Ken

Well, I was able to watch the game. Except that I missed the first 5 innings due to a glitch with mlb.com. Sure hope that they get their act together.
rogue

I like Swish as a 1 or 2 hitter in the lineup. He seemed to relish that role (3 BBs). I want to see more.