Source: FanGraphs
By the end of this game, the Yankees had one player in the lineup with a .330+ OBP. The Red Sox had nine. That sums up the differencese between the two teams and is a big reason why New York limped to a 4-2 loss on Friday night. Let’s recap:
- Andy’s Dud: For the eighth time in nine starts since coming off the DL, Andy Pettitte allowed four runs. Three came on homers — leadoff shot by Jacoby Ellsbury, two-run shot by Jonny Gomes — and the fourth scored because he let the leadoff man reach base in five of his seven innings. Three of the five reached on an extra-base hit. Pettitte did retire 12 of 14 batters faced at one point, but yet again he was shaky and simply not good enough to win given the offense behind him. Andy very much looks the part of the 41-year-old starter.
- Three Hits: It wouldn’t be a Yankees game without a weak offensive showing, and on Friday they had just three hits. Lyle Overbay and Chris Stewart managed to string together doubles in the same inning to score one run, and the other was all about Brett Gardner. He walked, beat out a pickoff play to steal second, stole third, then scored on a throwing error by the catcher. The Yankees had runners at second and third with one out in the eighth, but Vernon Wells and Luis Cruz didn’t even hit the ball out of the infield and stranded the runners.
- Leftovers: Very dumb move by Gardner to get ejected for throwing his helmet following a called strike three on a borderline pitch. He has to keep it together and show more restraint there, especially since he’s the team’s second best hitter … the Bombers did draw four walks, but that led to nothing … Shawn Kelley allowed just his second inherited runner of the year to score, accounting for the fourth run charged to Pettitte … he, Boone Logan, and Preston Claiborne put three men on base in 1.2 innings … the Yankees scored two runs or less for the 32nd time this year, exactly one-third of their games. They did it 33 times all of last season.
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. Both the Orioles and Rays won, so the Yankees are six back in the AL East and three back of awildcard spot in the loss column. Hiroki Kuroda gets the ball against John Lackey in game two of this three-game set on Saturday afternoon. FOX plus Fenway Park equals a loss, typically.
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