Source: FanGraphs
What a great way to end the series. The Yankees beat the Angels by the score of 9-2 on Wednesday night, giving them their first series win in Anaheim since June 2011. Jorge Posada had three hits in that series. Considering the ugliness of Monday’s walk-induced loss, rebounding to take two of three was pretty awesome. It’s late, so let’s recap the with bullet points:
- Five-Run First: The Yankees scored more runs in the first inning than they did in eight of their last ten games. The five-run outburst was fueled by two walks sandwiched around an error (Mike Trout and Collin Cowgill nearly ran into each other and the ball was dropped). Mark Teixeira doubled down the left field line to drive in the first two runs, Yangervis Solarte plated the third on a sac fly, then another error on Brett Gardner’s weak grounder led to the fourth run (Hector Santiago threw the ball into right field). Brian Roberts capped off the rally with a two-out, two-strike bloop single. Why can’t every first inning be like that?
- Yeah Jeets: Roberts hit his first homer of the season on Tuesday night, meaning Derek Jeter was officially the last regular without a dinger. He took care of that in his second at-bat, swatting a solo homer just over the left-center field wall. It was either a hanging cutter or slider. Hanging something or other. It had that slider/cutter type of movement. The only players on the roster who have yet to go deep are Ichiro Suzuki and Brendan Ryan. Ryan just came off the DL and hasn’t even had a plate appearance yet.
- Numero Nuno: Things looked dicey in the second inning. The Yankees had spotted Southern California native Vidal Nuno six runs in the first two innings, but he put the first two runners on base and went to a 2-0 count on the third hitter. The Halos pushed a run across with a ground out and did load the bases with two outs, but a pop-up in foul territory helped Nuno escape the jam. That was the only time he was in trouble all night. Nuno retired the next 13 and 14 of the next 15 men he faced to finish the night with one run allowed in 6.1 innings. He struck out three, walked one, worked quickly, and threw strikes, which is exactly what he’s supposed to do with a big lead. Well done, Vidal.
- Tacked On: Dellin Betances survived a bases loaded situation in the seventh, but Trout was on deck, so it was a bit of a reminder that the 6-1 lead wasn’t completely safe. The Yankees responded with three tack-on runs in the eighth, getting help from walks and shoddy defense. John Ryan Murphy had the big blow, a two-run single to left. A five-run lead is kinda safe. An eight-run lead is really safe. Betances allowed a run on two hits and two walks, needing 38 pitches to get five outs. Dr. Dellin and Mr. Betances. The latter showed up on Wednesday. Preston Claiborne got the last three outs without incident.
- Leftovers: Because these are the Yankees, they did manage to blow a bases loaded, no outs situation in the fourth inning. Carlos Beltran hit into a 3-2 force out (beat the return throw), then Teixeira hit into a 3-2-3 double play … Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeter, Solarte, Gardner, and Murphy all had two hits apiece … the Yankees drew five walks, their most since drawing five in the first game of their last series with the Angels … there were no hilariously awful defensive plays, which was nice to see for a change.
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. The Yankees are off on Thursday and will open a three-game series against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Friday night. Masahiro Tanaka and Yovani Gallardo is the scheduled pitching matchup.
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