Hey look, Phil Hughes.
Jackson, Montero both go deep
Dom Amore had a great article on High-A Tampa reliever Tim Norton in today’s Hartford Courant. Norton has missed most of the last two seasons with major shoulder surgery before coming back earlier this year. Check it out, good stuff.
In case you missed it, Joe had some minor league notes earlier, including word on Jeremy Bleich’s promotion to Double-A Trenton.
Make sure you scroll down for tonight’s game thread.
Triple-A Scranton (6-2 loss to Rochester)
Kevin Russo: 0 for 3, 1 BB
Austin Jackson: 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – just his second homer of the year
Colin Curtis & Eric Duncan: both 0 for 4 – Curtis K’ed once, E-Dunc twice
Shelley Duncan & PJ Pilittere: both 1 for 4 – Shelley doubled … PJ K’ed
Juan Miranda: 1 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Justin Leone: 0 for 2 – left with a leg injury
Kevin Cash: 0 for 1, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding) – played third after Leone left the game
The Ghost of Kei Igawa: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 4-11 GB/FB – 64 of 103 pitches were strikes (62.1%)
Zach Kroenke: 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 1-1 GB/FB – 25 of 41 pitches were strikes (61%) … the walk was intentional
Game 75 Spillover Thread
Can Wanger make it past the fifth?
Staten Island offense finally breaks out
Mike Ashmore reports that Ivan Nova has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton (as expected) and veteran Jason Johnson has been activated to take his place on the roster and in the rotation. Chad Jennings says Nova’s debut could come Monday.
Triple-A Scranton (6-5 loss to Rochester, walk-off style)
Kevin Russo & John Rodriguez: both 2 for 4 – Russo drew a walk & was caught stealing … J-Rod doubled twice, drove a run in, scored one & K’ed twice
Austin Jackson & Justin Leone: both 1 for 4, 1 R – Jackson drew a walk, swiped a bag & K’ed … Leone drove in a run & K’ed twice
Colin Curtis: 1 for 3, 1 RBI, 2 BB
Shelley Duncan: 0 for 5, 2 K – OPS dips below 1.000
Juan Miranda: 0 for 3, 1 R, 1 BB
Eric Duncan: 3 for 4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI – first back-to-back three hit games since 2003
Josh Towers: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 7-7 GB/FB – 57 of 83 pitches were strikes (68.7%)
Mark Melancon: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2-3 GB/FB – 18 of 32 pitches were strikes (56.3%)
Anthony Claggett: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1-0 GB/FB – 8 of 12 pitches were strikes
Game 74 Spillover Thread
AJ Burnett, good at pitching.
Game 74: Down with the sickness
There’s a nasty little bug going around the Yankee clubhouse, and after claiming Derek Jeter yesterday, Johnny Damon was picked off today. As long as this thing passes quickly and doesn’t wreak too much havoc, I guess it’s cool.
Old buddy Tim Redding, he of the one career inning in pinstripes, is on the mound for the Metsies. Signed for $2.25M in the offseason, Redding has allowed 59 baserunners in 40 innings this year, striking out just 24. Isn’t it amazing how a guy who’s allowed exactly one-and-a-half baserunners for every inning he’s thrown in his career manages to make a living in this game?
Short preview tonight, but whatever. Here’s the starting nine:
Gardner, CF
Swisher, RF
Teixeira, 1B
A-Rod, 3B
Cano, 2B
Posada, C
Melky, LF
Pena, SS
Burnett, SP
Pena doing the job
He didn’t have quite the game that Brett Gardner had, but backup infielder Ramiro Pena quietly stepped in at short yesterday and did the job while Derek Jeter sat out with the flu. Marc Carig spoke to Pena, who says he takes extra batting practice daily to keep himself sharp. Hitting .268-.310-.341 overall but .344-.382.500 as a shortstop, Pena has shined on defense and has been the club’s best utility infielder since … well … I’m not sure. What do you guys think, when was the last time the Yanks had a backup infielder as good as Pena?