The empanadas keep coming
Whipped cream cakes, that is, from the hands of AJ Burnett, to the face of whoever is the star of the day.
The pie in the face today went to Johnny Damon after his home run in the bottom of the 10th inning that capped the Yankees’ fifth straight victory and third walk victory in that many days. The Yankees haven’t had three wins in a row since 1972. The first was on Friday when Melky Cabrerra hit the two-run single in the 11th inning to give the Yankees a 5-4 victory. On Saturday Alex Rodriguez hit a blast in the 11th inning that put the Yankees up 5-4. Today’s matinee should have ended in the bottom of the ninth, but a poor career decision by Brett Gardner combined with an outstanding play by Twins catcher Joe Mauer prevented the Yankees from having runners at first and third with one out. Instead, they had a runner on first with two outs and Robinson Cano flied out to left field, which could have scored Gardner from third. It was a gutsy decision by Gardner, who ignored third base coach Rob Thompson’s stop sign at third and tried to beat Mauer back to the plate in a comeback that came out of the pitchers’ glove. You have to respect Gardner’s guts and bravery. You also have to respect the fact that pushing the limits too far could have cost them the game. One thing is for sure that the kid can fly around the bases.
Thankfully, Damon picked it up in the bottom of the 10th when he shortened his swing and an inside fastball and planted it in the stands sealing its fate as today’s whipped cream container. Hat tip for Brett Tomko, who came in for Burnett in the eighth with the bases loaded and one out and was able to preserve the tie. The Yankees have been guaranteed a series win by taking the first three of this four-game set.
Although the victory did not gain ground for the Blue Jays, as Roy Halladay won his fifth straight game and the Blue Jays won their third straight game against the White Sox. The Red Sox lost a game to the elusive Jays when the Mariners defeated them in the bottom of the ninth. Franklin Gutierrez singled under Mike Lowell’s glove scoring Ronny Cedeño to give the Red Sox their fifth loss in the last ten games.
Tomorrow Yankees fans will bring their brooms to the stadium as the bombers attempt to complete the four-game sweep and hopefully pass four games over .500. It will be Andy Pettite 3-1 vs Glenn Perkin 1-2 Coverage begins at 6 pm on the YES network.
In other news, Chien Ming Wang pitched 7 innings at Scranton throwing 75 pitches and recorded 12 groundout outs that allowed 0 runs and 4 hits. Looks like he’s set to hopefully return for his next spot in the rotation, but we’ll see what the Yankee gods have planned. Brian Bruney pitched an inning in the second game off a double header for The Baby Bombers and threw 17 pitches, 11 of them for strikes that reached 94 mph with the gun. I think it will probably be activated on Tuesday.
Hang on to your Hats fans, the Yankees are on the mend and on a roll. Bold Prediction: First Place at All Star Break.