Yankees Sweep the Pirates

It was billed as a battle between Randy Johnson and the future Randy Johnson, but it appears the future will have to wait for now. Pittsburgh starter, Oliver Perez, was knocked around, giving up six runs in five innings while walking five batters. Randy Johnson was dominant going the distance while giving up only a run and striking out eleven in the 6-1 victory.

Hideki Matsui got the scoring started with a home run in the first inning. Perhaps Matsui’s ankle injury is a blessing in disguise as he has gone 5-11 with 2 HR’s since twisting his ankle on Sunday. The resurgent Jason Giambi added a RBI double and Robinson Cano contributed two hits.

While sweeping the Pirates is nice, Gothamist can’t help but wonder if the Yankees are the schoolyard bullies of baseball. They seem to feast on the weaker teams while running away from the stronger ones. The Cubs are up next on the schedule and while they have some injury problems, Gothamist will be more impressed by wins over them. Carl Pavano, Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina will face the Cubs who are making their first appearance at Yankee Stadium since 1938.

Photo by Kathy Willens/AP via Yankees.com

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By Peter Trinkle on June 17, 2005 9:58 AM

Comments [rss]

rocker

i think the offense is shaking off the cobwebs as is johnson. moose will be solid. i dont know about the rest of the pitching but i also feel the bombers are gonna have a strong 2nd half.

sp

while this is true, it should also be a reminder of how the red sox and orioles have not been playing that great lately either: neither of those teams has managed to run away with the division despite the yankees' poor play on that road trip. You would think that in a couple weeks of losing 9 of 12 games they would be further back, but they are actually in better shape than they were 2 weeks ago. So keep your smugness to yourself, it aint over (till its over) ;)

Fat Al

Let's not forget that the Yankees were recently swept by the Royals and, earlier in the season, lost 3 of 4 to the Devil Rays. If the Yankees were feasting on the weak teams (which they used to do quite well), they wouldn't be 6 games back.