Results tagged “ccsabathia”

• Philadelphia 6 Yankees 1: The Yankees looked like a team totally overwhelmed by circumstances while Cliff Lee looked like Orel Hershiser in 1988. CC Sabathia was good, allowing only two runs, both solo shots to Chase Utley, but Lee was much better. He dominated the Yankees, going the distance and he probably would have had a shutout if Jimmy Rollins hadn’t airmailed a throw in the ninth. The Yankees bullpen imploded in the 8th and 9th with Phil Hughes and Brian Bruney the chief culprits. New York will have to hope for a better result against Pedro Martinez in Game 2.

Joe Girardi has managed the ALCS erratically from pulling relievers at odd times to leaving starters in too long. But one thing he got right was starting CC Sabathia on three-days rest for Game 4, a move that worked out perfectly and put the Yankees in control of this series. And that is why he should turn to a fully rested Sabathia tonight to try and put the Yankees back into the World Series for the first time in six years.

Yankees 10 Angels 1: For the first time in five years, the Yankees are one win away from the World Series. Everyone knows what happened in 2004, so the team should not be guilty of counting its chickens before they hatch. CC Sabathia pitched eight innings of one-run ball -- on three days' rest -- and Alex Rodriguez continued his monster postsesaon by going 3-for-4 with a homer. He also scored the game's first run. Melky Cabrera also went 3-for-4 and had a critical two-run single.

   

Yankees 4, Angels 1: If the Angels have to face the CC Sabathia they faced tonight three times in this series, they might as well give the Yankees three wins right now. Sabathia dominated the Angels in Game 1 of the ALCS, pitching eight strong innings, allowing only four hits and one walk while striking out seven.

    

The Yankees broke a five-year streak of playoff futility by sweeping the Twins on Sunday and now they will try and break an even longer streak of futility against the Angels. New York has not won their regular season series with the Angels since 2003 and they have lost both playoff series they have played against them. But these Yankees have some differences from their recent counterparts. They have better pitching, especially with C.C. Sabathia leading the rotation and the bullpen is much deeper than at any point since 1996.

The Daily News is so pumped about the first game of the ALCS that it put CC Sabathia on the front page—however, there's an unfortunately placed PC Richards sticker on the front page as well.

The first playoff game at the new stadium was a happy affair as the Yankees defeated the Twins 7-2 on Wednesday night. C.C. Sabathia pitched well, striking out eight and allowing only two runs, one earned, over 6-2/3 innings. Sabathia only struggled in the third when he ran into trouble with two outs. With runners on second and third, Sabathia allowed a single to score a run and then Jorge Posada simply didn’t catch a Sabathia pitch allowing a second run and putting the Twins up 2-0.

The Yankees have won 102 games and apart from their slow start, dominated the American League. But none of that matters now as Wednesday as they will begin their quest for a championship against either Minnesota or Detroit.

Penguins 3, Rangers 2: The privilege of opening against the defending Stanley Cup champions did not inspire the Rangers, who fell behind 3-1 before making a comeback attempt that came up short. Chris Drury scored the first goal of the year to tie the game at 1, and Marian Gaborik added one in the third period. The Rangers were outshot, 31-27, and get Ottawa at home on Saturday.

• Yankees 3, Red Sox 0: CC Sabathia became the first 19-game winner in the Majors (okay, the American League—the Cards' Adam Wainwright also won his 19th tonight) with his dominating performance against the Red Sox last night. The Yankees' ace threw seven innings, including retiring the first 11 batters he faced and gave up only one-hit to the Sox while striking out 8. The Bombers didn't get on the scoreboard against Daisuke Matsuzaka until Robinson Cano hit his 24th home run of the season to left. Johnny Damon added two insurance runs in the 8th with a soft hit ball to right off Billy Wagner.

• Mets 3 Washington 2: If you are looking for positives in a season short on them, look no further than this game. Tim Redding pitched seven-strong innings, lowering his ERA to 2.72 since he rejoined the rotation in August and earning his third win of the season. Jeff Francoeur had two hits and scored two runs while driving in a run as he continued his solid hitting since joining New York.
• Yankees 10 Seattle 1 The Yankees were in control throughout with C.C. Sabathia getting his 18th win. Mark Teixeira went deep twice, triple and knocked in five. With the win, the Yankees lower their magic number to nine.

The 2009 Yankees look to be returning to the playoffs in just a couple weeks after last season's first year being left home in over a decade. This year's team has been marked by a level of extroverted charisma and fiery personalities uncharacteristic of the stoic bunch that led the turn of the century dynasty. But last night, late in a game that did not appear to be on its way toward another AJ Burnett pieface moment, some of that adrenaline appeared to turn nasty as Jorge Posada took a cheap shot shove at Blue Jays' pitcher Jesse Carlson and BAM! It was on—bench-clearing brawl, enough of a mess to end with a little blood.

• Yankees 4 Tampa Bay 1: The Yankees won a pitcher’s duel in the first game of their doubleheader Monday. C.C. Sabathia went seven-strong, but he did not collect the win because Matt Garza matched him frame for frame. But, the Yankees broke through in the eighth, turning a 1-1 game into a 4-1 win. Robinson Cano hit a sac fly to make it 2-1. Jorge Posada and Eric Hinske both added RBI’s. That’s all Mariano Rivera needed as he pitched for the first time since September 1st and nailed down his 39th save.

• Yankees 8, Red Sox 4: Five home runs off Josh Beckett powered the Yankees to a win in this rubber game. They reclaimed a 7 1/2-game lead in the American League East. CC Sabathia pitched 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight and walking none. If not for some shaky defense, his four-run (three earned) line would have looked a lot better. For the second time in three nights, Hideki Matsui went deep twice. Apparently he likes the long ball more than countryman Ichiro Suzuki.

• Phillies 9, Mets 7: Another Mets loss, another crazy way for it to happen. After pulling to within two and getting the potential winning run to the plate, the Mets sent the runners and saw Jeff Francoeur hit into an unassisted triple play. That's the second time in Major League history such a sequence ended a game, and the first since 1927. The late-game action almost overshadowed Pedro Martinez's return -- the righty got cheered -- or Oliver Perez's latest debacle -- the lefty got pulled midcount after giving up six runs and getting just two outs in the first inning. The teams finish a four-game series Monday in a matinee. The Mets are now 10 games under .500.
• Red Bulls 3, FC Dallas 2: Red Bulls win! Red Bulls win! Juan Pablo Angel scored twice, including with two minutes remaining. Richie Williams, the interim head coach, got a win in his debut. Maybe the coach was the whole problem.

• Yankees 7 Oakland 2: Kurt Suzuki shook off a pitch behind him from C.C. Sabathia by homering on the next pitch to give Oakland an early lead that didn’t stand up. Sabathia was retaliating for the A’s hitting A-Rod in the top of the first. Both teams were warned and they settled down from there. Sabathia got into a groove and pitched eight innings while allowing only two runs. The Yankees busted things open in the sixth with five runs and remain seven games in front of Boston.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Tempers Flare"

Yankees 11 Seattle 1: C.C. Sabathia is dealing and the Yankees’ offense is clicking: Hideki Matsui was 4 for 5, with two home runs, while Derek Jeter also homered. Jerry Hairston Jr., subbing for A-Rod (out after being hit in the elbow by the Blue Jays' Shawn Camp) at third, was 2 for 5, with two RBIs. This win is at the start of a long road trip, so one game down, nine to go.

At minimum, the Yankees will finish this weekend with a 4-1/2 game lead on the Red Sox. In the process of building that lead this weekend, they have answered the biggest question hanging over them since the last time they played Boston: can the beat a good team?

• Yankees 5 Boston 0: After three games the Yankees have seized control of the AL East and erased any questions about their ability to compete with the best teams in baseball. C.C. Sabathia was the latest to step up, delivering 7-2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Mark Teixeira got the Yankees on the board with a RBI single and Jose Molina added a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 after six. Nick Swisher drew a RBI walk and Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer to complete the scoring. The win puts the Yankees 5-1/2 games in front of the AL East and they will go for the sweep later tonight.
• San Diego 3 Mets 1: Bobby Parnell started his conversion to the rotation and it was a so-so debut. Parnell allowed 8 baserunners in only 2-1/3, but only two of those runners came around to score. Unfortunately, the Mets couldn't muster any offense besides an Alex Cora home run in the first and they dropped their third-straight game.

• Mets 9 Arizona 6: New York got back to winning thanks to a grand slam from Angel Pagan. Pagan’s shot in the 8th broke open a 5-5 game. The Mets had takes a 4-2 lead in the fourth, but Oliver Perez was shaky again. Perez did a Nuke LaLoosh impression, striking out seven while walking five over five innings and 112 pitches. Despite his wildness, Perez would have earned the win if Bobby Parnell hadn’t given up two runs in the sixth. But, Pagan bailed him out and K-Rod bailed out Brian Stokes in the ninth to record his 24th save.

• Mets 4, Rockies 0: Mike Pelfrey showed a knack for working out of trouble. The Mets' bats scored single runs in four separate innings. Jeff Francoeur continued to contribute, going 1-for-3 with an RBI. He even got hit by a pitch, so his Mets on-base percentage is now higher than his batting average. Congratulations, Jeff. Pelfrey walked three and struck out five and got out of two bases-loaded jams. Staten Island's Jason Marquis took the loss.

• Yankees 6 Oakland 3: Today’s rain delayed the start of this game to almost 10pm and for awhile it looked like the Yankees had assumed the game was a rainout. Oakland jumped all over an inconsistent C.C. Sabathia for three runs in the first four innings, but Sabathia settled down and the Yankees battled back. Mark Teixeira belted a two-run homer in the fourth and the Yankees added two more runs to take a lead they would never relinquish. Phil Hughes came on in the eighth and pitched two perfect innings to get the first save of his career and put the Yankees 2-1/2 games ahead of idle Boston.

Yankees 2, Detroit 1: CC Sabathia was able to pitch out of any jams he had gotten himself into yesterday afternoon, using double plays and a one-out infield fly in order to keep the Tigers scoreless for the seven innings he threw. Tiger ace Justin Verlander appeared to be outpitching Sabathia until the Yankees came up in the seventh. There A-Rod landed a short home run into the right field seats and Robinson Cano scored what ended up being the winning run on a Melky Cabrera infield single. The Yankees go for the sweep this afternoon in The Bronx.

• Mets 9, Reds 7: The Mets are in fact capable of hitting home runs. After their team went 80 innings without one, Fernando Tatis and Brian Schneider went deep in the eighth inning to help the Mets enter the All-Star break on a two-game winning streak. And yes, the home run apple still works. Mike Pelfrey pitched seven innings of three-run ball and then chewed on his fingernails as the bullpen took over. The Mets are still 6 1/2 games out of first place as they go on a mini vacation.
• Angels 5, Yankees 4: A road trip that started so well ended so poorly. CC Sabathia got rocked around, allowing five runs in 6 1/3 innings. The Yankees, who were tied with Boston on Friday, are now three games back in the American League East but have a 2 1/2-game lead in the wild-card race. They have an extra day off and return to action Friday at home against Detroit.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Rare Outburst For Mets"

Despite being unable to beat the Red Sox this year (0-8 so far against them), the Yankees are only one game behind them. As they head into the All-Star Break, the Yankees are playing their best baseball of the season, something they will need to continue to do if they are going to bring playoff baseball back to the Bronx.

• L.A. 8 Mets 0: Clayton Kershaw came into the game leading the NL in walks issued with 52. Against the free-swinging Mets, he only walked two. It was another night of zero offense for New York, extending their scoreless streak to 22 innings. Luis Castillo had a brutal game, getting thrown out at third in the third inning to squelch a rally and committing a big error in the fourth to start a rally for the Dodgers. Mike Pelfry couldn’t do much, only lasting into the fourth and the Mets lost for the ninth time in eleven games. As for Manny Ramirez, he was 2-for-4, drove in three runs and was ejected for throwing an elbow pad at an ump—Manny being Manny!
• Yankees 10 Twins 2: C.C. Sabathia was dealing and the Yankees offense warmed up as the game progressed. After letting the Twins escape several jams in the early innings, the New York bats broke through with a five-run sixth. Robinson Cano had a two-run single and Brett Gardner followed with a two-run triple. Every starter had a hit and Sabathia worked seven-strong to get the win.

Yankees 9 Mets 1: The final score may not have been close, but the Mets threw the game away by committing three errors in the second inning. The first one, a wild throw by David Wright is somewhat understandable, he had picked the ball up barehanded and was off-balance as he threw it. That put Melky Cabrera on second and he scored when Ramiro Pena blooped a double down the rightfield line. Pena then scored when C.C. Sabathia hit a single up the middle to make it 2-0 Yankees.

• Florida 6 Yankees 5: The loss is a problem, but a much bigger one occurred in the second inning. That is when C.C. Sabathia walked off the mound with what is being described as “tightness” in his left bicep. The Yankees haven’t scheduled any tests for the hefty lefty, he says he is “ok” and he is listed as day-to-day, but all they can do right now is hope he is right.

• Yankees 5, Nationals 3: Ah, interleauge play. Where teams get an extra cellar-dweller to play. When Anderson Hernandez got a hold of a CC Sabathia pitched and gave the Nationals a one-run lead, this looked like it could be quite embarrassing. But the Yankees rallied to tie the game and then took the lead on Robinson Cano's fourth hit of the day, a double. Sabathia's mistake to Hernadez was really his only one of the night. The Yankees really could use a sweep of the lowly Nationals, the worst team in baseball.

• Red Sox 4, Yankees 3: CC Sabathia pitched well for seven innings, but his work in the eighth cost him the game. The Yankees rallied to take a 3-1 lead on an Alex Rodriguez double in the seventh, but Sabathia put the first three men on in the eighth before being relieved by Alfredo Aceves, who promptly finished the job. The Yankees are now 0-8 against the Red Sox, but they only trail in the American League East by two games. They wasted chances in all three games. they'll try to get things turned around against the Mets starting Friday.

• Philadelphia 5 Mets 4 (11 Innings): New York jumped on the Phillies’ ace, Cole Hamels, scoring four runs in the first two innings. But, the Mets gave up their lead in the seventh when the bullpen and some shoddy defense let Philadelphia tie things up. New York had its chances from there, putting runners into scoring position in each of the next three innings, but failing to get them home. Chase Utley led off the 11th with a home run off of Bobby Parnell and New York went quietly in their half of the inning.