Results tagged “josecontreras”

• Yankees 16 White Sox 3: Is it really possible that the Yankees could tie a club record by belting eight home runs, yet somehow Alex Rodriguez would be about the only person not to get one? Somehow, that’s exactly what happened Tuesday as every starter except for A-Rod, Jeter and Andy Phillips went deep and Hideki Matsui did twice. Shelly Duncan continued his Shane Spencer imitation by belting his 4th home run in 21 AB’s.
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-Yankees 6 White Sox 5: Don’t let the score fool you, this game was a pitchers’ duel. For the first seven innings, runs were at a premium as Jose Contreras and Randy Johnson both made really only one mistake each. In the eighth, New York appeared to have blown the game open with three runs against the Chicago bullpen, but Mariano Rivera gave up three consecutive singles and the White Sox loaded the bases with no outs. After giving up two runs, Rivera came out on top of a great battle with A.J. Pierzynski to save the game and bring the Yankees within 1 1/2 games of Boston.

You will have to forgive Yankee fans for acting a bit irrationally today. After all, who can blame them for being upset after watching Jose Contreras handcuff their lineup for seven plus innings as the White Sox won 2-1. When he was a Yankee, Contreras would probably have wilted under the pressure of a game like this, but wearing a different uniform seems to have had a positive affect on Jose.

Rivera’s brilliance was backed up by Alex Rodriguez’s bat. A Rod connected in the first inning off of former Yankee, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez for a two-run homer that put the Yankees in the lead for good. Derek Jeter added a RBI groundout to put the Yankees up 3-0. Mike Mussina pitched six innings while giving up two runs and striking out seven.

For Yankee fans, Opening Night 2005 could not have come soon enough. A brutal winter, the anticipation of seeing Randy Johnson in pinstripes and the disappointment left over from last year’s collapse, have created an urgency among the fans to see their team play ball.

Getting four runs off Mulder is like getting a date with Carmen Electra, it just doesn't happen that often. The Yankees pitching continues to be a problem. The offense has been consistent all year, but the pitching is another story. The Yankees are not worried about losing a few games in the regular season to the Oakland A's, but the signs are there for a mediocre off-season, due to the poor pitching. In the playoffs you win games 3-2 or 2-1, not 10-9. That is what concerns the Yankee fan, what is going to happen in October when we match up aagainst three top notch pitchers.

It was a good and busy weekend at the Stadium for the Yankees. the Yankees managed to take three out of four games from Baltimore and increase their lead over the Red Sox to 9.5 games. The big trade that everyone wanted to see (Randy Johnson coming to the big Apple) did not happen, but Cashman was able to unload the inconsistent Jose Contreras for the steady Esteban Loaiza.

Ponson was the story of the night. After the first two innings, Ponson retired 16 straight batters. Matsui broke the streak with a single in the 8th inning. The Yankees could only muster 4 hits off of Ponson as he pitched a complete game. Jose Contreras on the other hand was doomed by one bad inning. He was pitching on three days' rest.

Jon Lieber pitched his best game as a Yankee. Lieber went seven and two-thirds innings, scattering seven hits, and allowing two earned runs (the game tying run that Heredia allowed to score was charged to Lieber). Scott Proctor, who has pitched wonderfully in the last week, retired one batter before allowing the home run to Vernon Wells.

The Boston Red Sox took advantage of their mastery of Yankee pitcher Jose Contreras last night for a 9-6 win in legendary Fenway Park. The victory gave the Sox a 2-1 series win but still left them 7.5 games behind the Yankees in the standings.

Victor Zambrano took the hill for Tampa Bay and he has beaten the Yankees three times this year. The fourth win would not e in the cards for Victor on this day. Zambrano struck out seven in five and two-thirds innings and gave up three earned runs. Zambrano ran his record to 9-6 on the year.

Alex Graman got the start due to injuries to Mike Mussina and Kevin Brown. Graman was unimpressive to say the least. He lasted only one-third of an inning. He allowed five hits and five earned runs. Tanyon Sturtze was called on to stop the bleeding, and he did for fur innings. Keeping the Yankees in the game. In the top of the fifth inning, the Yankees managed to tie the game at 5-5. Sturtze then faltered allowing the Devil Rays to take back the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was too much for the Yankees to overcome, losing 9-7.

The Yankees entered the four game series in Detroit on Thursday with a spectacular performance by Jose Contreras and Mariano Rivera. The pitching problems were solved right? Not even close. Mike Mussina is now on the DL and will miss at least three starts. Kevin Brown is still not off the DL and Randy Johnson is still pitching in Arizona. Pitching was the reason the Yanks split (2-2) with the Tigers this weekend.

If you asked Jeremy Bonderman to hold the Yankees to four hits after seven innings, he probably would have told you he would be winning the game when he was replaced. Unfortunately, those four hits were all solo home runs by the New York Yankees and ended up being the difference in the 5-1 Yankee win.

If your favorite team was 55-31, 7 games ahead in their division and had the best record in baseball, would you be worried? Or would you be enjoying a great season? That is the huge difference between the Yankee fan and the rest of the baseball world. Yankees fans are worried, even though right now they are the best team in baseball.

Contreras pitched well in Thursday's 7-1 win (see our post on that game here). On Friday it was newly named All-Star, Javier Vasquez, notching his 10th win of the year. Vasquez pitched five and two-thirds innings, struck out nine and held the Devil rays to three runs. Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada each had two hits to provide the offense for the Yanks.

Pitching was the key to the Yankee win last night. After Contreras left the game, Paul Quantrill (who is on pace to pitch in every Yankee game this season) pitch 2/3 of an inning before handing over the reigns to Mariano Rivera for the final five outs. The Devil Rays were held to one run on six hits.

In yesterday's 10-8 matinee loss to the Tigers, the Yankees once again dug themselves into a hole early in the game. This time the hole was just to much to dig out of.

Saturday's victory came on a virtual offensive explosion by the Mets. In the fourth inning, the Mets had 6 runs, a season high, and had thoughts of a possible series victory in The Bronx. Mets Catcher, Jason Phillips said, "It's Yankee Stadium, it's the Yankees, and we were 0-6 against them last year. This is the first time I ever beat them. I can finally say I did it. Now let's go do it again." Unfortunately for the Mets, the Yankees turned the tables on Sunday.

7 games vs. the Orioles, 70 runs and 7 wins. Yankee management has got to be thinking, "can we schedule some more games with these guys?" Last night the Yankees jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on an Alex Rodriguez home run in the 1st inning. Mike Mussina, making his first start since he injured his groin 10 days ago, got off to a rocky start, but managed to pick up the win. Mussina gave up a three run home run to Miguel Tejada in the first inning, but settled down after that. The Yankees never looked back. A-Rod added another home run in the 7th inning and Derek Jeter had a homer in the 2nd, as the Yanks posted yet another win over their American League East rivals. Tonight Jon Lieber tries to get his 6th win of the year, as the Orioles counter with Erik Bedard.

The Yanks ended up dropping two of three in their weekend series with the Dodgers. Javier Vasquez lost the series opener 6-3 (box score) to former Yankee Jeff Weaver. After Weaver gave up three runs in the first inning, he settled down and held the Yankees scoreless for the next five innings. Eric Gagne came in to nail down the victory in the 9th.

Two games later, Mike Mussina injured his groin and was pulled after three innings. It looks like Mussina is only going to miss one start and should be back on the mound on Tuesday to face the Baltimore Orioles, his former team. So with two of the five starters out of the rotation where does that leave the Bombers?

Yesterday, the Yankees finally beat the Red Sox at Fenway, taking the 3rd game of the four game series, 7-3 (box score). Paul Quantrill got the win, after bailing out starter Jose Contreras in the third inning. A well rested Derek Lowe got the loss, giving up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. Despite the victory, one has to wonder if it was the Yankees that performed well, or if it was the pitching of Derek Lowe.

This weekend brings us the first meeting this season of the Yankees and the Red Sox, in a four game series that any baseball fan can enjoy. The two teams have not met since last October when Aaron Boone ended the ALCS with a home run and when there was an incident between Don Zimmer and Pedro Martinez. Boone and Zimmer are gone, and Martinez is not scheduled to pitch, but the rivalry has only heated up since. During the off season, the Red Sox signed Curt Schilling and tried to trade for Alex Rodriguez, who was eventually acquired by the Yankees, making him the new person to hate.