Results tagged “markteixeira”

• Yankees 3 Phillies 1: The Yankees gave AJ Burnett a lot of money this offseason to pitch in big games and he delivered on Thursday night. Burnett, who would have had a shutout with better defense, allowed only one run over seven innings and struck out nine. Pedro Martinez almost matched him, but he was touched up for two home runs, one by Mark Teixeira that tied the game at 1 and one by Hideki Matsui that put New York up 2-1.

Our long nightmare is over, thanks to his dramatic two-run home run in the ninth on Friday, we can finally say that A-Rod is a “real Yankee”. And kudos to Mark Teixeira, who won the game with a home run and therefore is immediately promoted to “real Yankee” in his first Yankee postseason.

The Yankees are one game away from the American League Championship Series, after last night's dramatic 4-3 win in game two of the Division Series over the Minnesota Twins. The game went into extra innings, courtesy of Alex Rodriguez, who hit a game-tying two-run home run off All-Star closer Joe Nathan in the 9th inning, tying the game at 3-3. Then, in the 11th inning, Teixiera hit a home run—what the NY Times called "a screamer down the left-field line...The ball just cleared the 318-foot sign and sent the crowd of 50,006 into sudden delirium."

• 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 3 Oakland 2: Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer to break the tie and drove in the other Yankees’ run. Chad Gaudin pitched four-plus innings while dancing around a lot of walks. The Yankees’ bullpen did a great job thanks to two huge double plays and the team will now head to Boston, still seven games in front.
• Atlanta 15 Mets 2: Bobby Parnell is learning how to be a starter and “learning” is the key word. Parnell was shelled on Wednesday, giving up nine hits and nine runs in three innings. The New York offense actually pounded out ten hits, but the deficit was simply too big to overcome.
• Connecticut 74 Liberty 69: New York blew a 12-point halftime lead which ended their chance at a winning streak.

• Yankees 5 Red Sox 2 When things are going right, they really go right. Joe Girardi bypassed Phil Hughes in the eighth, despite holding a 1-0 lead and the Red Sox scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead. No matter, the Yankees jumped back on top thanks to back-to-back homers from Damon and Teixeira, the sixth time they have done that this season, and added two more runs to take a three-run lead into the ninth. Girardi didn’t fool around from there, bringing Mariano Rivera in for the ninth. Rivera didn’t look good, but he got the save and the Yankees swept the Red Sox to take a 6-1/2 game lead in the AL East.

• 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.

Yankees 6 Tampa Bay 2: Joba Chamberlain pitched another great game and the Yankees hit three homers to back him as they took two-of-three in Tampa. Chamberlain allowed only three hits, while striking out five over eight innings. Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Mark Teixeira all went deep, part of a 12-hit attack for the Yankees. The win combined with a Boston loss, puts the Yankees 3-1/2 games into first. Fun fact: Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was at the game; Chamberlain said of the Boss's presence, "It's great he came here. It's definitely good to get a win when he's in the house. I heard stories about when he was here. It was a little nerve-racking. I got a little nervous knowing he was in the house."

• 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: Maybe some time off was all Joba Chamberlain needed. Whatever the reason the Yankees were thrilled to see their young pitcher dominate the Tigers on Sunday. Joba pitched 6-2/3 striking out eight and allowing only three hits. The two New York runs were provided by (what else?) solo homers from A-Rod and Mark Teixeira. Phil Hughes came in and pitched the eighth with Mariano closing the door in the ninth as the late-inning tandem performed spotlessly again. With a Boston loss, New York is now only one game behind the Red Sox.
• Atlanta 7 Mets 1: What can possibly happen next? Sunday night’s injury was Fernando Nieve hurting his quad while running to first. Nieve had to leave the game, Tim Redding came in and things fell apart from there. Add it all up and the Mets have dropped three-of-four coming out of the break and now head to Washington.
• Liberty 89 Atlanta 86: Shameka Christon scored 32 points, including the last five of the game as New York survived a late onslaught from The Dream.

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.

• Yankees 6, Twins 4: Alfredo Aceves gave up four runs in 3 1/3 innings. Then the bullpen came to his rescue. David Robertson walked in two of the Aceves runs, but the relievers combined to throw 5 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. Jonathan Albaladejo, Phil Coke, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera did the honors. The Yankees got some pop from Mark Teixeira, who ended the longest homerless drought of his career (96 at-bats and 23 games). Now it's on to Los Angeles of Anaheim for a three-game set with the Angels before the All-Star break. With Boston's loss to Kansas City, the Yankees are tied for first place.

• Tampa Bay 3 Mets 1: Johan Santana was good, James Shields was better. Shields shut the Mets down, allowing only one run over seven innings and the Rays came from behind to beat New York in a tidy game. Neither offense was good, but Tampa was more efficient, taking advantage of two solo homers and back-to-back doubles to get the win. Both teams had to suffer through a lengthy rain delay, but the game itself took only 2:24.

Yankees 5 Tampa Bay 3: The ball certainly carries in the Bronx. The new ballpark saw five dingers on Monday, four of them by the Yankees as they finished their homestand with a 4-2 record. Mark Teixeira got things started and Nick Swisher added a two-run shot to put New York up 3-0. But, Andy Pettitte had a rough fourth, allowing three runs, before settling down to pitch well in the fifth and sixth. Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter added solo shots for the final two runs of the game and Mariano Rivera recorded his 14th save. New York now heads to Boston for three games with the second-place Red Sox, a team they have not defeated this season.

• Yankees 8 Texas 6: Chien-Ming Wang had his best start of the season. Then again, considering the disasters his first three starts were, that isn’t saying much. Wang allowed five runs over 4-2/3 innings, which sadly lowered his ERA, but that wasn’t the real story. What was the story was a great comeback from New York. Down 5-1, the Yankees rallied thanks to a bases-clearing double from Mark Teixeira and they won the game thanks to a two-run home run from Melky Cabrera. Rivera came in for the save and New York has now won seven of it’s last eight series.
• Pittsburgh 11 Mets 6: Usually scoring six runs is enough to win, but not when your starting pitcher can’t keep you in the game. Mike Pelfrey was awful, allowing nine runs- eight earned, and the lowly Pirates swept the Mets. To make matters much worse, Jose Reyes has a tear in his hamstring and J.J. Putz will probably need elbow surgery. Depending on the result of tonight’s Phillies game in San Diego, New York will be either three or four games back in the NL East.
• Washington 2 Red Bulls 0: Another loss as the season drags on for New York. They played a tough match and trailed only by a goal until the final minute when a penalty kick gave D.C. the final edge.

• Yankees 12, Rangers 3: If only A.J. Burnett could face the Rangers every start. He made one-mistake -- a three-run homer to Nelson Cruz -- in seven innings for his second win against Texas in less than a week. Fortunately for Burnett, the Yankees hit two three-run homers (Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada) to light up the scoreboard in their return home. This game was not without its fireworks. Mark Teixeira got hit twice by Vicente Padilla, and Burnett got warned for throwing up and in on Texas' Elvis Andrus.

• Mets 3 Florida 2: John Maine did his job, but JJ Putz almost gave the game away. Leading 3-0, thanks to RBI doubles from Pagan, Martinez and Santos, Putz got into big trouble giving up a walk and two singles before being lifted from the game. Bobby Parnell came in and gave up a run, but got the Mets out of the jam with help from a great play by David Wright. Frankie Rodriguez pitched around a walk to record his 14th save.

First innings aren't always eventful, but Thursday's between the Yankees and the Orioles was. Joba Chamberlain left the game after being hit in the leg by a line drive. In the bottom of the inning, the first three Yankees to bat doubled, and the Yankees put up a four-spot en route to a 7-4 win over Baltimore. It was their ninth straight win. Alfredo Aceves picked up the win in relief of Chamberlain, who had X-rays on his leg come back negative. Robinson Cano, hitting second with Johnny Damon getting the night off, had an RBI double and a two-run homer among his three hits. Mark Teixeira also had an RBI double in the first and had two hits. Melky Cabrera had a critical two-run double.

• Yankees 9 Baltimore 1: A pitchers’ duel was transformed by a seven-run seventh inning from the Yankees giving the Yankees their seventh win in a row. Baltimore jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but A-Rod put the Yankees back on top with his fourth homer in as many days, a two-run shot to deep left. That’s where things stayed until the seventh. The Yankees blew things open thanks to a big error and a big double from Derek Jeter. Mark Teixeira added a home run of his own and the rout was complete. C.C. Sabathia went seven innings, striking out seven for the win- his first at home as a Yankee.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: The Number 7"

• Yankees 7, Twins 6: Andy Pettitte gave up two runs in the first inning, but the Yankees had his back. They got four runs before they made an out and six runs in the frame. Then they held on with Mariano Rivera sitting in the bullpen. Mark Teixeira had a three-run homer (as a righty) and a solo shot (as a lefty). Alex Rodriguez went deep right after Teixeira did in the first. Pettitte struck out three and walked one in his 6 1/3 innings. Edwar Ramirez, Jose Veras and Phil Coke combined to almost give up the lead. This game ended a streak of three straight walk-off wins, but the Yankees will take it. They have won six straight.
• Dodgers 3, Mets 2 (11 innings): After getting an impressive start from Tim Redding and tying the game in the eighth inning, the Mets threw it away. Ryan Church missed third base in the 11th, costing the Mets the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the inning, Carlos Beltran and Jeremy Reed both made errors, and the Dodgers walked off with the victory. The worst news of the day came earlier, as the Mets learned they would be without Carlos Delgdo for about two months. He has a hip injury similar to the one that kept the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez out of action.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Yankees Hang On"

• Yankees 6, Twins 4 (11 innings): Alex Rodriguez didn't get a hit in his first four plate appearances Saturday, but he made the fifth one count. Rodriguez parked Craig Breslow's 1-0 offering over the fence in left field to give the Yankees their fourth straight -- and second consecutive walk-off -- win. Mark Teixeira had four hits -- including a three-run homer and a double -- and a walk. Joba Chamberlain allowed two runs in six innings, striking out six and walking four. Phil Coke gave up the lead, but Mariano Rivera pitched two scoreless innings of relief before Alfredo Aceves came in for the 11th to get the win. The Yankees are now two games over .500.

• Yankees 5 Twins 4: Down two runs entering the ninth, the Yankees turned in one of their biggest wins of the season. Brett Gardner, who had already hit an inside-the-park home run, led the inning off with a triple. Gardner scored on a RBI single from Teixeira and after A-Rod walked, the Yankees had two on and no outs. But, Matsui struck out and Swisher was robbed of a game-tying hit on a great play by Morneau. Swisher’s scorcher put the runners on second and third and with two outs the Twins elected to walk Robinson Cano and pitch to Melky Cabrera. Cabrera lined the first pitch he saw into left center, scoring two runs and winning the game.

The Yankees are almost a quarter of their way through the season and their manager is excited that the man who was supposed to be the biggest bat while A-Rod was on the shelf is now hitting two points over .200. Apparently seeing it as a sign that Mark Teixeira is about to turn things around, Girardi called the first baseman's two-for-four performance the most promising development in the team's 8-2 win over the Blue Jays last night. Only two other regular starters in the AL are hitting lower that Teixeira and the closest recent Yankee slugger with nearly as bad of a start was Tino Martinez hitting .254 at same point one season. GM Brian Cashman is spinning the bad start as the 180 Million Dollar Man dealing with the "pressure" of his big contract and new environment. But Teixeira is taking the high road for his performance, saying, "You can always try to find excuses...Yeah, more people are watching, no doubt. More people are writing about it, no doubt. But those are things I can't control...There are no excuses. If you start making excuses for yourself, you've got something wrong with you."

• Yankees 8 Toronto 2: New York had a great night at the plate, despite missing four starters from their Opening Day lineup. Brett Gardner had a triple and a home run while driving in three runs. Mark Teixeira had two hits and two RBI’s and Johnny Damon continued his hot hitting with two more hits. All of the runs supported Andy Pettitte, who pitched six innings of up and down baseball. Pettitte only allowed two runs, but he walked four batters and gave up five hits. If Toronto had been able to get a clutch hit, this would have been a very different game. But, they didn’t and now the Yankees have a chance to climb back to .500 tomorrow.
• Atlanta 8 Mets 7 (12 innings): Should Jose Reyes have been running? Absolutely, but his play isn’t the only reason they lost. Down by a run, Reyes led off the 11th with a shot to left field that he thought was out of the park. But, the ball stayed in and Reyes’ lack of hustle left him on second, when he probably should have been on third. Still, the Mets got him to third with one out and had two chances to tie the game. But, Carlos Beltran took three-straight strikes for the second out and Gary Sheffield was called out on strikes to end the game.

• Mets 8, Pirates 4: What a difference a week makes. The Mets rolled to another win over the struggling Pirates, completing a three-game sweep and keeping themselves in first place. Livan Hernandez had a rocky start but settled down and allowed two runs in seven innings, striking out five and walking four. Jose Reyes kept moving in the right direction, reaching base three times. The Mets are one of eight teams to play Monday. They host Atlanta in the opener of a three-game set.

• Mets 10, Pirates 1: A week ago, Mets fans couldn't stop fretting after a disastrous loss to the Phillies. Now their team is in first place and has won six straight games. John Maine pitched six innings of one-run ball and Jose Reyes had three hits and three RBIs. Sandy Alomar Sr. managed the team in lieu of Jerry Manuel, who was suspended for making contact with an umpire on Thursday. The Pirates stink, yes, but the Mets are rolling. The days of worrying about David Wright's clutch hitting -- foolish days to begin with -- are over. Now the Mets can worry about getting quality outings from their starters, their most legitimate concern.

• Mets 1 Philadelphia 0: Round 1 goes to New York as they used a stellar start from Santana and an error to win a ballgame. Johan was dominant, continuing his amazing 2009, striking out 10 over seven innings and allowing only five baserunners. But, Chan Ho Park was just as good, matching Santana out for out. But, in the seventh the Mets broke through with an odd rally. Carlos Delgado walked to start the inning, but was left there when Wright and Murphy couldn’t move him. Fernando Tatis hit a slow grounder to third that Pedro Feliz fielded and fired wide of first. With two outs, Delgado was running on the play and he scored all the way from first for the game’s only run. Feliciano and Rodriguez came in and pitched two scoreless to nail down the win. And more good news as the Mets placed Oliver Perez on the DL today.

• Indians 22, Yankees 4: That's the most runs allowed by the Yankees at home. Cleveland's MLB 14-run second was the biggest inning against the Yankees in terms of runs and hits (13). Chien-Ming Wang is starting to be a point of concern. He has an ERA of 34.50 through three starts and has gotten a combined seven outs in his last two outings. Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer to give the Yankees an early lead, but things got ugly quickly. Carl Pavano faces his former team in Sunday's series finale.
• Mets 1, Brewers 0: The only runs Johan Santana has allowed in his last start resulted from an an error from Daniel Murphy. He is sporting a 0.46 ERA, or roughly 1/70 of Wang's. Jose Reyes' RBI on a fielder's choice in the 7th inning gave the Mets their only run.
• Rangers 1, Capitals 0: The Rangers won this game for one reason, and his name is Henrik Lunqvist. He made 35 saves to help make Ryan Callahan's goal stand up. The Rangers lead this series two games to none as they head back to New York. This is an upset brewing.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: A Record Drubbing"

After missing the playoffs in 2008, the Yankees spent the offseason reloading. Out went Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu and Carl Pavano. In came C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira. The net result is a younger and better team, but is it a team good enough to overtake the Rays and the Red Sox in the toughest division in baseball?