Foremost Friday Feelings

The Yankees were officially one third of the way through the season as they took the field for an engaging affair Thursday afternoon in the Bronx. When Mark Teixeira hustled hurriedly into second with a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning, I felt it was the biggest brunt of the day against the Texas Rangers. Teixeria is splendid when pouncing on pitchers and planting the ball the other way. It’s probably easier for Mark to facilitate hitting to the opposite field during his at-bats because he’s a switch-hitter. A double the other way against his former team not only tied the score, it continued a Yankees comeback rally. Melky Cabrera mashed a two-run tater in the eighth inning to break another tie score. Cabrera’s knock turned out to be the notable game-winner, but I still feel Teixeria’s taser was the more important jolt.
The Yankees won two of three in Texas when they played at the Arlington park in late May. Yesterday, they defeated the Rangers 8-6 in the rubber match of a three game set. What looked to be a disappointing excursion early on for the Bombers turned into a feel-good, stick-it-to-‘em style win. New York remained tied for first place in the AL East with the Boston Red Sox after the eight run Rangers romp.
Thursday was a building block start for pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang. Wang, returning to the rotation after stints on the DL and in relief, produced his best outing of the season. That isn’t saying much considering his ERA was ten digits higher than my age. However, Yankee skipper, Joe Girardi, did not expect Wang to go the distance or stun the illustrious Rangers lineup. Wang worked from the bullpen prior to Thursday’s return. He was able to induce ground balls during those brief appearances, but looked pretty patchy and sporadic yesterday. Although his velocity was good, his sinker was either too high or too low. The former ace was tagged for five runs and quickly let the game get away from him. Wang tossed 4 2/3 innings of seven hit ball.
After Johnny Damon homered to right field on a full count in the bottom of the first, the Yankees went without scoring until the fifth inning. Texas scored plenty in between the Bomber gaps. The Rangers’ rhapsody was initiated by a Wang wild pitch in the top of the third. After retiring the first six batters he faced, the Yankee starter slipped on the mound, and his pitch fell short of the plate. Chris Davis, who went 2 for 4 for Texas, scored on the play. Davis reached base on a lead-off ground-rule double to left. He advanced to third when Taylor Teagarden accurately applied a sacrifice bunt. Texas hitters are capable of playing small ball even with their power bats in the lineup. If the Rangers ever get a quality pitching staff together for a solid rotation, they can compete with the Angels for the AL West division. The Rangers were sitting on a four run lead through five innings against the Yankees. They need to find a way to close out games and capture the late-inning magic New York has discovered in 2009.
Hank Blalock and Michael Young hit back-to-back singles after Wang issued a walk to Ian Kinsler. Kinsler collected a run on the base hits to give his team a 2-1 lead before the inning was complete. It was Davis again in the fourth inning niggling Wang. Davis dropped another double, good for a pair of Texas runs, to extend the margin to 4-1 over the Yankees. David Murphy and Marlon Byrd scored on the rip to right after a single and double, respectively. Wang managed to get out of the no-out jam by retiring the next three Rangers batters he faced. He can’t consistently throw 100 pitches yet, has work to do, and does not look completely comfortable. But, Girardi is pinning his hopes on the return of his 19 game winner to the rotation.
The damage wasn’t done in the fifth. The Yankees recorded another error for the second time since breaking the consecutive error-less streak. Thankfully it had no bearing on the outcome of the inning. Wang’s wallowed wrist did, however. Nelson Cruz peppered a pitch for his 16th homerun of the year. The 400-plus foot dagger landed in the visitor’s bullpen. The center-field solo shot was the slugger’s ninth in 15 games. It was also the first long ball from a right-handed hitter off Wang in 22 starts and gave the Rangers a 5-1 advantage. Alfredo Aceves took over after Girardi pulled Wang from the game and promptly put runners on the corners. Aceves got Davis to pop out to end the inning.
Brandon McCarthy was the pitcher in the other dugout Thursday. The injury-plagued pitcher is still trying to prove his why he was once considered and elite prospect. Brandon posted a 2.48 in his previous four starts and was set to be the pitcher on the winning side in his next. McCarthy avoided further trouble through five innings after surrendering Damon’s homerun that just cleared the fence in the first. In the Yankees half of the fifth, Francisco Cervelli and Ramiro Pena opened with soft singles to start the Yankee comeback. The young Yankees were poised to place their pinstriped pride in prime rally position. It’s becoming commonplace for the team’s eighth and ninth hitters, and bottom of the order, to come through. A walk to Damon loaded the bases for New York with Nick Swisher coming to bat. The scarcely serious Swisher spurred one of the best at-bats I’ve seen, and continues to impress me with his great eye at the plate. He was handcuffed on the first two pitches he chased but held back on McCarthy’s slider with the count full to draw the pass. Give Swisher the RBI for the base on balls. Down by just three now, Teixeria promenaded to home plate and took a quality changeup the other way down the third base line. The cue shot scribbled past Young at third at all runners scored. Mark hit the ball off the end of the bat. Young made a backhand attempt but the ball took off after hitting the dirt hard. McCarthy’s day was done because he kept falling behind in the count and wasn’t pitching effectively anymore. He dialed out six hits on six runs and three strikeouts. Jason Jennings trotted in from the Rangers bullpen to pitch to Alex Rodriguez. Arod greeted the reliever with a single and the Yankees led 6-5 when Texeria scored. Rodriguez has been looking more polished as the season staggers on but I still hear boos from the home crowd every time he collects an out. Whatever fans may think about Arod personally, they must know the team’s success is dependent on his bat. The theatrical third baseman capped the comeback Thursday.
The comeback was complete but the Rangers were not done feasting off Aceves. Kinsler blasted a homerun to left on a 0-1 count in the top of the sixth to notch the score at 6-6. The damage was limited to the solo shelling. The Yankees had a chance to go back on top when Swisher reached base again. Brett Gardner replaced him as a pinch runner but Texiera grounded into a double play. If Gardner steals, maybe Texiera’s ground out doesn’t end the inning. Mark belted the game-changing double in the fifth, so I won’t condemn him being doubled up here. The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the eighth. C.J. Wilson entered the game for Texas and the 3-3 reliever issued a leadoff walk to Robinson Cano. He got Matsui to fly out. Wilson then gave up the tie breaking Melky blow. The ball was launched off Cabrera’s bat over a leaping Murphy in left field. Is it just me or do the Yankees really have Wilson’s number? It seems like this poor sap can never catch a break against New York. I’m not sure why he threw an off-speed pitch to Cabrera but am not complaining he did.
Yankee relievers, including Phil Coke, Dave Robertson and Mariano Rivera, deserve credit for keeping the Rangers in check with scoreless frames. The flighty pen showed improvement yesterday afternoon. Coke had two strikeouts and Robertson wound up the winner with his one-pitch toss. He retired Elvis Andrus on a fly ball with two outs in the eighth before Cabrera’s clip broke the tie in the bottom half. Rivera worked the ninth and dodged a few bullets. Mo had runners at the corners but was effective in striking out hard-hitting Cruz and manipulating Murphy into a game-ending popup to stop the scare. Marino’s cutter topped 93 on the radar gun as he closed the contest. Rivera picked up his 12th save and the Yankees their 17th win in 22 games. The series was their seventh win in the last eight. The comeback was the 19th of the year for the Bombers and the team’s fifth rubber tilt win. There has been a home run in all of New York’s 26 home games this season, but none bigger than Melky’s rocket on this day. The team has a nice look and the lineup is stacked with surly surging sluggers. If you’re a Yankees fan, you feel satisfied with the team’s ability to regroup and survive.

Parting points:
Thought of the day- How come horse races never end in ties?
“They were all in love with dying; they were doing it in Texas”- “Pepper” by Butthole Surfers
“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I FEEL fine”- REM