Wang Gets Grounded

Chien-Ming Wang was dazed and confused after his last bad start, one that stretched his winless streak out to six games. But last night the Wanger was back on track, getting four double plays in the Yankees 3-1 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Wang won for the first time since May 2 and pitched past the 7th inning for the first time since May 18. He scattered 7 hits, walked 2 and struck out 2 before being pulled with one out in the 8th inning. More importantly, he had his sinker working again and it got him out of a few jams.

Remarkably, the A's had the lead off man in the first seven innings, but could only push a run across in the 4th when Jack Cust singled, moved to 2nd on a ground out, and scored on Mark Ellis' double.

The Yankees had built a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st inning against A's starter Dana Eveland. Derek Jeter drew a 1-out walk and Bobby Abreu followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi delivered, with back-to-back RBI singles to center field to score both runners. Jorge Posada drew a walk to loaded the bases, but Eveland was able to retire Wilson Betemit to escape further trouble.

Wang ran into trouble in the 7th when the A's loaded the bases with one out on singles by Ellis and Carlos Gonzalez, and a walk by Travis Buck. But Wang's sinker sunk the A's. Kurt Suzuki grounded to Alex Rodriguez who began a 5-4-3 inning ending double play.

Eveland settled down after that and the Yankees managed just 4 hits the rest of the game. They left runners in scoring position in the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th innings. Finally Melky Cabrera added a big insurance run when he hit a solo home run, his 7th, off of Keith Foulke in the 9th.

Jose Veras escaped a 2-out, 2-on jam in the 8th, retiring Ellis on a ground out, and Mariano Rivera came on in the 9th to record his 17th save. Gonzalez gave the A's life with a 2-out single, but Rivera retired Suzuki on a routine fly to Cabrera to seal the win.

News and Notes

Johnny Damon was 1-4 and is now hitting an AL 3rd best .325.

Jason Giambi, much to the amusement of his family (including brother Jeremy) tagged up from 1st base and advanced to 2nd on a deep fly out.

Melky Cabrera's home run was his first since May 4.

June 10, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		3	7	0
Oakland	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		1	8	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	0	1	1	0	.325
Jeter, SS	4	1	0	0	1	2	1	.271
Abreu, RF	2	0	2	0	2	0	0	.294
Rodriguez, 3B	4	1	2	1	0	0	2	.321
Giambi, DH	2	0	1	1	1	1	2	.257
Posada, C	3	0	0	0	1	1	5	.299
Betemit, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	2	5	.222
Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.227
Cabrera, CF	4	1	1	1	0	0	0	.269
Totals	31	3	7	3	6	7	16
BATTING HR: Cabrera (7, 9th inning off Foulke, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon; Abreu 2; Rodriguez 2; Giambi; Cabrera 4. RBI: Rodriguez (32), Giambi (35), Cabrera (28). 2-out RBI: Giambi. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Betemit 2; Posada; Rodriguez; Cano. GIDP: Jeter. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING CS: Damon (4, 2nd base by Gaudin/Suzuki). FIELDING DP: 4 (Jeter-Cano-Betemit, Rodriguez-Cano-Betemit 2, Cano-Jeter-Betemit).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Wang (W, 7-2)	7.1	7	1	1	2	2	0	4.30
Veras (H, 3)	0.2	0	0	0	2	0	0	3.71
Rivera (S, 17)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.90

Oakland	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Hannahan, DH	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.236
Crosby, SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.264
Cust, LF	3	1	1	0	1	0	2	.249
1-Davis, PR-CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.191
Chavez, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	0	2	.286
Ellis, 2B	4	0	3	1	0	0	2	.244
Barton, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	2	3	.227
Buck, RF-LF	3	0	0	0	1	0	2	.165
Gonzalez, C, CF-RF	3	0	2	0	1	0	1	.263
Suzuki, C	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	.251
Totals	31	1	8	1	4	3	20
1-Ran for Cust in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Ellis 2 (12, Wang, Wang). TB: Crosby; Cust; Ellis 5; Gonzalez, C 2; Suzuki. RBI: Ellis (23). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gonzalez, C; Buck; Ellis; Suzuki. GIDP: Crosby; Suzuki 2; Cust. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Davis (11, 2nd base off Veras/Posada). FIELDING Outfield assists: Gonzalez, C (Abreu at 3rd base). DP: (Chavez-Ellis-Barton).

Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Eveland (L, 4-5)	6.0	4	2	2	6	3	0	3.76
Gaudin	1.1	2	0	0	0	1	0	3.29
Embree	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.00
Foulke	1.0	1	1	1	0	1	1	3.10

Balk: Eveland.
HBP: Hannahan (by Wang), Giambi (by Embree).
Pitches-strikes: Wang 83-46, Veras 20-9, Rivera 20-13,
Eveland 100-51, Gaudin 22-13, Embree 12-9, Foulke 20-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Wang 15-5, Veras 2-0, Rivera 0-2,
Eveland 7-7, Gaudin 1-1, Embree 0-0, Foulke 1-1.
Batters faced: Wang 28, Veras 4, Rivera 4, Eveland 26,
Gaudin 5, Embree 3, Foulke 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Embree 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Crawford. 1B: Brian O'Nora. 2B: Paul Nauert.
3B: D.J. Reyburn.
Weather: 74 degrees, clear.
Wind: 12 mph, L to R.
T: 2:58.
Att: 26,402.

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Around the Horn - 4/11

Mad Dog Russo must be having a wet dream, the Giants have won 3 in a row. Kevin Correia gave them 7+ shutout innings last night in a 5-1 win over the Cardinals.

Rookie of the Year candidate Geovany Soto had 4 hits, including a home run in the Cubs 7-3 win over the Pirates. Jon Lieber threw 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball to pick up the win.

The Marlins sent the Nationals to their 7th straight loss, 4-3. Jorge Cantu enjoyed a 3-hit, 2 RBI night.

Aaron Heilman and the Mets blew a 3-0 lead, but Angel Pagan saved the day with the game winning single in the bottom of the 12th for a 4-3 win over the Phillies. Heilman has allowed 6 runs in 6 innings this season.

Edwin Encarnacion's 2-run HR snapped a 1-1 in the 7th to lead the Reds over the Brewers 4-1.

The Braves-Rockies game was rained out and will be made up at a later date. The Braves did place closer Rafael Soriano on the 15-day DL with elbow tendinitis.

The Orioles 6-game winning streak came to a screeching halt, as the Texas Rangers swept them in a twi-night doubleheader. Kevin Millwood improved to 1-2, 1.29 in helping the Rangers take game 1, 3-1. Michael Young homered, and C.J. Wilson completed a two-save night as the Ranger took the nightcap, 5-4.

Travis Buck drove in all 3 A's runs, including the game winning 2-run double in the 12th, as Oakland topped the Blue Jays 4-3. Keith Foulke gave up a run in the bottom of the 12th, but picked up his first save since 2005. The A's lost Rich Harden to the DL once again, this time with a strained back.

The Tigers got offense for the 2nd straight night- 6 runs- but their pitching got pummeled in a 12-6 loss to the Red Sox. Mike Lowell was put on the DL with a sprained left thumb, but his replacement, Sean Casey, knocked in 3 runs.

2-0, 0.64 ERA. Looking at those stats, you wouldn't think we would be taking about Rays starter Edwin Jackson, but that's exactly what his numbers are so far. The normally erratic right-hander went 8 innings in the Rays 7-0 pasting of the Mariners. Backup catcher Mike DeFelice knocked in 3 runs.

The Twins and White Sox were rained out and we'll make it up at a later date.

The Indians had the day off, but rewarded Fausto Carmona with a 4-year, $15 million deal.

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MLB News - 2/16

Keith Foulke, who was a major part of the Red Sox end to the "Curse of the Bambino" has decided to call it quits. Foulke had signed with the Cleveland Indians this past off-season, but after feeling discomfort in his throwing elbow, he has decided to call it quits. Foulke missed most of the last 2 seasons with injuries.

Former Yankee and current Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti has only just started to work with newcomer Barry Zito, but is already concerned. Zito changed his delivery during the off-season (was Rick Peterson in on this?). After adding 10 pounds of muscle to his legs and core, Zito has lengthened his delivery. Righetti feels the new style will wear him down quicker.

Dmitri Young was released by the Detroit Tigers during last season's stretch drive due to his antics on and off the field. The Washington Nationals have decided to give "The Meathook" a new life in DC by signing him to a minor league deal.

Jorge De Paula has moved on from the Yankees after failing to fully recover from Tommy John surgery over the last 2 seasons.

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