Just out of reach, again. Tonight's game began the last home stand for the New York Yankees, and it was a battle of "aces". I put that in quotes because neither pitcher has really pitched well of late. Still, it was a battle of pitching giants, with the potential of a playoff spot on the line. CC Sabathia took the mound tonight for the Yankees and David Price started for the Rays. This one was a little special for me, as I had the privilege of sitting with the Bleacher Creatures during tonight's game. I got to see the game and prepare a recap while feeling the palpable intensity of the crowd.
CC Sabathia came out strong in his first four innings, almost completely dominating the Rays. CC struck out four, one in each inning. He allowed only two base runners, one of those base runners reaching because of a passed ball on a third strike. His fastball was in the low 90s and his slider was in the mid-to-low 80s, creating enough variance that it kept hitters guessing and missing. Sabathia was cruising.
David Price seemed to be behind in the count for much of the night. Even though his fastball was in the mid to high 90s, he seemed to have trouble locating it. The bottom of the second brought out the roar of the crowd as the Yankees drew first blood. Russell Martin led off with a single. After being sacrificed to second by Andruw Jones, was singled in by Steve Pearce.
Sabathia lost his command in the top of the fifth, as Chris Gimenez led off with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Carlos Pena walked and Elliot Johnson singled in the tying run. Desmond Jennings singled in the go-ahead run and things started to get nervously quiet in the Stadium. A wild pitch moved the runners forward one base and took the double play - and a quick end to the inning - out of the equation. After Ben Zobrist walked to load the bases, Evan Longoria hit into a 5-5-3 double play that allowed the third run to score. CC finally escaped by inducing B.J. Upton to fly out, but the Yankees were in a hole.
In what could have been a turning point for the night, the Yankees offense responded immediately. Curtis Granderson led off with a monster shot over the center field wall just beyond the reach of the center fielder Upton, bringing the Yankees within one. Eduardo Nunez and Derek Jeter hit back-to-back singles, putting the tying run in scoring position. Nevertheless, the RISP goblins came back out again, as the Yankees threat ended right there. Here's a thought. Fill-in first baseman Steve Pearce batted 1.000 with men in scoring position tonight. The rest of the team batted .000 with one walk. What's wrong with this picture?
Derek Jeter's single was number 3284 of his career, and moved him past Willie Mays to #10 on the all-time hit list. The crowd was on its feet for what felt like a 5-minute standing ovation, as we chanted Jeter's name well into Nick Swisher's at-bat. Sorry Swish - nothing personal.
After a good sixth inning for CC, the seventh inning would be his last. Elliot Johnson reached first on a fielder's choice and stole second. A Ben Zobrist single brought Johnson in for a 4-2 lead and CC would hand the ball over to Cody Eppley. Eppley got out of the inning, but gave up a home run to Upton to lead off the eighth.
David Price settled down after the Jeter single, retiring the next eight batters before handing the ball over to Joel Peralta in the bottom of the eighth. Price's line for the night was 7 innings, six strikeouts, five hits, 2 runs. The box score makes him look dominant on a night when he was probably more hittable than usual.
With Peralta on the mound in the eighth, Jeter singled to lead off the inning. Alex Rodriguez hit a 420-foot home run into the second deck in left field, bringing us to our feet screaming our lungs out. More importantly, it was a meaningful home run that brought the team to within one. However, that would be all the offense we would see tonight.
Joba Chamberlain came in for the ninth. After retiring Matt Joyce, Desmond Jennings singled and stole second. Joba then retired Ben Zobrist and would have retired Evan Longoria to end the inning, except that Eduardo Nunez inexplicably lost a routine grounder, scoring Jennings. This would be the final deathblow to the Yankees tonight. Fernando Rodney would retire the side in order in the ninth.
Tonight was another frustrating loss. It was not that the Rays played better than we did. It was that we did not play well at all. Championship teams do not let the opposition steal second at will (three times tonight), failing to throw out a single runner. They do not issue a pair of wild pitches and a passed ball, putting men in scoring position in each case. Someone mentioned to me tonight about checking the score in the Baltimore game, how we needed the Orioles to lose. The problem with our playoff hopes is not the Baltimore Orioles. The problem is the New York Yankees. From July 18, when we had the 10-game lead, if we had just played .500 ball, we would be holding a 4-game lead now. Time is running out to get back on track.
Final Score: Rays 6, Yankees 4
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.