Seriously, how much does that picture piss you off?
For the third straight night the Yankees offense was a no show as the Yanks fell to the Mets 4-0 at the stadium. This time it was lefty Hisanori Takahashi who shut the Yankees down, holding them scoreless over six innings. His final inning was his roughest.
Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira singled with out to put runners on first and second. Alex Rodriguez was up and with the Yankees down just 1-0, a hit would most likely tie the game. A-Rod, who went 0-for-4, grounded out weakly to first and moved the runners to second and third. Robinson Cano then walked to load the bases, but Jorge Posada hit a weak grounder to David Wright and the rally was dead.
The Yankees would have chances again in the eighth and ninth, but by that time, thanks to the Yankees bullpen, the Mets lead had grown.
Chan Ho Park started the eighth, and following a walk to Ruben Tejada and a double by Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan extended the Mets lead to 3-0 with a two-run double. David Wright then grounded out before Boone Logan came in.
Logan did a good job getting out of the eighth, but in the ninth he gave up three straight hits and the Mets' fourth run.
Now, with a four-run lead and no save situation, Raul Valdes came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and things got a little interesting. After Posada flew out, Cervelli singled and Granderson singled to put two on.
Jerry Manuel had seen enough and it was now a save situation so he called on his closer Francisco Rodriguez. Brett Gardner then had the at-bat of the night, drawing a walk after a 12-pitch battle that saw him foul off seven pitches. The Yankees now had the tying run at the plate and two outs to work with. Obviously, they didn't do too much with those outs. Jeter struck out on three pitches, and Swisher popped out in foul territory to end the game.
With 11 men left on and an 0-for-9 with RISP, this one is on the offense, with a little help from Park and Logan. One area that was not a problem tonight was starting pitching.
I saved any talk about Javier Vazquez for last because it's the only part of the game to feel good about and I figured I'd end with something positive. Javy was very strong over seven innings, allowing just a run on three hits and three walks, while striking out four. Two of those hits, and the Mets only run aganst him, came in the first when Wright doubled and Ike Davis following with an RBI single.
Vazquez walked two straight batters in the sixth, but he was never in trouble the rest of the night. This is the sixth time in seven starts that Javy has looked like the starter we thought we signed this offseason, and he deserved a better result than his sixth loss of the year.
So, after winning nine in a row at home, the Yankees have now lost three straight. Luckily, the Rays are have also dropped three in a row and the Yanks are still tied for first. On the other hand, Boston has won four straight and is just one game behind.
It will be a battle of nine-game winners in the Bronx Saturday afternoon as Phil Hughes will face Mike Pelfrey. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. and the game is on. YES!
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