Jo-So-Mo Closes the Door in Yanks Win

Commentary:

Thanks to the creativity of Michael Kay (YES play-by-play announcer) we now have a name for the "Big 3" in the Yanks bullpen: "JoSoMo" in reference to Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano, and Mariano Rivera.  Whether that sticks, is up for debate.  Some dedicated YES listeners may also remember the attempt at QuanGorMo several years back during the Quantrill, Gordon, and Rivera years.  This never caught on so don't expect Kay's latest acronym to see any popularity.  The point however is that JoSoMo again did what they accomplished so nicely on Thursday in the Yanks opener and made the last 3 innings a breeze for New York.  All three pitchers looked great again and if this trend continues (as it looks like it should) scoring runs in the last three innings of any ballgame against the Yanks will be as difficult as it was for Phil Hughes to get outs yesterday.  Add a dominant Dave Robertson and a good lefty in Feliciano to the mix, and you have arguably the best bullpen in the majors.

But the main story from tonight's 4-3 win against the Minnesota Twins (yes the Twins lost at Yankee Stadium again if you can believe that) was the youngster Ivan Nova.  His line of 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K is just what you'd like to see from your fourth starter.  Although not dominant, Nova showed poise on the mound and worked out of some jams.  He induced an inning ending double play in the 5th from Delmon Young and got a key strikeout  to close out his night in the 6th.  A good start from the rookie on the pitching staff and he showed signs of promise.

As for the offense, it looks like Buster Olney may be writing another article about the ridiculous rate of HRs at the Stadium (article written 2 years ago).  Posada and A-Rod both connected on 2 shots this evening and accounted for all the scoring offense.  The Twins, to their credit, responded and scored 3 runs to make the game close (as they always seem to do) but couldn't muster any rally against the already overused acronym JoSoMo.  So while not a great night offensively by the Yanks despite the HRs, the pitching stepped up which was a relief after yesterday's batting practice.  And once again, the Twins came up short which should be no surprise and you begin to wonder if Gardenhire would rather just not play again.

Grades:

Offense:  B  4 Runs, 7 Hits and 4 BB is a decent night but 0-3 w/RISP keeps this grade from being higher.  While the HRs early this season are great and many players are off to a red-hot start, scoring needs to come from other places rather than just the long ball.

Starting Pitching (Nova): B+  Great first start for the youngster who showed promise and poise.  Kept the Yanks in the ball game for 6 innings.  Should be great to watch him progress this season.

Bullpen: A  Can't be an A+ due to a few base runners although the Soriano's baserunner came on a ball that deflected off his glove and Rivera's came on a ball that was tapped to center field on a great pitch low and away.  Once again the trio in the 7/8/9 inning did the job.

Weather for Tomorrow's Matchup: 

Bring the heavy jacket tomorrow as it will feel more like fall with a gusty wind and chillier temps.  No rain in the forecast though so there should be no problem getting the game in.

Game Time Conditions:  Temperature of 46 under mostly cloudy skies and a gusty NW wind of 20 mph.