Commentary:
What began as a battle between two starting pitchers (Burnett and Drabek) that have had strong starts early turned into a battle of the bullpens that Toronto ended up winning in the 10th inning on a Travis Snider double to left center that plated Escobar off of Ivan Nova who for some ridiculous reason was in the game.
Both starting pitchers performed adequately for their respective clubs with both of them going 5.1 IP and allowing 6 hits. Burnett left with the lead and in position to pick up his fourth win of the year. Both pitchers had issues finding the strike zone with Burnett issuing 5 walks and Drabek 4. So far this season, only 56% of Drabek's pitches have been for strikes which is one of the lowest percentages in the league. Burnett also threw his 6th wild pitch of the season which was the Yankees' 9th at the time and soon to become 10 courtesy of Mariano Rivera.
The bullpen took over for both pitchers in the 6th and while New York was able to shut the Jays down early with Robertson, Joba, and Soriano, Toronto held the Yankees at bay when it mattered. Mariano came in with a 5-3 lead and a chance to earn a save. He promptly gave up hits and a squeeze play that tied that game at 5. The location and movement weren't there tonight for Mo. Could it be an issue of early season overuse? Hmm...something to consider.
The loser of this game however would be Ivan Nova who entered in the bottom of the 10th after the Yanks failed to score in the top of the inning despite 2 walks. Why Nova was pitching, I have no idea. Lance Pendleton is the better option. He had been perfect in his 3 innings over the weekend and is used to being summoned out of the bullpen. Nova has been a starter and has walked 9 batters and allowed 17 hits in 14 innings...WAY TO MANY base runners to bring him in in a situation that demands near perfection which Pendleton showed he could accomplish.
As for the Yankee offense, it was nice to see some runs being scored NOT via the home run with a RBI single from Posada and a run scoring DP ground out by Martin. But a game would not be complete without the long ball so Teixiera promptly delivered a 2 run shot and Granderson added a solo blast. What is troubling however is Brett Gardner who went 0-4 at the plate and saw his average dip below .130. This is unacceptable and he must get it turned around soon. It adds an entire new dimension to the Yankees offense when he is on base like he was last year.
Tough loss to swallow for the Yanks but Mo was going to blow a save sooner or later. Let's just hope that his lack of command wasn't a result of too much work early in the season.
Grades:
Offense: B+ Couldn't get it going in the 10th when they needed it and they hit into a few double plays. Gardner needs to get on track.
Starting Pitching (Burnett): B- Not a great start but you can live with 3 runs over 5.1 IP. Too many walks and he really lost control of the game when the Jays started hitting him the 6th. Must still work on consistency throughout the game and not losing focus although I will say that Martin seems to be doing a great job helping AJ.
Bullpen: C Can't be anything higher than that despite great performances from Robertson and Joba and a decent job by Soriano. Mo blew the save and Nova should never have been allowed to pitch the 10th. Poor managerial decision.
Weather:
No verification or forecast due to domed stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment