A big game on the big stage at the big ballpark in the Bronx.
And, Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter come through – and then some! – for the Yankees. Should we be surprised by any of this?
Say whatever you want about this game…in terms of who did what, etc. But, there’s no way that you cannot say that 90% of this win, if not more, was all about Andy Pettitte throwing an absolute gem of a game for eight innings – along with Derek Jeter providing both a huge two-out, two-run, double in the bottom of the third and a (at the time) game-saving play in the field, in the top of the seventh inning (ending the frame and snuffing out a Rays rally before they could plate a run).
The two old pros, Pettitte and Jeter, really got the job done for the Yanks tonight.
Score this one: Big win.
Granted, in the first seven innings, there were some items of concern for New York:
Bottom of the third, runners on second and third, no outs, and the next two batters whiff (before Jeter’s big double).
Bottom of the fourth, runner on second with one out and the Yanks cannot move the runner.
Bottom of the fifth, runners on first and second, no outs, and the next batter whiffs – followed by an inning-ending GIDP.
For a while, it looked like the Yankees failures (above) may have come back to haunt them in this one. But, that Jeter play in the seventh, followed by the offense waking up in the eighth, was enough to lock this one down for New York.
Again: Big win. Especially with Sir Sidney going for the Yankees tomorrow afternoon.
7 Responses to “July 8th vs. The Rays”
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July 9th, 2008 at 9:45 am
As we used to say, “that’s Yankee baseball.”
July 9th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Just a few questions about the game last night:
1) Why did Girardi have Veras, Farnsworth, Giese, Ramirez, and Rivera all warming up in the 7th and 8th innings? Did EVERYONE need to get up and throw last night?
2) Did anyone else notice the contrast in Cano’s final two AB’s? He swung at the first pitch and grounded out in the 6th and then came back and hit an RBI single on an 11-pitch AB in the 8th. A happy medium between those two extremes would be fine with me.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:11 am
~~Why did Girardi have Veras, Farnsworth, Giese, Ramirez, and Rivera all warming up in the 7th and 8th innings? Did EVERYONE need to get up and throw last night?~~
I think Joe was running this one like it was a World Series game – that’s how bad the Yankees needed and wanted the win.
I think he had Veras up when it looked like Pettitte might be tiring…and then, I’m guessing, that Pettitte talked Joe into letting him go out there for the 8th.
But, then, he had Farnsworth getting ready for the 8th too…just in case.
Mo/Ramirez? That was a safety net thing…Mo to pitch the 9th if it was a 2-0 game and Ramirez to pitch the 9th if it was not a save situation…
But, yes, a lot of Yankees pen men got the “dry hump” last night…again, I think because Joe was running this game like the Yankees life depended on it.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:14 am
>> Bottom of the third, runners on second and third, no outs, and the next two batters whiff (before Jeter’s big double). >>
Although those two batters were Gardner and Melky — two guys I would expect to be overmatched by Kazmir.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Make an out…fine…but, they have to make contact in that spot…esp. considering that they’re supposed to be contact hitters.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Considering what Jeter did, it’s probably better they struck out.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
a lot of Yankees pen men got the “dry hump” last night…again, I think because Joe was running this game like the Yankees life depended on it.
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Agreed.