GAME 41: Yankees starter David Phelps finally has a pitching record — 1-0 — after gutting out 5 scoreless frames against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Benefiting from the offensive barrage, it was enough to earn his first ‘W’ in three starts. Dellin Betances and Matt Daley successfully worked the last 4 innings to seal the deal.
HR Parade Secures Phelps Victory
For the second time in this young season, the Yankees turned into the Bronx Bombers, scorching five home runs in a game.
Red-hot Mark Tiexeira started the fireworks with his 8th round-tripper in the last 17 games, a 2-run shot in the first. Zoilo Almonte made the most of his stand-in start for Jacoby Ellsbury, who was a late scratch with a stomach bug. Almonte launched a solo blast in the third. In the 6th inning, center fielder Brett Gardner planted one to right, with today’s right fielder Alfonso Soriano doing similar to right-center in the 7th. Catcher Brian McCann added to a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 8th.
The Yank’s previous 5 home run outburst came at home against the Boston Red Sox in a 7-4 victory on April 12th. McCann hit a pair in that one.
Via LoHud’s recap, here’s a quip on Phelps from manager Joe Girardi:
“I wasn’t thrilled with (the pitch count), but I felt that he could settle down, and he did,” Girardi said. “I think any manager would say if you’re going to go 100 pitches, your preference would be nine complete innings. But that’s not the way the game is a whole lot anymore. It’s only his third start, so we’re a little bit patient with him. And we know that he’ll continue to improve.”
Here’s the box score and recap by Spencer Fordin (mlb.com).
MEMORY LANE: On today’s date in 1998 in pinstripe history, David Wells secured his place in baseball immortality by hurling a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins. Incredibily, it was the first perfecto by a Yankee pitcher tossed during the regular season in Yankee Stadium. Great footnotes surround Wells’ feat, including him partying into the wee hours the night before, and teammate David Cone breaking tradition by busting Wells’ boils as everyone else ignored him on the bench …
LET’S PLAY TWO: A rare single admission double-header is on the slate tomorrow. In a make-up for Friday night’s rainout, the Yanks and Bucs will jam in two on Sunday. Hiroki Kuroda will take the mound in the opener, with Vidal Nuno going in the nightcap.
