GAME 52: It was a blowout in the making. Then it got a little dicey. Then it was on the verge of a laugher again. Then it got dicey again. The Bombers had a 7-0 lead after 4 innings, but the Cardinals brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of 9th. Nothing these days is easy in Yankeeland, huh? In the end, the bullpen got it done and the Yankees took both the game and the series with a 7-4 win.
With some timely hitting against St. Louis starter Shelby Miller in the third and fourth innings, the Yanks jumped out to 4-0, then 7-0 leads. Batting stars included Jacoby Ellsbury, John Ryan Murphy, with 2-hit nights by Brian Roberts, Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, and Brendan Ryan.
Kuroda Finally Gets Run Support
Can’t remember the last time the bats staked starter Hiroki Kuroda to a 7-run lead, but he struggled throughout and could not get out of the sixth inning. Kuroda pitched nicely out of a base loaded jam in the third, while allowing single runs in the 4th, 5th, and 6th before being lifted for Matt Thornton. Thornton was pulled after a Kolton Wong comebacker glanced his glove for an infield single, leaving Cardinals on first and third with two outs. Manager Joe Girardi signaled for Dellin Betances, who quelled the threat with one pitch, his only toss of the night.
Adam Warren got two quick outs in the 8th before allowing a double to Matt Carpenter, which prompted Girardi to call in closer David Robertson for a 4-out wrap up with a 7-3 lead (not a save situation). Robertson allowed a Kolton Wong single which scored Carpenter, now 7-4 Yankees. D-Rob struck out Matt Holliday to end the 8th.
Robertson didn’t look sharp starting the 9th, allowing a single and a walk to start the inning. He then struck out the next three batters to seal the deal.
Here’s the box score and recap.
GAMEDAY NOTES: The Bombers finished their two city, 9 game road trip with a 5-4 mark, and head back to The Bronx to face the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Old buddy Phil Hughes is on the schedule to pitch Sunday against Chase Whitley, in Whitley’s first start against against an American League club… The Yankees bullpen boasts an MLB-high in strikeouts with 199. Thank you, Dellin Betances … And for those keeping score at home, the one pitch Betances threw tonight was enough to earn him his 5th ‘hold’ of the season, statistically speaking.
MEMORY LANE: On today’s date, May 28th, in 2004, Mariano Rivera posts his 300th career save in a Yankees’ 7-5 victory over Tampa Bay. He also becomes the first Yankee and the 17th reliever in major league history to reach the milestone. (Source: Baseball Reference)
Also on today’s date, in 1946 the New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators 2-1 before 49,917 fans in the first night game at Yankee Stadium (Source: Today in Baseball History). Some great baseball names were involved in this one — Washington’s Dutch Reynolds out pitched New York’s Cuddles Marshall, while Snuffy Stirnweiss was at third base for the Yanks. Some more-familiar names included Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich, Joe Gordon, Phil Rizzuto, and Charlie Keller. The game took a manageable 1:59 to play. ‘Cuddles’ birth name was Clarence Westly Marshall, and ‘Snuffy’ answered to George Henry Stirnweiss …
