Game Recap: Bullpen Gets the Joba Done (4/6/2010)
Well, it took the Yankees 2 games against the Red Sox in 2010 before they won their first game against their biggest rival as the Yanks beat the Sox by a score of 6-4. As we all know, last season it took the Yankees until the 9th game against the hated Red Sox before they actually won a game against their rival. I would love to sit here and say that this is an incredible sign, but in all reality, it is not. The Yankees should not have taken that long to beat them last year, and sure, beating them in the 2nd game of the season seems great, but that’s exactly what it is, the second game of the season. While the Yankees did a lot of things extremely well last night, their starting pitching went through some struggles. A.J. Burnett’s pitch count escalated rapidly at the start of the game. He lasted 5 innings, throwing 94 pitches, while surrendering 7 hits, 3 earned runs, and a home run to Victor Martinez. One thing all fans should note is that Burnett and Jorge Posada appeared to be on the same page during those 5 innings and they both took big steps towards building a strong, solid battery. I personally feel that they pitched extremely well together.
There are two things that I really want to point out in the Yankees 6-4 victory. The Yankees bullpen was absolutely lights out. The Yankees needed 5 relievers for the final 4 innings. They surrendered only 2 hits in those 4 frames, allowing ZERO runs, ZERO walks, and striking out 3. That is the type of performance needed by the ‘pen on a daily basis. The highlights out of
the bullpen are Alfredo Aceves and Joba Chamberlain. Aceves was called upon in the 6th inning and provided 2 no-hit innings. Robertson followed in the 8th, gave up a hit to Youkilis, the only batter he faced. He was taken out after the hit, and Girardi summoned Marte to face Ortiz. I am not sure why, but Marte made a pick-off attempt to first base, threw the ball away, and Youkilis advanced to 2nd. He was able to get Ortiz to fly out to center, and Girardi then brought on Chamberlain for the last two outs of the inning. Let me tell you… Joba was dominating! He struck out Beltre and Drew. His slider had so much bite, and his fastball had so much pop (96 MPH) that you couldn’t help but think that this was the Joba from ’07. Not so fast fans… as much as I would like to believe that, he still has a ways to go this year.
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One other thing I want to point out is Nick Johnson. To all you naysayers out there who questioned this move by the Yankees, Johnson just shut you up. After the Yankees loaded the bases with 2-outs and the score tied in the 8th, Nick Johnson came up and worked a 2-out bases loaded walk that scored Posada, the eventual winning run. This is exactly the reason why the Yankees signed Johnson. He is an on-base machine, who will work the count, and get on-base when we need him to. One other offensive note is that Robinson Cano hit his first home run of the season to give the Yankees a 6-4 cushion in the top of the 9th inning. I have a feeling we will be seeing a good amount of clutch hitting this season by Cano.
All-in-all it was a great win for the Yankees. The one negative thought that came to mind as I watched the game was how poorly the Yankees defense played. Fortunately, the Red Sox weren’t able to capitalize on those miscues; however, 3 errors cannot happen if you want to win. It’s still early and the Yankees will turn it around. To read more on the Yankees victory on 4/6, check out the Game Wrap-up on Yankees.com.
Coming up next… Yankees vs. Red Sox tonight (4/7) at Fenway Park starting at 7:10pm (Pettitte vs. Lackey)
BronxBombersBeat.com will be hosting a live blog during the game tonight. Be sure to check it out!
Photos courtesy of Zimbio.com
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Hey Brian, great post. The part i love the best is about the Johnson naysayers. And you are right about the Yankees getting Nick for OBP. If Johnson got a ground out or a fly out,the naysayers would’ve torn him apart. It just proves that being patient at the plate paysoff. As the saying goes that i’ve heard since little league “which wasn’t yesterday” a walk is just as good as a hit.