One Swing Leads to Yankees Winn
Randy Winn did not come to the Yankees expecting to fit into the typical Bronx Bomber form. He did not come here to mash bombs into the upper deck. Randy Winn came to the Yankees to help the team win on a daily basis whenever he is called upon. With Curtis Granderson on the disabled list, it is inevitable that Winn and Marcus Thames will be splitting time in left field as Brett Gardner temporarily transitions himself into the center field role until Granderson is ready to go. Winn got the nod in yesterday’s start against the righty throwing Jeremy Guthrie, and in his first at-bat, it didn’t look like he was going to contribute much as he grounded out weakly to first base. In his second at-bat, Winn came to the plate with Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner on base with the score tied at one apiece. With a 1-0 count, Winn swung at Guthrie’s second pitch, a 91 MPH fastball, and drove it over the right-center field wall for a 3-run homer to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead which C.C. Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain helped to preserve throughout the rest of the game. It was Winn’s first home run since April 25, 2009 or 491 at-bats.
Nick Swisher continued his hot hitting with a solid 3-3 performance at the plate, with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Sabathia was lights out for fourth win of the season. He pitched eight strong innings, allowing six hits, two strikeouts, and two walks. Joba came in for the ninth inning to close the door for his first save of the season.
The Yankees will play the second game of the 3-game series against the Orioles tonight at 7:05pm in the Bronx as we’ll see a re-match from last week… A.J. Burnett vs. Brian Matusz.
Photo courtesy of Zimbio.com
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