The Baltimore Orioles came to Yankees Stadium looking for revenge after getting swept in Camden Yards a few weeks ago and made the Yanks look like a feeble group of old ladies.
Monday night's first game was the only bright spot for the Yankees as they inched out a 2-1 victory thanks to a number of highlight reel plays on defense and a solid 7 innings of pitching from Hiroki Kuroda. After being down 1-0, Eric Chavez sent a 2-run homer deep into the Yankees bullpen which took care of all the scoring for the night. Plenty of leather was flashed by the Yanks defense; including diving plays in left field from Eduardo Nunez, line drives snagged by Jeter and Teixeira, and a nifty doubleplay turned by Jeter to end the game. With Mariano Rivera on to close it out, it was a rarity to see a hard enough hit ball that could be used to turn two with. With Nick Swisher out from a hamstring pull and Brett Gardner still not back from the DL, manager Joe Girardi was forced to play Nunez in left; a move that would come back to haunt him the next night.
To say Phil Hughes hasn't had a good start to the 2012 season is an understatement, so before entering his next start he reviewed film of himself from 2009 when he came out of the bullpen and was considered the best set-up man in baseball.
For the first time in a long time Hughes looked 2009-ish as he reached upwards to 95 mph with his fastball and looked crisp early on. Curtis Granderson hit an absolute bomb off of Orioles starter Brian Matusz to give Hughes a 1-0 lead, but Hughes later gave up a homer of his own to Chris Davis to tie the score. Later on, Hughes gave up a 2-run shot to J.J. Hardy to put the Yanks in a 3-1 hole. All in all, without those two homers, Hughes was semi-decent for a change. With runner of base and having to face Chris Davis again, who homered earlier, Girardi opted to bring in Boone Logan who surrendered a hit to make it 4-1, and then for the cherry on top Eduardo Nunez (playing an unfamiliar position due to the injuries and current lack of roster depth) misplayed a routine fly ball to make it 6-1 in favor of the O's.
The Yankees bats were pathetic, especially with runners in scoring position and the heart of the order, alla Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano, swinging at first pitches and doing absolutely nothing with it. A usual laughing stock, Brian Matusz earned his first major league win since the Stone Age in a 7-1 victory.
The final game of the set was no better for the Yankee offense as Orioles starter Jake Arrieta was untouchable. Ivan Nova had his streak of being undefeated in his last 15 regular season starts ended with no help from the bats in a 5-0 loss. Both Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis went deep on Nova, who left in the 7th inning. The most bizarre occurrence of the night was Eric Chavez who had to be taken out of the game due to a whip-lash he felt in the middle of an at-bat. Earlier in the game, Chavez made a diving attempt at a line drive hit by J.J Hardy which caused the sensation.
Now with another injured Yankee player (who was actually hitting), the team limps into Kansas City with a 13-11 record....
Monday night's first game was the only bright spot for the Yankees as they inched out a 2-1 victory thanks to a number of highlight reel plays on defense and a solid 7 innings of pitching from Hiroki Kuroda. After being down 1-0, Eric Chavez sent a 2-run homer deep into the Yankees bullpen which took care of all the scoring for the night. Plenty of leather was flashed by the Yanks defense; including diving plays in left field from Eduardo Nunez, line drives snagged by Jeter and Teixeira, and a nifty doubleplay turned by Jeter to end the game. With Mariano Rivera on to close it out, it was a rarity to see a hard enough hit ball that could be used to turn two with. With Nick Swisher out from a hamstring pull and Brett Gardner still not back from the DL, manager Joe Girardi was forced to play Nunez in left; a move that would come back to haunt him the next night.
To say Phil Hughes hasn't had a good start to the 2012 season is an understatement, so before entering his next start he reviewed film of himself from 2009 when he came out of the bullpen and was considered the best set-up man in baseball.
For the first time in a long time Hughes looked 2009-ish as he reached upwards to 95 mph with his fastball and looked crisp early on. Curtis Granderson hit an absolute bomb off of Orioles starter Brian Matusz to give Hughes a 1-0 lead, but Hughes later gave up a homer of his own to Chris Davis to tie the score. Later on, Hughes gave up a 2-run shot to J.J. Hardy to put the Yanks in a 3-1 hole. All in all, without those two homers, Hughes was semi-decent for a change. With runner of base and having to face Chris Davis again, who homered earlier, Girardi opted to bring in Boone Logan who surrendered a hit to make it 4-1, and then for the cherry on top Eduardo Nunez (playing an unfamiliar position due to the injuries and current lack of roster depth) misplayed a routine fly ball to make it 6-1 in favor of the O's.
The Yankees bats were pathetic, especially with runners in scoring position and the heart of the order, alla Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano, swinging at first pitches and doing absolutely nothing with it. A usual laughing stock, Brian Matusz earned his first major league win since the Stone Age in a 7-1 victory.
The final game of the set was no better for the Yankee offense as Orioles starter Jake Arrieta was untouchable. Ivan Nova had his streak of being undefeated in his last 15 regular season starts ended with no help from the bats in a 5-0 loss. Both Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis went deep on Nova, who left in the 7th inning. The most bizarre occurrence of the night was Eric Chavez who had to be taken out of the game due to a whip-lash he felt in the middle of an at-bat. Earlier in the game, Chavez made a diving attempt at a line drive hit by J.J Hardy which caused the sensation.
Now with another injured Yankee player (who was actually hitting), the team limps into Kansas City with a 13-11 record....
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