Uncle Sal's Take

Beckett disses Tek’s Girl

I can’t blame Tek, good eye son

So you have some injuries, feeling sorry for yourself, nice job by Feinsand

Joe Girardi indicated the Yankees would consider calling up a reliever for the Anaheim series after using Alfredo Aceves for 3.1 innings today. He will not be available until after the break. Ace would be gone for 3 games after the break if they send him down, most likely Alba or Robertson will go.

Mark Melancon would seem like a possibility, or perhaps Edwar Ramirez,

The Twins were primed to drop the New Yorkers on their wallet this week. With the 4 game sweep they endured from the Bombers in May, three of the games walk offs still stuck in their craw, Minnesota was looking for payback. But the Yankees patiently carved up the third place Twins in their own house for a three game sweep, the first sweep at home for the Twins this season.

The Twins never held a lead in any of the three games, as the Yanks went vintage on Minnesota,  the patient veteran lineup of the Yankees forced Liriano to throw 55 pitches to get through two innings. That came after they made Scott Baker throw 57 pitches in his first two frames on Tuesday night. In the 7 games 4 of them were won by 1 run,  two of the games by 2 runs and one a laugher. So the Yankees left the Twin Cities feeling lucky, a bloop and a blast, a key hit here and there, and this whole  7 game saga could have had a different ending.

It was in the second inning when Liriano got taken to school, giving up three runs. He began the inning by walking Big Al and hitting  Posada with a pitch. A fielding error by second baseman Matt Tolbert on a potential double-play ball that  Cano chopped up the middle loaded the bases. Then Yankee whipping boy Cody Ransom he of .177 BA fame behind on the count 0-2 coaxed a walk to score the first run, Gardner grounded out to log the second run, and Jeter got the only hit to score the third run of the inning. With Liriano on the ropes the Yanks decided to play some little league baseball and try a double steal that failed miserably. I think Gardner’s speed made the Yankees try to push the envelope with Jeter taking off for second and Gardner scampering home only to be thrown out to kill the rally.

Four of the Yankees’ six runs on Thursday were driven in by the Yanks 7-9 hitters, including two by Ransom. Over the three-game series, the bottom of the Bombers order went 13-for-34 (.382) with 13 RBIs. That’s spreading the wealth, and a very good sign for the surging Yankees.

In the 4th inning Posada and Cano a lethal combination since Robbie was placed down in the line up, got the party started with a single and a double. After Melky popped up, Ransom singled to drive in the Yanks 4th run, and a very hot Gardner singled to knock in the 5th run of the game. Tex hit his 21st HR in the 5th inning to cap off the Yankee scoring.

The Yanks kept giving Alfredo Aceves a cushion but Ace just didn’t have it on Thursday. He looked a bit out of sorts in his spot start. He wasn’t fooling anybody,  he got rocked hard in the first inning, saved by some nice plays from Tex and Melky in left.  With a 3 run lead In the second inning I really thought Ace was gonna go into his magic trick 7 pitch arsenal but he couldn’t find the rabbit in his hat. He was pitching ahead in the count to Kubel but  grooved a meatball that Kubel deposited over the center field wall for the Twins first run. Ace walked Cuddyer,he had him picked off but the ball slipped out of his hand for an error. Ransom didn’t help matters with a throwing error that scored Cuddyer and the Twins were right back in it 3-2  and knocking on the door.

The real Ace showed up in a 1-2-3 third inning, the hi-light being a great sequence of pitches that struck Joe Mauer, the 81 mph curve pulled the string on Joey Superstar for the punch out. I thought Aceves was gonna find his groove off that sequence, but no dice. Staged with a 3 run lead Ace coughed it up again in the 4th. A one out double, a single, a hit batter and Girardi had to throw in the towel and pull Ace from his big start. 3.1 innings 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 4 runs crossed the plate on his watch after Robertson came in to try and put out the blaze. Robbie got off to a great start striking out Punto, but lost the plate trying to close the deal and walked the next two batters scoring two runs both charged to Ace. Robbie was able to get out of the frame without anymore damage.

It wasn’t until the 5th inning that the Yankee pen steadied the  wayward ship. Another  one out walk by Robertson and Girardi had to yank him for Johnny Albaladejo, who did a nice job striking out two of the three batters he faced in the 5th and going 1-2-3 in the 6th to stretch the game to the elite Yankee closers in the 7th.

Phil Coke who received high praise from the Twins, “I like how their bullpen looks, it’s pretty tough,” said Jason Kubel, who hit his 14th homer of the season in the second. “The lefty, [Phil Coke], I can’t even touch the ball off him. He’s tough.”  Mauer  led off the inning taking a page from the Mickey Mantle play book and laid down a brilliant bunt to start the inning. Coke got Morneau to force out Mauer at second and struck out Kubel. In came the new star bullpen set up guy Phil Hughes. Hughes got behind on the count but received a gift when the ball popped away from Posada and Morneau was afflicted by Brett Gardner disease and took off for second base, a great side arm throw from Jorge nailed the big first baseman for the rally killer. Hughes came out and blew out the Twins in the 8th inning, and Mo put them to bed in the 9th for the 3 game sweep.

The Yanks head to LA and face the always tough LA Angels. The Halo’s will be without Vlade and Hunter so some of the sting will be taken out of their line-up, but your in for a toe to toe anytime you step between the lines against a Mike Scioscia team. Joba Chamberlain will make the start, the Angels are as patient as can be, and will not swing at anything out of the strike zone. Chamberlain has made nibbling the corners and full counts an art form in his recent starts, he’s taylor made for a Scioscia team, not to mention the Yanks will be thin in the pen. I’m sure we’ll see a call up from triple A to help out with Albaladejo just pitching 1.2 he’s on the shelf I would think, Hughes just went back to back for the first time I would think he gets the night off, Ace is spent, Robertson threw 28 labored pitches, so that leaves the Atomic Bomb Tomko, Bruney, a possible call up, and Joba the nibbler to keep the winning streak going and try to keep pace with the Redsox who gave up the division lead and are now tied with the Yanks after Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson combined to allow four runs in a game-changing top of the sixth inning, giving the light hitting Kansas City Royals an 8-6 victory at Fenway Park. Are the Yankees the only team who can’t beat the Redsox?