Check out the recaps of April, May, and June.
July Record: 18-9
Hitting Stars (OPS): E. Hinske (1.464), H. Matsui (.967), R. Cano (.916), A. Rodriguez (.905), D. Jeter (.902)
Pitching Stars (ERA)(>6 IP): M. Rivera (0.00), P. Hughes (0.61), AJ Burnett (2.43), J. Chamberlain (2.73)
The Yankees started July sporting a six game win streak, and took their second game from the Mariners to push the streak to 7 before dropping the finale. In the first game, the Yankees got a reviewed homer from Melky Cabrera and a tie breaking two run shot from Alex Rodriguez in the 6th to win 4-2. The finale went to the Mariners 8-4, as CC Sabathia had a poor outing.
The next series saw the Yanks take 3 out 4 from the Blue Jays, dropping just the last game. In the first game, they won 4-2 behind a strong outing from AJ Burnett, who beat his former team for the first time. The next game was a thriller, as the Yankees beat Roy Halladay for 5 runs and 3 home runs(including a game tying shot from Damon in the 7th), and CM Wang pitched into the 6th before leaving with injury. The Yankees won in the 12th on a walkoff single from Jorge Posada. The Yankees took the next contest 10-8, after Joba Chamberlain turned a 4-0 lead into an 8-4 deficit by the 4th inning with some “help” from Cody Ransom. The Yankees scored 3 in the 4th and 3 in the 5th to pull out the win, with Alfredo Aceves providing 4 stellar innings and Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter coming through with important homers. The finale saw the Yankees falling just short of recovering from a 7-1 7th inning deficit. The 1st inning saw Derek Jeter thrown out at 3rd in the infamous “the ball beat you there” play, and there was another controversial call in the 7th, involving a not even close neighborhood play and Eric Hinske at 2nd base. This was Hinske’s first game as a Yankee, and he homered in the 5th, but made the last out with a runner on first in a 7-6 game.
The Yankees continued their hot play by taking 3 from their favorite whipping boys, the Twins. The Yankees won the opener 10-2, with the only memorable play being Carlos Gomez’ amazing catch robbing A-Rod of a grand slam. The Yankees took the next game 4-3 behind AJ Burnett in a throughly unremarkable game that was interesting only because it was the first contest streamed online in-market. The Yankees won the finale 6-4 in the infamous “starting Aceves” game, which some claimed destroyed the balance of the solar system. Aceves pitched poorly, but Francisco Liriano did the same, and both pitchers were the victims of some bad defense (Cody freakin’ Ransom). Ransom did have 2 RBI’s, as did Brett Gardner, and the Yankees swept a snoozer of a series from the Twins after taking 4 from them over “walkoff weekend.” The vicotry allowed them to move into a tie for first place in the AL East.
The final series prior to the ASB helped wipe out some of the good feelings the Yankees had engendered over the prior weeks, as the Yankees dropped 3 to the Angels in Anaheim. In the first, Joba cruised into the 5th with a 5-1 lead, but left with the score tied after a 3-run shot from Kendry Morales. Mark Melancon allowed 2 runs in the 6th, and then put a runner on in the 7th, before Bruney walked a hitter and then allowed a 3-run shot to Erick Aybar to put the game away at 10-6. Jorge Posada did make a barehanded catch in the game. The next game unfolded similarly, with Andy Pettite turning a 4-1 lead into an 8-4 deficit in the 5th with some help from David Robertson. The Yankees did cut the deficit to 10-8 in the 8th, but Phil Coke allowed 4 runs to let the game get out of hand. A-Rod and Eric Hinske both had two homers in the game. The final game was more frustrating than those two doozies, with the Yankees dropping it 5-4. CC Sabathia allowed 4 runs in the 4th to put the Yankees behind 4-1, and John Lackey held that score into the 7th. Jorge Posada had a RBI double with nobody out, and the Yankees loaded the bases without an out. However, Mark Teixeira struck out and A-Rod hit into a hard DP to end the threat. Sabathia gave the run right back on a two out double from Figgins and a single from Izturis. The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out in the 8th, and got a RBI single from Melky, but could only get one more run on a sac fly to keep the deficit at 1 after Nick Swisher lined into a DP. The Yankees went 1-2-3 against Fuentes in the 9th to finish an awful sweep.
However, the Yankees came out of the ASB red hot, taking the first 8 contests of the second half. They started with a sweep of the Tigers in a tightly contested series. The Yanks trailed 3-2 in the 7th inning of the opener before Teixeira hit a 3 run blast to give the Yankees the 5-3 win. Phil Hughes struck out 6 in 2 innings. CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander locked horns the next day, keeping the game scoreless into the 7th. A-Rod led off the inning with a solo homer, Melky added a RBI single, and the Yanks held on for a 2-1 win. In the finale, Joba pitched into the 7th while allowing just one run and 8 K’s, and A-Rod and Teixeira hit solo homers off Edwin Jackson for the 2-1 victory.
The Yankees followed up with another sweep, with the Orioles playing the victim. The series kicked off with a doozy, as the Yankees won 2-1 on Hideki Matsui’s walkoff solo shot in the 9th. This game featured two plays at the plate in a 1-1 game during the top of the 8th. With 2nd and 3rd and one out, the infield was back, yet Teixeira came home anyhow on a hard grounder, and nailed Izturis at home. Phil Coke threw one in the dirt on the next pitch, Brian Roberts broke for home, and he was nailed at the plate by Jose Molina. One inning later, Hideki ended it. The Yanks took the next one 6-4 in Sergio Mitre’s first start of the year, and moved into first place. They took the finale by the same tally, with AJ Burnett taking a shutout into the 7th and Nick Swisher making a nice grab at the wall.
The Yankees then took 3 of 4 from Oakland, with the first game being a makeup for a rain out. The Yankees trailed 3-0 into the 4th before getting to Vin Mazzaro for 4 runs, coming on a 2-run shot from Tex and RBI hits from Posada and Hinske. Phil Hughes finished off a 6-3 victory with a two inning save, the first save of his short career. Joba Chamberlain had another strong outing the next day, going 7 innings while allowing just 1 run as the Yanks battered the A’s 8-3. The Yankees dropped the next game 6-4 in a game most fans will remember for the first real implosion from Alfredo Aceves. Aceves entered for Pettitte with the bases loaded and one out in a 1-1 game, and got Mark Ellis to pop out. However, Landon Powell singled, and two hits later, it was 6-1. The Yanks cut the lead to 6-4 on homers from Jeter and Teixeira, but Jorge Posada killed the rally with a DP in the 9th. Brett Gardner made two nice catches, but also injured his thumb and was lost for a few weeks. The next day, the Yankees won 7-5. The scored 4 in the first, with a bases clearing double by Cano the big shot, but trailed 5-4 in the 6th after Phil Coke served up a 2-run shot to Mark Ellis. The Yankees came right back with 3 runs, with a Derek Jeter 2-run single being the key hit. The Yanks also turned a stellar double play.
2 of 3 from Tampa came next, with the Yankees winning the first game 11-4 behind AJ Burnett and two homers from Nick Swisher. They dropped the middle game 6-2 as Sabathia struggled while Kazmir cruised. The finale was a 6-2 Yankees win behind another stellar outing from Joba, who turned in 8 shutout frames.
The last series of the month went poorly, as the Yankees lost the first two games of a series they would drop 3-1 to the White Sox. The first game was tied at 1 in the 7th when Andy Pettite exited with two runners on and Phil Hughes entered. He got a DP ball from Quentin, but Cano threw the pivot away and a run scored. With 2 outs in the 9th, Swish stuck it to Ozzie with a solo homer to tie the game. However, in the bottom of the frame, Hughes put two on with one out before making way for Phil Coke. Coke got an out before serving up the game winning single to the immortal Dewayne Wise. July’s final contest saw Alfredo Aceves turn a 6-5 deficit into a 10-5 hole after David Robertson allowed the tie breaking run. Robertson did perform a Houdini act after allowing the run, escaping a 2nd and 3rd, 0 out situation in a performance that foreshadowed a similar feat in the ALDS.
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Reading this I’m amazed to see how many games Sabathia struggled in. I know he was lights out for the last two months but I think his struggles in July is what costed him 20 wins this year. Not to mention any chance at the CY Young.
Also nice to see how many times Joba came up big. Seems he worked late into a lot of the games he started, so perhaps he just wore down in August, combined with the flip floping of roles in what may have led to his poor finish. But the talent is definitely there for him to start IMO.
Btw was Hope Week in July? Perhaps Im wrong but I believe it was the week that they won 8 in a row, starting with Detroit or the Baltimore series.
Again nice work Moshe, I enjoyed reading this.
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Yeah, I think hope week was in July. And yes, I was also surprised to see how well Joba pitched into August. From a distance, it looks like he just tired out.
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