[外電] Wang Shows Effectiveness Good Pitching Can Have

[xiemark (aisinjuro)]

June 7, 2007
Yankees 5, White Sox 1
Wang Shows Effectiveness Good Pitching Can Have
By TYLER KEPNER

CHICAGO, June 6 — The signs of life are hard to miss now. The Yankees
have won five of their last seven games, with dormant bats stirring and
a defense that is starting to make a difference.

But it is pitching that controls the game, Manager Joe Torre often says,
and only strong pitching can lead the Yankees into a pennant race. On
Wednesday night, the Yankees’ ace was at his best.

Chien-Ming Wang throttled the Chicago White Sox over nine innings in a
5-1 victory at U.S. Cellular Field. It was the first complete-game
victory for the Yankees in 119 games, since Wang tossed a shutout
against Tampa Bay last July 28.

If the Yankees win Thursday, they will win consecutive series for the
first time this season. Their record is 26-31, still far back in the
standings but improving bit by bit.

“We’re starting to stack some blocks here, and that’s what we need to
do,” Torre said. “It’s a long season, and we certainly need to climb
back to .500 and see how good we are.”

Wang (5-4) walked one, struck out four and gave up no extra-base hits,
throwing 105 pitches, fewer than he did in his previous start, when he
beat Boston despite lasting just five and two-thirds innings.

Johnny Damon doubled twice for the Yankees, and Melky Cabrera went 2 for
4 and threw out a runner at the plate. Bobby Abreu also reached base
twice, the sixth game in a row he has done that. Since Torre gave him a
start off May 30, Abreu is 10 for 21.

Abreu had a walk in the Yankees’ four-run third inning off the White
Sox’ Javier Vázquez, who gave up no other runs over six innings.

In Vázquez and Thursday’s starter, José Contreras, the Yankees are
facing two pitchers they had hoped would be cornerstones of their
rotation. Earlier this decade, the Yankees committed $77 million to
them, only to trade them for pitchers since departed — Vázquez for
Randy Johnson, Contreras for Esteban Loaiza.

Since leaving the Yankees after his failure in the 2004 American League
Championship Series, Vázquez has continued to tease. He is fourth in
the majors in strikeouts since 2000, trailing only Johnson, Pedro Mart
ínez and Curt Schilling. Yet in the last four seasons, with four
different teams, he had a record of 49-49.

Naturally, he entered Wednesday’s game with an even record, at 3-3.
Naturally, too, his pitches sparkled at times, but he could not win.

Vázquez struck out the side in the first inning after a leadoff double
by Damon, and later caught Alex Rodriguez looking on a nifty curveball
to end the fifth. But Rodriguez had a crucial blow in the third inning,
which began with a single by Miguel Cairo, who made his second straight
start at first base.

Cairo scored on Damon’s second double, and after a single and a walk,
Rodriguez ripped a long hit to the center-field wall to make it 3-0.
Rodriguez was thrown out at second on a close play, and after a walk to
Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui scored Abreu with a sacrifice fly to center.

Posada drew the throw from center and was thrown out on the bases,
ending the inning with the Yankees leading, 4-0. Base-running problems
would stifle Yankees rallies in the sixth and seventh innings, but with
Wang in control, it hardly mattered.

“You see a pitch in a zone you want to hit it in, you swing, and by the
time your bat gets to the ball, the pitch is in a different place
because of how much it moves,” said the White Sox’ leadoff hitter,
Jerry Owens, who was 1 for 4.

“It’s tough to adjust to, especially because of the velocity — 93 or
94 miles an hour. He kept the ball down and got a lot of ground balls.
He pitched to his strengths really well.”

But Owens said he saw more than the sinker from Wang. He also saw a
slider, changeup, splitter and four-seamer, proof that Wang has
continued to diversify his repertory.

“It helps me a lot to change timing for hitters,” Wang said.

The White Sox scored their only run in the third inning on a single, a
wild pitch and two groundouts. Owens tried to score from second on a
single in the sixth inning, but Cabrera cut him down with a one-hop
throw from center.

Last week’s foot injury to designated hitter Jason Giambi has finally
put Damon and Cabrera in the right place. Damon is refreshed as the
designated hitter, where his legs stay strong to give him better balance
at the plate, and Cabrera helps the defense immensely in center.

“I’m not sure there’s anybody who has a better arm in the game,”
Damon said. “There’s not too many center fielders who can stop a
running game. He’s been incredible.”

Owens played against Cabrera and said he knew about his strong arm. But
he admitted he did not expect to be out by so much at the plate.

“When I get on second base, I feel I can score on any base hit,” Owens
said. “He made a great throw, and Posada blocked the plate perfectly. I
really had nowhere to go. The ball got there a lot quicker than I
thought it was going to. It was a perfect throw.”

Cabrera made one perfect throw, and Wang made many more. The Yankees are
coming to life.

--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) 
◆ From: 61.57.134.215
推 LiHo:the Yankees’ ace was at his best
推 RKain:這篇後面的小卡長傳描述的真好
推 Homepage:Cabrera made one perfectthrow, and Wangmade many more
→ Homepage:這句用的好
推 Pet:隔了這麼久才再出現完投比賽...
推 leddy:TYLER KEPNER的文章寫得都很好
推 superwei:剛剛給他翻譯完了  結果竟然斷線 = =