YANKEES 5, WHITE SOX 1
Getting big rise out of sinker
Wang’s five-hitter helps Yanks cruise to fifth win in last seven
BY KAT O'BRIEN
kat.obrien@newsday.com
June 7, 2007
CHICAGO - Nothing dictates a team's record more than the state of
its starting pitching.
Chien-Ming Wang produced a winning script for the Yankees last night
with an efficient five-hitter in a 5-1 defeat of the White Sox at
U.S. Cellular Field. Wang looked like the 2006 version of himself,
the one that was the runner-up for the American League Cy Young Award.
"He threw the ball unbelievable," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
"He won 19 games last year, and not because of luck. He pitched well,
and on top of that, we haven't swung the bat well the past couple days.
He pitched outstanding today."
Wang's complete game was the first by a Yankee since his two-hit shutout
of the Devil Rays last July 28. It was the key to the Yankees' fifth win
in seven games, matching their best stretch of the season. They are
beginning to look - at last - like a team that could go places.
"We're starting to stack some blocks together," said Joe Torre, who got
his 1,999th victory.
Said Alex Rodriguez: "Awesome. It was about as good a game as he's thrown
as a Yankee that I can remember."
At first, it was Javier Vazquez who looked as if he was going to have
the memorable evening. He struck out four of his first five batters.
That could have been a precursor to a torturous night for the Yankees
and a slick one for the White Sox. A couple of weeks ago, that probably
would have been the case, but the Yankees are showing more fight in
June than they did in May.
Wang ticked through the first two innings without allowing a baserunner.
So instead of the offense feeling as if it would need a Herculean effort
to get a win, the game remained scoreless.
Wang (5-4, 3.73 ERA) needed only 104 pitches to get through the game.
Vazquez (3-4) threw 114 in six innings. Wang gave up only five singles and
one walk.
"He was great," Torre said. "The pitch count doesn't get any better
than that. He had a real live sinker. This is obviously the best we've
seen. He gives you a ball that looks good to hit, but it drops off the
table."
The Yankees' offense snapped into gear with a four-run third inning.
Miguel Cairo, making his second straight start at first base, led off
with a single and stole second with Johnny Damon at the plate. Damon
knocked Cairo in with a double down the rightfield line.
After Derek Jeter singled and Bobby Abreu walked, Alex Rodriguez had
the bases loaded. He ripped a single off the wall in left to drive
in two runs, but he was thrown out at second base, a call he vehemently
argued with umpire Gary Darling. The Yankees added a run that inning on
a heads-up play by Jorge Posada. He walked, then helped divert attention
by heading for second base on Hideki Matsui's sacrifice fly to center.
Posada's running gave Abreu enough time to score.
The Yankees' final run came on Abreu's homer off Bret Prinz in the eighth.
It was Abreu's first homer since May 16, but he is 10-for-21 with seven
walks since June began.
"We're just trying to win series, and win as many games as we can," Abreu
said. "This team's supposed to score a lot of runs, and right now, we are."
Melky Cabrera was 2-for-4 with a triple, yet his biggest contribution
came on defense. Now the full-time centerfielder, he rifled a spot-on
throw on Tadahito Iguchi's sixth-inning single to wipe out speedy
Jerry Owens, who was trying to score from second base.
http://tinyurl.com/2bxoqj
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 140.109.23.211