推 rosayaptt:1966.......41年了~~ 07/04 14:33
Yankees 8, Twins 0
Rodriguez and Wang Give Yanks Needed Lift
By JOE LAPOINTE
Published: July 4, 2007
Chien-Ming Wang has been the Yankees’ most successful pitcher this season
and Alex Rodriguez their most productive hitter. They — among others —
boosted the spirits of their struggling club last night in an 8-0 victory
over the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium.
Also helping were second baseman Robinson Cano, who hit a two-run home run
in the fourth and showed slick fielding on two double plays; Derek Jeter
and Bobby Abreu, who each had three hits; and Edwar Ramirez, who struck out
all three batters he faced in the ninth in his major league debut.
It was the first time the Yankees won two games in succession since
June 16-17.
“Really?” Jeter said. “Well, hopefully, we can make it three.”
Standing in the their way this afternoon is the Twins’ Johan Santana
(9-6), the 2006 Cy Young award winner, who faces the Yankees’
Mike Mussina (4-5).
The Yankees almost won two in a row on June 28 and 29. But the game on
the 28th was suspended with the Yankees holding an 8-6 lead in the eighth
inning and it will be completed at Baltimore on July 27.
Wang worked seven shutout innings to raise his record to 8-4, even though
he gave up four walks, a lot for him. Wang allowed no runs on four hits
and struck out three while throwing 101 pitches. Rodriguez, the Yankees’
leading slugger, went hitless in four at-bats but played six innings
after leaving Monday night’s game with an injury to his left hamstring.
Rodriguez was replaced after the Yankees took an 8-0 lead. He departed
the clubhouse without talking to the news media.
Manager Joe Torre said he expected to use Rodriguez as the designated hitter
today.
Cano, who raised his batting average to .269 with his fourth home run of
the season, said he has been talking to the bench coach Don Mattingly
about staying back on the ball and not swinging too quickly. Cano got on
base in the sixth after being hit on the right foot by a pitch from
Juan Rincon.
Cano iced his foot after the game. “I’m good,” Cano said. “I’ll be O.K.”
He said it is helpful that different batters and pitchers are contributing
to the recent turnaround. He noted that in Monday’s victory, the stars
were starter Roger Clemens on the mound and Abreu at the plate. “Tonight,
it was me and Wang,” Cano said.
Wang was in trouble in the fourth, loading the bases on two walks and
a single with one out after the first batter, Jason Bartlett, also walked
but was thrown out stealing by Jorge Posada. Wang was saved when Hunter
grounded to Rodriguez to start a double play.
Posada said after the game that Wang “really bears down with guys on base.”
Wang said he was bothered by the nail on the index finger of his right hand.
He also said he has made adjustments by throwing from a higher point to get
more sink on his two-seam fastball.
Posada started a five-run rally in the sixth with a single to center field.
When Torii Hunter charged the ball, it skipped past him for a two-base error
and Posada ended up on third base, bent over from fatigue.
“It’s tough to get to third base after you’ve been catching for a while,”
said Posada, who scored the first run of the inning on a wild pitch by
starter Carlos Silva (6-9).
Hunter, who went 0 for 3, was ejected in the eighth by the home-plate umpire
Ron Kulpa, who had called out Hunter on strikes in the previous inning.
Hunter continued the argument and was restrained by his teammates.
Before the game, Torre said he told Rodriguez, who injured his hamstring
by running into Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, that he would “have
to be cleared for me” by the Yankees’ medical staff.
Torre said Rodriguez did not have a magnetic resonance imaging test.
Rodriguez leads the major leagues with 28 home runs and 80 runs batted in.
Had Rodriguez talked to reporters, he might have been asked about his
availability for the All-Star Game. Rodriguez, a two-time American League
most valuable player, was the All-Star balloting leader among fans with
3,890,515 votes.
The All-Star Game will be played Tuesday in San Francisco. But it is
not uncommon for players to skip an All-Star Game with an injury that
would not necessarily keep them out of regular-season games.
More talkative was Ramirez, who played last year with the Edinburg (Tex.)
Coyotes, an independent team in the United League, and was called up
yesterday from Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“I’m feeling very good,” Ramirez said. “I’m feeling very happy. I’m
going to stay here with the Yankees.”
Ramirez mixed a fastball and changeup with devastating effect in the
ninth and, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, became the first Yankee
since Stan Bahnsen in 1966 to begin his major league career by striking
out the side.
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