[NEWS]Rookies rescue Yankees

[wings2u2me (飛)]

轉載來源: The North Jersy News

Rookies rescue Yankees

Saturday, July 9, 2005

By PETE CALDERA
STAFF WRITER



NEW YORK - Chien-Ming Wang heard Yankee Stadium's sellout crowd
cheer madly as he walked off the mound in the seventh inning,
but Wang - out of modesty or bashfulness - did not react.

His arsenal is as understated as his personality.


And yet, where would the Yankees be without his right arm, the
one plugging a hole created by three starters on the disabled
list? With 62/3 solid innings by Wang, the Yankees clicked off
a sixth-straight win Friday night, beating the suddenly
vulnerable Cleveland Indians, 5-4.

The Indians had won 21 of 28 games, but have now lost four
straight. On a rainy night, Wang grounded them into three
double plays.

And Wang (6-3) wasn't the only rookie in the spotlight.

New center fielder and No. 9 hitter Melky Cabrera - bent on
officially turning Bernie Williams into a full-time designated
hitter - had two hits, including a single during a key four-run
third inning off starter Cliff Lee.

Jason Giambi delivered an RBI single in the third inning,
giving him eight hits and eight RBI in 12 at-bats during the
homestand. But Giambi stumbled out of the slippery batter's box
after the hit, and exited after five innings with a mildly
strained hip flexor.

Giambi said he asked out largely for precautionary
reasons. "Everything feels fine," Giambi said after applying
ice. "I'm not worried at all."

Still, manager Joe Torre might keep Giambi out of today's game.

The Yanks (45-39) took a 5-3 lead in the sixth after Hideki
Matsui doubled, went to third on Tino Martinez's groundout, and
scored on Jorge Posada's long sacrifice fly.

Matsui has reached safely in 34 straight games, tying
Baltimore's Brian Roberts for the longest such streak in the
majors this year.

With one on in the seventh, Wang walked off to a standing
ovation and Wayne Franklin got the next four outs before
Mariano Rivera ran into ninth-inning trouble.

Batting with runners at the corners, pinch-hitter Casey Blake's
sac fly narrowed the Indians' deficit to 5-4.

Entering with a .198 batting average, Aaron Boone compromised
his Bronx hero status and completed a 4-for-4 night with a dunk
single to right, pushing the tying run to third base.

But Grady Sizemore, who homered off Wang's first pitch of the
night, grounded Rivera's first pitch to first base for the
final out.

Rivera had his 19th save. And Wang had earned another measure
of respect after giving up three runs on seven hits and three
walks and not coming undone.

"It's not impossible to overstate it. He's been huge for us,"
Torre said. "For not having his good stuff, he kept us in the
game."

Staked to a 2-0 lead, Lee - who entered with a 7-1 road record
this year - faltered in the third, starting with a walk to
Williams.

Cabrera, who went 1-for-4 in his debut Thursday night, followed
with a single to right to stir the soggy crowd.

Derek Jeter kept the buzz going, sending an RBI double just
over the first base bag, beyond the reach of a diving Ben
Broussard.

After fouling off a tough two-strike pitch, Robinson Cano
rolled a right-side groundout that scored Cabrera from third
with the tying run and pushed Jeter to third.

"One of the big at-bats in the game," Torre said.

Gary Sheffield walked and Alex Rodriguez laced an RBI single to
left for a 3-2 lead. With two out, Giambi pulled an RBI single
to right to make it 4-2.

In the fifth, Jody Gerut scored on a two-out wild pitch,
cutting the Yanks' lead to 4-3. But Wang had already limited
the damage, getting Sizemore on a huge double play grounder
with runners at first and second and none out.

In halting English, Wang regretted the sporadic command on his
sinker, but his resolve continues to impress his teammates. "It
seems like he's been here forever," Posada said.

E-mail: [email protected]



--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) 
◆ From: 59.104.94.221
→ Carciaparra:很不錯喔~~~推一個
→ wings2u2me:難道不脫帽致意會變成Wang的特色之一?
推 peggie:突然把teammate看成 "tea"mate...茶伴？！XD
推 swordwind:我知道這樣蠻丟臉的  但我需要翻譯  = =
推 eight:翻一下嘛拜託