[新聞] A-Rod's 30th helps Yanks rout Halos

[pleased ()]

A-Rod's 30th helps Yanks rout Halos
Matsui, Cano add three-run home runs; Wang earns ninth win
By Caleb Breakey / MLB.com
http://myurl.com.tw/c14o

NEW YORK -- Chien-Ming Wang stared past the Angels' Chone Figgins, examining
catcher Jorge Posada's target in the first inning. With leadoff hitter Reggie
Willits already on base, the count stood 3-1 to Figgins.

Those pesky players in red uniforms appeared to be at it again: Get someone
on, get aggressive early and get kicking the Yankees. That's why the Angels
came into the series first in the American League West. Grit. Dirt. Oomph.

Not on Sunday at Yankee Stadium, though. Posada caught Willits trying to
steal second base, and Wang came back to strike out Figgins and the next
batter to end the threat.

"It's hard to say momentum changed in the first inning," said Alex Rodriguez,
who watched the Yankees turn around and beat the Angels, 12-0, "but that
certainly was one [example]."

The Angels would face a sharper Wang after those first three outs. The Halos
had their chance to get to the 27-year-old right-hander, but now Wang had
found his command. That's how it works, Yankees pitching coach Ron Guidry
said.

Wang changed his arm angle, raising it a bit during his deliveries, and his
sinkers started landing where Posada positioned his glove.

Even though Willits walked to lead off the game, Guidry said that Wang found
command of his sinker pitch by pitch that inning. The right-hander would get
his best pitch to work for him one way or another.

"The only way that you have to stop him from throwing [his sinker] is to cut
the hand off," Guidry said. "And if he could still throw it, he would."

So Wang persisted, and the results were 6 1/3 scoreless innings in which he
allowed five hits and struck out three. It marked Wang's second consecutive
start without surrendering a run.

Rodriguez said that every pitch from Wang's hand looks like a strike. But
when the Taiwanese hero found accuracy to complement his deception, the
Angels couldn't bunch any hits together.

"I haven't met a player who likes to face him," Yankees captain Derek Jeter
said. "When guys get to second base, they see how nasty he is."

And to think that the 53,921 in attendance at Yankee Stadium thought Wang's
afternoon was over after the first inning. Not because of the Angels'
offense, but because Mike Myers and Ron Villone were throwing in the bullpen.

Even Torre was confused. He didn't know why his relievers were warming up so
early. Wang was fine, so Torre turned to Guidry and said, "What don't we like
here?"

The crowd had reason to believe that Wang was hurting, however, because he's
dealt with a cracked fingernail on his right hand for several games. It
turned out that Myers and Villone were just playing catch because they didn't
have time before the game. The Yankees had skipped batting practice, which is
when Myers and Villone usually threw together.

"It's just their habit," Torre said.

The offense took over after the confusion, as Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and
Robinson Cano each hit a three-run home run.

Rodriguez's line-drive shot over the left-field fence in the fourth inning
gave him sole possession of 22nd place on baseball's all-time home runs list,
pushing him past Fred McGriff and Yankees legend Lou Gehrig. It was
Rodriguez's Major League-leading 30th home run of the season.

The All-Star third baseman also collected four RBIs, pushing his
league-leading total in that category to 86.

The three home runs, especially off the left-handed bats of Matsui and Cano,
have been a long time coming. Matsui has three home runs in his past five
games, and Cano's blast was his third in the past six games.

Torre said that he's been surprised, but not disappointed, that it has taken
a half-season for the two to show consistent power.

"These are the things they're capable of doing," Torre said. "That's what we
expect of them."

With the win, the Yankees raised their record to 42-43 heading into the
All-Star break. After the game, nearly every player and coach answered the
same question: Have the Yankees turned a corner?

The consensus was that they've done it before. Jeter and others pointed to
June, when the Yankees won nine in a row and 12 out of 14. The captain said
that it comes down to consistency, which, as noted here, can be hard to
explain:

"If it was easy to figure out, no one would ever struggle," Jeter said. "No
team would ever scuffle. Everyone would go out and they'd win every day, and
they would hit every day. But it's a game of adjustments. You can't really
explain it. It's not an easy thing to figure out. You just have to deal with
it, and that's what we're doing."

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推 akainorei:小王砍掉手他也會投伸卡XD...挺幽默的
推 Romulus:結果Villone只是去賽前練習這樣，別嚇人啊 XD
推 guteres:先嚇嚇大家
推 rele:哈..Villone連Torre都騙到XD