推 yadayada:Jeter測試老薛成功之後笑得好燦爛*^_^* 09/23 12:41
09/22/2006 11:35 PM ET
Yanks top Rays in opener
Rivera and Sheffield return to action; Wang wins his 18th
By Dawn Klemish / MLB.com
ST. PETERSBURG -- Another win helps toward the Majors' best record, but
the Yankees also found out Friday night that Mariano Rivera hasn't lost
a step, Gary Sheffield can scoop balls from the dirt like nobody's business,
and New York's Mr. Reliable, Derek Jeter, just keeps on ticking no matter
where the focus is.
New York's 4-1 win over the Rays was a test of many sorts, and everyone
lived up to their expectations.
Some even surprised a little.
"[Sheffield] had a lot better at-bats than I thought he would," said manager
Joe Torre, of the slugger who hasn't seen game time at any level since late
May. "And first base ... he looked like he'd been there a lot longer than
just working out this past week."
The Yankees' erstwhile right fielder found an opening at first base -- a
spot he'd never played -- when teammate Jason Giambi was sidelined with
a left wrist injury. Sheffield had just finished rehabilitation on a
similar injury, playing in his last game on May 29 before undergoing
surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. Sheffield admitted
being a bit jittery before the game began, and felt overloaded with
information on the position, but was all smiles at his locker following
the win.
"I felt a little nervous over there, but when I got the first out ...
I was pleased after that, I calmed down," Sheffield said, joking that
shortstop Derek Jeter threw him a ball in the dirt just to test his skills.
"My mind was there and I was ready to do the right thing. I trailed the
runner on one play, so I was thinking out there."
Sheffield went 0-for-3, but Torre was still particularly pleased with
his aggressiveness during a fourth-inning ground out to second base,
adding that Sheffield would be back in the lineup on Saturday if he wasn't
too sore after testing his legs for the first time in more than three
months.
"The fact that he hit the ball through the middle, I liked that," Torre
said. "A couple of off-speed pitches he's going to be out in front a little
bit because he just doesn't identify them right now. But I think he had
better at-bats than I anticipated."
Also pleasantly surprising was the return of All-Star closer Mariano
Rivera, who'd been out for the last three weeks with a mild muscle
strain near his right elbow. Rivera came in with a 4-1 lead in the
ninth, allowed one hit and hit a batter, Ty Wigginton, but fanned three
Devil Rays -- two of them looking -- to end the game and pick up his
34th save.
"He was a little rusty but he threw the ball well," Torre said. "He
probably threw more strikes than I expected him to early. He gave
himself a great workout today."
Rays center fielder Rocco Baldelli homered to lead off the game, but the
Yankees got the run back when Robinson Cano went deep in the fourth for
his 12th homer of the season. The teams took a 1-1 stalemate into the
seventh, when New York scored three -- on a two-run homer from Aaron Guiel
and an RBI double from Melky Cabrera, who took Jonny Damon's place in
center field as Damon rested a sore left hand.
It might not have been as successful an evening had not the Yankees
pitching staff all but silenced the Rays' bats.
Rivera relieved Scott Proctor, who tossed a scoreless eighth after
Chien-Ming Wang hit the showers. Wang stymied Tampa Bay after the first,
working seven innings for his 18th win of the season, which ties him for
the Majors lead with Minnesota's Johan Santana. The right-hander held
the Rays to one run on six hits, walked none and fanned four. He served
up a leadoff home run to Rocco Baldelli in the first inning and followed
that with a Delmon Young single, but didn't allow more than one hit an
inning the rest of the way.
"He was a little wild warming up today," Torre said, "but he settled in.
He could've pitched the eighth and the ninth for us, but we didn't see
any need."
In the middle of all the action was Jeter, who quietly and with practiced
efficiency, collected his 200th hit of the season. It was the fifth year
that he'd done so and the second year in a row. Jeter had come up
empty-handed in his first three at-bats, but laid down a bunt single in
the eighth inning for his final plate appearance. He's now 20 hits away
from a career-high, set in 1999.
"It wasn't really something I was thinking too much of coming in," Jeter
admitted. "A lot of things have to go right for you to get that many hits.
You've got to be healthy first and foremost. And just try to be consistent."
Dawn Klemish is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not
subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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