Game 19 Recap-
New York Yankees 7- Baltimore Orioles 1
The New York Yankees put together some clutch hits plus a strong and much needed strong pitching performance from veteran LH Andy Pettitte to beat the Orioles at Camden Yards, 7-1. The Os were looking for a sweep but battled rain delays and a strong, veteran Yankees club. The big story of this game was an apparent quad injury to the reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriquez. The injury did not appear to be serious and he was planning on missing some games this week with family issues. This would be a big blow to the Yankees if serious, in that they have had Captain and SS Derek Jeter as a well as long time C Jorge Posada miss time with injuries.
Long time NYY SP, LH Andy Pettitte, was the clear star of the game as he completely shut down the improved Orioles lineup. Over 7 dominant innings, he allowed 4 hits while striking out 5. The key being zero walks, as the new patient Baltimore approach did not reap any benefits. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd on rbi doubles by Rodriquez and Hideki Matsui. Veteran Os RH Steve Trachsel competed and kept the game at that score til he ran into major trouble in the 7th. Tiring, he was relieved by sidearming RH specialist Chad Bradford who then gave up a two run homer to Johnny Damon. Steve’s final line stands at 6 1/3 innings pitched, 7 hits, 3 earned runs with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts.
The Orioles touched Yankees phenom RH Joba Chamberlain for his 2nd earned run in 30 1/3 career innings with a Brian Roberts sacrifice fly in the 8th, to make it, 4-1. Jeter put the game away with a bases loaded, 3 run double off of LH George Sherrill in the 9th to put the game out of reach. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth without incident to close the game.
Star of the Game- Clearly,NYY SP Andy Pettitte. Yankees have made some tremendous personnel mistakes the past 5-6 seasons, as a Red Sox fan, the biggest was letting this guy leave for Houston. Big game, big time pitcher who knows when and how to win in big spots. Losing streak stopper and leader.
Orioles Notes-
Backup catcher Guillermo Quiroz got a rare start in relief of Ramon Hernandez and hit in a double while scoring the Os only run
Next Game-
Off Monday- on the road in Seattle and Chicago this week
Tuesday-10:10 start-Safeco Field
Orioles LH Adam Loewen(1-0) vs Mariners RH Felix Hernandez(2-0)
