Location: Citi Field, Queens, NY.
Yankees Overall Record: 26-18
Series MVP: utility outfielder Kevin Russo
Quote of the series: comes from third-baseman Alex Rodriguez on the struggling Yankees offense
“Absolutely it’s frustrating,” he said, “because we’re capable of so much more.”What a series. So many words to describe such a miserable series. The first one that comes to mind is embarrassing. But we'll start with the only positive game of the series.
Friday, the only win of the series, was quite the pitching duel between the two teams. Starting pitcher Javier Vazquez pitched perhaps his best start since his return to the Yankees. He pitched six shutout innings of just one hit ball. Javy was rolling too, he only had 70 pitches after the sixth inning, when he went to go up to bat in the 7th.
Then the injury bug bit again.
While he was batting, he fouled a ball off which struck his finger. Vazquez didn't even know initially how bad the injury was until he took off his batting glove and saw his finger was bleeding. Girardi pulled Vazquez immediately. He is officially listed as day to day and is expected to make his next start.
Friday's game was finished by the bullpen. The only blip on the radar was the lone run that Mariano Rivera gave up.
On the offensive side, Kevin Russo, a native of New York City, and freshly recalled to the roster had the night of his life. He got his first major league hit and on his second hit, he tallied his first two RBI's. The two RBI's provided the two runs of the game, with the final score 2-1.
Saturday's game was more of a different story. Phil Hughes was once again wild. He gave up five runs over 5.2 innings. Hughes pitches were in the strike zone yet he was just missing his pitches. The Mets hitters hit 42 foul balls and were able to knock his pitch count up considerably.
Unfortunately for Hughes, the Yankee offense was not able to hit anything against starter Mike Pelfry. They scored one run. For the night they managed to break through for three runs, but ultimately lost with a score of 5-3.
Sunday's game was much of the same thing, except worse. CC Sabathia was not good once again. In fact, he gave up six earned runs in a game where he was matched up against Mets ace Johan Santana.
Santana lived up to his former CY Young status while Sabathia got knocked around. He gave up two home runs to Jason Bay, who had been struggling all season. The Yankees were able to rally in the ninth inning but fell short, leaving the bases loaded and losing the game with a score of 6-4.
Thankfully for the struggling Yankees, they have an off day today, which could not have come at a better time. The offense and the pitching staff need to regroup and put this miserable week behind them.
The Yankees are now a season high six games behind the Rays.
Next Up: The Yankees travel to Minnesota for a three game series at the new Target Field. This will be the last time the two teams play one another for the season.
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