For a pitching staff coming off a recent two-game beating at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays, there could be no better remedy than the inconsistent and often inept Mets offense. In two games, the Rays scored 18 runs, but the Mets were another matter, and indeed the Yankees held their crosstown rivals to four hits and won the first game of the Subway Series by defeating the Mets, 2-1.
While the Yankees ended a three-game losing streak, the Mets lost for the eighth time in 10 games, which certainly will not make Manager Jerry Manuel’s job any safer.
The Mets managed all of two harmless hits until the ninth inning, when Jason Bay and Ike Davis hit consecutive doubles off Mariano Rivera to score their only run of the game. But Rivera recovered by getting David Wright to ground out to second base on the first pitch to end the game and earn his eighth save.
The game featured a terrific pitchers duel between Javier Vazquez of the Yankees and the Mets’ Hisanori Takahashi, who was making his first career major league start. Although they took different routes, neither pitcher allowed a run in their commanding six innings of work.
Vazquez, in his best outing of the season and building off a quality performance in his last start against the Tigers, was dominant, limiting the Mets to one hit as he allowed only three base runners and faced just one batter over the minimum. The Mets had pounded out 15 hits and 10 runs a day earlier against the Washington Nationals. But Vazquez left the game after he bruised his right index finger while dropping down a sacrifice bunt in the top of the seventh inning. X-rays taken of the finger were negative.
Vazquez gave up two walks while striking out six, and required only 70 pitches to do it. Those are impressive numbers, even against the offensively challenged Mets. He came into the game with an 8.01 earned run average, still looking to prove his viability to skeptical Yankee fans. He set down nine of the first 10 batters he faced, and 12 of the first 14 before he gave up a hit on Angel Pagan’s bloop over the head of shortstop Derek Jeter in the fifth.
The left-handed Takahashi matched Vazquez with his guile and creativity. Thrust into the starting rotation because of the hamstring injury to Jon Niese, Takahasi is perhaps more comfortable as a starter after spending almost all of his 10-year career with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in that role.
He did not appear to be fazed by the circumstances, allowing five hits and walking one while striking out five, including Jeter twice and Robinson Cano once. Most important, he made the important pitch whenever it was most needed. He did not figure in the decision but lowered his E.R.A. to 2.53.
But once Takahashi left the game, the Yankees pounced on Elmer Dessens, who was called up earlier in the day from Class AAA Buffalo. Dessens was brought in after John Maine was placed on the disabled list with weakness in his right shoulder.
Dessens was needed because the Mets’ bullpen was depleted after Maine was removed from Thursday’s game after only five pitches. Dessens gave up a leadoff single to Nick Swisher, and, following Alex Cora’s error on a potential double play ball that sent the runners to second and third, he gave up a two-run double to the recent call-up Kevin Russo, wasting Takahashi’s impressive work.
With six varieties of pitches in his portfolio, ranging in speeds from 68 to 90 miles per hour, Takahashi did what he has done to most major league hitters that he has faced this year. He kept them off balance and guessing at what he might throw next. Would it be the devastating changeup? The slow curve? The slider? The sinker or the four-seam fastball? All of them were thrown for strikes, and often the off-speed pitches made the Yankees look awkward in their swings.
They did have their chances against Takahashi in the third and fourth innings when they had runners at second and third with fewer than two outs, and both times failed to score.
In the third, Francisco Cervelli led off with a walk and hustled to third on Russo’s bloop single to left. Vazquez laid down a sacrifice bunt, pushing Russo to second, but Cervelli had to hold at third. Takahashi then struck out Jeter looking at an inside pitch. Jeter seemed to think the pitch was a ball based on his brief conversation with the umpire Jim Wolf, and television replays seemed to indicate the ball was indeed off the plate.
Brett Gardner then grounded softly to third baseman Wright, who completed the throw across the diamond to end the inning. Takahashi bounced off the mound and then veered over to Wright to bump fists as they ran off the field.
In his final inning, with his pitch count rising, Takahashi gave up a two-out double to Rodriguez. With first base open, the Mets elected to have Takahashi pitch to Cano, who had doubled off the wall in his previous at-bat in the fourth inning. With his 100th pitch, Takahashi ran the count full, but on the next pitch, his last, he made Cano swing and miss at a changeup.
Vazquez, meanwhile, was almost unhittable, and when he finally did give up the hit, he followed it up by getting Rod Barajas to hit into an easy double play.
While the Yankees ended a three-game losing streak, the Mets lost for the eighth time in 10 games, which certainly will not make Manager Jerry Manuel’s job any safer.
The Mets managed all of two harmless hits until the ninth inning, when Jason Bay and Ike Davis hit consecutive doubles off Mariano Rivera to score their only run of the game. But Rivera recovered by getting David Wright to ground out to second base on the first pitch to end the game and earn his eighth save.
The game featured a terrific pitchers duel between Javier Vazquez of the Yankees and the Mets’ Hisanori Takahashi, who was making his first career major league start. Although they took different routes, neither pitcher allowed a run in their commanding six innings of work.
Vazquez, in his best outing of the season and building off a quality performance in his last start against the Tigers, was dominant, limiting the Mets to one hit as he allowed only three base runners and faced just one batter over the minimum. The Mets had pounded out 15 hits and 10 runs a day earlier against the Washington Nationals. But Vazquez left the game after he bruised his right index finger while dropping down a sacrifice bunt in the top of the seventh inning. X-rays taken of the finger were negative.
Vazquez gave up two walks while striking out six, and required only 70 pitches to do it. Those are impressive numbers, even against the offensively challenged Mets. He came into the game with an 8.01 earned run average, still looking to prove his viability to skeptical Yankee fans. He set down nine of the first 10 batters he faced, and 12 of the first 14 before he gave up a hit on Angel Pagan’s bloop over the head of shortstop Derek Jeter in the fifth.
The left-handed Takahashi matched Vazquez with his guile and creativity. Thrust into the starting rotation because of the hamstring injury to Jon Niese, Takahasi is perhaps more comfortable as a starter after spending almost all of his 10-year career with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in that role.
He did not appear to be fazed by the circumstances, allowing five hits and walking one while striking out five, including Jeter twice and Robinson Cano once. Most important, he made the important pitch whenever it was most needed. He did not figure in the decision but lowered his E.R.A. to 2.53.
But once Takahashi left the game, the Yankees pounced on Elmer Dessens, who was called up earlier in the day from Class AAA Buffalo. Dessens was brought in after John Maine was placed on the disabled list with weakness in his right shoulder.
Dessens was needed because the Mets’ bullpen was depleted after Maine was removed from Thursday’s game after only five pitches. Dessens gave up a leadoff single to Nick Swisher, and, following Alex Cora’s error on a potential double play ball that sent the runners to second and third, he gave up a two-run double to the recent call-up Kevin Russo, wasting Takahashi’s impressive work.
With six varieties of pitches in his portfolio, ranging in speeds from 68 to 90 miles per hour, Takahashi did what he has done to most major league hitters that he has faced this year. He kept them off balance and guessing at what he might throw next. Would it be the devastating changeup? The slow curve? The slider? The sinker or the four-seam fastball? All of them were thrown for strikes, and often the off-speed pitches made the Yankees look awkward in their swings.
They did have their chances against Takahashi in the third and fourth innings when they had runners at second and third with fewer than two outs, and both times failed to score.
In the third, Francisco Cervelli led off with a walk and hustled to third on Russo’s bloop single to left. Vazquez laid down a sacrifice bunt, pushing Russo to second, but Cervelli had to hold at third. Takahashi then struck out Jeter looking at an inside pitch. Jeter seemed to think the pitch was a ball based on his brief conversation with the umpire Jim Wolf, and television replays seemed to indicate the ball was indeed off the plate.
Brett Gardner then grounded softly to third baseman Wright, who completed the throw across the diamond to end the inning. Takahashi bounced off the mound and then veered over to Wright to bump fists as they ran off the field.
In his final inning, with his pitch count rising, Takahashi gave up a two-out double to Rodriguez. With first base open, the Mets elected to have Takahashi pitch to Cano, who had doubled off the wall in his previous at-bat in the fourth inning. With his 100th pitch, Takahashi ran the count full, but on the next pitch, his last, he made Cano swing and miss at a changeup.
Vazquez, meanwhile, was almost unhittable, and when he finally did give up the hit, he followed it up by getting Rod Barajas to hit into an easy double play.
