In listing the factors contributing to his team’s recent malaise, the manager did not skimp: inconsistent starting pitching, a combustible bullpen, a paucity of timely hitting. Those are common complaints in the interview room at Citi Field, but this time Jerry Manuel was blissfully unaware who said them. He was outside watching the Mets take batting practice. This series began with the Mets reeling, but it ended with the words of Joe GirardiYankees echoing true. The Mets rode the power of Jason Bay and the left arm of Johan Santana to an early lead Sunday, then held on as Francisco RodriguezAlex Rodriguez with runners on first and third to finish off a 6-4 victory. about his struck out
C. C. Sabathia gave up 6 runs and 10 hits in five innings, his shortest outing in a non-rain-interrupted game of the season. The Yankees were hitless in three at-bats with runners in scoring position until the ninth, when one-out hits by Juan Miranda and Derek Jeter (two-run double) drove in three runs. Brett Gardner grounded out on a close play at first, but Mark Teixeira reached on an infield single to bring up Rodriguez. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Rodriguez flailed at a wicked changeup, and the Yankees lost their first series to the Mets since 2008 and fell for the sixth time in eight games.
“We’ve had better weeks,” Girardi said. “I think you could definitely say that. We’ve had a multitude of problems.”
Another of those concerns could have been their scouting reports on the Mets, whose $65 million slugger, Bay, hit more home runs in two at-bats Sunday than he had all season. His homerless streak of 92 at-bats ended in the second inning, with a towering two-run shot into the seats in left. Unwilling to start another streak so soon, Bay, in his next at-bat, mashed a bases-empty blast into the Mets’ bullpen in the fifth, sending a Citi Field-record crowd of 41,422 into delirium.
As if that were not surprising enough, Santana completed a stellar series by the Mets’ supposedly erratic rotation. Their starters allowed only two runs over 19 2/3 innings. And on Sunday, Santana outdueled Sabathia in a matchup of left-handed Aces, allowing one run in seven and two-thirds tidy innings.
He retired 13 straight hitters before issuing a two-out walk to Nick Swisher in the seventh. The next hitter, Francisco Cervelli, drove a ball to deep left that deflected off the orange line striping the top of the fence. The umpires reviewed the play, and upheld their initial ruling that it was not a home run. Thinking he had homered, Cervelli ran only as far as first base, and it was that kind of series for the Yankees.
Mental mistakes, impatient at-bats, cut-off men overthrown — it was all very un-Yankees like, but perhaps Manuel was on to something before the game when he defended Jose Reyes for trying to stretch a single into a double Saturday night. Manuel said Reyes took advantage of some “coasting on the opposition side on that play” — as in, outfielders who were not running hard after balls.
Santana would rather not remember the last time he faced the Yankees, when he allowed nine runs last June 14 in a 15-0 loss in the Bronx. That marked his career-high until three weeks ago, when on national television Santana surrendered 10 runs and 4 homers to the Phillies. He has since resumed his custom of stifling the National League — three consecutive outings of at least seven innings — and, as it were Sunday night, the American League, too.
In each of his first three innings, Santana allowed a leadoff single, including a blooper to Sabathia in the third, before preying on hitters who were inexperienced (Kevin Russo), overaggressive (Cervelli) and slumping (Mark Teixeira). After striking out in the first, Teixeira stranded Sabathia on third by grounding out to David Wright. He swung at the first pitch, and that, more or less, seemed the Yankees’ approach against Santana all night. Through six innings, their normally patient lineup had forced Santana into throwing only 63 pitches — including seven in the fourth to Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Swisher.
The last time through the rotation, Sabathia was the only Yankees starter to pitch well, limiting Boston to one run over seven innings in a game they eventually lost. If players believe that quality pitching and hitting is contagious, then perhaps the opposite is true, as well.
Sabathia escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first but all those base runners portended bad things in the second. After Rod Barajas grounded a double inside the third-base line, Reyes poked a two-out single to left. Russo, the recent call-up, overthrew Rodriguez, and the ball caromed away from Cervelli to allow Reyes to advance to second. The error proved costly when Alex Cora, a late substitution for Luis Castillo, lined a single over Cano’s head to put the Mets in front, 2-0. Up came Bay, who lofted a fly ball to deep left. As Russo backpedaled toward the fence, a rumble went through the crowd. And when the ball plopped into the stands, the crowd erupted — for most of the fans, it was their first time seeing Bay homer as a Met. His last homer came April 27 off Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers.
C. C. Sabathia gave up 6 runs and 10 hits in five innings, his shortest outing in a non-rain-interrupted game of the season. The Yankees were hitless in three at-bats with runners in scoring position until the ninth, when one-out hits by Juan Miranda and Derek Jeter (two-run double) drove in three runs. Brett Gardner grounded out on a close play at first, but Mark Teixeira reached on an infield single to bring up Rodriguez. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Rodriguez flailed at a wicked changeup, and the Yankees lost their first series to the Mets since 2008 and fell for the sixth time in eight games.
“We’ve had better weeks,” Girardi said. “I think you could definitely say that. We’ve had a multitude of problems.”
Another of those concerns could have been their scouting reports on the Mets, whose $65 million slugger, Bay, hit more home runs in two at-bats Sunday than he had all season. His homerless streak of 92 at-bats ended in the second inning, with a towering two-run shot into the seats in left. Unwilling to start another streak so soon, Bay, in his next at-bat, mashed a bases-empty blast into the Mets’ bullpen in the fifth, sending a Citi Field-record crowd of 41,422 into delirium.
As if that were not surprising enough, Santana completed a stellar series by the Mets’ supposedly erratic rotation. Their starters allowed only two runs over 19 2/3 innings. And on Sunday, Santana outdueled Sabathia in a matchup of left-handed Aces, allowing one run in seven and two-thirds tidy innings.
He retired 13 straight hitters before issuing a two-out walk to Nick Swisher in the seventh. The next hitter, Francisco Cervelli, drove a ball to deep left that deflected off the orange line striping the top of the fence. The umpires reviewed the play, and upheld their initial ruling that it was not a home run. Thinking he had homered, Cervelli ran only as far as first base, and it was that kind of series for the Yankees.
Mental mistakes, impatient at-bats, cut-off men overthrown — it was all very un-Yankees like, but perhaps Manuel was on to something before the game when he defended Jose Reyes for trying to stretch a single into a double Saturday night. Manuel said Reyes took advantage of some “coasting on the opposition side on that play” — as in, outfielders who were not running hard after balls.
Santana would rather not remember the last time he faced the Yankees, when he allowed nine runs last June 14 in a 15-0 loss in the Bronx. That marked his career-high until three weeks ago, when on national television Santana surrendered 10 runs and 4 homers to the Phillies. He has since resumed his custom of stifling the National League — three consecutive outings of at least seven innings — and, as it were Sunday night, the American League, too.
In each of his first three innings, Santana allowed a leadoff single, including a blooper to Sabathia in the third, before preying on hitters who were inexperienced (Kevin Russo), overaggressive (Cervelli) and slumping (Mark Teixeira). After striking out in the first, Teixeira stranded Sabathia on third by grounding out to David Wright. He swung at the first pitch, and that, more or less, seemed the Yankees’ approach against Santana all night. Through six innings, their normally patient lineup had forced Santana into throwing only 63 pitches — including seven in the fourth to Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Swisher.
The last time through the rotation, Sabathia was the only Yankees starter to pitch well, limiting Boston to one run over seven innings in a game they eventually lost. If players believe that quality pitching and hitting is contagious, then perhaps the opposite is true, as well.
Sabathia escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first but all those base runners portended bad things in the second. After Rod Barajas grounded a double inside the third-base line, Reyes poked a two-out single to left. Russo, the recent call-up, overthrew Rodriguez, and the ball caromed away from Cervelli to allow Reyes to advance to second. The error proved costly when Alex Cora, a late substitution for Luis Castillo, lined a single over Cano’s head to put the Mets in front, 2-0. Up came Bay, who lofted a fly ball to deep left. As Russo backpedaled toward the fence, a rumble went through the crowd. And when the ball plopped into the stands, the crowd erupted — for most of the fans, it was their first time seeing Bay homer as a Met. His last homer came April 27 off Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers.
