The empanadas keep coming
That is, whipped cream pies, from the hands of AJ Burnett, to the face of whoever is the star of the day.
The pie in the face today went to Johnny Damon after his home run in the bottom of the tenth inning that capped the Yankees’ fifth straight win and third win in as many days. The Yankees haven’t had three straight walk wins since 1972. The first came Friday when Melky Cabrerra hit the two-run single in the 11th inning to give the Yankees a 5-4 victory. On Saturday, Alex Rodriguez hit a home run in the 11th inning that put the Yankees up 5-4. Today’s matinee should have ended in the bottom of the ninth, but a poor baserun decision by Brett Gardner combined with an outstanding play by Twins catcher Joe Mauer prevented the Yankees from having runners on first and third. with one out. Instead, they had a runner on first with two out and Robinson Canó hit a fly ball to left that could have scored Gardner from third. It was a gutsy move by Gardner, who ignored third base coach Rob Thompson’s stop sign at third and tried to beat Mauer back to the plate with a return that came out of the pitcher’s glove. You have to respect Gardner’s guts and bravery. You also have to respect that pushing the limits too far could have cost them the game. One thing’s for sure, that kid can fly around the bases.
Fortunately, Damon picked it up in the bottom of the tenth when he shortened his swing on an inside fastball and planted it in the stands sealing his fate as the recipient of today’s whipped cream. Top hat to Brett Tomko, who came on for Burnett in the eighth with the bases loaded and one out and was able to preserve the tie. The Yankees are guaranteed a series win by taking the top three of this four-game set.
Even though the win didn’t gain any ground on the Blue Jays, as Roy Halladay won his fifth straight game and the Blue Jays won their third straight against the White Sox. The Red Sox lost a game to the elusive Blue Jays when the Mariners beat them in the bottom of the ninth. Franklin Gutiérrez singled off Mike Lowell’s glove scoring Ronny Cedeño to give the Red Sox their fifth loss in the last ten games.
Tomorrow, Yankee fans will bring their broomsticks to the ballpark as the Bombers try to complete the four-game sweep and hopefully move four games over .500. It will be Andy Pettite 3-1 vs. Glenn Perkin 1-2 Coverage begins at 6 pm on the YES Network.
In other news, Chien Ming Wang pitched 7 innings in Scranton on 75 pitches and had 12 groundouts allowing 0 runs on 4 hits. He looks like he’s ready to hopefully return for his next rotation spot, but we’ll see what the Yankee gods have planned. Brian Bruney pitched one inning in the second game of a double header for The Baby Bombers and threw 17 pitches, including 11 for strikes that reached 94 mph on the gun. I think it will probably be activated on Tuesday.
Hold on to your hat fans, the Yankees are getting healthy and they’re on a roll. Bold prediction: First place for the All Star Break.