Mussina and Cano Lead Yanks Over A's, 7-1
A moment of silence was observed in honor of Bobby Murcer before last night's game against the Oakland A's at Yankee Stadium. Bobby passed away last Saturday, July 12th, after a long battle with brain cancer. He was only 62, and will be greatly missed by all. May he rest in peace.
Then, the second half of the 2008 baseball season started, with Mike Mussina pitching for the New York Yankees against Greg Smith of the Oakland A's.
The A's jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first, on a leadoff double by Mark Ellis, a single by Kurt Suzuki, that only advanced Ellis to third, and, then, a fielders choice with Ryan Sweeney up, that scored Ellis. That was the only run Oakland would score on this night.
The Yankees tied the score in the bottom of the first, on a RBI single by newly acquired, Richie Sexson, that scored Bobby Abreu, who singled with one out, and moved to second on a walk to Alex Rodriguez, which set-up Sexson's first Yankee hit and RBI.
In the bottom of the third, "Don't You Know, Robinson Cano" got the big hit of the game for the Yankees. After a single by A-Rod, and walk to Jorge Posada, Cano blasted a three-run homer, that gave the Yankees the lead, 4-1. As it turned out, those were all the runs the Yankees would need, as the A's batters were totally dominated by the Yankee pitchers throughout the game.
Mike Mussina had another solid start for the Yankees, throwing 93 pitches over 6 innings, allowing only the first inning run, on 9 hits, no walks [for the second game in a row], while striking-out six. This was Mussina's 12th win, which is one more than he had all of last year. He is now 12-6.
Mike Mussina's numbers over his last four starts are awesome. He has pitched 24 innings, and has allowed only 5 runs and 3 walks, while giving up 27 hits, and striking-out 24 batters. Mussina's ERA over these four games is 1.88. But, his record is only, 2-1, mainly because of lack of run support by the Yankees. With any luck, and just a few more runs in a couple of his first half starts, Mussina could have 15 wins, and would have been selected to the American League All-Star team. Even so, his numbers [in my view] were good enough to make the team as the AL starting pitcher. Mike Mussina's path continues on the road to his first 20-win season, though. If the Yankees hit the way they did tonight, 20 wins for Mussina looks like it could happen this season.
The Yankees knocked A's starter, Greg Smith (5-8), out of the game in the bottom of the 4th when they scored two more runs, on a RBI double by Bobby Abreu, and a RBI single by A-Rod that increased the Yanks lead to, 6-1
Smith ended up pitching 3 2/3 innings, and gave up 6 earned runs, on 8 hits, 5 walks, and only one strikeout.
The final Yankees run came on a solo homerun by Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the 6th inning, which gave the Yankees a 7-1 lead. A-Rod had a big night at the plate, going (3 for 4), with a walk, two RBI's, two runs scored, including his 20th homer of the year.
Cano ended the night with 2 hits in 4 at bats, including his three-run homerun, number 7 for Cano this season. Bobby Abreu was (2 for 5) with two RBI's, and two runs scored; and, Melky Cabrera also had two hits in four times up at the plate.
Once all the scoring was complete, and Mike Mussina finished his 6 innings of work, the Yankees bullpen pitched three perfect innings, to close out this well earned victory by the whole Yankees team.
David Robertson struck-out the side, in his perfect 7th inning of relief; Edwar Ramirez struck-out two in the perfect 8th inning he pitched; and, LaTroy Hawkins closed out the 7-1 Yankees win, by pitching a perfect 9th inning, that included one strikeout.
So, with this win against the A's, the Yankees have gotten off to a great start in the second half of the 2008 baseball season. The season is really more than half over, and with a record of 51-45, the Yankees now have only 66 games remaining to reach first place in the AL EAST. All the Yankees need to do, is win each series they play; and, then, they will be well on their way to the American League Championship, and World Series.