What Happened
Andy Pettitte went 7 innings and allowed two runs in leading the Yankees to a victory in the first night game at the new park. Brian Bruney finally allowed a run, but Mariano Rivera shut the door on the A’s in the 9th. Brett Gardner had a big 2-run single, and Johnny Damon blasted a long home run.
What I Liked
1) Andy Pettitte- Andy was a bit erratic in allowing 9 hits, but continued to avoid the base on balls and went deep into the game for his third straight start. With Chien-Ming Wang struggling, top of the rotation type performances from Pettitte have been vital in keeping the Yankees afloat. He looks poised to have a great season.
2) Mariano Rivera and Brian Bruney- Bruney did get hit around a bit for the first time since Opening Day, but limited the damage and did not fall into his old pitfall of avoiding the plate and walking batters. Thankfully, his run allowed came in a game where the team had a 3 run lead. Wow, I wish Joba had been available to lock that margin down! Rivera was his typical great self, allowing a hit but retiring the side on 12 pitches. He also notched the Yankees only strikeout of the game, and has yet to allow a run on the young season.
3) Brett Gardner- He had a big two-run single, and robbed Jason Giambi of a double with a great running catch. He seems to be settling in a bit in the field, but needs to gain some consistency at the plate. He also strikes out too much for a slap hitter.
4) The older players- Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, and Hideki Matsui combined to go 6-12 with a walk, a homer, and two RBI. It is good to see Matsui starting to hit again after getting a few days off to rest his knees, and Posada and Damon both seem to be heating up.
What I Didn’t Like
1) Nick Swisher- Swish is 3 for his last 21, with three walks and seven strikeouts over that span. He looks a bit befuddled at the plate lately, and has not looked particularly good in the field as well. With Xavier Nady out 4-6 weeks, the Yankees need Swisher to find a consistent level of production.
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6 Responses to Recap: Pettitte Leads Yankees To A 5-3 Victory
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TIQ IQ
I was thinking the same thing regarding your comment about Gardener’s strikeouts. Does it seem to anyone else that he takes an inordinate number of strike one looking calls? I recall reading that he thought a problem from last year was being too selective at the plate, falling behind, and making bad outs. Well just looking at the last 7 games, he had 29 plate appearances of which 19 were strike one looking (not swinging or fouls, just looking). I’m not an expert on hitting, but giving the pitcher an automatic ahead in the count 2/3 of your at bats without making an attempt to put it in play doesn’t seem like a good way to work your at bat (especially since he’s not walking after falling behind, but striking out or grounding out).
Agreed. I never get weak hitters letting strike one go by. The pitcher will always throw him a strike on the first pitch because they dont fear him or think he will seriously hurt them if he swings. He puts himself into a hole when he should be slapping that first pitch into the ground.
Gardner is in trouble.He’s getting very bad advice from his hitting instructor.That ridiculously wide stance with no strid gives him no chance.He’ll hit .200 if he doesn’t go back to what he was doing when he came back from the minors last season.Using his legs.
He’s plenty strong but he has no trigger now ot get the bat moving.He’s way behind and headed for ruin.
Could you clarify? What exactly is he doing differently?
He’s stopped striding into the ball.They have him standing there in a very, very wide stance and he can’t pull the trigger from there IMO.
No weight shift.
Like trying to hit the ball flatfooted.
He’s gone from driving it, to barely getting it out of the infield.
Maybe they thought he would stop trying to hit home runs if they kept him in a wider stance and focus on just making contact, which is what slap hitters should be doing.