Six run 8th propels Yanks to series win

This one most definitely had an annoyingly hopeless feel to it, didn’t it? From the get-go, it was readily apparent that Yankee starter CC Sabathia had absolutely nothing. His slider? No. Changeup? Not so much. Fastball? Not in the least. The Braves went up almost as quickly as possible.

After the Yankees put runners on in the top of the first, the Braves put three runners on in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a Michael Bourn single (followed by a Martin Prado fly out), a ground-rule double by Brian McCann, and a walk by Dan Uggla. Certified lefty-killer Matt Diaz then made Sabathia pay for his lack of sharpness by doubling to right and clearing the bases. While Sabathia never fully gained his stuff or command, he battled through seven innings and only gave up one more run (a bases-loaded RBI groundout by Jason Heyward in the bottom of the seventh) en route to his eighth win of the season.

When a team falls down early in the game, there are two things that need to be done. One is that the pitcher needs to keep the team in the game. The other is that the offense needs to chip away. While Sabathia more or less held up his end of the bargain, the offense didn’t. They never did chip away at the deficit they faced. Instead, they blasted it away with the long ball in the bottom of the eighth.

It started off innocently enough with a Russell Martin fly ball to right field. Derek Jeter then singled, chasing Atlanta starter Mike Minor from the ball game. In came Johnny Venters, who immediately gave up a single to Curtis Granderson and walked Mark Teixeira. Unknowingly, they set the stage for a bit of history. After three balls, a taken strike, and two foul balls, Alex Rodriguez lined a ball over the wall in left field to tie him with Lou Gehrig for the most grand slams (23) in Major League history. Just as importantly, it tied the game at four. Venters was left in the game to face Robinson Cano, who singled. This was Venters’ last batter as he was relieved by Cory Gearrin…who gave up a two run homer to Nick Swisher, giving the Yankees a 6-4 lead.

One issue coming into tonight was an overworked bullpen, so Joe Girardi was essentially forced to use Clay Rapada as a set-up guy instead of a LOOGY tonight, and Rapada shined. He did the job expected of him by striking out lefty hitter Freddie Freeman. After he walked shortstop and righty hitting Andrelton Simmons, Rapada was set to face pinch-hitter David Ross who owned a .522/237 wOBA/wRC+ against lefties coming into that plate appearance. Ross looked off balance the entire time and ended up hitting a low pop up to Mark Teixeira. Another lefty, Michael Bourn, ended the inning by flying out to defensive replacement Dewayne Wise. Following Rapada on the mound for the Yankees was Rafael Soriano, who looked completely dominant en route to earning the save. The Yankees will look for their second straight sweep tomorrow as veteran righties Hiroki Kuroda and Tim Hudson square off.

Follow Me On Twitter