JOE GIRARDI lamented the opportunities that got away from the New York Yankees, and there were plenty of them. In absorbing a 4-3 loss on Sunday and getting swept at Angel Stadium for the first time since May, 1995, the Yankees went 0 for 10 with a runner in scoring position after scoring two runs in the first inning.
Two really stand out - Alex Rodriguez was at bat with a runner at third and two outs in the fifth inning and Derek Jeter was up with a runner at third and two outs in the seventh.
But it was not so much the situations, rather Joe Saunders and the way that he approached them that resonated.
Rodriguez had beaten Saunders in the first inning, ripping a fastball to left for a RBI double. And in the fifth Saunders went right back at him - fastball, fastball - and on that second pitch got the Yankees’ third baseman to pop out to right field. Jeter was presented the same challenge - all fastballs, 94 mph, 94 mph, 93 mph, 94 mph. The first two were fouled off, the next three outside the strike zone and the sixth one was hit into short right field where it was snared by second baseman Howie Kendrick.
Saunders had not exactly excelled in those situations this season - with a runner in scoring position and two outs, opponents were batting .279 against him, accouting for 26 of the 56 runs that he had allowed in his first 22 starts.
But he went right after two of the best hitters in baseball, challenged them with a fastball that was a tick or two faster than his normal range.
Before facing Rodriguez, there was a confab at the mound - and a base open. But there was no talk of an intentional walk. ”It was more strategy on how to pitch him,” Saunders said. ”We had a runner on third there with two outs and the best hitter in baseball at the plate. It was pretty much, you either walk him unintentionally or you go after him with absolutely your best stuff. I tried to throw every pitch as hard as I could and locate the (heck) out of it.”
RODRIGUEZ WAS INVOLVED in another huge sequence in the eighth inning. After hitting a double into the gap in left center with one out against Jose Arredondo, in scoring position and representing the go-ahead run, he tried to steal third on a 2-0 pitch to Xavier Nady and was thrown out.
Rather, he was called out by third base umpire Bil Welke - replays showed he was safe.
Rodriguez was running on his own and it was a decision that left him open to questioning, especially considering Nady has hit .353 (6 for 17) with runners in scoring position since acquired in a trade with the Pirates and .444 (4 for 9) with a runner in scoring position and less than two outs.
But Girardi said he had no problem with it, and Rodriguez didn’t second guess himself.
”It was 100 percent the right move to make. I mean, on the road, you have to play to win,” he said. “I had a good jump, the catcher made a perfect throw. I stole the base - and everyone knows that. The umpire had great position on it. He just simply missed it.”
THINK THE YANKEES GOT SPANKED in this series? The Angels’ last swept the Yankees at home May 23 to 25 in 1995. The scores of those games were 10-0, 3-1 and 15-2, the winning pitchers Chuck Finley, Bob Patterson and Mark Langston. … The Angels in this series outscored the Yankees by a 25-12. … Garret Anderson singled in his first at-bat, extending a hitting streak to 16 games, tying the longest by an Angels’ player this season. Vladimir Guerrero also had a 16-game hitting streak. …
If you believed that Manny Ramirez would hear mostly boos in his return to Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, don’t bother to read the rest of this column’s first item.
