Tired Bullpen Perseveres in Yankee Win

(This is a repost of my game recap which I originally posted on 4/15/07; I forgot to put my name on it then, sorry!)

Gina Carrano
Mini-Project #2

When the Oakland Athletics jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Yankees in Saturday's game, New York manager Joe Torre looked on from the dugout with a pained expression on his face, likely fearing it would be another long game.

He had no idea.

After a 13-inning game in which a combined total of 13 pitchers were used, the Yankees prevailed over Oakland 4-3. Jason Giambi's 13th-inning home run--his second of the season--proved to be the game-winner, and reliever Brian Bruney pitched two scoreless innings to earn his first win.

Bruney was clearly exhausted when he took the mound, after having labored over 36 pitches the night before in a 12-inning losing effort. Although his velocity was lower than what it normally is, he gutted it out, running on sheer adrenaline to help his team pick up a morale-boosting win. He even exacted a bit of revenge in the process with his game-ending strikeout of Travis Buck, who had scored the winning run off Bruney in extra innings the previous night.

Yankees pitching came up strong all night. After Oakland scored 3 unearned runs in the first inning, starter Darrell Rasner settled down to pitch effectively into the 6th inning. After he departed, six Yankee relievers combined to keep the game scoreless before handing the ball over to Bruney in the 12th.

Not all of these scoreless innings were without their tense moments, however. Lefty reliever Sean Henn got into a slight jam when he gave up a hit to Buck immediately after a throwing error by Derek Jeter, but the ever-dependable righthander Scott Proctor stepped in at that time and carried the game into the eighth inning.

After lefty specialist Mike Myers recorded the final out of the eighth, the Yankees turned the game over to Luis Vizcaino, Kyle Farnsworth and Mariano Rivera. Farnsworth's outing was surprisingly successful after a slew of early-season struggles; he'd surrendered game-tying hits in each of his two previous appearances. The key to Farnsworth's effectiveness seems to be getting ahead in the count early, which, for the most part, he was able to do on Saturday.

Oakland starter Joe Blanton got the A's off to a good start, allowing no Yankee runs for the first six innings. But eventually the Yankees broke through, and it all started with Alex Rodriguez, who has been a driving force behind much of the Yankees' offense all season.

Rodriguez clubbed a solo home run off Blanton to open the 5th. The blast was his seventh of the season, a Major League-leading mark. Robinson Cano scored later in the frame on a Melky Cabrera RBI, as the Yankees cut their early deficit to one run.

They tied the game in the 7th inning on Jorge Posada's 2-out RBI. Posada, who had just come off the bench to pinch-hit for Wil Nieves, smoked a double that scored Cano and chased Blanton from the game.

Losing pitcher Lenny DiNardo allowed 3 hits in 3 innings, including the fateful home run to Giambi, which inevitably sent the sellout crowd at McAfee Coliseum home disappointed. Giambi, a former member of the A's who is lustily booed whenever he returns to Oakland, was pleased to have a chance to contribute with the bat, as he had been mired in an early-season slump.

The third and final game of the series, and the last one of a six-game road trip for the Yankees, will take place at 4:05 p.m. EST on Sunday. Left-handed Andy Pettitte will oppose Oakland righthander Rich Harden.