Yankees Take Double Header, and Rays Hopes of a Postseason Berth

The Good

What great pitching performances out of Sabathia and Burnett yesterday. The two combined for 13 innings of 2 run ball with 18 strikeouts. Burnett bounced back from some tough outings to go 6 innings of 1 run ball with 8 strikeouts. Releif was good too, with Hughes, Rivera, Edwar Ramirez, Albaladejo, and Dunn pitching 5 scoreless innings.

The Yankee offense ralied in the 8th inning of the first game to break a 1-1 tie, and put the pressure on in the second game winning 11-1. No one did more than Teixeira who hit 2 homeruns and drove in 4 runs to lead that charge. Melky was right behind him with a 3-4 night of his own, driving in 2. Even Molina had a 3-3 night with 2 walks.

The Bad

The young Michael Dunn came in the 9th inning of an 11-1 game last night, and walked two of the first three batters he faced. The sad thing is that he has good stuff. He was hitting 94 mph pitching lefty, and struck out Gabe Gross and Gabe Kapler to end the inning. Now in fairness, Nick Swisher struck out Gabe Kapler to end an inning, but still, Dunn has good stuff. He needs to trust it more.

The Ugly

Derek Sanderson Jeter failed to get any closer to Gehrig's record despite playing in both games of a double header. Could it be getting into his head? Maybe, maybe not, but I largely suspect he'll be breaking it within the next couple games, and I'm hoping he hits 3 homeruns before this homestand is over.

Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children

The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's home run club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. After a homerless first game, Mark Teixeira took the initiative and hit two in the second game as he remembered the children. Thank you Marky T.

Jorge Posada 20hr = $20.00
Hideki Matsui 23hr = $23.00
Derek Jeter 17hr = $17.00
Mark Teixeira 35hr = $35.00
Nick Swisher 24hr = $24.00
Robinson Cano 23hr = $23.00
Johnny Damon 24hr = $24.00
Melky Cabrera 12hr = $12.00
Jose Molina 1hr = $1.00
Alex Rodriguez 24hr = $24.00
Brett Gardner 3hr = $3.00
Francisco Cervelli 1hr = $1.00
Eric Hinske 7hr = $7.00
Jerry Hairston Jr. 2hr = $2.00
Total = $216.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.