Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Burnett Keeps the Yanks Rolling

This was a game the Yankees should have won. In fact they should be winning every game they play against the Orioles. A.J. Burnett regained his first half form, striking out six and keeping the O's off the board for the first six frames while the Yankees built a comfortable lead.

There isn't much to say about the game. The Yankees jumped out in front early and the rest of the game felt like a formality. Brian Bruney attempted to make it interesting in the ninth, but before he could really get Girardi's heart pumping, the skipper came and got him in favor of Rivera who promptly struck Aubrey Huff out on six pitches.

There was no particular standout performer among the hitters and aside from Nick Swisher botching and subsequently making two amazing grabs in the outfield most innings moved by quickly. What today's victory does is ensure the Yankees will stay in first place for another day. Tomorrow the A's roll into the city. They are currently thrashing the Twins 16-1 in Oakland.

Tomorrow's match up puts Vin Mazzaro on the mound against CC Sabathia. Mazzaro began his major league career by throwing 18 scoreless innings and winning his first two starts. After those first two victories, though, he has learned how difficult the majors can be. The New Jersey native is 0-6 in his last seven starts, posting a 5.59 ERA. The Yankees have never seen Mazzaro so this game can go either way. Let's just hope Sabathia is on his game.

But I'm honestly more interested in seeing Friday's match up of Brett Anderson vs. Joba Chamberlain. Anderson was part of the Dan Haren trade back in 2007. He had a rocky start to his MLB career and the Yankees rocked him for three home runs when they faced him back in April. Anderson has gotten a lot better since then and he has yet to allow a run in July. Hopefully the game is a dual between two young pitchers on their way up and Joba keeps his new approach from last start.

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