Yanks vs. Phillies Series Review

Once again, the inconsistent Yankee offense came to the plate against Philadelphia this past series.

In a series that started off so promising, with a gutty performance by C.C. Sabathia and an offensive outburst against arguably the best pitcher in baseball, the New York Yankees were put down like dogs in the last two games.

Not only were they put down like dogs, they were put down BY dogs. Jaime Moyer is a 47-year-old (Yes, he let up 9 runs in 1+ inning against Boston last weekend) who throws an 81 mph fastball while Kyle Kendrick sounds like he should be racing a NASCAR on Sunday afternoons. Being at both Wednesday and Thursday night’s games, it’s also safe to say that the Phillie fans still haven’t changed much either. They are still rude and obnoxious and feel that they are entitled to say and do what they please. But that’s beside the point…

Looking back at the series, there were no complaints about Tuesday night. Roy “Doc” Halladay, the man who has absolutely dominated the Yankees over his career with an 18-6 record, experienced a bit of his own medicine. Doc got knocked for 6 runs over 6 innings while surrendering 3 homeruns. The homers were significant due to the fact that he hadn’t surrendered a homerun to a lefty all year. Three lefties (Granderson, Swisher, Teixeira) took him yard on Tuesday en route to an 8-3 victory.

Sabathia, other than a rocky 4th inning, finally made a great start against a team other than Baltimore. Throwing strikes to the first 10 batters of the game, he would go on to strike out 6 of them. He would go 7 innings letting up only 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. David Robertson and Chad Gaudin were also solid, retiring the Phillies in the 8th and 9th to close out the game.

And then Wednesday night rolled around…

As AJ Burnett headed out to the mound, I’m sure every fan had one question on their mind. Which Burnett will make an appearance tonight? Well, it was the same AJ Burnett that showed up for Game 5 of the World Series last year. Being generous, AJ was terrible. He went 3.1 innings surrendering 6 runs on 6 hits including 4 walks. His command was not there and his 2-seam fastball didn’t show the same zip it has at home this season thus far. Yankee fans weren’t afraid to show their displeasure as he was booed walking back into the dugout. Meanwhile, Father Time was on the mound for the Phillies.

Jaime Moyer gave the Phillies an incredibly clutch start on Wednesday night to prevent them from dropping to one game over .500. He made all the Yankee hitters, with the exception of Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada, look like they were in diapers still. Let’s be honest, Moyer was 22 years old when Kevin Russo first came into the world as an infant. However, homage is due where it should be paid. Moyer went 7 innings only letting up 2 runs on 2 hits (solo shots by Cano and Posada). With the exception making some noise in the 9th inning with an RBI double by Rodriguez, the Yankees were put to sleep and lost the game 6-3.

However, I feel that much respect should be paid to Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin. Although subject to many of my criticisms and jokes, the two relief pitchers combined for 5.2 innings of no hit relief against the Phillies. Logan dropped his ERA from 5.06 to 4.05 and Gaudin dropped his ERA from 8.20 to 7.36.

The rubber game was last night and the Yankees couldn’t have asked for a better man to take the mound. Old Reliable, Andy Pettitte, got the nod and went face to face with Kyle Kendrick of the Phillies. Following in the footsteps of Moyer, Kendrick also flashed some brilliance by shutting down the Yankee offense. 7 innings of 1 run on 4 hits is a spectacular line for Kendrick and he took the crowd right out of the game. The red-hot Robinson Cano was responsible for the only run the Bombers could salvage with an RBI single.

Pettitte pitched respectably and kept the Yankees in the game, but to no avail. He went 7 innings allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7. Shane Victorino hit a big homerun in the 5th to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead and that was more than enough. Robertson recorded another great inning of pitching when he was summoned in the 8th. And then Joba Chamberlain came trotting out for the 9th…

Joba didn’t record an out and was charged for 3 earned runs no thanks to his 2 hits and walk issued to start the 9th. Marte would be called on and he wasn’t much better. All three of the runners on base would score due to a single and various sacrifice flies as Marte retired only two batters. Park would finally get the final out of the inning. By the time it was all said and done, Philadelphia led 7-1 and that’s the way it would stay.

Notes from the series:

• Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup on Wednesday and Thursday as a DH.
• Derek Jeter, after 32 consecutive games of reaching base, did not walk or get a hit on Wednesday or Thursday.
• Before Joba entered the action yesterday, the Yankee bullpen’s ERA for the series was 0.00 through 8.2 innings. In the 9th inning, the ERA was 36.00.

Yankee stats from the series:

• Record: 1-2
• BA: 19 for 95 (.200)
• RISP: 6 for 19 (.316)
• Homeruns: 5
• Runs scored: 12
• ERA: 5.00

Phillie stats from the series:

• Record: 2-1
• BA: 21 for 99 (.212)
• RISP: 11 for 27 (.407)
• Homeruns: 3
• Runs scored: 16
• ERA: 4.00

 The Yankees are tied with Tampa Bay for the best record in baseball as well as 1st place in the AL east with a record of 41-25. The Philadelphia Phillies are now 34-30 and trail the Atlanta Braves by 3.5 games for 1st in the NL East. 

The Mets, arguably the hottest team in baseball, are marching back into the Bronx tonight for what promises to be a great series. Javier Vazquez and Hisanori Takahashi are going to the rubber tonight. All the action can be caught on MY9 or WCBS 880.

Three things for Phillies fans to keep in mind…

1)      Last year the Yankees lost 2 of 3 against the Phillies in May

2)      The Yankees beat the Phillies in the world series.

3)      The Phillies are trailing the New York Mets in the standings...

Get off your high horses.