Randy pitched as well as he has all year yesterday. For six innings he was almost perfect. He started to tire out and by the eighth ran out of gas, but the Yanks have to hope that with the warm weather comes a hot Randy.
The way Johnson was pitching at that point, a bulge that big appeared to be overkill. He retired the first 12 hitters in order before Travis Hafner quelled the anticipation among the 34,982 fans by punching a single to left field to lead off the fifth. He was eventually erased when Victor Martinez grounded into a double play, and after Ronnie Belliard flied out, Johnson had still faced the minimum number of hitters.
That streak ended with Jason Michaels' homer in the seventh, a rocket into the left-field seats that ruined Johnson's shutout and, apparently, his shell of invincibility, too.
"It was as good as I've seen him," Torre said of Johnson's work in the first six innings. "He was dominating. He gave us exactly what we needed."
The Indians defense is just terrible, but the Yanks capitalized on every mistake they made to win the last two games of the series. Now we have Tampa and the Red Sox face Chicago. This weekend the Yanks need to pick up another game before the All Star break.