Don't let the final score fool you- this was a tense game until the bottom of the 8th. But when it was all said and done, it felt like a game against the Orioles.
Only Arod went hitless, Every starter got at least one hit, and Arod got run for arguing balls and strikes after striking out in the 4th (who needs the bum anyway?) [sarcasm].
Jeter went 3 for 4 with a walk. Tex went 2-5 with 2 RBIs. Cano went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored. Swisher went 2-5. Matsui went 3-5 with 5 huge RBI on a bases loaded single followed by a 3 run homer a couple innings later. Melky went 2-4 with 4 RBI of his own.
Hideki Matsui is setting himself up to be the next Bobby Abreu. The Yankees don't want to pay him what arbitration would bring him (and shouldn't), so he'll wind up signing at a discount with somebody else (the Giants need offense, or he might like a reunion with Joe Torre). And then he's going to put up big numbers. I don't want to lock in a DH because I'd rather rotate Damon, Arod, Posada and Jeter throughout the season.
CC had a rocky second inning when the Orioles squeezed 2 runs out of a walk and a few singles. He settled down though, and pitched another 7 innings- 5 hit, 4 walks, and 3 runs (one of which should be unearned after the mental error by Damon).
Let's talk about CC's Cy credentials for a minute: He's pitched 7 innings in 22 of his 31 starts, and 6.2 another 4 times. He's pitched 213 innings with 3 weeks left in September (he was second in the league at the start of the day, 2 innings behind Doc Halladay). He's third in the league in WHIP behind only Zack Greinke and Halladay. He's 10th in the league in K/9 and 7th in strikeouts. Zach Greinke has been the league's most dominant pitcher, but I think Sabathia has had the biggest impact on his team.
Hughes came in to pitch the 8th and was very un-Hughes like. He gave up a hit and only struck out one.
Can we leave Brian Bruney off the post-season roster? I'm just afraid Joe G. won't be able to resist the temptation to let him pitch. Tony Pena didn't want to watch Bruney any more than I did, pulling him after his second walk of the inning with a 10 run lead. Seriously, I'd rather see Bruney do his Chase Wright impression than walk guys with a big lead.