Dan Haren tossed a complete game shutout and CC Sabathia labored through six innings as the Yankees fell 6-0 to the Angels on Saturday night.
Haren turned in one of the best pitched games against the Yankees I've seen this season. Over nine shutout innings, he allowed just four hits, didn't walk a batter, and struck out seven. At one point, he retired eighteen Yankees in a row.
You've got to give credit where credit is due, and Haren deserves all the credit in the world tonight. He commanded the strike zone, changed speeds effectively, and induced twelve groundouts to just three flyouts. He was truly dominant.
The Yankees' pitching could not measure up to Haren tonight, as Sabathia struggled over six innings. He consistently worked around trouble, surrendering one run on eight hits while walking four and striking out five. He didn't have his best stuff and certainly didn't have his best command, but Sabathia dealt with it and was effective enough to keep the Yankees in the ball game.
Hector Noesi could not minimize damage like Sabathia did, giving up four runs in just 2/3 of an inning, with the big blow coming in the form of a two run homer off the bat of Jeff Mathis. With the way Haren was dealing, a 5-0 seemed insurmountable, especially with a struggling Yankees lineup.
By the time George Kontos came in and served up a homer to Torii Hunter, the game was already out of reach.
The last four games haven't shown the best the Yankees have to offer, but at least the Red Sox lost again. Let's hope the Yankees right the ship soon.
Play of the Game: Maicer Izturis' RBI double (12%).
Thoughts and observations after the jump.
- Jorge Posada appeared in his first game behind the plate since game six of the 2010 ALCS due to Russell Martin's thumb injury. He even threw a runner out at second base despite a high throw.
- I know Hector Noesi got knocked around, but he still made some quality pitches. He got unlucky on a nice 0-2 slider off the plate that Mike Trout blooped into right for an RBI. Prior to that, he painted the corner with a 94 mph two seamer. If he gets Trout, that inning changes a lot.
- You have to appreciate the way CC battled tonight. He needed 119 pitches to get through six innings, and to minimize the damage to just one run is impressive.
- Eduardo Nunez didn't run out a line drive that was dropped, and in turn, ended up being a double play. He probably wouldn't have beaten the play anyway due to the fact that he hit it so hard, but he should still hustle.