Sunday, June 15, 2014

Nuno's Rough Start Dooms Yankees in Rubber Game

In his last start in Seattle, Yankees Pitcher Vidal Nuno gave us something to smile about.

The struggling lefty, who began the season as a long reliever, tossed 5.2 innings of one-run ball, giving the Yanks a much-needed chance to win.

After that performance, it was only reasonable to believe he'd do something similar today, although that simply didn't happen, as Nuno didn't even make it out of the fourth in a 10-5 A's victory.

For the rookie, the game ended pretty early, as Derek Norris and Coco Crisp each hit three-run home runs in Oakland's first two at-bats.

After giving up another pair in the bottom of the fourth, Nuno's outing was finally over, with his line reading a tough 3+ frames of 8-earned run ball, dropping his 2014 record to 1-3 and raising his ERA to 5.90.

From that point on, the Yanks' bullpen did hold their ground (getting a combined four scoreless innings from Shawn Kelley, Adam Warren, and Matt Thornton), something that didn't really matter, as the scoreboard read 10-0 Oakland after four innings of play.

In the final five frames, the Bombers' bats did begin to improve after Jesse Chavez' (6 IP, ER, gave up an RBI Double to Mark Teixeira) departure, bringing the contest to within five thanks to a Sac Fly from Derek Jeter, a Solo Homer from Carlos Beltran, and a two-run shot from Brett Gardner.

Still, the double-digit deficit they faced proved too large for them to overcome, as they lost for the second time in the three-game series, fell to 35-33 overall, and lost the second wild card spot to the suddenly-hot Royals.

As for their road trip, its record dropped to 5-4, with two of its three sets resulting in frustrating defeat after the openers were won. 

6 comments:

  1. Well, Jeter is hot and Solarte is not! This team can't afford to have these guys hitting in the LOW .200s+.
    Solarte has come down to earth and Jeter is doing very well. Lest anyone get all worked up about it, Solarte is (I hope) better than a .270+ hitter and Jeter will not keep hitting as he has the last few games. Every good hitter needs to think...check that...let's make that "Has to know", he will come out of that slump! It very well could be Solarte needs a shot of rest and recharge his battery's, where as Jeter is having his one or two streaks and, let's forget what is coming down the pike soon!
    Here is hoping he gets and keeps his avg around .290+.

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    1. The line should have been;
      "Well, Jeter is hot and Solarte is not! This team can't afford to have guys hitting in the LOW .200s+...too many are!"

      Delete
  2. Solarte doesn't worry me as much as others. McCann, Soriano, Beltran, etc.

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    1. Solarte is not a worry for me at all. I worry for him, NY can be very tough on a rookie. Let's see if he has what it takes to make a strong come back without getting down on himself, as some others have done in the past.
      No one is getting hits when they are needed, except for a hit here and there...there just ain't nobody getting no hits wen da count!
      New week and new out look for the team...we can hope some of these guys remember what they are making all that money for!

      Delete
  3. And so begins a huge six games against the two teams we're chasing. Let's sweep those Jays and Orioles.

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  4. It's actually nine games, we play Toronto again after Baltimore.

    Game one down, but we should have won since it was Tanaka Tuesday. The real test begins tonight.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)