Game 27 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 HOU 4

(Courtesy of the AP)

I'll say one thing about this series, it was a lot more hard fought than I expected it to be.  After getting walloped on Monday and holding onto a relatively close win on Tuesday, the Yankees came into last night's series finale against Houston with a chance to salvage a series victory.  It looked like it was going to be a breeze out of the gate as they went up 4-0 early, but give Houston the credit it's due.  They fought back, made the game close again, and made the Yankees earn their victory.

Game Notes:

- Ichiro Suzuki, leading off for Brett Gardner again, hit a triple to start things in the bottom of the 1st and scored on Jayson Nix's follow-up RBI single.  Erik Bedard walked the bases loaded in the 2nd and the Yanks got another run out of that.

- After playing the "manufacturing" and "patience" cards in the first 2 innings, New York went back to the power in the 3rd.  Robinson Cano and Ben Francisco each hit solo HR to make it 4-0 and it was looking ugly.

- Yanks' starter David Phelps cruised through the first 3 innings with no runs and 7 outs on the ground, but damn near lost it in the top of the 4th after giving up 3 straight hits and 2 HBPs.  Phelps would get it together to get out of the frame, but not before Houston had tied the game at 4.

- Eduardo Nunez led off the bottom of the 6th with a double, and in another one of those weird, "scrappy" plays came around to score on an inning-ending DP thanks to Lyle Overbay's heads-up baserunning to get caught in a rundown long enough to allow Nunez to cross the plate.

- Once they had the lead, the bullpen didn't let it go.  Boone Logan closed out the 6th and handled the 7th, and D-Rob and Mo needed a combined 19 pitches to close the 8th and 9th out in order.


F*ck Yeahs: 

- Overbay: 1-2, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 K, 3 LOB.  Another productive night for Overbay, who's back to finding ways to contribute every day after being a black hole for a 6-8 game span.  He got on base, he played another clean game at first base, and his smart baserunning allowed the game-winning run to score.

- Logan: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  After a rough start to the year, especially with inherited runners, Logan has really got it together and been strong these past 3+ weeks.  Back end of the 'pen is looking really good right now.

Oh Nos: 

- Chris Stewart: 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K, 5 LOB.  Bad night at the plate for TCS.  He drove in a run, but you're looking for more than a sac fly in a bases loaded/no outs situation.  He also struck out with runners on later and stranded Brett Gardner at 3rd base in the 8th.

Next Up:

The Yanks will get a well-deserved day of rest today while they wait for the Oakland A's to come to town.  That series kicks off Friday night.