Game 40 Wrap-Up: CIN 6 NYY 5

(Awwww, dude!  Courtesy of The AP)

Day game after a night game and the altered lineup was even more altered than usual thanks to the current Yankee health situation.  Teix was out again so Swish was playing first base, Ibanez was playing right field and batting 5th, Cano got a day at DH, Wise was back in left field, and Nix was playing 2nd.  To add to the scattered situation, Ivan Nova was making his first start after leaving early with his foot/ankle injury earlier in the week and all eyes would be on him early to make sure the injury wasn't affecting him.

Game Notes:

- Nova didn't appear to be suffering any ill effects of the injury, but his performance was more of the same.  The stuff was very good, but his fastball command was spotty at best and he missed with some offspeed stuff up and paid for it.

- Through 3 innings, Nova had recorded 8 of his 9 outs via strikeout (7 of them swinging and 5 on the curveball), but a pair of walks and 2 doubles given up led to a 2-0 Cincy lead.

- I didn't think it was right to bat Russell Martin 7th today, even with the 2 guys behind him being Dewayne Wise and Jayson Nix, but Martin hit the first pitch he saw in the game for a HR to right to lead off the bottom of the 3rd.  More of this please, Russ.

- Nova's misplaced offspeed stuff continued to bite him in the ass in the 5th when he left a slider up in the zone with two runners on to Joey Votto.  Not a lot of pitchers get away with that, and Nova didn't either as Votto hit a 3-run homer to right-center for a 5-2 Reds lead.

- The offense put a few more on the board, on a Raul Ibanez RBI double in the 4th and a Nix HR in the 5th (his 2nd in the last week), but went silent again in the later innings.  That lack of production loomed large after Cincy tacked on a cheap run in the 8th on a single, walk, and a couple of sacrifices against David Phelps, who didn't help his cause with a costly error after a great catch.

- Aroldis Chapman has been the NL version of Dave Robertson this season, and in his first appearance at Yankee Stadium he put on a show, striking out C-Grand and Cano swinging with fastballs and getting A-Rod to pop out in the bottom of the 8th.

- Shawn Marshall replaced Chapman for the 9th, and apparently he was just what the Yankee offense needed.  Ibanez led off with a double, and was quickly singled home by Nick Swisher.  After a Martin K, Andruw Jones singled Swish to third base, and Nix followed with an RBI single to pull the Yankees within 1.  They had 2 on, only 1 out, and Marshall gave way to Jose Arredondo.

- The Yankees made it interesting, but Arredondo did the job to preserve the win.  I question Jeter's decision to swing first pitch in a 2 on/1 out situation in the 9th, and I hated Curtis Granderson swinging and fouling off a hittable 3-0 fastball.  That's just kind of how it's been going for the offense lately.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Nix: 3-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI.  I was a bit surprised when he got the call up, but Nix has been pleasantly surprising with his contributions over the past week.

- Ibanez: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI.  I wasn't a fan of the signing at the time, but I have to admit that Raul Ibanez has been incredibly valuable at the plate this season.  I worry about his health with all the time he's spending playing the field, but the dude can rake.

Oh Nos:

- Nova: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 12 K.  I feel like this is at least the second time I've had Nova on the bad list when he's K'd a bunch of guys, but his XBH issues are crippling him.  Of the 7 hits he gave up, 3 were for extra bases and those 3 accounted for all 5 of the runs against him.  There hasn't been much progress in the command department for him all season.  It might be time for Rothschild to step in and start tinkering.

Alex Rodriguez: 0-4, 1 K, 1 LOB.  If you're not going to hit for any power from the cleanup spot, you could at least get on base.

- Robinson Cano: 0-4, 1 R, 2 K, 1 LOB.  A break in Cano's hot streak on a day where the team really could have used another 2 or 3 hit day from him.

- Granderson: 0-4, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 LOB.  The first piece to the "combined 0-12 from the 2-3-4 spots in the lineup" puzzle that killed the Yankees yesterday.

Next Up:

I can't believe we've reached the quarter pole of the season already.  As poorly as they've played in the past week, the Yankees have actually won their last 2 3-game series.  They have the chance to do that again today with their ace on the mound.  CC is looking to tighten his command up after Tuesday's outing and he'll have a well-rested late-game bullpen backing him.  I want a series win today.  This team needs something positive to build on.