Game 55 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 TB 1

(Courtesy of The AP)

Things are never as bad and hopeless as they seem when they're going poorly and they're never as good as they seem when they're going well in baseball.  In such a long season, with so many games, there are always going to be peaks and valleys, and the Yankees, after wallowing in a deep valley a few weeks ago, have been slowly rising back up towards a peak since then.  Last night, they found themselves just a half game out of 1st place in the AL East, with a chance to leap over at least one of the teams still in front of them.  A good start from Ivan Nova would have been gone a long way in helping to make that happen.

Game Notes:

- The Yankees took an aggressive approach against Tampa starter Alex Cobb early, and it quickly paid dividends in the bottom of the 2nd when Mark Teixeira beat the hated shift by smoking a hanging curve into the second deck in right for a 1-0 Yankee lead.

- Nova gave up a leadoff single to Desmond Jennings, but he was solid through 3.  He was throwing strikes, working from ahead in the count, and generally locating his fastball down.  He did miss over the plate a few times, but they didn't lead to any trouble.

- In case you thought you could predict baseball, the bottom of the 4th was a reminder that you cannot.  After Alex Rodriguez drew a 1-out walk, he was picked off straying too far away from first base on a freak passed ball that bounced right back to Jose Molina.  On the very next pitch, Robinson Cano lined a HR to right for a 2-0 lead.

- He had to work a little harder in the 4th, but Nova cruised through 7.  He threw some good sliders and backdoor curveballs, but the fastball was his best pitch and he was getting a lot of GB outs.

- Cobb really didn't pitch a bad game at all.  He made 2 mistakes that cost him, and they were 2 of only 5 hits he allowed in 7+ innings of work, but for the most part he held the Yankee offense in check and gave his team a chance before tiring in the 8th.

- Swish and Chavez's back-to-back RBI doubles off of Cobb in the bottom of the 8th provided some comforting insurance runs.

- For a guy who's had a tough year to date, it was a bit surprising to see Joe leave Nova in for the 9th.  I would have rather seen him go out on a high note, and leadoff back-to-back triples by TB to start the 9th immediately made the decision look awful. Soriano came on and went 1-2-3 for the finish.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Nova: 8.0+ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W. This outing was a perfect combination of the high-strikeout version of Nova and the high-groundball version of himself that he seems to prefer.  His fastball command was very good, and he mixed in his offspeed stuff well when he was ahead in the count.  He very rarely missed up in the zone and he worked efficiently.  Definitely a positive sign for Nova moving forward.

- Teix & Cano: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI apiece.  A couple of picture-perfect power swings on bad pitches over the plate.  That's what you want your run producers in the lineup to do.

Oh Nos:

- Derek Jeter: 0-4, 1 LOB.  Tough night at the dish for The Captain.  Worked some counts, but came up with nothing to show for the effort.

- Curtis Granderson: 0-4, 1 LOB.  Completed the bad night for the top of the lineup, but made a nice play in center.

Next Up:

The Rays are in the rearview mirror for the moment, and the Yanks have a chance to sweep them out of town tonight with their ace on the mound.  I feel like CC is due for one of those "8-inning, 1-run, 9-K" games, and this scuffling Tampa lineup gives him the perfect opportunity to have that game.