Game 104 Wrap-Up: NYY 12 BAL 3

(Courtesy of The AP)

The whole night game thing hasn't been working for the Yankees lately, so maybe a change of daytime setting would help shake the funk off of Tuesday night's gong show.  There weren't exactly sunny skies, but the Yankee bats certainly brightened up the atmosphere around The Stadium early and often.  For the second straight day the lineup jumped on Baltimore's starter, this time Zach Britton, and got the early lead.  For the first time in a few days, the lead was held onto and the losing streak was broken.

Game Notes:

- It wasn't quite as dynamic as Tuesday night's 1st inning, but 2 runs is still a good start.  Curtis Granderson hit a solo HR and Andruw Jones made a Nick Swisher double worthwhile with a sac fly and the Yankees grabbed the early lead again.

- It wasn't quite as bad as Nova's 7 runs, but Phil Hughes did give 1 back in the top of the 2nd on an Endy Chavez RBI groundout.  Unlike Nova, however, Hughes was able to limit the damage after getting into a second-and-third and 1 out pickle.

- The offense tacked on 2 more runs in the bottom of the 2nd on a pair of RBI singles, got a shutdown inning from their starter for a nice change of pace, and then dropped the hammer in the bottom of the 3rd with a 2-out, 7-run inning of their own, capped off by Robinson Cano's grand slam to make it 11-1.

- Hughes wasn't as sharp as he has been, and wasn't overly efficient, but he did keep the Orioles at that 1 run through the 6 innings he was on the mound.  A day after seeing Nova bomb without his best stuff and no command, it was refreshing to see Hughes battle and work through.

- Joba Chamberlain made his official return in the top of the 7th in relief of Hughes.  His outing wasn't as smooth as he would have liked (solo HR on his 2nd pitch, 2 ER & 5 baserunners allowed in 1.2 IP), but that hardly mattered given the score at the time.  The important thing is that he's back.

- It was a tale of 2 RISP performances yesterday.  Yankees good (7-13), Baltimore bad (0-15).  It's fair to mention that the Yankee pitchers gave the Orioles plenty of chance, but Baltimore couldn't take advantage.

F*ck Yeahs:

- Cano: 2-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 LOB.  2 straight days with a home run and Cano added a base on balls yesterday.  Looks like his mini-slump is being broken out of.

- Derek Jeter: 3-4, 1 R, 3 RBI.  Yeah, a few of them have been measly infield hits, but The Captain quietly has 13 hits in his last 7 games, and that's pretty good table-setting from your leadoff guy.

- Jayson Nix: 3-4, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 LOB.  Right in the middle of everything again.

Oh Nos:

- Ichiro: 1-5, 5 LOB.  Didn't seem to have any problems adjusting to left field, as he made a nice catch up against the wall late int he game, but just 1 hit again, guy??  I don't want to have to start talking about diminishing returns on you already.

Next Up:

Off day today and then the homestand continues as Ichiro gets to see his former teammates again when Seattle comes to town for 3 starting on Friday.  They'll bring the same trio of starters that the Yankees faced out west last week; hopefully the Yankee batters can produce some better results.  The Bombers will counter with CC.