Game 61 Wrap-Up: SEA 4 NYY 1

(Courtesy of the AP)

The Yankees had appeared to regain it almost as quickly as they lost it in the Subway Series coming into last night's game.  They had won 4 straight games, all on the road, and had clearly been the better team on the field in each game.  They were perfectly set up to keep the winning streak going last night against Jeremy Bonderman, former Detroit Tiger who hadn't pitched in the Majors since 2010 and was making only his second start back after getting dominated in his first last weekend.  Hiroki Kuroda was on the mound for the Yankees, looking to get back on track himself after a substandard outing against Boston last Sunday.  Somehow all of that added up to another ugly loss.

Game Notes:

- Yanks got on the board early thanks to a Brett Gardner leadoff double and an RBI groundout by Travis Hafner in the 1st.  Bonderman didn't look sharp from the jump and it looked like just a matter of time.

- They put 2 on in the 2nd and looked primed for a big inning, then Reid Brignac decided to bunt, missed, and got Vernon Wells thrown out in the process.  That play right there was basically the end of the Yankee offense for the night.

- Hirok wasn't at his best, but he was good enough through 3.  In the 4th things started to fall apart for him and frustratingly enough it happened against the bottom of the order with 2 outs.  Double by Michael Morse, back-to-back walks to Franklin and Shoppach, and a 2-run single by the immortal Brendan Ryan gave Seattle the lead.  By the time the dust settled it was 4-1.

- I said the offense ended after the 2nd and I meant it.  The Yanks mustered just 2 hits and 1 more walk in the final 7 innings, very reminiscent of what they did on Thursday night.  To have that kind of no-show against a pitcher like Bonderman is almost unfathomable.

- Good work by the Seattle 'pen behind Bonderman.  They tossed 3 shutout innings.  Preston Claiborne threw 1.2 of his own after Kuroda to keep his BB-less streak going.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Gardner: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 LOB.  Really the only guy in the lineup who did anything of value last night.

Oh Nos:

- Kuroda: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K.  Everything just seemed a little off with Hirok last night.  It all came to a head in the 4th when he lost command of almost all his pitches.  He couldn't throw his slider for strikes at all, and he was giving up hits on fastballs and sinkers that stayed too far up.  2 tough outings for Kuroda in a row.

- Robinson Cano: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 LOB.  Anytime you want to stop teasing us with a HR every 3-4 days and start hitting again, Robbie, that'd be just fine.

- Wells: 0-4, 1 LOB.  Needed an error to get on in the 2nd and then got promptly erased.  It's that kind of slump for Vernon right now.  He's down to .236 on the year.

Next Up:

The Yanks will look to shake this one off this afternoon as Andy Pettitte gets the ball against Joe Saunders in the third game of this series.