Game 92 Wrap-Up: NYY 8 KC 4

(Courtesy of the AP)

The story of the day was obviously Derek Jeter.  All Derek Jeter all the time.  He made his return from the broken ankle that ended his 2012 season earlier this afternoon, batting 2nd as the DH.  After looking like he might fall behind Alex Rodriguez in the race to return, Jeter surprised almost everyone by returning today and he helped spark another good offensive game.  In typical Jeter fashion, he got a hit in his first at-bat (infield single) and it was on from there.  It wasn't powerful and it wasn't pretty, from Jeter or the team, but it was effective and it got them their 50th win of the season.

Game Notes:

- It was really a struggle for Andy Pettitte early.  He gave up 3 runs in the top of the 1st after getting beat on another bunt single and giving up a 2-run double to Salvador Perez.

- The bad bunt defense cost Andy again in the 2nd when he threw the ball away trying to make another play.    He could never really settle into anything in the first 2 innings because of the bunt issues and the Yanks found themselves down.

- Surprisingly, it was only 1 run down as they hung 3 on Ervin Santana in the first 2 innings on Vernon Wells sac fly and an Austin Romine RBI double.  Even a weak Yankee lineup can hit this guy.

- Pettitte did settle down after escaping the 2nd and was actually not bad from there.  He gave up 2 more hits and hit a batter, but his stuff looked much better and he kept runs off the board.

- The Yanks made their move in the bottom of the 5th.  Ichiro singled to lead off and stole second base with Jeter up.  Jeter moved him over and 2 walks loaded the bases for Lyle Overbay.  Santana threw him a 1-0 fastball that Overbay was right on the Yanks had a 5-4 lead.  A few tack-on singles by Zoilo and Eduardo gave them the cushion.

- Monster close out by the bullpen.  Shawn Kelley, David Robertson, and Boone Logan combined for 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 5, including the top of the 8th by D-Rob.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Overbay: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 LOB.  Had the go-ahead hit in the 5th inning rally.  That's all it took on a very evenly distributed day of team offense.

- Jeter: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 LOB.  The Captain was back on the field and in the lineup.  That was the best news of the day.  He did a little of everything, including going 1st to 3rd on a single, and the team seemed to follow suit to bring home a win and salvage a series.

Oh Nos:

- Pettitte: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 1 K.  He finished it up strong after looking rough early, but he didn't hold the lead for very long and overall it was another uneven outing for Andy.  And he's basically lost the ability to field his position, which isn't going to be fun to watch when teams starting exploiting it.

- Jeter: He was pulled from the game in the 8th inning with what the team called "tightness" in his right quad, not a comforting or confidence-inspiring sign that he's fully recovered and ready to play.  He was going to take an MRI and see how it felt tomorrow before making a commitment on playing, but I'm making my call right now.  This time next week, Jeter is back on the DL.

Next Up:

The Twinkies come to town for the final pre-ASB home series.  Time to make up for a few losses earlier this week.  Hiroki Kuroda and Scott Diamond are the starting pitchers.