Game 137 Wrap-Up: NYY 9 CHW 1

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Now that's how you're supposed to play against the Chicago White Sox.  The last time the Yankees faced them, things didn't go so smoothly.  That wasn't case yesterday, weather notwithstanding, as the Yankees made quick work of an inferior opponent and did it without Phil Hughes gumming up the works.  Hughes, pushed back from his originally scheduled Sunday start, didn't last long in the game thanks to rain.  The bullpen crew behind him and a big 4th inning made it easy going for the Bombers in yesterday's series opener.

Game Notes:

- Hughes' outing lasted all of 1.1 innings.  He worked a scoreless top of the 1st, got 1 out in the 2nd, and then the rains came.  A Derek Jeter RBI single in the bottom of the 1st got him the lead, but he wasn't around long enough to get the win.

- The rains came and knocked both Hughes and Jose Quintana out.  David Huff replaced Phil and did another very good job in long relief.  He worked 5.2 innings of 1-run ball to save the bullpen aces from having to work and did enough to continue to debate over whether or not he should take Hughes' spot in the rotation.

- Things didn't work out so well for Chicago reliever Dylan Axelrod, who got absolutely trucksticked in the 8-run bottom of the 4th.  The inning started with 7 straight Yankees reaching base, including a 2-run Austin Romine single, and when the dust cleared the rout was on.  Chicago helped their own demise with some shoddy defense, and the Yankees didn't waste the extra outs.

- The White Sox got their lone run on a Paul Konerko solo HR in the top of the 7th, the only blemish on Huff's ledger.

- The benches got emptied in the late innings, and that gave everyone their first look at Cesar Cabral, who struck out 2 in a scoreless top of the 8th.  That fastball-slider combo is legit.

- It also gave J.R. Murphy an unexpected first career Major League at-bat in the bottom half of the 8th, and in a cool career moment for him he singled after working a 3-1 count.  Definitely no prospect in the entire system who did more to improve his stock this year than Murphy.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Brett Gardner: 2-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K.  2 more doubles for the suddenly hot again Gardner.  Him getting on consistently at the top makes it a lot easier for the guys behind him to do their job.

- Huff: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.  He hasn't gotten a chance to show it much in the show this year, but Huff is another example of the undervalued relief pitchers the Yankees always seem to find and pluck out of free agency.

Oh Nos:

- Robinson Cano: 1-4, 3 LOB.  He keeps having these 1 or 2-bad game blips that prevent him from really putting a sustained hot streak together.  Had chances to drive in runs today and didn't do it.  He actually made the first out in the marathon 4th inning.

Next Up:

On paper, tomorrow' Chris Sale-Hiroki Kuroda pitching matchup is must-see TV.  If Kuroda hasn't figured out his command issues, it could be another massacre.