Game 145 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 BAL 5

(Courtesy of the AP)

It's almost getting comical at this point.  The Yankees and injuries.  They started last night's game by making another roster move to add an arm to their ailing bullpen.  They ended last night's game by making a trade for a defensive shortstop who won't even be eligible for the postseason if they make it because Eduardo Nunez is so terrible moonlighting as a starting shortstop.  And in between they lost 3 more players to injury, 2 that appear to be less serious (A-Rod and Ivan Nova) and 1 maybe not so lucky (Austin Romine).  There will be more roster moves coming today, and oh yeah, they scored another huge comeback win to keep those playoff hopes alive against Miguel Gonzalez and the O's.

Game Notes:

- Alex Rodriguez has been surprisingly good against right-handed pitching this season, and that continued in the top of the 3rd when he smoked a 2-out double to right center to score Chris Stewart and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

- This start for Nova was frighteningly similar to the last time he pitched against the Orioles.  He gave up a pair of singles through 3 scoreless innings and needed just 31 pitches to get it done.  He was cruising.

- The Orioles set themselves up with 2 groundball singles in the bottom of the 5th and got a gift when Eduardo Nunez's eternal shittiness struck again.  He bounced a throw to first for an error that allowed a run to score and put runners on second and third with nobody out.

- A questionable cutoff decision by A-Rod on a Nick Markakis sac fly a batter later gave Baltimore the lead, but it was Chris Davis who did the big damage with 2 outs.  Nova hung a first-pitch curveball and Davis crushed it to center for a 2-run home run and a 4-1 Orioles advantage.

- Alfonso Soriano and Mark Reynolds hit solo HRs in the top of the 6th to get the Yankees back in it, but they really opened things up in the 8th against the Baltimore bullpen.  A-Rod led off with another double, scored on Robinson Cano's single, and then Soriano came up again and hit a 2-run homer.  A pair of doubles from Reynolds and C-Grand made it 7-4 Yankees.

- Joe pulled Nova after just 79 pitches and 6 innings - due to tightness in Nova's triceps - and went to work again with his short bullpen.  Adam Warren gave him a solid inning, Shawn Kelley a not so much 0.2 and it was time for another multi-inning Mo save attempt.  He got it done and the Yanks got a big win.

F*ck Yeahs:

- Soriano: 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K, 2 LOB.  The dude keeps hitting big home runs.  It's really quite impressive.

- A-Rod: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 2 LOB.  Him leaving the game after running the bases in the 8th was disconcerting, even more so than usual given the plague of injuries running through the club in the last few days.  The Yanks can't afford to lose another big bat.

- Reynolds: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K.  Hasn't gotten talked about as much as it should, but Reynolds has done a really nice job.  He's playing his way into serious consideration for the 2014 team.

Oh Nos:

- Ichiro: 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB.  Only starter to not get a hit last night.  And we get one more year of this production, guys.  Sweeeeeeet.

Next Up:

First 2 games are split.  The Yankees send Andy Pettitte to the mound tonight against Scott Feldman to attempt to get a leg up.