(Courtesy of the AP)
If you're basing your assessment purely on W-L record, you could say the Yankees have gotten fat against inferior competition in the past week plus. 10 of their last 13 games were against the Blue Jays and Astros, both AL bottom feeders, and they won 8 of those 10 games. They were set to face a bit stiffer challenge this weekend with the Oakland A's coming to town and they kicked off the series last night with CC Sabathia on the mound. As he's done multiple times already this season, CC pitched good but not great and he got out-dueled by Oakland starter A.J. Griffin.
Game Notes:
- Trouble right from the start for CC, who gave up a leadoff HR on his first pitch of the game, an 89 MPH 4-seamer, to Adam Rosales. He would limit the damage to just that 1 run, but it turned out to be all Oakland would need.
- Griffin didn't allow much through 5 innings. He worked out of a second and third and 2 outs jam in the 2nd and basically cruised through the other innings, mixing his fastball, curveball, and change and generating a lot of weak contact.
- CC had to battle through his 6 innings, and wasn't nearly as efficient as he is when he's really on his game. He gave up another run in the 6th on a leadoff walk and a pair of singles and finished the night with 10 baserunners allowed and 118 pitches thrown in just 6 innings.
- Kudos to Joe for making the right pinch hitting call this time, going with Brennan Boesch for Chris Stewart with a runner at second and 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th. Boesch K'd, but it was the right move to make.
- Yanks went down quietly in the final 3 frames. Adam Warren relieved CC and pitched 3 scoreless innings, so nice job by him. Close game on the scoreboard, but never one the Yanks really got close to tying.
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