Game 2 Wrap-Up: HOU 3 NYY 1

(Pinch hitting Solarte for Johnson??  Courtesy of Getty Images)

It wasn't the start to the season that any of us had in mind on Tuesday night.  Thanks to some very poor starting pitching and some shoddy defense, the Yankees found themselves down 6-0 before the game was an hour old.  They were hoping for a better result in game 2 with Hiroki Kuroda on the mound last night.  Instead they got the same one, only half as bad.

Game Notes:

- Once again they were down after the 1st inning.  Dexter Fowler hit the second pitch of the game, a hanging sinker from Kuroda, for a leadoff HR and a quick 1-0 Houston lead.

- Fowler tripled with 1 out in the bottom of the 3rd and scored on a fielding error by Mark Teixeira to make it 2-0.  Rough start at first base for Teix.  Rougher than his start at the plate.

- The lineup managed a measly 4 singles through 5 innings off Astros starter Jarred Cosart and they squandered a 2 on/1 out situation int he top of the 5th with a pair of groundouts.

- Cosart went out after 5, but the failure to capitalize didn't end there.  The Yanks wasted another 2 on/1 out setup in the 6th inning on a strikeout by Teix and a groundout by Alfonso Soriano.  Even the run they scored in the 7th, after a leadoff walk and a Brian Roberts single, was a wasted opportunity thanks to a GIDP by pinch hitter Yangervis Solarte.

- Hirok retired 9 of the last 10 he faced to make it through 6 innings without any more damage and gave way to David Phelps to start the bottom of the 7th.  Phelps gave up a 2-out solo HR to Matt Dominguez to seal the deal for the 'Stros.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Roberts: 3-4, 1 K.  Nice little night at the plate for Roberts at the bottom of the order.  Too bad nobody could ever drive him in.

- Hirok: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.  It didn't get off to the prettiest start, but all in all it wasn't a bad outing for Kuroda.  If you give up 2 runs in 6 innings against the Astros, you should win the game.

Oh Nos:

- Teix: 0-4, 3 K, 4 LOB.  Pair the shitty night at the dish with the early error to allow a run and it was an all-around bad night for Marky Mark.

- Soriano: 0-4, 2 K, 3 LOB.  Been an absolute RISP black hole through the first 2 games.

Next Up:

The Yanks will try to salvage something from this series and get in the win column tonight when Ivan Nova toes the rubber against Brett Oberholtzer.