Game 6 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 TOR 4

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The Yankees have had a rough first trip to Toronto.  On Friday night they lost their starting first baseman to injury and on Saturday their punchless, Teix-less lineup wasted a very good debut starting performance from Michael Pineda.  A win today would have been a nice way to finish off this tough series and head back home for Monday's Yankee Stadium opener with a series victory and some momentum.  The rotation had cycled back around to CC Sabathia, and the big fella was looking for a continuation of his strong Opening Day finish.

Game Notes:

- He got staked to a 3-run lead in the top of the 1st thanks to some patience (2 walks), some speed (Brett Gardner SB), and some power (2-run double by Kelly Johnson) from the lineup.

- Just like on Opening Day, things didn't start off well for CC.  He gave up a solo HR to Melky Cabrera to lead off the bottom of the 1st, but didn't let it snowball into anything more and quickly found his groove.  He retired 15 of the next 17 hitters he faced to cruise through the 5th.

- A leadoff walk got the Yankee offense going again in the top of the 4th.  Another Yangervis Solarte double plated 1 run and a follow-up 2-run homer by Brett Gardner made it a 6-1 game.

- Bad GB luck hurt Tanaka on Friday night, and it bit CC a little bit in the bottom of the 6th.  With 2 outs, he gave up a bloop single, a deflected GB double, and a GB single that snuck up the middle to plate 3 Toronto runs and get the Jays back in the game.

- The offense didn't score any more after the 4th but they didn't need to.  Adam Warren, Shawn Kelley, and David Robertson combined for 3 scoreless innings after CC and gave the Yanks their first series victory of 2014.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Gardner: 1-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB.  Nice day for Gardner at the top of the order.  Did a little bit of everything to help drive the offense.

- Sabathia: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.  The 4 ER looks ugly, but CC was very good in this game.  His fastball location was on point, his cutter and slider looked good, and he was in command of his stuff almost all game.  A different bounce here or there in the 6th and he probably finishes the game with only that 1 run.

Oh Nos:

- Brian Roberts: 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 4 LOB, 1 SB.  Nitpicking here.  Roberts was the only guy in the lineup without a hit, but he still contributed with the walk, the stolen base, and the run.

Next Up:

The Bombers head home for their home opener tomorrow afternoon against the Orioles.  Hiroki Kuroda and Ubaldo Jimenez are the scheduled starters.