Game 41 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 PIT 1

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Mother Nature delayed the start of this Yanks-Pirates series on Friday night, so David Phelps and Edinson Volquez got their chance to open it with a win for their respective club this afternoon.  Neither pitched all that poorly, but Phelps was able to limit and prevent damage while Volquez fell victim to the Yankee Stadium short porch in right.  The rest of his pitching teammates did too on a day of home run mollwhopping for the Bronx Bombers.

Game Notes:

- The Yankee power display got off to a quick start in the bottom of the 1st.  Derek Jeter singled and the red hot Mark Teixeira stepped in.  After taking a sinker for strike 1, he smacked a hanging 1-2 sinker for a 2-run home run and an early Yankee lead.

- Zoilo Almonte joined the party in the 3rd with a solo shot of his own to lead off the inning.  The left side is his stronger side and he's going to get a chance to hit from it more often with Beltran out.

- In typical Phelps fashion, there were a lot of runners put on base.  He walked a batter in each of the first 3 innings and gave up 3 hits in the 4th.  But thanks to a few big strikeouts in the 2nd and a nice play at the plate in the 4th, he kept Pittsburgh off the board.

- The Yankee home run barrage kept rolling into the late innings.  Brett Gardner hit one to lead off the 6th, Alfonso Soriano hit one to lead off the 7th, and Brian McCann put the game out of reach with a 2-run shot in the 8th.

- Phelps needed 100 pitches to get through 5 innings so his day didn't last long.  Dellin Betances worked 2 innings and gave up the lone Pirate run on a Starling Marte bomb job, but that was the only run charged to the Yankee 'pen.  Just a long ball kind of day.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Soriano: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K.  Not often you get to see Soriano make plays at the plate and in the field, but it was his throw that gunned down the Pirates when they threatened in the 4th.

- Gardner: 1-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB.  An excellent all-around day at the plate for Gardner in the leadoff spot.  I have to think he'll be staying there for a while with Beltran on the shelf.

- Phelps: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K.  Whatever, I'll give the guy some credit for keeping runs off the board.

Oh Nos:

- Yangervis Solarte: 0-4, 1 LOB.  Only guy in the lineup to take an 0-4 day.  No big deal.

Next Up:

The series wraps up with a doubleheader tomorrow.  Hiroki Kuroda and Vidal Nuno will make the starts for the Yanks.