Game 51 Wrap-Up: STL 6 NYY 0

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There was a lot of pressure on David Phelps last night.  Guys always say there's not, that every game is just another game, but when you're coming back to your hometown to make your first career start there since high school and you know you're pitching in front of tons of family and friends, that's a lot of pressure.  That's what Phelps was dealing with when he took the hill and he pitched like it.  After a 7-inning exhibition of efficiency and pitching smarts in his last start,  Phelps reverted back to some bad habits and got touched up by the Cardinals in a painful-to-watch loss.

Game Notes:

- It was effectiveness without efficiency as usual for Phelps through 2 innings.  He put men on (2 hits, 1 walk) and threw a lot of pitches (41), but kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard.

- A pair of hanging sliders by Phelps gave the Cards 1 run and back-to-back errors by Derek Jeter Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts after an intentional walk gave them 3 more in the bottom of the 3rd.  Truly ugly stuff.

- Lance Lynn was very good when the game was tied.  After he got his 4 runs he made the cardinal (pun intended) sin of walking the leadoff batter the next half-inning.  Yangervis Solarte bailed him out with a rally-killing GIDP to end the inning and kept the Yanks scoreless through 4.

- Phelps gave up another run on an Allen Craig home run in the 5th, but did manage to work 6 innings before giving way to Alfredo Aceves.  He did Alfredo Aceves things, like giving up a home run to the first batter he faced, and the route was on.

- It was a route because the offense never got anything going against Lynn.  He put 2 runners on in the 6th and 8th and escaped both times.  Matheny even let him come out and finish the game in the 9th.  Not much more to say about this one.  Yanks didn't pitch, hit, or field.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Brian McCann: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 LOB.  Was on base twice, which is good, but it would be nice if he could get a hit every now and then with a runner in scoring position instead of 1 big home run every week or so.

Oh Nos:

- Solarte: 0-4, 1 GIDP, 5 K.  Mired in a slump his last games.  Really exposes how thin the lineup is when he's not hitting.  Who would have thought that a non-roster invitee would be the glue to the lineup 50+ games into the season.

- Phelps: 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 5 K.  He deserved a better final line.  He really did.  If he had a Major League-quality infield playing behind him, he would have.  But you can't continue to throw a lot of pitches and put a lot of baserunners on early and expect to win games.  This game was a perfect representation of what kind of starter Phelps has been since he came up 2 years ago.  He's really better-suited to be a reliever.

Next Up:

Rubber match tonight.  Hiroki Kuroda looks to get back on track for what seems like the 5th or 6th time already this season against Shelby Miller.