Game 56 Wrap-Up: SEA 10 NYY 2

(Always good to run yourself out of a bases loaded situation.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

When you're the Yankees and you're not hitting worth a damn, the last person you want to see on the mound in Yankee Stadium is Felix Hernandez.  The Mariners were in town for their April rainout makeup game, and wouldn't you know it!  Who could have been the starting pitcher except for King Felix??  Love how baseball works like that sometime, don't you?  The Yankee lineup did about what you'd expect them to do against him and the resulting loss was quickly-executed and well-earned.

Game Notes:

- It didn't take long for David Phelps to put his offense in a hole.  He gave up a leadoff triple and an RBI single to start the top of the 2nd and allowed another (sorta) leadoff triple to come around to score in the 4th for a 2-0 Seattle lead.

- The Yanks actually singled in each of the first 3 innings against, and they finally broke through in the bottom of the 4th with 2 runs to tie the game.  Ichiro knocked home Brian McCann (single) and Yangervis Solarte (double) with a deflected base knock.

- To his credit, Phelps retired the 5th and 6th innings in order once his lineup scored for him, but he tired in the top of the 7th, gave up a double and a walk to the first 2 batters of the inning, and the back-breaking 2-run single to Brad Miller that ended his day and the Yankees' chance to win.

- King Felix did 1 inning better than Phelps, sitting down the next 9 Yankee hitters in order to complete 7.  His bullpen gave him 2 strong, scoreless innings and he had another win at The Stadium.

- Phelps' bullpen was atrocious behind him.  Matt Thornton gave up another 2-run single in the 7th to tack 6 runs onto Phelps' ledger and Alfredo Aceves gave up 4 runs on 2 home runs to turn it into a rout in the 9th.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Solarte: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R.  Had the only XBH of the night for the Yanks.

- Ichiro: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, 1 LOB.  Had the only run-scoring hit.

Oh Nos:

- Phelps: 6 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K.  I don't blame him for all 6 of those runs, but that's the fine line Phelps walks when he puts so many runners on base.  He leaves himself open to getting screwed by the Yankees' shitty non-Betances/Warren middle relief and horrific defense.  He got killed early in innings last night.  That was really his undoing.  Leadoff XBH in each inning he allowed a run.

- Derek Jeter: 0-4, 1 K.  It shows up as a triple in the box score, but Kyle Seager's to start the rally in the 4th was really The Captain's doing.  He couldn't make it out to field a pop down the left field line, Brett Gardner couldn't range to make the catch, and Jeter casually picked up the ball and started jogging around away from the play because he thought the ball was foul.  It wasn't, Seager kept hustling, and Jeter gave him the extra base.

Next Up:

From one tough AL West pitcher to another.  The Oakland A's, cream of the AL crop, come to town for a 3-gamer tonight and send Scott Kazmir to the mound.  Hiroki Kuroda gets the ball for The Yanks.