But it happened, and it left the Yankees only too happy to put Florida behind them, and with it Tampa Bay Manager Joe Maddon's infuriating infield shifts.
Thanks in part to Maddon's mad infield science, the Rays beat the Yankees, 3-0, at Tropicana Field on Sunday to complete the three-game sweep.
The only consolation for the Yankees came minutes after they left the stadium for their flight to Baltimore. In Detroit, the rival Boston Red Sox wasted two late leads in an 11-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers, making the Yankees and the Red Sox odd compatriots in the American League East cellar. The last time both teams started 0-3 was 1966.
Perhaps of more consolation to the Yankees was that the last time they started 0-3 was 1998. That year they went on to win 114 games and the World Series. But even after only three games, a .000 winning percentage looks bad in the standings, even if the Yankees are smart enough to realize there are 159 games left.
"There's a lot of professionals in this clubhouse that have been through a lot of ups and downs," Mark Teixeira said. "It's probably not going to be our last three-game losing streak of the year, and we're going to learn from it and try to get better. But one thing we can't do is start pressing."
Manager Joe Girardi noted that a losing streak is always magnified at the beginning of the year, and also coyly pointed out that the Yankees are three games behind the Rays in the standings.
"We have to make up a half a game a month," he said.
After scoring six runs in each of the first two loses, the Yankees managed only three hits Sunday, despite hitting several balls with authority. But they were 0 for 6 with men in scoring position and three times had someone at third base without producing a run.
Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson got 26 of the 27 outs before he yielded to Fernando Rodney after a two-out walk to Nick Swisher in the ninth. Rodney got Raul Ibanez to bounce back to the mound to end the game.
Yankees starter Phil Hughes allowed two runs and five hits in four and two-thirds innings as his pitch count soared to 99. His fastball was mostly registering 92 miles per hour on the scoreboard radar gun, except for one full-count fastball to Carlos Pena that reached 93. Pena turned that one into a home run that gave the Rays a 2-0 lead in the third.
Hughes had a good changeup and good late movement on his cut fastball and curve, but he was not efficient.
"My pitch count was an issue today," he said, adding, "We're disappointed, but we're not going to act like it's the end of the world."
With two runners on base in the fifth, Girardi lifted Hughes for the left-hander Boone Logan, who struck out Matt Joyce to end the inning. Girardi left Logan in for the sixth and he struck out the switch-hitter Ben Zobrist and got Stephen Vogt to fly out.
Girardi had the right-hander Cory Wade warming in the bullpen, but he hoped to get through the inning with Logan. The decision backfired. Jeff Keppinger, a right-handed hitter who has good career numbers against lefties, drilled his first home run of the season to push the Rays' lead to 3-0.
"I can't use Mo, Robertson and Soriano every day," Girardi said, referring to his best three relievers, Mariano Rivera, Dave Robertson and Rafael Soriano. "And when we're losing I have to get some innings out of some of the other guys down there. Boone had just thrown the ball well for three hitters and made a mistake with a fastball."
Girardi was on the wrong end of several decisions in the series, while Maddon came across like a baseball visionary, employing numerous infield alignments and shifts that often seemed to be perfectly placed on balls that would have otherwise been hits. Alex Rodriguez, who scorched a half-dozen balls in the series and came away with only three hits, said the Yankees kept hitting the ball into the Rays secondary.
"Everything they did worked out perfectly," Rodriguez said. "Everything we did worked out imperfectly. You tip your cap and move on to the next city."
INSIDE PITCH
Andy Pettitte is scheduled to make his first start of the year when he pitches for Class A Tampa on Monday. Pettitte is hoping to join the Yankees by early May ... David Phelps made his major league debut Sunday and wiggled out of a tough situation with runners on base in the eighth. ... Michael Pineda, who is recovering from right shoulder tendinitis, played long toss Sunday and said he felt very good afterward.
0 comments:
Post a Comment