Yankees baffled by Davis in 3-1 loss
CHICAGO (AP)—Alex Rodriguez(notes) really enjoyed his first game at Wrigley Field in nine years. Except the part involving Doug Davis(notes).
Rodriguez and the New York Yankees managed just three hits against the soft-tossing Davis, losing 3-1 on Friday in the opener of a rare series at theChicago Cubs.
“It was pretty amazing. It’s definitely a great stadium, great atmosphere, great crowd and it was a perfect day, for the Cubs,” said Rodriguez, who went 0 for 4, including a key strikeout against closer Carlos Marmol(notes).
Davis pitched into the eighth inning and Aramis Ramirez(notes) hit a pair of RBI singles for Chicago, which has won four of five after dropping a season-high 14 games under .500. Starlin Castro(notes) doubled twice and is batting .458 (11 for 24) in the last six games.
A season-high crowd of 42,219 packed Wrigley for the Bronx Bombers’ first trip to the neighborhood ballpark in eight years. There was a smattering of“Let’s go Yankees!” chants but the mostly red-and-blue clad fans were firmly behind the Cubs on a sunny, breezy afternoon.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who was born in Peoria, went to college at nearby Northwestern and rooted for the Cubs when he was a kid. He also played six seasons for the Cubs during two stints with the club that drafted him in 1986.
“Whenever I come back here, I see people that I know,” Girardi said, “so I mean that part was nice.”
Girardi and the Yankees rolled into Chicago coming off a three-game sweep against AL champion Texas and winners of six of seven overall. But they were never able to solve Davis, who entered with an 0-5 record and a 5.90 ERA in six starts this season.
“He did a great job of locating all his pitches to both in and out of the plate, and definitely down in the zone,” Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson(notes) said. “Didn’t really get too many balls hit hard.”
Robinson Cano(notes) and Eduardo Nunez(notes) had the Yankees’ only hits off Davis beforeNick Swisher(notes) doubled with one out in the eighth to chase the left-hander.
Davis (1-5) received a thunderous ovation as he left the mound following his longest start since he pitched eight innings in a 5-2 victory for Arizona at Wrigley Field on Oct. 4, 2009. It also was his first victory since May 5, 2010, for Milwaukee at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I was able to get ahead a lot,” Davis said. “I was throwing strikes with all of my pitches, except for my curveball. For the most part, I was able to keep them off balance and execute pitches when I had to.”
Sean Marshall(notes) struck out Granderson before Mark Teixeira(notes) lined an RBI single into center field to trim Chicago’s lead to 3-1. Cubs manager Mike Quade then went to Marmol, who struck out Rodriguez to end the inning and closed it out for his 14th save.
Marmol got a boost in the ninth when defensive replacement Reed Johnson(notes) made an outstanding sliding catch along the left-field line to take away an extra-base hit away from Cano.
“I take pride in my defense and work hard at it over the years,” Johnson said. “Especially the leadoff hitter in an inning, that’s always a key out for a pitcher.”
The Yankees went on to put runners on first and second, but Marmol struck out pinch-hitter Chris Dickerson(notes) to end the game.
“You just got to have a quick memory,” Swisher said. “You’ve got to forget about this and move on to tomorrow.”
Freddy Garcia(notes) (5-6) went to his fastball more after getting off a slow start and worked seven solid innings for New York, allowing three runs and six hits. The right-hander struck out three and walked two.
Chicago got to Garcia for two in the first and one in the third. Ramirez had an run-scoring single in each inning, and Castro doubled in Kosuke Fukudome(notes) in the first.
Ramirez also made one of his best plays in the field, charging in to barehand Russell Martin’s(notes) slow roller to third before making a strong throw to first.
NOTES: The game was delayed for a couple minutes before the third inning. Girardi said there was a light either on the corner of camera well in center field or just beyond it. … Former Yankees manager Joe Torre, now an executive with Major League Baseball, was on the field before the game and spent some time with Girardi and Quade. Torre’s right arm was in a sling after undergoing rotator cuff surgery. … Girardi said he might give regular designated hitterJorge Posada(notes) a start at first base during New York’s six-game trip to Chicago and Cincinnati. Posada was batting .457 (16 for 35) in his last nine games heading into Friday, and Girardi is hoping he can stay sharp during the stint at NL parks. … Seth Meyers, the head writer of “Saturday Night Live,” led the singing of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch
Rodriguez and the New York Yankees managed just three hits against the soft-tossing Davis, losing 3-1 on Friday in the opener of a rare series at theChicago Cubs.
“It was pretty amazing. It’s definitely a great stadium, great atmosphere, great crowd and it was a perfect day, for the Cubs,” said Rodriguez, who went 0 for 4, including a key strikeout against closer Carlos Marmol(notes).
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 17: Alex Ro…
Getty Images - Jun 17, 5:49 pm EDT
Getty Images - Jun 17, 5:49 pm EDT
A season-high crowd of 42,219 packed Wrigley for the Bronx Bombers’ first trip to the neighborhood ballpark in eight years. There was a smattering of“Let’s go Yankees!” chants but the mostly red-and-blue clad fans were firmly behind the Cubs on a sunny, breezy afternoon.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who was born in Peoria, went to college at nearby Northwestern and rooted for the Cubs when he was a kid. He also played six seasons for the Cubs during two stints with the club that drafted him in 1986.
“Whenever I come back here, I see people that I know,” Girardi said, “so I mean that part was nice.”
Girardi and the Yankees rolled into Chicago coming off a three-game sweep against AL champion Texas and winners of six of seven overall. But they were never able to solve Davis, who entered with an 0-5 record and a 5.90 ERA in six starts this season.
“He did a great job of locating all his pitches to both in and out of the plate, and definitely down in the zone,” Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson(notes) said. “Didn’t really get too many balls hit hard.”
Robinson Cano(notes) and Eduardo Nunez(notes) had the Yankees’ only hits off Davis beforeNick Swisher(notes) doubled with one out in the eighth to chase the left-hander.
Davis (1-5) received a thunderous ovation as he left the mound following his longest start since he pitched eight innings in a 5-2 victory for Arizona at Wrigley Field on Oct. 4, 2009. It also was his first victory since May 5, 2010, for Milwaukee at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I was able to get ahead a lot,” Davis said. “I was throwing strikes with all of my pitches, except for my curveball. For the most part, I was able to keep them off balance and execute pitches when I had to.”
Sean Marshall(notes) struck out Granderson before Mark Teixeira(notes) lined an RBI single into center field to trim Chicago’s lead to 3-1. Cubs manager Mike Quade then went to Marmol, who struck out Rodriguez to end the inning and closed it out for his 14th save.
Marmol got a boost in the ninth when defensive replacement Reed Johnson(notes) made an outstanding sliding catch along the left-field line to take away an extra-base hit away from Cano.
“I take pride in my defense and work hard at it over the years,” Johnson said. “Especially the leadoff hitter in an inning, that’s always a key out for a pitcher.”
The Yankees went on to put runners on first and second, but Marmol struck out pinch-hitter Chris Dickerson(notes) to end the game.
“You just got to have a quick memory,” Swisher said. “You’ve got to forget about this and move on to tomorrow.”
Freddy Garcia(notes) (5-6) went to his fastball more after getting off a slow start and worked seven solid innings for New York, allowing three runs and six hits. The right-hander struck out three and walked two.
Chicago got to Garcia for two in the first and one in the third. Ramirez had an run-scoring single in each inning, and Castro doubled in Kosuke Fukudome(notes) in the first.
Ramirez also made one of his best plays in the field, charging in to barehand Russell Martin’s(notes) slow roller to third before making a strong throw to first.
NOTES: The game was delayed for a couple minutes before the third inning. Girardi said there was a light either on the corner of camera well in center field or just beyond it. … Former Yankees manager Joe Torre, now an executive with Major League Baseball, was on the field before the game and spent some time with Girardi and Quade. Torre’s right arm was in a sling after undergoing rotator cuff surgery. … Girardi said he might give regular designated hitterJorge Posada(notes) a start at first base during New York’s six-game trip to Chicago and Cincinnati. Posada was batting .457 (16 for 35) in his last nine games heading into Friday, and Girardi is hoping he can stay sharp during the stint at NL parks. … Seth Meyers, the head writer of “Saturday Night Live,” led the singing of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch
No comments:
Post a Comment