New York Yankees: Pitching Turns a Corner, but Offense Falls Short
April 26, 2011 · Shaun McPartlin · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
When the White Sox came into the Bronx, they were going through a stretch where they lost nine of their last 10 games and averaged less than two runs per game.
On the other hand, the Yankees were firing on all cylinders, having just scored 21 runs in two games against Baltimore.
The White Sox continue to struggle at the plate but have been able to scratch and claw their way to at least a split in this series with the Yanks.
Their pitching has been dominant in this series, as both Gavin Floyd and Phillip Humber have had the Yankees’ number. Humber carried a no-hitter into the seventh and Floyd allowed only four hits in eight innings and tallied 10 strikeouts.
Both pitchers had everything work for them.
Both Nova and Burnett each had their best outings of the year, but the offense was not able to put up enough runs to support the strong efforts. They each pitched deep into the game, as Burnett lasted into the eighth yesterday and Nova the seventh today.
Burnett has seemed to put his struggles from 2010 in the past and is making some real strides this season, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves as he had a strong April last year as well. With the reduction in movement in his delivery, it looks like Rothschild has helped Burnett turn a corner and this success is sustainable.
While the Yankee offense has been able to bail out their starters previously, when the starters keep the opposition at bay, the offense is MIA.
Even with the two losses in this series to Chicago, it is extremely promising to see how the starters have done.
The bullpen has performed well outside of Soriano who coughed up the lead in the eighth after a two-run shot by Paul Konerko. Before that, Dave Robertson came into the seventh and pitched out of trouble, hitting the mid-90s on the radar gun. Soriano also showed some heat, hitting 97 on the gun.
The Yankees had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth after Jeter led off with another infield single and Granderson bunted him into scoring position. Teixeira followed with a walk and then the drama ensued.
Sergio Santos came in to pitch to Rodriguez, who scorched a line drive to right field. Brent Lillibridge—known more for his speed than anything else—made a catch at the wall, robbing Rodriguez of an extra base hit.
Cano soon followed by lacing another hit to right that looked like a sure-fire single, but once again Lillibridge saved the day. He raced in, dove and made an incredible catch.
If that ball squeaked past him, the game was over.
While the Yankee offense was once again stymied, their pitching has turned the corner and it seems like once the offense gets back on track, the Bronx Bombers are poised to string together an extended winning streak.
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