Yankees Return to Form With Win

There were quite a few things to encourage the Yankee faithful watching last nights game. Most importantly, the Yankees won the ballgame 6-1, avoiding a sweep by the Royals and moving back to .500.

The offense started to emerge from its slumber and the bombers were finally able to put some runs on the board. Melky Cabrera continues to deliver excitement, going 2 for 5 with a home run and an RBI single. Alex Rodriguez was 1 for 4, but was able to knock in two runs and hit a solo home run shot late in the game. A-Rods homer was followed by a solo dinger by Posada, hitting in the DH spot due to a sore shoulder. Morgan Ensberg had a nice night going 2 for 4.

Andy Pettite was the story of the evening in my book. Andy looked strong in 6.2 innings of work, giving up 5 hits and allowing only 1 run, walking 2 and striking out 1. This was the Pettitte pitching Yankee fans were hoping to see this year.

Pettitte still has a great pick off move. Andy was able to pick off Alex Gordon and held runners close to the bases. KC was unable to steal a base all night. Andy has always had one of the best moves to first in baseball, and it really helps at times, especially against speedy small ball teams like the Royals.

In the bottom of the 6th Pettitte had a line drive drilled inches to the right of his head. Andy ducked out of the way and managed to get his glove up for the out. It was a pure instinct play and most importantly Andy avoided injury. Catching the ball while hitting the ground was downright amazing. Molina and Rodriguez both came over to check on Pettitte after the play and Andy didn't look particularly happy at the time. Despite the close call he managed to strike out the next batter and get the following hitter to ground out for a 1-2-3 inning. Making great plays, getting shaken and coming back to dominate the next two hitters shows again why Andy is one of the best in the game.

Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera were their usual awesome selves in the final innings of the game, making a fantastic combination the Yankees haven't had since the Rivera-Wetteland days.

Hopefully the Yankees will continue this level of play both hitting and pitching. They've got their work cut out for them in the upcoming series with Boston.

AL East notes:

Edwin Jackson looked sharp again in Tampa's 7-0 win over Seattle.

Baltimore dropped 2 to Texas and may finally be starting their migration to the back of the pack.

Toronto lost to Oakland in 12 innings.

Boston outslugged Detroit 12-6 in a game that lasted 3:44. Both starting pitchers

Yanks Shut Out In Kansas City

Zack Greinke pitched 8 scoreless innings, giving up 6 hits, striking out 2 and walking 2.

Worried about the game getting rained out, Joe Girardi decided at the last minute to start Brian Bruney, saving Ian Kennedy to come in later or be fresh to start tomorrow. The rain was steady most of the game. Bruney pitched an impressive scoreless 2 innings with 4 Ks, 1 walk and 1 hit. Girardi's strategy was looking fairly smart when Billy Traber came in to pitch a scoreless 3rd inning (1H, 1 SO, 1 BB). Unfortunately Girardi had Kyle Farnsworth factored into his master plan. Farnsworth got through the 4th but then gave up 2 runs in the 5th inning, including a leadoff home run.

Ian Kennedy came in the game in the bottom of the 6th and had trouble right off the bat, giving up 2 runs before getting out of the inning. After the 6th, Kennedy settled down a bit and was scoreless in the 7th and the 8th. In 3 innings of work Kennedy gave up 2 runs on 2 hits with 2 walks and 3 strike outs.

Kennedy looked miserable in his very first outing. Tonight in the 6th it looked like we were going to see more of the same. Kennedy's last two innings were better and he appeared to have settled down a bit. Despite an impressive spring, Ike is struggling in the regular season. Yankee fans just have to hope that he'll straighten himself out before too long. I hate to make decisions on just two outings, but I'm a little worried.

Newsflash: Kyle Farnsworth gives up runs in relief appearances. He's only useful in garbage innings with big leads or huge deficits that you don't expect to overcome. The majority of the bullpen is rock solid. Traber, Bruney, Chamberlain and Rivera are doing amazing out of the gate.

Collectively the Yankees had 8 hits, but the offense was pretty feeble. There were no strike outs for A-rod tonight, who ended up getting two hits. The bomber bats couldn't string together enough consecutive hits to put any runs on board.

Melky Cabrera cost the Yanks a run with some poor baserunning. A ground was hit by Alberto Gonzalez toward the second baseman Grudzielanek. Melky should have stopped in his tracks, forcing Grudz to throw either chase and tag, throw to 2nd for the force or throw to 1st. Instead Melky decided to trot right into the tag, giving Grudzielanek plenty of time to also throw to 1st to complete the double play. Damon's hit afterward could have driven in a runner on 2nd or could have advanced a runner on 1st to 3rd.

It's going to be a long season if the Yankees bats don't start heating up. The inconsistent starting pitching needs lots of runs to back it up and so far the Pinstripers aren't giving enough run support.

Jose Molina went 1 for 4 and made a nice thow to third to catch Gathright attempting to steal. That was the first time the speedy Gathright has been caught all year. Molina also threw out Alex Gordon trying to steal second.

Alberto Gonzalez went 1 for 3 in his first major league appearance of 2008, hitting a nice stand up double.

Disappointing Outing For Hughes

Phil Hughes wasn't dialed in today and the quiet Yankee bats did little to help him out. Phil lasted 3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, walking 4 and striking out 2. In defense of the Yankee starter, the umpire had an odd and inconsistent strike zone. Phil wasn't able to adjust and had poor control in his limited outing.

Ross Ohlendorf came in and pitched 3, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. Billy Traber and LaTroy Hawkins each pitched a scoreless inning. Latroy performed a little better than he has previously and perhaps the absence of booing Yankee fans helped.

There were no offensive standouts today and Alex Rodriguez struck out in all 4 appearances at the plate.

The Yankees defense was rather poor today and Kansas City stole 5 bases. Wilson Betemit couldn't handle any of Posada's throws on a couple of pitchouts, and Jason Giambi had trouble getting the ball out of his glove when a runner should have been picked off going from 1st to 2nd. In the late innings Benji Molina had come in and made a nice throw to get Gload attempting to steal 3rd.

Posada left the game with a sore shoulder and might be heading to the DL. The Yankees will be sorely missing his bat.

The Yankees are going to have to put bigger numbers up on the board if they hope to have a chance of winning this season with 4 unpredictable starters (Wang being the only one who has shown consistency).

AL East News: Dice-K was sharp in Boston's 5-0 win over Kenny Rogers and the struggling Tigers. Manny Delcarmen had settled down and pitched 1.1 innings to set up Okajima. Youkilis had 3 hits and 2 RBIs to lead the offense.

Baltimore continues to win with a solid outing from Brian Burres who gave up 1 run in 6 innings of work. Baltimore outscored the Rangers 8-1 and 1st baseman Aubrey Huff went 4 for 4 scoring 1 and driving in 4.

Toronto and Oakland are tied 6-6 in the top of the 6th and Tampa Bay is trailing Seattle, down 4-3.