Yankees 11, Mets 8
It took a complete effort, but paced by home runs from Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, plus a winning effort by renewed reliever Luis Vizcaino, the Yankees pulled out an 11-8 victory over the Mets on Saturday afternoon.
That shot by A-Rod, his 26th, was a bomb - a no-doubt shot off Tom Glavine that headed for Monument Park and the Mets bullpen. That's some serious poke.
After the game, the Yankees optioned starter Tyler Clippard to Triple-A and recalled outfielder Kevin Thompson; another roster move is coming up before the San Francisco series, when Clippard's next turn comes around the rotation. That'll likely be the return of Kei Igawa.
For now, though, six different Yankees drove in runs in a contest that lasted three hours and 43 minutes, not including a 40-minute rain delay. It's a long day at the yard, but the Yankees will take it. They've now won 10 of their last 11 games and can win the series Sunday behind Chien-Ming Wang, going up against old friend Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez.
Great game today. Bombers definitely "bested" my Mets so good play by the Yankees.
Say, I was wondering - with El Duque pitching tomorrrow - do Yankee fans still hold him dear in their hearts? The guy just is lovable so I would imagine Yankee fans will be thrilled to see him pitch tomorrow regardless if it is "to" them and not "for" them :)
Good game by the Yankees though.
Lee Ellen
Report any abuse or spam
I can't speak for the others, but I know I certainly love El Duque still. The guy was nothing but money for the Yankees, and his arrival in 1998 made an already outstanding team unbeatable. I still hark back to his start in the 1998 ALCS, with the Yankees down two games to one, as one of the five biggest clutch performances during the 1996-2000 run by any Yankees player. He shut the door on a confident Cleveland team, especially after getting out of the first-inning jam to be lights-out the rest of the game, and the Yankees didn't lose again the rest of the post-season. He was a thrill to watch and had all that nasty side-arm action, multiple fastballs and off-speed pitches. He was as wicked as anyone on the Yanks then, especially amazing when the Yanks also had Cone, Wells and Pettite in their primes. Just an awesome Yankee.
In sum, big-time yes from me for El Duque.
http://heartlandpinstripes.mlblogs.com/
Report any abuse or spam
yeah, Jason, i echo your thoughts exactly
only reason we'd have any emnity towards el duque would be if he spurned us in departure, but he didn't do that at all
he was definitely a clutch pitcher and always fun to watch with that big leg kick and high socks and frisbee slider
i love el duque, and man, how old is this guy? he has to be 41 or 42 years old, we'll never know for sure, but he's still going strong for the mets
i expect he'll be received quite warmly, and conjure some nice memories of the glory days, on sunday night
Report any abuse or spam
I really hope fans greet El Duque warmly, goff, though some may boo him just because he pitches for the crosstown team. The guy was flat-out money.
http://heartlandpinstripes.mlblogs.com/
Report any abuse or spam