Yankee Home Runs Help Mussina Overcome a Shaky Start
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi
frequently refers to himself as an optimist. That posture has been
tested the last three weeks, as the Yankees floundered while nearly
playing themselves out of the wild-card race.
Girardi hoped that the Yankees’ untidy 13-inning victory on Saturday
might be the start of something. The Yankees often have not measured up
to Girardi’s positive outlook, and things certainly did not look good
Sunday when the Royals scored three runs off Mike Mussina in the top of the first inning.
But Alex Rodriguez and Xavier Nady homered in a six-run first, and Jason Giambi
added a grand slam in the second — all off Kansas City starter Brian
Bannister — as the Yankees rolled, 15-6, for their first series victory
since taking two of three at Boston on July 25-27.
Four Yankees homers overcame a shaky beginning by Mussina, who gave
up hits to four of his first five hitters to trail, 3-0. Billy Butler’s
broken-bat double drove in two runs. But Mussina allowed only two more
hits, and no more runs, in his six-inning stint to improve to 16-7.
Rodriguez, who finished with five runs batted in, homered to the
entrance of Monument Park to tie the game. With two out, the next four
Yankees combined for the cycle to produce three more runs.
Nady sliced a home run off the right-field foul screen. Robinson Canó
singled and, by running hard on contact (something he does not always
do), scored on José Molina’s double to left. While Canó slumped in the
dugout gasping for breath, Brett Gardner — who delivered the
game-winning single in the 13th inning on Saturday — hit a run-scoring
triple to right center. Both Canó and Gardner slid in ahead of
off-target throws, Gardner headfirst.
The first inning took 35 minutes. And so did the second inning, exactly, though the Royals did not score.
Derek Jeter, who had four hits, opened the Yankee second with a single. Bannister walked Bobby Abreu
and Rodriguez before Giambi homered into the bleachers in right-center.
Bannister gave up two more singles, to Nady and Canó, before Kansas
City Manager Trey Hillman pulled him.
Rodriguez tacked on run-scoring singles in the third and the seventh.
Royals reliever Jeff Fulchino drilled Jeter in the upper left arm
with a 1-2 fastball in the seventh. Jeter, in pain, walked to first,
but stayed in the game and scored on Abreu’s double. Cody Ransom,
pinch-hitting for Giambi, added a two-run homer in his first at-bat as
a Yankee.
::Tullycast:: 