Thursday, June 23, 2005
Yankees sweep Cubs, win sixth straight game
After last week's brutal road trip, the struggling Yankees were looking forward to enjoying the comforts of home.
Well, home has certainly agreed with the Bombers, who won their sixth consecutive game on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep of the Cubs at Yankee Stadium with a 6-3 victory.
The sweep was the second in a row for the Yanks, who took three straight from the Pirates to open their homestand. After dropping 11 of 14 to fall two games below .500, New York now finds itself at 36-32, five games behind Baltimore in the American League East.
"When we came back off that last trip, we weren't feeling too good about ourselves," said Mike Mussina, who won his third straight start. "To play well in the Pittsburgh series and now the Cubs series, it helps us feel better about ourselves. We believe we're a good team."
Mussina allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings, while his offense picked him up with a four-run fourth inning that erased a one-run deficit. Alex Rodriguez's two-run single capped the inning, as New York plated at least six runs for the sixth straight game.
"We've been getting some great at-bats," said Jorge Posada, "especially when men are on base."
Jeromy Burnitz gave the Cubs a lead with a solo homer against Mussina in the second, but Gary Sheffield tied it in the third with an RBI single.
Chicago regained the lead in the fourth on Todd Walker's RBI single, but the Yankees struck back quickly, tagging Sergio Mitre for four runs in the bottom of the inning.
Jason Giambi started the one-out rally for New York with a walk. With Bernie Williams at the plate, Giambi saw that the Cubs weren't holding him on, so he took off on the 2-2 pitch. Williams poked a ball through the hole at short, where Neifi Perez had vacated to cover second, and the Yankees had runners on the corners.
"You've got to take what they give you," Posada said of Giambi's aggressiveness.
Robinson Cano singled in Giambi, then, after Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Tony Womack lifted a sacrifice fly to center, giving the Yanks a 3-2 lead. A-Rod opened the lead further with a two-run single past a diving Perez, giving Mussina and the Yankees a 5-2 advantage.
"We've pitched well and we're scoring runs," Mussina said. "Because of that, everybody is feeling better. The pitchers don't feel that the game is on the line every inning."
With a four-run lead, Mussina put two runners on in the seventh, prompting Torre to bring in Tanyon Sturtze with one out. Sturtze hit Jason Dubois to load the bases, but Neifi Perez grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.
"I was just trying to throw a sinker down and away," Sturtze said. "Get a ground ball."
Mussina earned his seventh win in his last nine decisions, improving to 8-4. Unlike his five-hit shutout of the Pirates on Tuesday, his outing against the Cubs wasn't so easy. He allowed five hits and walked two, striking out five in the victory.
"Today was a lot of work. Guys put some good swings on the ball and guys made some nice plays, defensively," Mussina said. "We played well and got some timely hits. We're doing things in the past week that we weren't doing a week or two weeks ago."
The Cubs chipped away with a run in the eighth, but Mariano Rivera closed out the win with a scoreless ninth, earning his 16th save. Rivera has converted 16 consecutive save chances since blowing his first two of the season, and he has allowed just one earned run in his last 25 outings.
With a perfect 6-0 start to the homestand under their belts, the Yankees will try to continue their run on Monday, opening a four-game set against the last-place Devil Rays.
"We have to prove ourselves to ourselves every day," Torre said. "We have to prove that when we put on our uniforms, we pretty much know what to expect. The only way to do that is to work your [rear end] off."
"This stretch is similar to the way we played in the 16 out of 18 stretch, which is what we expected of this club," Mussina said. "I'm just glad we've been able to get it going in the right direction. Hopefully we can keep it going in that direction."
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
Well, home has certainly agreed with the Bombers, who won their sixth consecutive game on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep of the Cubs at Yankee Stadium with a 6-3 victory.
The sweep was the second in a row for the Yanks, who took three straight from the Pirates to open their homestand. After dropping 11 of 14 to fall two games below .500, New York now finds itself at 36-32, five games behind Baltimore in the American League East.
"When we came back off that last trip, we weren't feeling too good about ourselves," said Mike Mussina, who won his third straight start. "To play well in the Pittsburgh series and now the Cubs series, it helps us feel better about ourselves. We believe we're a good team."
Mussina allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings, while his offense picked him up with a four-run fourth inning that erased a one-run deficit. Alex Rodriguez's two-run single capped the inning, as New York plated at least six runs for the sixth straight game.
"We've been getting some great at-bats," said Jorge Posada, "especially when men are on base."
Jeromy Burnitz gave the Cubs a lead with a solo homer against Mussina in the second, but Gary Sheffield tied it in the third with an RBI single.
Chicago regained the lead in the fourth on Todd Walker's RBI single, but the Yankees struck back quickly, tagging Sergio Mitre for four runs in the bottom of the inning.
Jason Giambi started the one-out rally for New York with a walk. With Bernie Williams at the plate, Giambi saw that the Cubs weren't holding him on, so he took off on the 2-2 pitch. Williams poked a ball through the hole at short, where Neifi Perez had vacated to cover second, and the Yankees had runners on the corners.
"You've got to take what they give you," Posada said of Giambi's aggressiveness.
Robinson Cano singled in Giambi, then, after Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Tony Womack lifted a sacrifice fly to center, giving the Yanks a 3-2 lead. A-Rod opened the lead further with a two-run single past a diving Perez, giving Mussina and the Yankees a 5-2 advantage.
"We've pitched well and we're scoring runs," Mussina said. "Because of that, everybody is feeling better. The pitchers don't feel that the game is on the line every inning."
With a four-run lead, Mussina put two runners on in the seventh, prompting Torre to bring in Tanyon Sturtze with one out. Sturtze hit Jason Dubois to load the bases, but Neifi Perez grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.
"I was just trying to throw a sinker down and away," Sturtze said. "Get a ground ball."
Mussina earned his seventh win in his last nine decisions, improving to 8-4. Unlike his five-hit shutout of the Pirates on Tuesday, his outing against the Cubs wasn't so easy. He allowed five hits and walked two, striking out five in the victory.
"Today was a lot of work. Guys put some good swings on the ball and guys made some nice plays, defensively," Mussina said. "We played well and got some timely hits. We're doing things in the past week that we weren't doing a week or two weeks ago."
The Cubs chipped away with a run in the eighth, but Mariano Rivera closed out the win with a scoreless ninth, earning his 16th save. Rivera has converted 16 consecutive save chances since blowing his first two of the season, and he has allowed just one earned run in his last 25 outings.
With a perfect 6-0 start to the homestand under their belts, the Yankees will try to continue their run on Monday, opening a four-game set against the last-place Devil Rays.
"We have to prove ourselves to ourselves every day," Torre said. "We have to prove that when we put on our uniforms, we pretty much know what to expect. The only way to do that is to work your [rear end] off."
"This stretch is similar to the way we played in the 16 out of 18 stretch, which is what we expected of this club," Mussina said. "I'm just glad we've been able to get it going in the right direction. Hopefully we can keep it going in that direction."
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
