Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Comeback Team of 2013

When King Felix was handed a 1-0 lead thanks to a Lyle Overbay in the third inning you figured that would be all Felix would need. When Ibanez went deep off CC Sabathia in the sixth to score two more runs, you realized that the game was over. Felix Hernandez was cruising through the Yankees order until a play in the fourth inning where Overbay grounded to first and Hernandez was interfering with the runner's ability to reach first base. Overbay would have likely been out on the play anyway, but the Yankees caught a break. No runs would score in the inning. The Yankees caught another break when Overbay doubled to right field and the ball bounced off the top of the wall and came back into play, allowing Granderson to score from first base. Lastly, the Yankees biggest break of the night came in the eighth when Robertson was in a jam with runners on first and second with one man out. Justin Smoak lined into an unassisted double play when Nix stepped on the second base bag before the runner had time to scurry back to the base.

The Yankees are now 8-2 in one run games and are eleven games over .500 with backup players. It seems like everything is swinging in the Yankees' favor this year. The Yankees already have four come from behind wins when trailing in the seventh this year. They had eight such wins in total all of last year. Robinson Cano was certainly the hero of the game to drive in two runs against a lefty in the seventh to tie the game. Overbay did make an error in the field which led to a run but atoned for his error with two RBI, including a sac fly RBI to give the Yankees a lead they would not relinquish in the seventh inning. Mariano Rivera notched his sixteenth straight save of the season. He has saved eleven of the Yankees last sixteen games. The Yankees are playing close games and are coming out on top more times than not.

With the Orioles and the Red Sox losing games tonight, the Yankees gain a game in the standings on both of the aforementioned teams. They need to keep this momentum going tomorrow night when Phil Hughes takes the mound against the low scoring Mariners. Seattle righty Iwakuma will face the Yankees. Iwakuma is 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA this season, and the Yankees have done well against him in his short career in the Majors.

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