Hiroki Kuroda is the starter with the most bad luck in terms of run support. After a shaky first inning in which the righty gave up a three-run home run to Michael Brantley, Kuroda gave the Yankees what they needed. He pitched a complete game loss which seems to be the story of his career in the Major Leagues stemming back from his Dodger days. The first inning was a nightmare for Kuroda, but he settled in nicely after the second inning and gave the Yankees a representative performance. It was not his fault that the Yankees lost the game even though it goes into the box score as an "L" for Kuroda. Starts like Kuroda had tonight are days where the Yankees need to back their starters. Too many times this year, Kuroda has given them great outings but ended up with losses. The most recent game that comes to mind was the 1-0 loss to Felix Hernandez. However tonight, the Yankees were facing Justin Masterson who is not having a great year. He came into the game with an ERA of almost five.
The offense was not able to do anything tonight after loading the bases twice in later innings and leaving men on second and third as well. It's really frustrating to watch a team load the bases with no men out and end up scoring only one run without the benefit of a hit. Teixeira drove in the Yankees only run of the night on a deep sac fly to center field. Russell Martin and Eric Chavez both hit balls hard but they were right at the defenders. This will go down as another game where the Yankees had several chances to cash in but failed to get that one big hit. To make matters worse, the Rays lost to Oakland today and the Yankees had a chance to gain a full game on Tampa Bay. Instead, they make it harder on themselves and lose to a team that is having a terrible collapse.
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