Yankees Suffer Crushing Loss

The Yankees lost to the Blue Jays 2-0 because of a brilliant performance by RA Dickey. The first two innings would prove to be the most important scoring opportunities for the Yankees but they squandered both chances after getting five hits and two walks in the first two innings alone. Usually when your team gets five base runners in two innings it's safe to assume that your team will score at least once, and maybe even twice. The Yankees had the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning which was truly their chance to strike. Mark Reynolds struck, but in the whiffing manner. It was not at all surprising to watch Mark Reynolds strike out in that situation. He does have power but he also has a ton of strikeouts to go along with the power numbers. Nobody in the starting lineup had more than one hit, and the Yankees had only five combined in the game. Unfortunately for the Yankees the Orioles won in the ninth inning at Fenway thanks to a Danny Valencia triple to lead off the inning. Valencia has been killing the Yankees lately. First with the home run against Robertson last week to tie the game. Tonight, he scores the winning run to put the Yankees further back in the wildcard race.

 

Andy Pettitte took the tough luck loss tonight. He pitched well for the eighth straight time but suffered his tenth loss of the year because his offense couldn't help him out. Pettitte went 6 2/3 innings allowing just one run on a Colby Rasmus home run in the fourth inning that went a long way into the right field seats. Pettitte's tough luck is something he isn't used to while playing for the Yankees. He has always had strong offenses to pick him up when he did not pitch well. Tonight, and lately overall Pettitte is pitching well and still not getting his well-deserved victories. Andy Pettitte has only two starts left to make in the regular season for the Yankees. They could be the last two starts he makes in his career. It would be fitting for the Yankees to get him two more wins in his big league career before he rides off into the sunset, assuming Pettitte doesn't come back for another year. If things line up the way they currently do down the road, Phil Hughes will make the final start of the Yankees season in Houston. With his struggles and the Yankees slim hope to creep into the race last minute, the last game of the year could be a symbol of the Yankees 2013 season if Hughes fails and the Yankees miss out on the playoffs.

Speaking of Hughes, he will make the start tomorrow night as the Yankees need to win the final two games of the series at Toronto before coming home to face the always dangerous San Francisco Giants. Despite their lousy record, their pitchers always have the ability to shut the opposing offense down. The Yankees will face JA Happ tomorrow night, and have fared well against the lefty so far this year.