Yankees finish Road Trip with a Win

It was not easy, and the Toronto Blue Jays kept sneaking back into the game but the Yankees managed to come out victorious in today's final road game before heading to Yankee Stadium for their home opener with a series against Baltimore followed by a four game set against the defending champion Red Sox. The game began with the Yankees putting a three-spot on the board in the first inning. The top of the Yankee lineup manufactured a run headed by Brett Gardner who walked, stole second, advanced to third on a ground ball by Jeter and scored on a grounder by Ellsbury. Following the first run, the Yankees managed to get another two runners on for Kelly Johnson who doubled in both runs to give him his first two RBI in a Yankee uniform. Later in the game, Solarte doubled in another run and Brett Gardner hit a home run that scored Solarte from second base-- the Yankees first home run in six games to begin the season. The Yankees would need only five runs to win the ballgame, but the sixth run was some insurance as the Blue Jays kept coming back but never managed to overcome the Bombers.

CC Sabathia who was looking to improve on his last start, began the game in the same position he started his first one; he allowed a leadoff home run to former Yankee Melky Cabrera. At that point everyone could think that this would be another disappointment from Sabathia. However, Sabathia coasted through the game until he hit another bump in the sixth, where three runs scored with two outs. Sabathia left with a 6-4 lead after the sixth inning but that would be all the Yankees would use him for. Given his recent history having him start the seventh after the way he ended the sixth would be a disaster in the making. There are plenty of positives to take from this start by Sabathia, the first being that he used his changeup effectively which was a good swing and miss pitch. Following Sabathia's departure from the game the bullpen would be an effective grouping as they threw three scoreless frames. Robertson notched his second save of the season but not without making Yankees fans sweat. He put runners on first and second with two outs for Colby Rasmus, who was due to smash one out of the park. Thankfully though, this was not the scenario that played out as the Yankees finished their first road trip 3-3.

Tomorrow at the Stadium, Hiroki Kuroda looks for his first win against newly acquired Ubaldo Jimenez and the Baltimore Orioles. Jimenez got hit hard in his first start in an Oriole uniform by the Red Sox, and the Yankees have good history against the right hander. A win in their first home game would put the Yankees over .500 for the first time this season, and would set the stage for this tough home stand against two divisional opponents.