Palladino: Yankees' Sweep Of Rays A Sign Of Hope
By Ernie Palladino
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The good news has finally started flowing from the Land of Pinstripes.
The weekend's three-game sweep of the Rays, culminating with Sunday's 5-3 win at Tropicana Field, ended an interlude that indicated the Yanks might not be as in bad a shape as once thought.
With Masahiro Tanaka allowing just two hits while striking out eight and walking none in seven shutout innings Saturday, and Michael Pineda pitching well enough to bring the Yanks to 6-6 the following afternoon, the Yanks showed signs that their big two appear fine physically.
Tanaka, in fact, had all his pitches going and showed no signs of the decreased velocity that gave observers the jitters over his long-range health prospects during his 1-1, 7.00 start.
Pineda, meanwhile, allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings while putting on runners in every inning. A fully switched-on Pineda doesn't do that, but after having his season curtailed last year because of shoulder and back problems, just seeing him fight through his location issues Sunday brought a smile to Joe Girardi's face.
The Dellin Betances-Andrew Miller combination recorded the final eight outs Sunday, so that appears to be sailing along. But the most encouraging thing about the sweep is that the lineup took advantage with men in scoring position.
That didn't happen often enough last year for a team that finished 14th in baseball with a .253 average with men in scoring position. Against the Rays, they hit up and down the lineup, going 7-of-21 (.333) with a homer and 13 RBIs.
And believe it or not, Alex Rodriguez's star has risen again. As much as he remains the Yankees' Prince of Darkness, as opposed to the Dark Knight who fans on the other side of town cheer, he is getting it done in spectacular fashion. Forget about that $6 million marketing contract the Yanks plan to dispute once he hits two more homers to pull even with Willie Mays at 660. He's doing something more important than his rise up the record book.
He's helping the Yanks win with timely hits. The team-leading .385 average with runners on comes with a two-run homer in Friday's win, his second of two that game. Sunday's win saw him go 1-for-3 with a run scored.
But he wasn't the only one helping. Mark Teixeira and Chase Headley were also instrumental on the offensive end.
Teixeira, his days as a reliable power hitter over, drove in two runs. Considering he's hitting just .200 with men on base, and just .100 with men in scoring position, that little outburst proved encouraging.
Headley drove in two other runs to keep steady his .385 average with men in scoring position.
Of course, this could all turn into one big mirage. A better test comes up Monday night, when the Yanks start a four-game set against the 10-2 Tigers.
The lineup has provided 19 runs in three games. The pitchers have accounted for a shutout and allowed just seven runs.
Then again, Tampa Bay doesn't hit. Nor do the Rays pitch like they used to.
Still, after the 3-6 start where all looked bleak, the Yanks appear to have righted themselves.
The Detroit series will determine whether or not the last three days was real, or just a hopeful blip on the radar.
