The Melk Man Delivers in Extras

In a game that should have been won in the seventh inning, Melky Cabrera homered twice - his second being a walk-off homer in the 14th inning. It’s hard to remember that CC Sabathia started the game, but he did, and was less than impressive. The win makes it three straight heading into Boston for the first of 18 games in the season series.

Quick ‘Cap:
The first seven innings were completely different than the last seven. The first seven featured both teams in a game of tug of war and both were still tied by the end of the seventh.

The game remained tied at seven for six and a half innings behind superb pitching from both squads—Dan Giese for the A’s and Jose Veras for the Yanks.

After Nick Swisher walked for the third time in the game in the bottom of the 14th, Cabrera delivered the with a booming line drive to a half-empty set of right field seats. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
I thought it was a huge win because of the confidence it gives to the bullpen. 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball is very nice to see, especially coming after Sabathia’s wretched start.

Also, the emergence of Melky could be today, as he has upped his batting average to .304 with his two homers today. Brett Gardner pinch hit for Cody Ransom in a bases loaded, one-out situation, and popped up to third.

So even though Gardner blew Cabrera out of the water in spring training, Cabrera is proving that he can do it in the majors. It will be interesting to see how Joe Girardi splits up their time in center the rest of the season.

Offensive Notables:
- Cabrera’s two homers were the difference in the game. He totalled three RBI, but also struck out three times. Go figure.
- Each of the Yankees’ starters collected one hit and seven collected at least two. They combined for 16 hits and seven walks leaving 13 men on base.

Pitching Notables:
- Sabathia pitched terribly and it showed on his line: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB and 2 K.
- Jose Veras pitched 3.1 terrific innings. He baffled the A’s with his breaking pitch and struck out four to earn the win.

Up Next:
The Yankees will enjoy an off day tomorrow and travel up to Boston to begin a three-game weekend series. The first matchup is Joba Chamberlain vs. Jon Lester at 7:10 p.m. on Friday.

This article is also featured on lenNY’s Yankees.