The Yankees were ecstatic with Alex Rodriguez's bottom of the seventh grand slam to put them permanently ahead of the Twins on Friday night. They loved seeing their back-up catcher come through once again, as Francisco Cervelli's eighth inning triple was his 10th hit in 13 at bats with RISP this season. And when they looked at the out-of-town scoreboard and saw a Tampa Bay Ray's loss, the team was undoubtedly happy to find itself only one game back in the AL East standings.
But the real thrill for the Yankees, despite their 8-4 victory on Friday, likely came when manager Joe Girardi turned in a lineup card before Saturday's game that included Nick Swisher and Andy Pettitte. Swisher left Friday's game with pain in his bicep and was taken directly to the hospital for an MRI. With names like Greg Golson and Juan Miranda already in the lineup, the Yanks can ill afford to add Swisher's name to their lengthy casualty list.
Going into Friday's matchup against Minnesota, New York felt the "pain" of injuries in their bullpen with Alfredo Aceves (who just had an epidural to treat his sore back) and Chan Ho Park (who returns on Sunday) on the DL and Mariano Rivera taking an extended period off with shoulder issues. They felt the hurt in their lineup with both Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson also on the DL and looking at missing a month or more. And although he was never placed on the DL, Andy Pettitte's start on Saturday was his first in 10 days, skipping an outing due to elbow inflammation.
Entering Saturday's game, Swisher carried a .378 average, leading the Yankees in both home runs (7) and RBIs (26). Pettitte has been a huge factor in New York's early season success as well, himself sporting a 4-0 record and a 2.08 ERA, second only to Phil Hughes in both categories on the Yankees' staff. Considering New York's lengthy injury list and the phenomenal starts by both Swisher and Pettitte, one can understand Girardi's relief in being able to pencil in both on Saturday.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Took two of three from Minnesota, lost three of four to Detroit. Perhaps the best Yankees week of all time, in my eyes!
2 - Tony
Yeah that was the general consensus around Detroit.
3 - zingzing
i fucking hate the yankees. they won't win when i want them to, and they fucking own the twins in nyc. stupid, stupid yankees.
4 - Tony
You know you secretly love them zingzing. You're adrenaline goes nuts every time Jeter hits one of his patented opposite field hits.