Yankees 5 Rays 3; Welcome Back Jeter, Good-Bye MLBlogs; Heartland Pinstripes Moving to New Pastures

Despite the early-inning struggles of Andy Pettite and the late-game struggles of the offense, the Yankees put together a 5-3 win to sweep the two-game set against Tampa, pulling their mark back above .500.  Tomorrow night, the Yankees start a two-game series back in The Bronx against Boston before embarking on ten more consecutive road games.  But tonight, the Yanks improved their mark against Tampa to 4-2 thus far.  Jeter was 3-4 to raise his average to .303, Matsui was 2-5 with his 3rd homer and 8th RBI to raise his average to .314, and though Pettite struggled at times he buckled down and worked hard through seven to bring home his second win of the year.  While I'll address this at the end, in all likelihood this will be the last recap for Heartland Pinstripes here at MLBlogs, for reasons I'll elucidate at the end of the post.  I'll encourage readers to join the new blog at WordPress starting tomorrow. It's a move I've considered for some time, one hastened by the mess--in my opinion--at MLBlogs, and by what I'd like to accomplish with Heartland Pinstripes. 

On to the game.  Each team worked through the first quickly, though in different ways.  The Yankees went 1-2-3, while the Rays got two singles but only got Pettite to throw 12 pitches in the first. The Yankees took the lead in the second, as Matsui cranked a 2-1 fastball to right-center, 1-0 Yankees.  With one out, Pettite allowed three straight singles to load the bases, but got a 4-6-3 DP to escape trouble.  Remarkably, he only threw 10 pitches in the frame.  After the Yankees went down 1-2-3, Pettite surrendered the lead in the bottom of the third.  Pena walked with one out, Longoria worked a seven-pitch walk with two outs, and back-to-back RBI singles from Gomes and DiFelice with two outs made it 2-1 Rays.

But the Yankees did what they have often failed to do in 2008--score in response after surrendering runs.  The Yankees scored two in the fourth and two more in the fifth.  In the fourth, Abreu walked and A-Rod singled to left, first and third no outs.  Matsui's ground out to Pena tied the game at 2, and a WP during Giambi's at-bat gave the Yankees the lead they wouldn't surrender.  After Pettite's 1-2-3 4th, the Yankees made it 5-2 in the fifth.  Though he's had a tough start, credit to Damon for starting the two-out rally.  With two outs, Damon worked a walk and stole second, Jeter masterfully worked a nine-pitch at-bat to scald a single to center, scoring Damon for a 4-2 game and importantly taking second on the futile throw home.  Abreu then scalded a fastball to center, scoring Jeter 5-2 Yankees.

Pettite rolled through the fifth, but the Yankee offense stalled a bit thereafter.  In the sixth, Pettite was worked over somewhat, allowing a run but minimizing the damage, keeping it at 5-3 Yankees.  In the seventh and eighth, the Yankees stranded the bases loaded.  But with the Mikes and me wondering if Pettite would pitch the seventh, he did and did so well, retiring the side 1-2-3 on 11 pitches and rendering Upton and Longoria a combined 0-7 off Pettite.  Despite the Yanks' inability to add insurance runs, Nuke LaFarnsworth entered in the eighth and retired the side on 10 pitches with a K.  Mariano was The Man yet again in the 9th, setting down the Rays on 13 pitches to earn the Yankees the series sweep, move the Yankees above .500 for the early season, and gathering momentum against the tough Red Sox for the two-game set in The Bronx. This will be fun.

Jeter was 3-4 with his 4th RBI, raising is average in the TB series to .303.  Matsui was big with his homer, upping the average to .314; Abreu had a single and two walks, and A-Rod a double.  Credit to Chad Moeller and Johnny Damon for working two walks apiece, one of Damon's which led to a run.  I know Damon has struggled, but his walks and stolen bases have made a difference.  When he hits, he'll be potent at the top of that lineup.  The other components are falling into place.

Pettite wasn't smooth, certainly not in the early innings. But like a good veteran, Pettite knows how to pitch, how to settle down, and how attune his rhythms to the tenor of the game. Pettite was better later than earlier, which is good.  Nuke had a good eighth and Mariano is The Greatest.  Look at the comparative pitch counts, unrequited offensive opportunities notwithstanding--the Yankees threw 123 pitches through 9 IP.  The Rays threw 189 pitches--66 more, about 4 IP more.  Focus if you will on the Yankees' not scoring runners, in fact 10 LOB for the game and five in scoring position.  But to me, the keys are embedded in the inverse--the Yankees continue to get runners, continue to work counts and use opponents' bullpens, continue to threaten late in games.  They need to score them, no question, but a very good sign is that they get runners through good habits.  That will continue, another positive, especially later in games.  I'm confident of that.

I have been very thankful to Mark and others for the time, space, and grace to have this blog here.  It is not out of animosity, but rather how I envision The Heartland possibly growing, that precipitates the move elsewhere.  MLBlogs and its period of transition coincides with a period of transition with The Heartland, and in order to maintain the integrity of the blog and what it has done and strives to do in the future, moving to a more felicitous format has become necessary.  Many thanks for everything you've done for me, especially to highlight The Heartland, Mark and MLBlogs.  I cannot thank you enough.  I'll add links and information about the transition to WordPress in the next few hours as I work out the kinks and format the new blog.  I hope all readers will join me there, especially great new readers and contributors Dianna, Jimmy, Ty and many more.

See you all on the flip side.  Look for updates. Let's Go, Yankees!