New York Yankees 2012 regular season review – Part 1
After doing reasonable well in 2012 Spring Training, the New York Yankees were looking to start the regular season on a bright note but that did not turn out to be the case.
In their first three match series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees looked extremely rusty.
Rays used their home conditions brilliantly in Game 1 at Tropicana Field as they outplayed their American League East Division rivals in finer details of the game. Rays’ starting pitcher James Shields paid the ultimate price for his errors on the mound as he allowed nine hits and six runs in just five innings but he was fortunate to end up on the winning side.
Closer Fernando Rodney showed nerves of steel under pressure as he pitched the perfect ninth to seal a memorable win for the Rays.
Yankees’ starter C.C. Sabathia struggled to execute his game plan on the mound as he gave up eight hits and five runs in just six innings. Although Sabathia struck out seven batters, he was unable to control the flow of runs. Relief pitcher Mariano Rivera took the loss after he conceded the tie breaking single in the bottom of the ninth.
"Your heart starts racing in that moment and you try to control yourself as much as possible," Pena said. "I tried to slow myself down and breathe and take it one pitch at a time, as easy as you can possibly make it. Instead of building the situation up, you try to bring it down."
"He's the greatest closer in the history of the game and we all know that," Pena said of Rivera. "He has that illusion in his ball. You swing where the ball is at and it's not there anymore. He has perplexed hitters throughout his career."
Raul Ibanez had an excellent time on the plate for the Yankees as he grounded out to second in the second inning. He later smacked a three run home run to right but the Rays came back strongly to prevail in a thrilling contest. Rays’ Carlos Pena hit a grand slam in the first inning to play a key role in deciding the outcome of the contest.
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