New York Yankees 2012 regular season review – Part 7
New York Yankees continued their heroic form in their next three match series against the Los Angeles Angels as well. In Game 1 on April 13, the Yankees dominated their American League rivals in almost all departments of the game.
The pitching rotation in particular showed the stuff it’s capable of, not allowing the Angels to score a single run at Yankee Stadium in New York. Starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who struggled to execute his game plan on his last appearances, put up a dominating
performance against the Angels’ hitters, allowing just five hits in eight scoreless innings. Striking out batters at regular intervals, he did not let the Angels’ batting lineup settle down.
Relief pitcher David Robertson played his part as he pitched the perfect ninth to help his side complete a deserving shutout victory over their arch rivals. Angels’ starter Ervin Santana took his second straight loss after he allowed five runs on six hits
in six off target innings.
"I think everybody showed how we feel about Georgie. I think we did feed off that," Rodriguez said. "We also fed off the fans. Playing here in our stadium, we've always played very well here."
"I always try to have the same approach no matter where I pitch or when I pitch," Kuroda said through a translator. "I was able to pitch with confidence."
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/4574/albert-pujols"He threw a pretty good game. He kept the ball down and made his pitch when he needs to, when he got in trouble, which wasn't that many times," Albert Pujols said of Kuroda in a post game interview. "He was keeping us off balance."
Nick Swisher doubled o deep centre in the first inning to give Yankees the kind of start they were hoping for. Slugger Alex Rodriguez also made his presence felt as he smacked a solo home run to centre in the third inning to extend the lead to 4-0. Outfielder
Curtis Granderson continued his sensational hitting form as he belted a home run to right in the fifth inning. Angels had several scoring opportunities but they were unable to capitalise on them and eventually paid the price.
Tags: