New York Yankees defeat Atlanta Braves 5-4 – MLB Update
New York Yankees put in a tremendous effort as they beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 in their first of two scheduled meetings in Grapefruit League on Tuesday, March 8 at Champion Stadium in Florida.
Atlanta moved to 7-4 record in spring after losing their second consecutive game.
Right handed pitcher Freddy Garcia made his second spring start for the Yankees and maintained his scoreless streak as, he threw 32 pitches in three innings and struck-out two.
David Robertson was impressive, who struck-out three in one inning allowing two runs on one hit. Dellin Betances accompanied Robertson and Garcia striking-out two while allowing just one run. Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Garcia and Bartolo Colon are contending
for rotation opportunity. Mitre pitched three scoreless innings on Monday’s 0-0 tie game against Baltimore Orioles.
"I feel pretty good, man," he said. "So far, so good. That's the way I have to pitch if I want to win the spot. Throw strikes. Be aggressive. Made the pitches when I need it."
However, the Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi had made it clear that he would finalise the line-up near spring training, providing the competitors get more games to prove themselves.
Atlanta’s starter Jair Jurrjens pitched in four innings and went for four runs on six hits, while he struck-out four batters. He gave three of his runs in the third inning when Curtis Granderson hammered a two-run triple. Braves used four pitchers; Scott
Linebrink, Peter Moylan, Scott Proctor and Craig Kimbrel all pitched in one inning each. Moylan was the most successful, who struck-out three batters without any hit.
"For me it's a relief," Jurrjens said. "[The velocity] is still there and I can reach back when I want to ... I feel like I'm making progress."
At bat for the Yankees, first baseman Brett Gardner, right-fielder Nick Swisher, centre-fielder Granderson, Jorge Vaquez and second baseman Eduardo Nunez made one run each. While Martin Prado of the Braves scored two runs on one hit in four at-bats. Uggla
and short-stop Hicks contributed one run each to strive for a victory.
The Yankees played a brilliant game as they managed to restrict the Braves’ offence from scoring runs against their pitching line-up. The Braves will be looking to improve their performance during the spring session. It will be interesting to see how the
Yankees will carry their winning momentum into their next match-up.
Atlanta will meet Seattle Mariners in their 13th game on Wednesday. Rodrigo Lopez is scheduled to start for the Braves against Seattle’s Kyle Lohse. The Yankees play against rivals Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday, March 9 at George M. Steinbrenner
field where Bartolo Colon will start the game.
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