Nick Swisher saves the Yankees as Orioles crash to a 2 – 3 defeat
The New York Yankees walked into this encounter under some questionable form. Their recent performances have been a cause for concern in the management’s eyes and most critics would point at an extensive disabled list. The Yanks are reeling with injuries but their pursuit of the Division title is far from over. The goal of the team has been to keep the Tampa Bay Rays under their belt and maintain the chase far from getting out of hands.
The Baltimore Orioles have been a different story, altogether. Their resurgence in the league has left many analysts praising the underdogs. Yesterday’s match provided the chance to subdue the World Series champions for a series sweep. Unfortunately, Nick Swisher had a different idea. Much to the disappointment of fans back in Maryland, the side met an unfortunate end in the 9th innings.
The Yankees were facing a tough run. Having lost their last three matches, they had an East Division team to encounter. Their need was of great concern as the ball club was under the threat of losing the advantage over their rivals, The Tampa Rays. They were required to oust their doubts and win the fixture last night. Thanks to Swisher, that goal was realized eventually. The Yankee stadium was fairly short on fans last night and only 44,163 fans filled the stands to see their side work their magic on the field.
The lack of support came due to the series loss to Baltimore side. This fixture was supposed to give the Yanks a chance at saving some grace and reputation as they haven’t gone above a three game losing streak, this season. Manager Joe Girardi brought in Ivan Nova for the pitching duties but it was yet to be an undecided encounter for the 23-year-old. The player from Dominican Republic has been a prodigy thus far, carrying an earning run average of just 2.92. The ball thrower has featured in 6 games this season while he has walked off with just one win and no losses.
The right hand thrower was on the mark yesterday and he did well to contain the Baltimore side. He conceded 6 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks in his 6 innings of play. He threw 91 times and managed to strike out 6 hitters in the process. The Baltimore ball club has been on the path to resurgence in the American League. With the help of their new manager, Buck Showalter, the Orioles have done the right damage to their opponents in recent days. The side has given the East division a hard time. They topped the number of games won by East Division teams against them since Buck came in.
The players look more confident and it comes as no surprise that they won the series against the Yankees. Brad Bergesen was the man to come in as the ace man for Orioles during their last encounter with the New York side. For a player who carries an earning run average of 5.29, his performance was superb against the Yanks. The fast learning athlete struck out 5 hitters in 101 pitches. He allowed 4 hits and 1 run in his 6.1 innings of play.
As for the runs, New York was the first to strike and the run came, thanks to Curtis Granderson, who began the bottom 3rd with a walk. He stole the second one while he was led to third by Francisco Cervelli’s grounder out to first. He went through the last line when Brett Gardner came in and doubled to the deep left. The Orioles were now trailing and they responded in the top 5th. Adam Jones began the innings with an infield single. He got to the second when pitcher, Nova blazed a wild pitch to the catcher. Matt Wieters then came on and smashed a 410 feet homer to the left. This immediately got two runs on the road and put the pressure on the hosts.
Meanwhile, none of the sides turned up the tempo till the bottom 9th when Swisher produced a heart stomping hit. Alex Rodriguez made it to the first base on a drive to the left while Eduardo Nunez came in for the big hits and he had positioned himself on the base. Swisher came in after Robinson Cano flied out to the centre. The power hitter repeated his last year’s antics when he saved the Yankees from a humiliating defeat with a home run on the very same day. He recalls the day as a lucky one.
The ball smasher boomed his shot 413 feet to the left and got 2 runs to usurp the Orioles in the match. The game ended on Baltimore being 2 – 3 against New York.
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