Robinson Cano and Phil Hughes shine in New York Yankees’ series levelling victory – MLB Update
New York Yankees’ Manager Joe Girardi will be an extremely satisfied man these days. After losing the opening two games of a four match series with the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees regrouped themselves to turn the tables on their opponents.
Showing great fighting spirit and ability to handle pressure, New York defeated the White Sox 4-2 at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sunday July 1 to level the series. In some ways, it was a huge win for the Yankees, who were struggling to manage their pitching
rotation.
With ace C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte on the disabled list, not many expected the bullpen to dominate Chicago’s hitters in final two games of the series.
"I don't think about that," Cano said of his struggles with the bases loaded. "It's hard to do it all."
"This was a long, hot week, a lot of energy spent here," Paul Konerko said. "When you win the first two games of a four-game set, you'd like to get that third game, but they're a good club, obviously."
Hiroki Kuroda, who signed a multi-million deal during the offseason, had an excellent time on the mound on June 30 as he pitched effectively for his first shut-out of the season. Striking-out 11 in seven solid innings, he helped his team keep the series
alive.
Youngster Phil Hughes continued the bullpen’s good work on Sunday evening, showing great control over his fastballs and curveballs. Allowing just two runs in eight effective innings, he played a key role in New York’s comeback-from-behind victory.
"Even though they got him a couple of times, he still pitched well," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He battled, got out of some tough spots, even in the first. We just couldn't mount anything after that first inning.
After giving up two runs in his first inning, Hughes settled in nicely to pitch seven scoreless innings. Eric Chavez homered to right in the second to level the score 2-2 and second baseman Robinson Cano drove in tie breaking runs in the third. It will be
interesting to see if the pitching rotation can give similar results in the Yankees’ next series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
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