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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Indians (37-36) @ Yankees (45-28), Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 1:05pm

CLE: Ubaldo Jimenez (28, RHP, 7-5, 4.59) vs. NYY: Andy Pettitte (40, LHP, 3-3, 3.29)

Lineups
Indians
M. Brantley, CF
A. Cabrera, SS
J. Kipnis, 2B
J. Lopez, 3B
C. Santana, DH
S. Duncan, LF
C. Kotchman, 1B
L. Marson, C
A. Cunningham, RF

Yankees
C. Granderson, CF
N. Swisher, RF
A. Rodriguez, 3B
R. Cano, 2B
M. Teixeira, DH
R. Ibanez, LF
E. Chavez, 1B
R. Martin, C
J. Nix, SS

Joined in progress….

Mini Liveblog:
I’ll do what I can for folks at work for a while; will probably be able to put in a few innings.

1st inning recap:
Andy gave up one hit but struck out the side.  Ubaldo put a couple runners on (Granderson and A-Rod) with walks, but Cano struck out and Teixeira popped out to end the inning.  Way to get the RISP fail started early boys.

Top of the 2nd:
A bouncer to A-Rod who throws wide of first and Chavez is unable to make the swipe tag. Santana safe on an infield single.  a throwing error by A-Rod.
Duncan promptly doubles into the gap in right center to plate Santana. 1-0 Indians.
Kotchman strikes out swinging for the first out.
Soft grounder to Nix at short who bare hands it and makes a great throw to first for the out.  Marson makes two down.
Pettitte walks Cunningham for some reason.
On a 1-2 count to Brantley, Cunningham succumbs to a pickoff/caught stealing, 1-3-6.  Inning over.

Bottom of the 2nd
Ibanez rolls over one, grounding out to second.
Chavez does essentially the same thing as Ibanez.  Two gone.
Martin strikes out looking at a pitch on the outside part of the plate.

Top of the 3rd
With a fresh count, Brantley strikes out looking for his second strikeout in 3 innings.
Cabrera strikes out swinging for Andy’s 6th K in 2.2 innings.
Kipnis grounds one in the hole at second, Cano lunges and makes the grab.  His momentum guides his throw toward Chavez’s right, but Eric stretches and makes the grab while falling to the ground for the third out.  Good defense all around there.

Bottom of the 3rd
Nix strikes out swinging on a high slider.
Granderson skies one to deep right center for the second out. It was caught right in the middle of the warning track.
Swisher also hits one sky high to right field and its caught by Cunningham about a step onto the warning track.  Three down and eight in a row for Ubaldo.

Ubaldo looks pretty good, but I feel as though he’s gotten away with hanging a few pitches.

Top of the 4th
Lopez grounds one to Nix for the 6-3.
Santana frozen on an 0-2 cutter for strike three.
Duncan hit ball high in air near second. Duncan out when Cano catch ball. Duncan make third out.

Bottom of the 4th
A-Rod strikes out swinging.  He did not look comfortable in that AB.
Cano rips a line drive single to right to end the no-hitter bid by Ubaldo.
Teixeira strikes out looking. Surprisingly, nobody is in scoring position.
Ibanez walks to put Cano in scoring position with two outs.  The inning will be over shortly.
Chavez rocks a 1-0 pitch to left center that goes all the way to the wall for a double, scoring both Cano and Ibanez. 2-1 Yankees. I really like Chavez.
Martin swings weakly at an outside pitch, grounding out to second for the third out.

Since the Yankees have not hit a HR yet, we can safely assume the Indians will win this game.

Top of the 5th
Kotchman grounds one hard up the middle and off Andy’s shin or ankle.  He rolls to the ground but it looks like he’ll try to walk it off. Kotchman reaches on an infield single.
Pettitte throws one pitch to Marson but it’s obvious he’s not able to put a lot of weight on that leg.  Girardi comes out and takes Pettitte out of the game.  This is exactly what you want to see when you just got news that your ace is going to the 15-day DL. Cody Eppley comes in to pitch.
A bouncer down the line to third and A-Rod makes, in my opinion, a half-ass effort to grab the ball and it goes off his glove.  Ruled a single, and now runners on 1st and 2nd.
Cunningham sacrifices the runners over with a bunt to Chavez who throws to Cano at first.
Girardi takes out Eppley and brings in Rapada.  A-Rod’s defense today has been fairly crappy.  If these runs score, he’ll be partly responsible for all 3 Cleveland runs.
Freddy Garcia is scheduled to start on Friday but now he’s throwing in the bullpen.  Girardi is mixing and matching in the 5th, so he’ll need an arm to go a couple of innings in this game.  If Freddy comes in, Adam Warren may get the nod on Friday.
Brantley grounds one to Chavez and Kotchman is sent home from third.  The throw comes home in plenty of time and Kotchman lowers his shoulder and knocks Martin over, however the out is made.  Runners on the corners, two gone.  Great job by Martin to hang in on that collision.
Cabrera lines a single to left scoring the Indians second run.  Game is tied 2-2 with runners at first and second now.
Kipnis pops it up in short center and Nix can’t make the play; Brantley scores to give the Indians a 3-2 lead as Cabrera moves to third. What a crappy way to lose the lead.  A-Rod’s defense is now angering me even more.  Nix was running straight out on that pop up and probably missed it by a foot or two.
Freddy Garcia comes in to put out the fire…..
Kipnis steals second with no throw on the 0-1 pitch from Garcia. Lopez strikes out swinging on a Garcia curve. And the inning is mercifully over.

Bottom of the 5th
Nix strikes out looking.
Granderson flies out to almost the same spot he did in his last AB, but slightly shallower.
Swisher flies out to short left field. Three outs. Way to come right back at them, Yanks.

Top of the 6th
Santana hits a very high popup to Nix. One down.
Duncan pops out in foul territory to Nix. Two down.
With two strikes, Kotchman can’t hold up on a Garcia slider low and out of the zone. Three down.

Bottom of the 6th
The Yankee text poll regarding what should be done with instant replay has 51% of voters saying “Bad calls are part of the game”.  Selig must have texted in eleventy billion times.
A-Rod leads off with a looping double down the right field line.  Good start, but now the Yankees have RISP, so the inning will be over shortly.
Cano reaches out for an outside pitch and hits the ball about 8 rows deep into the left field stands for a two-run home run. Yankees take a 4-3 lead.  Wow, I thought the ball was going to be deep, but not that deep.  He is powerful.
Teixeira flies out to left for the first out.
Ibanez pops out to second in short right for the second out.
Chavez works a walk.  Jimenez’s pitch count now at 105.
Martin meets expectations and makes an out of the fielder’s choice variety, 6-4.  Three down.

Top of the 7th
Marson lines one hard to right, Swisher moves about 15 feet to his left and makes the catch.  One down as Boone Logan warms in the Yankees bullpen.
Cunningham pops up a Garcia slider to Nix at short.  Two down.
Brantley bounces one to Chavez at first who takes it himself for the last out of the seventh.  Nice job by Garcia today.

Bottom of the 7th
Joe Smith comes in to pitch the bottom half of the inning for the Indians.
Nix chops one up the middle and Cabrera makes a very good play to get Nix by a half step for the first out.
Granderson strikes out swinging on an outside slider.
Smith looks like a tough pitcher to hit against, even for lefties. And appropriately Swisher strikes out swinging.  Inning over.

Top of the 8th
High Socks for hope time.  Cabrera grounds it sharply down the first base line; Chavez was in no-doubles position and gets his glove on it. One out. He didn’t field it cleanly but the ball stayed in front of him and he had plenty of time to step on first himself.
Robertson strikes out Kipnis looking on an outside fastball. Two down.
Lopez can’t hold up on a Robertson curveball in the dirt with two strikes. Inning over.

Bottom of the 8th
Update on Pettitte: He suffered a fractured ankle and will be out a minimum 6 weeks.  So the Yankees just lost two starters in one day.  Wonderful.
Vinnie Pestano now pitching for the Indians.  Sounds like a type of pasta dish.
A-Rod reaches out and grounds one off the end of his bat to second.
Cano hits one the other way to short on the ground; Cabrera is able to get to it, but not with enough time to make a throw (plus he bobbled it).  Base hit for Cano.
Teixeira grounds softly into the 4-5 fielder’s choice (the shift was on and the out was made at second by Lopez).  Two down.
Ibanez bloops a single into short left, Teixeira moves to second.  With a runner in scoring position, the inning will be over shortly.
Dewayne Wise comes in to run for Ibanez.
Chavez pulls a grounder through the hole at second and Teixeira comes in to score. 5-3 Yankees. Choo’s throw home was close but he bounced it and Teixeira slid in before the tag could be made.  Chavez is the man.
Shocking absolutely nobody, Martin strikes out swinging to end the inning.

Top of the 9th
Everybody KNEEL! Along with Soriano coming in to close, Dewayne Wise is now in left.
Chisenhall, in to pinch hit, lines a single to right field.
Soriano walks Choo and now the tying runs are on base.  If you’re not genuflecting at the altar of Soriano yet, do so now. 
Kotchman flies out to Wise in left. Runners stay put.
Marson grounds one through the hole at short.  Runners move up one.  Oh boy….
Damon comes in to pinch hit for Cunningham…with the bases loaded….at Yankee Stadium.  But he waves at an outside fastball for strike three.  Two down.
The count to Brantley goes to 3-1.  And he walks in a run on the next pitch.  I’m still kneeling, but with just one leg.
Cabrera hits a high fly about 265 feet to left field, and the final out is recorded in the glove of Dewayne Wise. Soriano said KNEEL! Yankees win 5-4.