The Yankees entered this game with a comfortable 2-1 lead in this series with the Kansas City Royals, but could not come up with the win today, ultimately splitting the series, 2-2. The way the Yankees have been hovering around .500 all year, it should not be that much of a surprise. It would have been nice to get that win, and take 3 games in this series, but it seems that the Royals wanted it more, winning this close contest, by a score of 3-2.
The biggest disappointment for the club with this lose is that they played good baseball. Mussina came in and pitched 8 innings of solid ball, giving up only 7 scattered Hits, and if it was not for that 7th inning blast from Olivo (with one man on), he would have pitched 8 shut out innings. But that homer tagged him for 2 Runs, but that was all they got. Believe it or not, it was the bullpen (Rivera) that gave up the game winning run in the top of the 9th inning. This is the second time that Rivera gave up a home run in the last three games. Not something that Yankee fans are accustomed to seeing. The good news is that Rivera does not seem to be injured, and these are the types of games that he is famous for putting in the past, not letting it have any effect on his future save opportunities.
The Captain said it best, as interviewed by MLB.com, “He’s human, he makes mistakes. But the thing with him is, he forgets about it. The next time he pitches, he won’t be thinking about what he did.”
The offense for the Yankees also came in the 7th inning, as Alex Rodriguez smacked his 528th home run (10th of the season), with one man on, tying the game at 2. This offensive strike could have been the direct result of the award he was given by MLB.com as the distinguished hitter of 2007, as voted by you, the fans. So even though those 2 Runs were not enough, a congratulations is still in order. Hopefully, he can keep up the pace he is on this year, with his .313 AVG, 10 Home Runs, and 31 RBI’s. Another Yankee player trophy to add to the long list.
This lose brought the Yankees back to .500, at 32-32. It also takes them into a 3-way tie for third place in the East, with Toronto and Baltimore, at 7 games behind league leader Boston (just 1 game ahead of those pesky Tampa Bay “Devil-less” Rays.
It is off to the west coast now, as this home stand draws to an end. Oakland, and Houston are next on the schedule before returning home to host San Diego, starting on June 17th.
