It was like Super Bowl XXII, in 1988, when the Denver Broncos scored on their 1st play from scrimmage, tacked on a field goal, and Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams got hurt, with the Broncos leading 10-0... And then, as the Sports Illustrated article on the game was titled, "And the Rout Was On!"
Chris Capuano, as you may be aware, is a bum. He once won 18 games in a season for the Milwaukee Brewers, but that was 10 years ago. He missed the entire 2008 and '09 seasons due to injury, and since that 2005 season when he won 18, he hasn't had a plus-.500 season again.
He was 2-3 with a 4.25 ERA for the Yankees last year. This year, he's 0-4 with a 6.97 ERA. On Tuesday night, he allowed 5 runs and was replaced before he could get out of the 1st inning. Yesterday, he was designated for assignment. He will never disgrace the Pinstripes again.
5-0 Rangers. And the rout was on... the other way!
Top of the 2nd. Yankees batting against Rangers pitcher Martin Perez. Chris Young led off with a double. Chase Headley singled him home. John Ryan Murphy singled. Didi Gregorius was hit with a pitch, loading the bases with nobody out. Brendan Ryan doubled. Jacoby Ellsbury singled. Brett Gardner singled. Alex Rodriguez doubled. Tie ballgame.
Rangers manager Jeff Banister pulled Perez, and brought in Wandy Rodriguez. That worked for a moment, as he struck out Mark Teixeira. But now, the Yankees had batted around. Young drew a walk. Headley singled. Murphy struck out. But Gregorius hit a triple, and Ryan a double, making it 11-5 Yankees before Rodriguez struck out Ellsbury to finally stop the bleeding.
11 runs on 10 hits. There was a walk and a hit batsman. No errors. No home runs, either. Usually, in an inning anywhere near that big, there's at least 1 error and at least 1 homer.
There was a homer in the 3rd, a grand slam hit by Young, his 12th of the season. There was an error in the 4th, leading to the 16th Yankee run.
By this point, I wasn't the only Yankee Fan thinking, "Hey, guys, we're playing the Red Sox next week. Save some of those runs."
The 6th was another big inning. Gardner led off with a walk. A-Rod struck out. Teix was hit with a pitch. Young struck again, doubling home Gardner. Garrett Jones brought in to pinch-run for Tex. Headley sruck out, but Murphy singled. 19-5.
It wasn't over. In the 9th, Ellsbury opened by reaching 1st on that rare play, catcher's interference. And Gardner hit a home run, his 11th.
Diego Moreno relieved Capuano. It was only the 3rd major league game for the 28-year-old Venezuelan, all for the Yankees this season. Technically, it wasn't a start, but if it had been, the Yankees might have won 21-0. He pitched through the 6th, and allowed just 1 baserunner, a walk. He was brilliant. With CC Sabathia looking done, and Michael Pineda going back on the Disabled List (scratching him from tonight's start), we need another starter. Maybe he's the one.
Adam Warren pitched 3 perfect innings to close it out. Therefore, according to the rule, he gets credit for the save even though he came in with a 14-run lead. I guess the rulemaker figured, 3 innings is enough to wipe out even a 14-run lead. Certainly, nobody figured the Yankees would score 11 in the 2nd.
Yankees 21, Rangers 5. WP: Moreno (1-0). SV: Warren (1). LP: Perez (0-2).
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Last night's game wasn't nearly as much fun. Masahiro Tanaka did not have good stuff. He pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks.
Carlos Beltran led off the 2nd with a home run, and singles by Gregorius, Stephen Drew and Ellsbury led to another Yankee run that inning. But that 2-0 lead did not hold, as Tanaka gave back 3.
The Yankees did not score again. The Rangers did. Rangers 5, Yankees 2. WP: Colby Lewis (11-4). SV: Shawn Tolleson (18 -- son of former Ranger and Yankee infielder Wayne Tolleson).LP: Tanaka (7-4).
The series concludes tonight. CC goes against Yovani Gallardo. Then the Yankees had for a real baseball city, Chicago, to take on the White Sox, before coming home and facing The Scum.
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The trading deadline is in about 20 hours. The Rangers got Cole Hamels from the Phillies. The Toronto Blue Jays got David Price from the Detroit Tigers, thinking he's the last piece to get them into the Playoffs. (He's not.) The Pittsburgh Pirates got Tiger closer Joakim Soria.
The Washington Nationals got our old pal Jonathan Papelbon from the Phillies for a Double-A pitcher. That's how far Papelbum, and the Phillies, have fallen.
The Royals got Ben Zobrist from the Oakland Athletics and Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds, and didn't give much up either time. They are serious about defending the Pennant they won last year.
Well, this time, they'll have to go through the Yankees.
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