|
|
|
Wang sinker catches Rays If Chien-Ming Wang didn't already
qualify under that heading, he further stamped his importance to the Yanks'
October aspirations with another sterling outing - a two-hitter for his first
career shutout - in a spotless 6-0 victory over the Devil Rays that pulled
the Bombers within a half-game of the Red Sox in the AL East. "This was a jewel," Joe Torre
said. "I really didn't care who we were playing. The way this kid was
pitching, it would've been tough to beat him." The beleaguered Rodriguez also validated a rousing early
ovation with a first-inning RBI single, while Bernie Williams generated
bigger cheers with a sixth-inning homer and Derek Jeter rapped three hits for
the Yanks, who remained atop the But Wang was the biggest star on another cloud-filled Friday
night in the "It seems like every time out, that seems to be the
topic, that he's better than the previous time," said Jeter, now batting
.351 after his 3-for-5 with two RBI. "But I don't know how much better
he can get." Despite all of their injuries and supposed underachievement,
the Yankees (60-40) are peaking at the right time - they're a season-high 20
games over .500. Their recent surge prompted Torre
to remark, "Right now we're at the high-water mark and I'd like to begin
thinking in terms of 30 (games over .500). You get in that area of 30 games
over, and that's a very nice neighborhood to be in and chances are you'll be
in postseason play." GM Brian Cashman also was
still "trying to keep a lot of different balls in the air," as Torre put it, with Monday's nonwaiver
trade deadline looming. Still, Torre stressed he's "pretty
comfortable" with his starting rotation with improving Randy Johnson and
ever-steady Mike Mussina at the top, followed by
Wang, who quietly has put himself into position for a shot at a 20-win
season. "This kid, you put him right up with Moose and Randy as
far as the quality starts you expect from him," Torre
said. "He's the type of pitcher that can tell you what's coming and they
still have trouble digging it out of the ground. Late movement, great
velocity, and he's so consistent. This was a gem
tonight." Johnny Damon compared Wang with a former Red Sox teammate,
sinker specialist Derek Lowe, who now pitches for the Dodgers. Similarly,
when Wang is most effective, catcher Jorge Posada added, "it's ground ball, ground ball, ground ball and out." Wang (104 pitches) recorded his first four outs on the ground
en route to retiring the first 12 batters he faced, until ex-Met Ty Wigginton lined a single to
center leading off the fifth. The only marginal trouble Wang faced was a
first-and-third situation with two outs in the sixth, but Rocco Baldelli skied to center to end the inning. "Yeah, best game as a Yankee," said Wang, who was
tagged for a ninth-inning loss in It never hurts that the Yanks staked Wang to a quick 5-0 lead,
beginning with a two-out RBI single by the warmly greeted Rodriguez, who Torre believed had "hit bottom" with a
four-strikeout game in Toronto on the recent road trip. The Yanks added two unearned runs on Jeter's two-run single
off Tampa starter Tim Corcoran (4-2) in the second, and two more on
bases-loaded walks to Posada and Andy Phillips in the fourth. Williams, who'd
been doubled off third on Miguel Cairo's liner in the third, blasted his
eighth home run of the season over the wall in center in the sixth. And Wang did the rest, getting Jonny
Gomes to bounce into a double play in the eighth before cruising through a "Amazing, he's always one pitch away from getting out of
any big rally," Rodriguez said. "Great game by Wang.
. . . Good game all around." |