Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Wang Pitches Yankees to Division Lead
At times this season, the Yankees' lineup has had weak spots where pitchers could count on some easy outs. With the acquisitions of Bobby Abreu and Craig Wilson, that appears to be a thing of the past.
The Yankees beat Toronto, 7-2, on Wednesday behind their sluggers and starter Chien-Ming Wang. The 2-5 hitters were a combined 11-for-22 with six RBIs, and every starter reached base at least once.
The Yankees have won seven of their last eight games and will go for a sweep of the Blue Jays on Thursday. They are a still in first place in the American League East.
Wang was again dazzling, despite getting into early trouble. Wang improved to 13-4 after tossing eight scoreless innings while allowing just four hits. After a tough second inning in which he uncharacteristically walked three batters, Wang retired 17 of the next 20 batters he faced.
After going 0-for-3 in his Yankees debut, Abreu had a single and double in his first two at-bats in his second game. Wilson went 2-for-4.
Derek Jeter started the Yankees' offense with his eighth homer of the season, a shot into the first row in right-center field in the third.
Alex Rodriguez led off the sixth with a double in which it looked like he was going to be tagged out at second only to pull his left hand back and reach around with his right. Jorge Posada followed with a deep homer to left field to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.
The Yankees batted around in the inning, further rouging up Jays starter Ted Lilly, then relievers Dustin McGowan and Scott Downs. Rodriguez capped off the six-run inning with a two-run single past the diving John McDonald, while Johnny Damon added a bases loaded single.
Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:24 PM
« Home