The Yankees dropped a nail-biter to the Royals 3-2 on 9th inning home-run by Jose Guillen. Mariano Rivera surrendered his second homer in three games and chose not to pitch around the red-hot Guillen. Guillen went 9-for-6 with four home-runs and 10 RBI’s in the four game series, and the Yankees have lost several games this season choosing not to pitch around opponents that are red-hot at the time, such as Manny Ramirez. Mike Mussina tossed another gem pitching eight strong innings, striking out three and only making one mistake, yielding a two-run home-run to Miguel Olivo. Mussina continues to display he can effectively change speeds leaving the opposition unable to crack him. Mussina truly deserved to earn his 10th win of the season today, but the offense was halted by Luke Hochevar. Alex Rodriguez drove in the all the Yankee runs on a two-run homer launched to left field in the bottom of the 7th inning, providing the answer to Olivo’s homer, triggering vibes of another comeback win. With the Yankees down by one Melky Cabrera grounded out to first base, leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning. The 25-39 Royals are one of the worst team in the American League and they are now 4-3 against the Yankees this season. If the Yankees are serious about becoming contenders and plan on being comfortably above .500, they must learn how to handle weaker opponents. Tomorrow, the Yankees struggling ace Chein-Ming Wang looks to pick up the team squaring off Dana Eveland and the Oakland A’s.
Mariano Rivera hasn’t necessarily hit a funk, but has left two cutters over the plate with minimal movement two of the last three games, resulting in game changing home-runs.
Video clip of Jose Guillens 9th inning home-run curtsey of MLB.com:
Posted by zachirsch 