The Yankees squashed the Astros 13-0 behind an explosive offense, but it was certainly a bittersweet victory because ace Chien-Ming Wang went down with what seems to be a serious foot injury. Wang earned his 8th win pitching five shut-out innings, allowing six hits while striking out three, before he went down rounding third base racing home to score a run in the top of the sixth inning. The Yankees organization has been mum in regards to the injury, and more should be known tomorrow after an MRI is conducted, but losing Wang for an extended period of time would be a devastating blow to the pitching staff. There are several prospects such as Alan Horne or Dan McCutchen who may be able to fill the void, and a trade will assuredly be a viable option, but these options won’t be further assessed until the extent of the injury is known. Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez, LaTroy Hawkins, and Dan Giese each pitched scoreless innings to contribute to the shut-out and only surrendered one hit collectively. The Yankees defense and pitching has been simply outstanding during their four game win streak, and the bullpen has raised their game to another level slamming the door on opposing batters. The offense applied their winning formula from yesterday’s 8-4 win to today’s game collecting 11 two-out RBI clutch hits. These momentum turning hits show fight and ability to rally, which are characteristics the offense haven’t showed earlier in the season. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada homered, while Jonny Damon smacked four hits raising his batting average to .332. The Yankees have played spectacular baseball going five-and-one on their road trip while winning nine out of their last 12 games, and if their schedule ever offers a time to go on an absolute tear now is the time, as the Padres and Reds visit the stadium this week for more interleague play. The Yankees will get Monday off after a long travel back to New York, and Andy Pettitte will look to extend the Yankee’s winning streak to five games on Tuesday dueling Randy Wolf.
Chien-Ming Wang went down with a foot injury wincing in pain, but the Yankees have options internally and more information on the injury will be availble tomorrow.
Video clip of Derek Jeter’s two run single and Wang’s foot injury curtesy of MLB.com:
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