RELIEVER'S WIN JUST 1-DERFUL
By FRED KERBER
Last updated: 7:32 am
July 23, 2008
Posted: 3:11 am
July 23, 2008
David Robertson entered in the sixth inning, Yanks down one run, runners at the corners. He threw one pitch, retired Delmon Young on a fielder's choice and took the rest of the night off.
And got a win in the process.
"One pitch, one out, one win," said Robertson (2-0), the eighth pitcher this season to get a win by toiling for one pitch.
"I'll take that any time."
Robertson was symbolic of the ease with which Yankee bullpen handled the Twins in particular last night, everybody on the planet in general lately. The Yankee pen worked 31/3 innings of the 8-2 drubbing of Minnesota at the Stadium, yielding one hit, one walk and fanning five.
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The Yankees' 'pen owns a 1.60 ERA over its last 671/3 innings with 72 strikeouts and 22 walks. Not too shabby. The bullpen seems to be feeding off one another.
"It is in a way but you try to say it's not," said Kyle Farnsworth, spectacular of late - nine straight hitless innings, 10 consecutive scoreless innings. "But you see one guy do good and you definitely want to do well. Hitting is contagious, pitching is probably the same way."
Can't do it any better than Farnsworth. He yielded a leadoff work - hey, he's pitched hitless ball, not perfect of late. Farnsworth then dusted Alexi Casilla, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau on swinging third strikes.
"All the guys are throwing great and Farnsworth has been outstanding," manager Joe Girardi said after the Yankees won their fifth straight and ninth in a row at home. "[Jose] Veras got us where we wanted to go they are doing their job. The guys are feeding off each other."
And one thankful guy was closer Mariano Rivera. "Night off," he said. "They did a tremendous job. [Darrell] Rasner pitched a wonderful game. Too bad he didn't get the win. But the guys did their job."
