? Robinson Cano Grand Slams as Yankees cruise to win
? Elsewhere: Albert Pujols gets first HR for Angels
Good afternoon. It's been a troubled road trip to KC for the New York Yankees. Most shocking, of course, was the terrible injury to Mariano Rivera. All true sports fans wish him the very best on the road to recovery and hope that The Greatest Closer Ever comes back. He is certainly talking the good talk:
"I'm coming back. Write it down in big letters. I'm not going down like this. God willing and given the strength, I'm coming back. I love to play the game. I don't think, to me, going out like this is the right way. ... I don't think like that. With the strength of the Lord, I have to continue."
We all hope to see you back, Mariano. But, for this season, it seems as if the Yankees may be able to replace the irreplaceable: in the form of Dave Robertson.
For the moment the Yankees' bigger problem is their unproductive bats: just one run in three of their last five games, and four defeats in that time. Only Derek Jeter - as ever - is getting it done. The Yankees are 4.5 games back from the red hot Tampa Bay Rays in the always-competitive AL East.
The Kansas City Royals are a pretty poor 9-17 and 5.5 games back from Cleveland (!) in the AL Central. So, leading the Yanks 2-1 in this mini-series must make them feel a little better.
David Lengel is away this weekend (although he will be back for his regular Tuesday Five Things We Learned blog). In his absence, you get me, liveblogging my third different sport of the weekend, including a very late night last night on Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto - what a fight that was!
This blog will be focusing on the Yankees @ Royals, but we will keep an eye out on today's other games. So, share your thoughts on this game, or any other, via email, steve.busfield@guardiannews.com, or Twitter, @Busfield, or by posting a comment below.
It's been raining in Kansas City, Missouri, but it looks like the game will start on time.
This game is live on TBS and Yes in the New York area and, I believe, on ESPN America in the UK. So why not watch and join in the chat...
Royals
1 Dyson CF
2 Gordon LF
3 Butler DH
4 Hosmer 1B
5 Moustakas 3B
6 Maier RF
7 Getz 2B
8 Falu SS
9 Quintero C
SP Hochevar
Yankees
1 Jeter SS
2 Granderson CF
3 Rodriguez 3B
4 Cano 2B
5 Teixeira 1B
6 Swisher DH
7 Ibanez LF
8 Martin C
9 Wise RF
SP Hughes
The Royals are wearing a throw-back powder blue uniform today. And Jeter is at the plate...
Jeter gets a lead off double to center field with the first pitch of the day. That wasn't far off an HR. And here comes Granderson...
Yankees 2-25 in this series with runners in scoring position. Granderson flys out to center field. Make that 2-26. One on, one out. Here comes A-Rod.
A-Rod grounds out. One on, two out. Robinson Cano at the plate...
Cano grounds out to first base and Jeter is left stranded. Inning over. Yankees 0, Royals 0.
What's going on elsewhere today:
Rangers 0, Indians 3 - Top 4th
D'Backs 0, Mets 3 - Top 5th
Reds 2, Pirates 0 - Top 3rd
More scores soon. Or have a look here if you can't wait.
Phil Hughes, who has been having some struggles of his own so far this season starts well, striking out Dyson...and then walks Gordon on four straight pitches...
RUN! Butler doubles to right field and Gordon comes home. Royals 1, Yankees 0
Hosmer flies out to left field. Moustakis pops up to Jeter, inning over, but that's a good start for the Royals. Swisher will be batting soon - his first at-bat for some time. Royals 1, Yankees 0
Teixeira is up first and he draws a lead-off walk. By the way, any of you see Tex in Entourage?
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Swisher batting as a lefty here (.316 this season compared to .208 as a righty). But he grounds out here. Teixeira moves to second with no chance of a double play. One on, one out.
RUN! Ibanez - a former Royal - drives a single down over first base and Tex comes home. Yankees 1, Royals 1
Russell Martin - who smashed an enormous home run last night, his third of the season - drives to third base and into a double play. Inning over. But it's now Yankees 1, Royals 1.
Some more latest scores from around Major League Baseball:
White Sox 1, Tigers 2 - bottom 5th
Orioles 2, Red Sox 0 - top 4th
A's 0, Rays 4 - top 3rd
Cardinals 3, Astros 0 - bottom 2nd
And those are all the games we have going so far
Maier flies out, Getz grounds out and then Irving Falu - in his first big league at-bat after nine years waiting - gets to third with a drive into right field. Huge cheer. Welcome to the Majors, Irving....
But Quintero strikes out. Inning over. Still Yankees 1, Royals 1.
But that's a nice moment for Falu, who was drafted by the Royals in 2003, has played 949 games in the minors, and finally earned his call-up to the majors when Betancourt sprained his ankle.
RUN! Wise gets a single and then Jeter bunts perfectly and the Yanks have men on first and second. Granderson gets a base hit to right field - the 1,000th hit of his career - and Wise comes home. Yankees 2, Royals 1
@Bandon_Decker tweets: "@Busfield Sorry to be a horrible pedant, but you've credited Swisher with some impossible batting averages! Should be .316 and .208" D'oh! Apologies. Misplaced points now amended below. And your thoughts on the game, Bandon?
A-Rod is hit on the elbow by a pitch and the bases are loaded with no outs for NY...
GRAND SLAM! Cano, who had only 4 RBIs so far this year, gets four more with one hit! Long into center field and it's Yankees 6, Royals 1.
HOME RUN! Teixeira is caught at the wall. So close to another hit. The Yanks' bats are giving Hochevar a hard time. And to prove the point Nick Swisher smashes another homer, over right field. Yankees 7, Royals 1.
And Hochevar is pulled. Not entirely surprisingly, but possibly too late. All of which links into an entertaining series of tweets from Bandon:
"@Busfield Hoch looking shaky and he too often can't come back from that. He has to stay calm and get out of this. NY will score a few here.
@Busfield I typed that before the grand slam...
@Busfield Phil Hughes can be hit and the Yankee bullpen has had to work a bit this series, but I doubt the Royals will quite come back."
It's going to take some comeback here. Still, we have seen some astonishing things in Yankee games already this season.
Luiz Mendoza is in to pitch for the Royals and strikes out Ibanez. Russell Martin, who has proved a very adequate replacement for Jorge Posada in the Yankee lineup, flies out to left-field. Inning over. But that was a six run inning for the Yanks. Yankees 7, Royals 1.
Can the top of the Royals' order get them back in the game here? Dyson strikes one nicely down the left-field line but it just, achingly, goes foul. He's making Hughes work, but he eventually strikes out after 10 pitches with a foul-tip to Martin. One out.
1-2-3. Gordon pops out to A-Rod and Butler strikes out swinging. Not much of a recovery yet then. Yankees 7, Royals 1.
So what was that I was saying about the Yankees' batting woes?
You can see that Grand Slam here.
Can Mendoza succeed where Hochevar failed? Wise grounds out, as does Jeter, with a broken bat hit that just evades the pitcher, but Granderson gets hit 1,001 with a single to right field. Only 999 to go to the next landmark, Curtis. A-Rod grounds out. And at least KC avoided more damage there. Yankees 7, Royals 1.
Big comeback in St Pete, where the A's scored 5 in the top of the 3rd and are now leading the Rays 6-4 in the top of the 5th.
Phil Hughes still going, and must be a nice feeling to have some runs to play with. Hosmer grounds out but Moustakas doubles to the center field wall. Maier becomes Hughes' fifth strike out victim and Getz grounds out, and it's still: Yankees 7, Royals 1.
A's are now 8-5 ahead against the Red Hot Rays.
And in Boston the Red Sox are back - it's 5-5 with the Orioles in the top of the sixth - with a Will Middlebrooks grand slam - his first Major League home run to boot.
Cano grounds out, Teixeira walks, Swisher strikes out, Ibanez gets a four-pitch walk, and it's two on, two out, and Russell Martin comes to the plate...
Martin grounds out and it's still Yankees 7, Royals 1.
@Bandon_Decker tweets again in response to the possibility of a KC comeback: "@Busfield Hughes looking pretty settled and batters a bit flat."
Remember, you can share your thoughts on this game, or any other, via email, steve.busfield@guardiannews.com, or Twitter, @Busfield, or by posting a comment below.
RUN! Irving Falu is 2-for-2 in the big leagues with a single to right. Why didn't they promote this guy before? One on, nobody out, but Quintero pops out, and, back to the top of the order, Dyson also pops out. Falu steals to second on a wild pitch. And then Gordon singles and Falu has his first run in the Majors! He's having a good day indeed. Yankees 7, Royals 2
Butler flies out and inning is over. Yankees 7, Royals 2
AndyRAC joins us below the line: "Cano isn't the only one with a GS tonight. Will Middlebrooks of the RedSox has hit one to tie it up at Fenway v the Orioles, his first ever HR in the Majors."
Wise grounds out, Jeter walks, Granderson flies out to right field, A-Rod singles with a line drive, Cano comes to bat and then a slightly surreal moment as catcher Quintero lets one get away, ambles to it, tries to throw Jeter out at second, but the ball goes astray and Jeter moves to third on an error. But Cano strikes out swinging and inning is over without any more damage to KC. Yankees 7, Royals 2
White Sox 1, Tigers 3 - top 9th
O's 5, Red Sox 5 - top 7th
Reds 5, Pirates 0 - bottom 7th
Cardinals 7, Astros 1 - top 7th
1-2-3 Hosmer grounds out, Moustakas flies out, Maier strikes out. Hughes is over 100 pitches now. And getting it done. Yankees 7, Royals 2
Braves 4, Rockies 0 - top 4th
Marlins 0, Padres 0 - bottom 1st
Tex flies out, Swisher grounds out and then Ibanez gets his second hit of the game, a two-out double. That was the Yankees tenth hit of the game, fourth on the reliever Mendoza. Martin grounds out to Falu. Yankees 7, Royals 2.
In honour of my absent colleague, here's David's unique take on Take Me Out...
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HOME RUN! There's some activity in the Yanks' bullpen, but it's still Hughes for now, which is a bit of turn up, given that there's been lots of talk about him being moved out of the starting rotation. Getz flies out, Falu's third Major League at-bat ends in a K and his batting average drops significantly. That was Hughes' seventh K. And then Quintero sends one sailing over the center field wall. And that will be it for Hughes. Yankees 7, Royals 3.
Mets 3, Diamondbacks 1
Boone Logan is on the mound for NY and his first batter, Dyson, gets a base hit, which is close to being caught by Wise in center field, but it hops just in front of him. One on, two out, and stirrings from the Royals. Gordon at-bat and Dyson steals to second. But then Gordon grounds out. Yankees 7, Royals 3
It's still 5-5 between the O's and the Red Sox, now into the top of the 8th.
Wise draws a walk and then steals to second with Jeter at the plate. Jeter draws another walk and that is the end for Mendoza, who has had a long relieving effort after Hochevar's Grand Slam nightmare...
Baltimore have taken a 6-5 lead at Fenway Park with a Mark Reynolds double scoring Adam Jones. Top of the 8th there...
Tommy Hottovy, a lefty, comes in for KC, and faces two on with nobody out and Granderson at the plate...
HOME RUN! Hottovy, with his slingy, sidewinder left arm action, strikes Granderson out but then in comes A-Rod who slams one over the center field wall. Three runs. Yankees 10, Royals 3
That was A-Rod's 46th HR against the Royals, apparently. Cano lines a single to center field but then Teixeira grounds out in a 5-4-3 double play and KC avoid any more damage in that inning. Yankees 10, Royals 3.
Cardinals 8, Astros 1
Albert who?
Soriano is in to pitch for the Yankees. Butler grounds out, Hosmer flies out to Granderson, Moustakas draws a walk, Maier flies out to a smart running catch by Ibanez close to the center field wall. Only one more chance for KC. And the Yanks have another go first. Yankees 10, Royals 3
Reds 5, Pirates 0
(Thanks AndyRAC)
And it's 6-6 at Fenway Park between the O's and the Red Sox at the top of the ninth.
Swisher grounds out, Ibanez pops out, Martin strikes out. Yankees 10, Royals 3. last chance for the Royals.
Albert Pujols has his first home run for the LA Angels! In his 111th at bat.
RUN! Wade in to pitch for NY. Getz flies out, Falu flies out too (on the running track, almost, almost an even bigger end on his first MLB start), Pena in to pinch hit, lines a single over Wade's head (quite close to it, in fact). Pena gets to second on a wild pitch. And then Dyson singles down the middle and Pena comes home. Yankees 10, Royals 4
Gordon strikes out looking, and that's the ball game....
Yankees 10, Royals 4
Angels 4, Blue Jays 2 - top 6th
Orioles 6, Red Sox 6 - top 10th
Dodgers 0, Cubs 0 - top 2nd
Twins 0, Mariners 4 - bottom 4th
Braves 6, Rockies 1 - bottom 7th
White Sox 1, Tigers 3 - Final
Marlins 0, Padres 2 - top 6th
Rangers 2, Indians 4 - Final
Brewers 1, Giants 3 - top 5th
A's 9, Rays 5 - Final
Phillies-Nationals - 8pm EST
Thank you for joining me this afternoon, and your tweets and comments.
If you want to catch up with those unfinished games, you could start here.
David Lengel will be here with Five Things We Learned in MLB on Tuesday.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/06/new-york-yankees-kansas-city-royals-live
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