Hey Yankee fans! After Monday’s 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay (22-16), Chien-Ming Wang will try to get the Yankees (19-20) back on track by snapping the Rays franchise-record 10-game home winning streak. The 28-year-old right-hander is 6-1 on the season with a 3.12 ERA. He is going against Edwin Jackson, who is 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA.
Hard to imagine, but the Rays have won 14 of 19 overall and are a half game behind Boston in the East. Here is tonight's lineup.
Yankees
Damon dh
Jeter ss
Abreu rf
Matsui lf
Giambi 1b
Cabrera cf
Cano 2b
Gonzalez 3b
Molina c
Wang RHP
Rays
Iwamura 2b
Crawford lf
Upton cf
Pena 1b
Longoria 3b
Floyd dh
Hinske rf
Navarro c
Bartlett ss
Jackson RHP
Will be back after the Yankees bat.
Top of 1st: Damon led off the game with an infield single, but Jeter and Abreu struck out and Matsui lined out to first.
Bottom of 1st: It was a relatively easy inning for Wang. His sinker was working early as he got Iwamura and Crawford to ground out to Cano. After walking Upton, he struck out Pena.
Top of 2nd: The Yankees had something going as Giambi and Melky had back-to-back singles to start the inning, but with runners on first and third and one out, Gonzalez grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Talk about a rally killer.
Bottom of 2nd: Matsui made a nice basket catch on a ball hit by Longoria. Not much else happened. Cliff Floyd (remember him?) walked and was erased as Hinske grounded into a double play.
Top of 3rd: The Yanks go down in order. Molina grounded out, Damon struck out and Jeter flied out.
Bottom of 3rd: Wang worked in and out of trouble. He allowed singles to Navarro (who was erased on a Bartlett dp) and Iwamura and walked Crawford before getting Upton to fly out to deep center. Still no score.
Top of 4th: It appears the Yankees are still in their hitting slump. Abreu grounded out to second (though he hit the ball hard); Matsui flied out to center, Giambi walked and Melky struck out. Boy, do they miss A-Rod.
Bottom of 4th: Those pesky Rays got on the board after Pena led off with a double and scored on a single by Hinske. Wang had two strikes on Hinske (with two outs in the inning) but he couldn’t finish him off. Rays 1, Yankees 0.
Top of 5th: Just like Garza last night, the Yankees are making Jackson look like an All-Star. Cano, Gonzalez and Molina go down in order.
Bottom of 5th: Cano made a nice play getting to a ball that Upton hit as the Rays are retired in order.
Top of 6th: Ok, let’s face it. The Rays have got the Yankees’ number. Following a one-out triple by Jeter, Abreu grounded out and Matsui popped out to short to end the inning and the Yankees wasted a great opportunity to score. By the way, Jeter’s hit should have only been a single, but Hinske was trying to make SportsCenter as he went for a foolish diving catch. What a dope.
Bottom of 6th: Too bad the Yankees can’t score. They are wasting a good performance from Wang. He allowed a cheap single to Floyd in the inning. That’s it.
Top of 7th: The Yankees had a runner on third with two outs, but Shelley Duncan, who hit for Gonzalez, was caught looking at strike three to end the inning.
Bottom of 7th: Wang allowed just a single to Iwamura in the inning. He is at 101 pitches.
Top of 8th: Dan Wheeler came in for Jackson (five hits with five strikeouts and one walk in seven scoreless innings) and set down the Yanks in order, striking out two. This is not looking good. One more inning to go for the Yankees. Still 1-0, Rays.
Bottom of 8th: Joba came in for Wang (1 run on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts in seven innings) and pitched in and out of trouble. He allowed a one out walk to Pena and a single to Longoria before getting the slow-footed Floyd to ground out into a double play.
Top of 9th: Matsui homered (much to the relief of the Yankees) off 37-year-old closer Troy Percival to tie the game at 1. Percival was going for his 334th career save. He is fourth on the active saves list, behind Trevor Hoffman (530), Rivera (453) and Billy Wagner (365). Yankees 1, Rays 1.
Bottom of 9th: Kyle Farnsworth entered the inning and issued a walk to Navarro before getting Iwamura to fly out to Matsui.
Top of 10th: Not much for the Yankees in extra innings as Ensberg, Molina and Damon are retired in order. Looks like Rivera is coming in to pitch the bottom half of the 10th.
Bottom of 10th: Rivera kept the Rays in check. He allowed a leadoff single to Crawford, but nothing else.
Top of 11th: The Yankees fail to score in the inning. Matsui, the hero in the ninth, grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Bottom of 11th: I bet no one saw this coming. Rivera gives up a run in a tie game and takes a loss. Unbelievable. Floyd led off the inning with a single. He was lifted for a pinch runner, Gomes, who stole second and scored the game-winner on a single by Gabe Gross. Final: Rays 2, Yanks 1.