The Yankees had split the first two games of their series with the Indians, but for the most part, their bats were silenced by Jake Westbrook and someone named Josh Tomlin. But runs were not at a premium last night against Fausto Carmona, who got hit early and often: seven runs on ten hits in just two-and-two-thirds innings. Most of the usual suspects joined in: Every starter except Derek Jeter had at least one hit, and six of them drove in at least one run (all of them except Robinson Cano’s fourth-inning home run off Carmona). Perhaps the most encouraging development over the past few days has been Curtis Granderson (who tripled in a run last night) finding his swing, just as Mark Teixeira had before him.
And then there’s A.J. Burnett, who struck out seven and didn’t allow a run, and who closes out July with an ERA of 2.00 for the month. Even Joba Chamberlain got to play in this one, answering the question of when exactly Joe Girardi is comfortable using him. (That answer? For two batters in the seventh inning with an eight-run lead.)
Alex Rodriguez remained stuck on 599 home runs, though when so much else goes right for a team — they cruised to an 8-0 final — it’s hard to get upset with a guy for not going deep, especially when that guy collected two hits and an RBI. (He also collected second base, somehow, when sliding into it on a sixth-inning double — grabbing onto the bag and literally pulling it out of the ground.)
It was a rough night all around for the Cleveland faithful. At least they got to take out their pent-up sports frustration on this guy:
The Yankees Saved All Their Hits for Fausto Carmona