The Yankees jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over the Angels on Wednesday, and Javier Vazquez nearly gave it all back.
The right-hander held Los Angeles scoreless over the first four innings, but you knew the Halos were going to break through at some point because they kept hitting the ball hard, and Vazquez was getting saved by good luck and good defense.
That changed in the fifth and sixth frames, when the Angels touched him up for five runs. New York’s starter finished the day allowing five runs on nine hits (including two homers) and exited without recording an out in the sixth.
But this is nothing new for Vazquez against good American League teams. The righty’s numbers have improved recently, but that’s only because he’s coming off a six-start stretch during which he faced only National League clubs or two of the three lowest-scoring teams in the AL, Seattle and Oakland.
Against the Angels, a team the Yanks could possibly face once again in the postseason, Vazquez is 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA in three outings this year. In fact, the 34-year-old is 5-6 with a 5.30 against all AL teams and 6-6 with a 5.43 versus teams with winning records. Is this a man you want pitching in October?
Here are the grades from the Bombers’ 10-6 win over the Angels on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Javier Vazquez, SP: (D)
Joe Girardi, Manager: (C) I don’t understand batting Juan Miranda, who entered the game with a .226 average, behind an MVP candidate. It was no surprise that the Angels intentionally walked Robinson Cano twice to get to the sixth hitter. What was surprising was that Joel Pineiro, who’s been tortured by Cano over the years, gave the second baseman something to hit in the third when he launched a two-run homer.
The lineup didn’t hurt the Yankees in this one, as Miranda actually came through with a big homer off reliever Scot Shields in the seventh, but wouldn’t you rather have Jorge Posada batting behind Cano?
I did like, however, how Girardi didn’t manage to the save rule for a change and got Mariano Rivera in there in the ninth with a four-run lead to close things out.
Derek Jeter, SS: (A+) The captain had a much-needed three-hit day, to raise his average to .272, and scored each time he reached base.
Nick Swisher, RF: (A) Swisher continues to impress, going 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. He’s now batting .302.
Mark Teixeira, 1B: (A+) Here’s another red-hot Yankees hitter. Teixeira went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs to increase his average to a season-high .256.
Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (D+) A-Rod didn’t get invited to the party. He went 0-for-5, but drove in a run with a grounder in the first and made a great diving stop on Howard Kendrick in the top of that inning to prevent a rally from starting.
Robinson Cano, 2B: (A) Cano now has 18 homers and 63 RBIs.
Juan Miranda, DH: (B+) Miranda went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, but came up with a big solo shot to shift the momentum back into the Yankees’ corner once and for all.
Curtis Granderson, CF: (A) Granderson had his first two-hit game in 11 days. Not surprisingly, it came against a righty.
Francisco Cervelli, C: (A) Cervelli went 2-for-4 with a run scored and despite his struggles at the plate since Memorial Day, he continues to be a viable option to split time with Posada.
Brett Gardner, LF: (F) Gardner was not only not invited to the party with his 0-for-3 day, but he got bounced at the door for arguing balls and strikes with home-plate umpire Paul Emmel in the seventh. But that turned out to be a good thing.
Colin Curtis, PH-LF: (A+) Curtis replaced Gardner and wound up connecting for his first Major League homer, a three-run shot that sealed the win.
David Robertson, RP: (B-) The right-hander pitched a scoreless sixth, but not before yielding two hits and a walk.
Boone Logan, RP: (B) The lefty got two outs in the seventh.
Joba Chamberlain, RP: (D) On July 29, 2009, Chamberlain was 7-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 20 starts. On July 21, 2010, Vazquez is 7-7 with a 4.70 ERA in 17 starts.
Mariano Rivera, RP: (A) Rivera struck out one in a perfect ninth.
Yankees Overall Grade: (C+) Vazquez fell apart in the middle innings, but the Yankees’ bats provided plenty of support to get the win. A two-game sweep by the Angels would’ve been bad, so New York has to feel good getting a split with eight games coming up versus AL Central bottom-feeders Kansas City and Cleveland.
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Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.
Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com
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