Pineda was pretty good too
Everything went right for the Yankees today. The pitching was great and the hitting was even better. They looked like the team they hadn't been for all of 2013. They downed Boston on 14 hits and three walks while striking out a total of eight Red Sox batters.
Michael Pineda was terrific again. He threw 60 pitches in 4.1 innings, allowing four hits, but also striking out five Red Sox batters. Even better was that the Ks came against actual MLB players like Xander Bogaerts, Mike Carp, David Ross, and Jonny Gomes (twice). His velocity was fantastic, hitting as high as 94 mph while his slider was as effective as we all hoped it would be. If he stays healthy, Pineda likely already has a rotation spot locked down.
David Robertson relieved Pineda, giving up a hit and striking out two. Shawn Kelley pitched a perfect inning in relief, while David Herndon collected a strikeout, but also surrendered the only Red Sox run on two hits in the seventh. Fred Lewis and Matt Daley pitched the last two innings, allowing one hit apiece, though they were likely helped out by Zoilo Almonte, who made several impressive diving catches.
The Yankee offense exploded today, beating up Felix Doubront, scoring seven runs on 14 hits and three walks in 32 innings. In the first, Brett Gardner singled, Mark Teixeira walked and Alfonso Soriano singled to bring in the first run. In the second, Brian Roberts singled then stole a base, Kelly Johnson walked and Ichiro Suzuki singled to score another run. After that, Gardner put down a beautiful drag bunt, Derek Jeter hit an infield single, and Mark Texeira singled to make it a 5–0 game.
In the third inning, the game was interrupted by bees.
Yes, A GIANT SWARM OF BEES interrupted the baseball game as they planned to kill everyone in attendance. Tex thought he came up with a clever way to save everyone. Because, of course.
Thankfully, the grounds crew aren't idiots and were able to fight them off and allow the game to continue.
(H/T Marc Normandin @ SB Nation)
In the fourth inning, Gardner singled again, but he was quickly erased on a Jeter double play. The offense wouldn't let up, though, because Carlos Beltran doubled and Tex walked for a second time. Alfonso Soriano then hit a three-run home run to make up for his near-homer in his last at-bat. He made the score 8–0 and there it would stay for a few innings.
Everyone in the original lineup got on base. Standouts included Gardner with three hits, Tex with a hit and two walks, Soriano with four RBI, and Brian Roberts, who collected two hits and a stole a base. Francisco Cervelli had a triple and a single as he continued his hot spring, and Zelous Wheeler hot in on the action with a double.
While the offense came to a somewhat abrupt end once Doubront left the game, it was still enough to get the job done. Compared to what they did last year, I'll take it.