Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Masahiro Tanaka allowed only two bunt singles
over eight strong innings as the New York Yankees defeated the Chicago Cubs,
3-0, in the opener of a day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
Tanaka (2-0) struck out 10 and walked just one to win for the second time in
three starts this season. The rookie right-hander from Japan lowered his ERA
from 3.21 to 2.05 after posting a 24-0 record and 1.27 ERA in his native
country last season.
He had set down 15 in a row before Anthony Rizzo's bunt single against the
infield shift to begin the seventh inning ended that streak. Tanaka responded
by retiring the final six batters he faced -- striking out three of them --
before being lifted for reliever Shawn Kelley to start the ninth.
Carlos Beltran homered and Jacoby Ellsbury went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the
Yankees, who have won three straight. Dean Anna, starting at shortstop for a
resting Derek Jeter, drove in the other run for New York, which has won four
of five overall and improved to 5-3 on its current nine-game homestand that
ends with tonight's nightcap.
Rizzo finished with two hits and Junior Lake had the other bunt single for the
Cubs, who have lost three in a row.
Jason Hammel (2-1) suffered the tough-luck loss, surrendering three runs on
five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked three in dropping
his first decision of the season.
Beltran's solo homer in the first started the scoring. New York added another
run in the fourth when Brian McCann scored on Anna's sacrifice fly and
scored again in the fifth, when Brett Gardner doubled and later came home on
Ellsbury's groundout to the pitcher.
Ellsbury's swing was interfered with by catcher John Baker during the play,
but the Yankees had the option of taking the play as it played out or awarding
Ellsbury first base with Gardner remaining at third. New York manager Joe
Girardi opted for the run.
Kelley worked a one-hit ninth for his fourth save of the season.
Game Notes
This is the first doubleheader of the season for both teams ... Beltran has
four HRs and nine RBI this season ... Tanaka has 28 strikeouts in three starts
this season ... This doubleheader was forced due to a rainout on Tuesday ...
The second game of the doubleheader will see both teams wear the number 42 in
honor of Jackie Robinson.
Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - This time, there was no controversy over
Michael Pineda's latest impressive start.
The New York Yankees hurler fired six scoreless innings to help the Bronx
Bombers complete a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Chicago Cubs with a 2-0
victory in Wednesday's nightcap.
Five days after drawing plenty of attention -- for both his performance and
for an apparent foreign substance on his right hand that was caught by
television cameras -- when tossing six innings of one-run ball to defeat the
Boston Red Sox, Pineda (2-1) held a punchless Chicago offense to four hits and
a walk. It was his third straight strong outing since returning to the majors
following a two-year absence caused by shoulder problems.
"Really, really good command of his pitches," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi
of Pineda. "Wasn't the best conditions to pitch in, but I thought he did a
really good job."
The shutout was the second of the day for the Yankees' staff, with Masahiro
Tanaka yielding just two singles and fanning 10 over eight frames in New
York's 3-0 triumph in the opener.
The Yankees last blanked an opponent in both games of a doubleheader on Apr.
9, 1987, doing so against Kansas City.
Scott Sizemore paced the offense in New York's fourth straight win by going 2-
for-3 with an RBI single that scored Alfonso Soriano, who also finished with
two hits.
The Cubs, losers of four in a row and shut out in a doubleheader for the first
time in 52 years, received a pair of hits from Starlin Castro. Travis Wood
(0-2) limited New York to two runs despite permitting 11 hits over 5 2/3
innings.
"They found some holes tonight to put up their two runs," Wood said. "Felt
like I made some good pitches, just too many pitches too early. I wasn't able
to go deep enough in the ball game."
Pineda began the contest by retiring 11 of the first 13 Chicago hitters and
didn't encounter any real trouble until the fifth inning, when singles by
Castro and Luis Valbuena and a sac bunt put two in scoring position with one
out and New York clinging to a 1-0 lead.
The right-hander got of the jam, however, by striking out Ryan Kalish and
getting Darwin Barney to fly out harmlessly to center.
Anthony Rizzo tripled with two out in the top of the sixth but was left
stranded with Chicago now trailing by two, as Sizemore plated Soriano with a
two-out single to left during the Yankees' half of the fifth.
With David Phelps having taken over for Pineda, the Cubs threatened once more
in the seventh but again couldn't come up with the big hit. Castro led off the
inning with a single and Valbuena drew a walk before the Yankee reliever set
down the next three batters.
Chicago did put the tying run in scoring position in the ninth, as Nate
Schierholtz came through with a leadoff single off Matt Thornton and Adam
Warren walked Valbuena with one out. Warren then threw a wild pitch to advance
both after inducing a pop up out of Welington Castillo, but got Kalish to
ground out to close out the victory.
Wood worked out of trouble on several occasions early on, with the Yankees
stranding five men through three innings of play, but was touched for a run in
the fourth. Sizemore singled, took second on a two-out hit by J.R. Murphy and
scored the game's initial run on Brett Gardner's sharp single to right.
Game Notes
The Yankees left 12 on base for the game ... The last time the Cubs were
blanked in both ends of a doubleheader was Apr. 29, 1962 against the Giants in
San Francisco ... After going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position in the
opener, Chicago was hitless in nine at-bats in such situations in Game 2 ...
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter returned to action after missing three straight
games with quadriceps tightness, finishing 1-for-5 ... Zac Rosscup, called up
by the Cubs to serve as the 26th man for the twinbill, threw 1 2/3 scoreless
innings.
