Castillo drops game-ending popup, gives Yanks improbable win
BRONX, NY – You go to a baseball game and sometimes you may see something you have never seen before.
The Subway Series has seen it share of oddities over the last 1 years, but what happened last night will rank among the most memorable moments in its history.
It all appeared to set up for a Mets victory and a four game Yankees losing streak. Instead, initial long faces turned into big smiles and a 9-8 highway robbery.
Closer Francisco Rodriguez had made the pitch he wanted on a 3-1 to Alex Rodriguez and was able to induce a popup behind second base as Luis Castillo went out into the outfield grass in shallow right. The ending result was one of the worst losses in Mets history and one of the Yankees most improbable. As the ball descended, he did not look to have his feet completely set and improbably the ball popped out of his glove allowing the tying and winning runs to score.
For the Yankees, the gift of a win marred a game littered by a putrid start by Joba Chamberlain, recurring middle relief troubles and curious managerial moves by Joe Girardi.
Chamberlain once again show inconsistency in both his ability to throw strikes, have consistent velocity and was out of sync with catcher Jorge Posada.
After two scoreless innings, Chamberlain ran into problems in a 43 pitch third frame. The Yankees were leading 1-0 after Robinson Cano homered to right off Mets starter Livan Hernandez. Catcher Brian Schneider walked to lead off was out on Luis Castillo’s fielder’s choice. A walk to Alex Cora followed, and a hit by pitch to rookie Fernando Martinez loaded the bases.
Carlos Beltran worked a 10-pitch at bat for a walk for the games first run as Posada and Chamberlain on three separate occasions met on the mound to discuss pitch selection as the right-hander was clearly laboring.
Wright struck out on a wicked slider, but he would hit Ryan Church to bring home yet another run. In the inning, he allowed two runs without giving up a hit, yet walked three and hit two batters. Though he hurled a scoreless fourth after Mark Teixeira hit his 20th home run to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the third, his night would end early after 100 pitches.
The underbelly of the bullpen for the third time in four games would have to log major innings. Enter Brett Tomko, who clearly had nothing as he gave up a double to Beltran and walked Wright to start the fifth. Church would double into the right field corner scoring both runners to give the Mets the lead back 4-3. Gary Sheffield then turned back time to his days as a Yankee by crushing Tomko’s inside baseball deep into the left field seats to extend the lead to three runs
Derek Jeter got one of the runs back with a home run to the short porch in right in the bottom half, and retook the lead in the sixth. After Hernandez retired Alex Rodriguez to start, Cano reached on an infield hit and Posada walked. This ended Hernandez’s night as Mets Manager Jerry Manuel put the ball in the hands of recent call-up Jon Switzer, who was making his team debut facing Hideki Matsui.
The moved proved fatal as Matsui crushed Switzer’s 2-0 pitch into the second deck in right to give the Yankees a 7-6 lead. For Matsui, it was the second year in a row that he had homered on his birthday. Last year, while playing in a game at Oakland, Matsui gave himself (and the team) a birthday present by hitting a grand slam.
Reliever David Robertson gave up the tying run in the seventh after yielding a leadoff double to Sheffield followed by a single to Daniel Murphy. Fernando Tatis would score Sheffield on a double play.
Phil Coke would start the eighth inning and retired the first two men he faced. With no men on base, Girardi came to the mound to lift him in exchange for Mariano Rivera. The moved brought bewilderment from the moment “Enter Sandman” began playing at Yankee Stadium.
Rivera came in to deal with Beltran, whom he walked on a 3-2 pitch inside. His 2-2 cutter to Wright grabbed too much of the plate as the Mets third baseman laced a double to the gap in right center, scoring Beltran and giving the Mets an 8-7 lead that they would hold until the bottom of the ninth.
K-Rod entered the game not having blown a save all year. The Mets were three outs away, short handed, from pulling out perhaps their biggest win of the year.
Brett Gardner flied out weakly to center for the first out. Jeter grounded a single up the middle and took second when Damon struck out.
Needing one more out, the Mets elected to walk the hot hitting Teixeira with first base open and put the game in the hands of the Yankees Rodriguez. K-Rod quickly fell behind 3-0 before getting a strike over. His 3-1 was in the middle of the plate, but Rodriguez was unable to get a good swing on it and popped it up to Castillo who had a play on it.
As the ball descended, he did not look to have his feet completely set and without using two hands to secure the ball improbably, the ball popped out of his glove to the ground. Rodriguez scored and with Teixeira hustling all the way from first off the bat, was able to score ahead of Alex Cora’s throw, who was feed the ball by Castillo out of panic.
Castillo stood frozen on the field. K-Rod had his hands on top of his head in disbelief. Manuel watched in stone silence.
The Yankees jumped around like children at holiday season. It was a gift they never expected.
BRONX, NY – You go to a baseball game and sometimes you may see something you have never seen before.
The Subway Series has seen it share of oddities over the last 1 years, but what happened last night will rank among the most memorable moments in its history.
It all appeared to set up for a Mets victory and a four game Yankees losing streak. Instead, initial long faces turned into big smiles and a 9-8 highway robbery.
Closer Francisco Rodriguez had made the pitch he wanted on a 3-1 to Alex Rodriguez and was able to induce a popup behind second base as Luis Castillo went out into the outfield grass in shallow right. The ending result was one of the worst losses in Mets history and one of the Yankees most improbable. As the ball descended, he did not look to have his feet completely set and improbably the ball popped out of his glove allowing the tying and winning runs to score.
For the Yankees, the gift of a win marred a game littered by a putrid start by Joba Chamberlain, recurring middle relief troubles and curious managerial moves by Joe Girardi.
Chamberlain once again show inconsistency in both his ability to throw strikes, have consistent velocity and was out of sync with catcher Jorge Posada.
After two scoreless innings, Chamberlain ran into problems in a 43 pitch third frame. The Yankees were leading 1-0 after Robinson Cano homered to right off Mets starter Livan Hernandez. Catcher Brian Schneider walked to lead off was out on Luis Castillo’s fielder’s choice. A walk to Alex Cora followed, and a hit by pitch to rookie Fernando Martinez loaded the bases.
Carlos Beltran worked a 10-pitch at bat for a walk for the games first run as Posada and Chamberlain on three separate occasions met on the mound to discuss pitch selection as the right-hander was clearly laboring.
Wright struck out on a wicked slider, but he would hit Ryan Church to bring home yet another run. In the inning, he allowed two runs without giving up a hit, yet walked three and hit two batters. Though he hurled a scoreless fourth after Mark Teixeira hit his 20th home run to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the third, his night would end early after 100 pitches.
The underbelly of the bullpen for the third time in four games would have to log major innings. Enter Brett Tomko, who clearly had nothing as he gave up a double to Beltran and walked Wright to start the fifth. Church would double into the right field corner scoring both runners to give the Mets the lead back 4-3. Gary Sheffield then turned back time to his days as a Yankee by crushing Tomko’s inside baseball deep into the left field seats to extend the lead to three runs
Derek Jeter got one of the runs back with a home run to the short porch in right in the bottom half, and retook the lead in the sixth. After Hernandez retired Alex Rodriguez to start, Cano reached on an infield hit and Posada walked. This ended Hernandez’s night as Mets Manager Jerry Manuel put the ball in the hands of recent call-up Jon Switzer, who was making his team debut facing Hideki Matsui.
The moved proved fatal as Matsui crushed Switzer’s 2-0 pitch into the second deck in right to give the Yankees a 7-6 lead. For Matsui, it was the second year in a row that he had homered on his birthday. Last year, while playing in a game at Oakland, Matsui gave himself (and the team) a birthday present by hitting a grand slam.
Reliever David Robertson gave up the tying run in the seventh after yielding a leadoff double to Sheffield followed by a single to Daniel Murphy. Fernando Tatis would score Sheffield on a double play.
Phil Coke would start the eighth inning and retired the first two men he faced. With no men on base, Girardi came to the mound to lift him in exchange for Mariano Rivera. The moved brought bewilderment from the moment “Enter Sandman” began playing at Yankee Stadium.
Rivera came in to deal with Beltran, whom he walked on a 3-2 pitch inside. His 2-2 cutter to Wright grabbed too much of the plate as the Mets third baseman laced a double to the gap in right center, scoring Beltran and giving the Mets an 8-7 lead that they would hold until the bottom of the ninth.
K-Rod entered the game not having blown a save all year. The Mets were three outs away, short handed, from pulling out perhaps their biggest win of the year.
Brett Gardner flied out weakly to center for the first out. Jeter grounded a single up the middle and took second when Damon struck out.
Needing one more out, the Mets elected to walk the hot hitting Teixeira with first base open and put the game in the hands of the Yankees Rodriguez. K-Rod quickly fell behind 3-0 before getting a strike over. His 3-1 was in the middle of the plate, but Rodriguez was unable to get a good swing on it and popped it up to Castillo who had a play on it.
As the ball descended, he did not look to have his feet completely set and without using two hands to secure the ball improbably, the ball popped out of his glove to the ground. Rodriguez scored and with Teixeira hustling all the way from first off the bat, was able to score ahead of Alex Cora’s throw, who was feed the ball by Castillo out of panic.
Castillo stood frozen on the field. K-Rod had his hands on top of his head in disbelief. Manuel watched in stone silence.
The Yankees jumped around like children at holiday season. It was a gift they never expected.
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