GAME THREAD: AL: DETROIT (67-56) at NY YANKEES (69-54)

Damon powers Yankees past Tigers

<h3>NY YANKEES 9, DETROIT 3</h3>BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- No longer a lock to be penciledinto the leadoff spot on a regular basis, Johnny Damon still isan important piece for the New York Yankees.


Damon hit a go-ahead solo home run with one out in the bottom ofthe sixth inning and the Yankees closed out their four-gameseries against the Detroit Tigers with a 9-3 victory on Sundayafternoon.


After belting 24 home runs in his first season as the Yankees'leadoff hitter, Damon is part of rotation of players that seestime action as reserves and as starters. Injuries, which haveled to a low batting average combined the emergence of MelkyCabrera as a solid starting center fielder have led to Damon'sdecline in playing time.


The low point for Damon was an 0-for-20 skid. Since snapping iton July 20, the 33-year-old outfielder is hitting .368(32-for-87) with two home runs, 17 RBI and 23 runs scored.

Damon deposited a 1-1 pitch from Jeremy Bonderman into the rightfield upper deck in the sixth, snapping a 3-3 tie.

Damon's seventh home run came after Andy Phillips hit a longfly ball to the warning track in center field. It also cameafter the Yankees tied it in the sixth on Hideki Matsui's secondsacrifice fly and third RBI of the contest.


The blast made a winner out of Chien-Ming Wang (14-6), who likeRoger Clemens on Saturday worked in and out of trouble throughsix innings. Coming off two awful outings, Wang allowed threeand nine hits while also throwing two wild pitches.

One of those wild pitches allowed former Yankee Gary Sheffieldto give Detroit a short-lived 3-2 lead. Sheffield drew atwo-out walk, took second on Magglio Ordonez's RBI single andthe two sluggers executed a double steal.


Wang came out and warmed up for the seventh but manager JoeTorre replaced him with Joba Chamberlain, who worked the ninthin Friday's 6-1 win. Chamberlain tossed a nine-pitch inning ashe struck out Ordonez and Carlos Guillen.


After Chamberlain's fifth appearance, the Yankees added a pairin the bottom of the frame off Zach Miner. Wilson Betemit, whospelled Derek Jeter at shortstop lined an RBI single andPhillips added another run-scoring hit.


New York (70-54), which took three of four games from Detroit,moved within 4 1/2 games of first place Boston in the AmericanLeague East.


The Yankees handed their three-run lead to rookie Edwar Ramirez,who struck out the side on just 14 pitches and also finished upNew York's 12th win in 15 games.


Mariano Rivera warmed up but was not needed after Betemit had athree-run double in the eighth off Aquillino Lopez.

Bonderman (10-6) fell to 0-5 in his last six starts as heallowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.


Backup catcher Mike Rabello tied a career high with three hitsfor Detroit. One of those hits was an RBI double in the fourth,which opened the scoring for the Tigers.

 

AL: DETROIT at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DETROIT (3) AT NY YANKEES (9) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Detroit Starting Lineups -- C Granderson CF, S Casey 1B, G Sheffield DH,
M Ordonez RF, C Guillen SS, R Raburn 2B, M Rabelo C, B Inge 3B, C Maybin LF,
J Bonderman RHP.

Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon LF, M Cabrera CF, B Abreu RF,
A Rodriguez 3B, H Matsui DH, J Posada C, R Cano 2B, W Betemit SS, A Phillips 1B,
C Wang RHP.

Umpires -- Jerry Layne (HP), Marvin Hudson (1B), Chris Guccione (2B),
Jeff Kellogg (3B).

Gametime Weather: 74 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to left at 4 mph.


DETROIT 1ST: C Granderson struck out swinging. S Casey lined out to right.
G Sheffield popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon singled to center. M Cabrera grounded out to
first, J Damon to second. B Abreu walked. A Rodriguez walked, J Damon to
third, B Abreu to second. H Matsui hit sacrifice fly to center, J Damon
scored. J Posada struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 2ND: M Ordonez lined out to right. C Guillen grounded out to
second. R Raburn singled to left. M Rabelo reached on infield single to
shortstop, R Raburn to second. B Inge struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 2ND: R Cano grounded out to first. W Betemit struck out
swinging. A Phillips walked. J Damon walked, A Phillips to second.
M Cabrera flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0,
NY YANKEES 1.

DETROIT 3RD: C Maybin struck out swinging. C Granderson struck out
looking. S Casey singled to right. G Sheffield flied out to center.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 3RD: B Abreu singled to right. B Abreu stole second.
A Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop, B Abreu to third. H Matsui singled
to right, B Abreu scored. J Posada flied out to left. R Cano popped out
to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 0, NY YANKEES 2.

DETROIT 4TH: M Ordonez grounded out to second. C Guillen hit a ground rule
double to left. R Raburn singled to right, C Guillen to third. M Rabelo
doubled to center, C Guillen scored, R Raburn to third. B Inge struck out
swinging. C Maybin grounded out to second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
DETROIT 1, NY YANKEES 2.

NY YANKEES 4TH: W Betemit struck out swinging. A Phillips singled to left.
J Damon grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, A Phillips out at second.
M Cabrera struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 1,
NY YANKEES 2.

DETROIT 5TH: C Granderson singled to center. S Casey grounded out to
first, C Granderson to second. C Granderson to third on balk by C Wang.
G Sheffield walked. M Ordonez singled to left, C Granderson scored,
G Sheffield to second. G Sheffield stole third, M Ordonez stole second.
G Sheffield scored, M Ordonez to third on wild pitch by C Wang. C Guillen
struck out swinging. R Raburn bunt grounded out to pitcher. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 3, NY YANKEES 2.

NY YANKEES 5TH: B Abreu singled to center. A Rodriguez grounded into
fielder's choice to third, B Abreu to second, B Abreu to third, A Rodriguez
safe at second on error by third baseman B Inge. H Matsui hit sacrifice fly
to left, B Abreu scored. J Posada flied out to right. R Cano intentionally
walked. W Betemit lined out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) DETROIT 3,
NY YANKEES 3.

DETROIT 6TH: M Rabelo singled to right. B Inge popped out to shortstop.
C Maybin grounded into fielder's choice to second, M Rabelo out at second.
C Granderson walked, C Maybin to second. C Maybin to third, C Granderson
to second on wild pitch by C Wang. S Casey grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, NY YANKEES 3.

NY YANKEES 6TH: A Phillips flied out to center. J Damon homered to right.
M Cabrera singled to center. B Abreu struck out swinging. M Cabrera caught
stealing second, catcher to shortstop.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3,
NY YANKEES 4.

DETROIT 7TH: J Chamberlain relieved C Wang. G Sheffield popped out to
shortstop. M Ordonez struck out swinging. C Guillen struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, NY YANKEES 4.

NY YANKEES 7TH: Z Miner relieved J Bonderman. A Rodriguez walked. H Matsui
struck out swinging. A Rodriguez stole second. J Posada flied out to center.
R Cano intentionally walked. W Betemit singled to left, A Rodriguez scored,
R Cano to second. A Phillips singled to center, R Cano scored, W Betemit to
second. J Damon reached on infield single to third, W Betemit to third,
A Phillips to second. M Cabrera grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 3, NY YANKEES 6.

DETROIT 8TH: E Ramirez relieved J Chamberlain. R Raburn struck out
swinging. M Rabelo struck out swinging. B Inge struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3, NY YANKEES 6.

NY YANKEES 8TH: A Lopez relieved Z Miner. B Abreu grounded out to first.
A Rodriguez reached on infield single to third. H Matsui flied out to right.
J Posada walked, A Rodriguez to second. R Cano singled to right, A Rodriguez
to third, J Posada to second. W Betemit doubled to deep center, A Rodriguez,
J Posada and R Cano scored. A Phillips grounded out to third. (3 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) DETROIT 3, NY YANKEES 9.

DETROIT 9TH: C Maybin flied out to center. C Granderson fouled out to
catcher. S Casey flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) DETROIT 3,
NY YANKEES 9.</div>

 

Damon powers Yankees past Tigers

<h3>NY YANKEES 9, DETROIT 3</h3>BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- No longer a lock to be penciledinto the leadoff spot on a regular basis, Johnny Damon still isan important piece for the New York Yankees.


Damon hit a go-ahead solo home run with one out in the bottom ofthe sixth inning and the Yankees closed out their four-gameseries against the Detroit Tigers with a 9-3 victory on Sundayafternoon.


After belting 24 home runs in his first season as the Yankees'leadoff hitter, Damon is part of rotation of players that seestime action as reserves and as starters. Injuries, which haveled to a low batting average, combined with the emergence ofMelky Cabrera as a solid starting center fielder have led toDamon's decline in playing time.


The low point for Damon was an 0-for-20 skid. Since snapping iton July 20, the 33-year-old outfielder is hitting .368(32-for-87) with two home runs, 17 RBI and 23 runs scored.

Damon deposited a 1-1 pitch from Jeremy Bonderman into the rightfield upper deck in the sixth, snapping a 3-3 tie.

Damon's seventh home run came after Andy Phillips hit a long flyball to the warning track in center field. It also came afterthe Yankees tied it in the sixth on Hideki Matsui's secondsacrifice fly and third RBI of the contest.


The blast made a winner out of Chien-Ming Wang (14-6), who likeRoger Clemens on Saturday worked in and out of trouble throughsix innings. Coming off two awful outings, Wang allowed threeand nine hits while also throwing two wild pitches.

One of those wild pitches allowed former Yankee Gary Sheffieldto give Detroit a short-lived 3-2 lead. Sheffield drew atwo-out walk, took second on Magglio Ordonez's RBI single andthe two sluggers executed a double steal.


Wang came out and warmed up for the seventh but manager JoeTorre replaced him with Joba Chamberlain, who worked the ninthin Friday's 6-1 win. Chamberlain tossed a nine-pitch inning ashe struck out Ordonez and Carlos Guillen.


After Chamberlain's fifth appearance, the Yankees added a pairin the bottom of the frame off Zach Miner. Wilson Betemit, whospelled Derek Jeter at shortstop lined an RBI single andPhillips added another run-scoring hit.


New York (70-54), which took three of four games from Detroit,moved within 4 1/2 games of first place Boston in the AmericanLeague East.


The Yankees handed their three-run lead to rookie Edwar Ramirez,who struck out the side on just 14 pitches and also finished upNew York's 12th win in 15 games.


Mariano Rivera warmed up but was not needed after Betemit had athree-run double in the eighth off Aquillino Lopez.

Bonderman (10-6) fell to 0-5 in his last six starts as heallowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.


Backup catcher Mike Rabello tied a career high with three hitsfor Detroit. One of those hits was an RBI double in the fourth,which opened the scoring for the Tigers.

 

Re: AL: DETROIT (67-56) at NY YANKEES (69-54)

Great Job by the BP, ay SportsTicker?

 

Damon powers Yankees past Tigers

<h3>NY YANKEES 9, DETROIT 3</h3>By Larry Fleisher
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- No longer a lock to be penciledinto the leadoff spot on a regular basis, Johnny Damon still isan important piece for the New York Yankees.


Damon hit a go-ahead solo home run with one out in the bottom ofthe sixth inning and the Yankees closed out their four-gameseries against the Detroit Tigers with a 9-3 victory on Sundayafternoon.


After belting 24 home runs in his first season as the Yankees'leadoff hitter, Damon is part of rotation of players that seestime action as reserves and as starters. Injuries, which haveled to a low batting average, combined with the emergence ofMelky Cabrera as a solid starting center fielder have led toDamon's decline in playing time.


"Johnny Damon's been great," Yankees manager Joe Torre said."He's been all over this thing, understanding this situation,not playing centerfield on a regular basis and he'll play from<div class="pre">time to time, playing left field for us, not playing some days.</div>

"You can't do what we've been doing without the cooperation ofthe players and having them understand what we're trying toaccomplish and somebody has to make decisions. I appreciate therespect they're showing me and my staff by doing it."

The low point for Damon was an 0-for-20 skid. Since snapping iton July 20, the 33-year-old outfielder is hitting .368(32-for-87) with two home runs, 17 RBI and 23 runs scored.

Damon deposited a 1-1 pitch from Jeremy Bonderman into the rightfield upper deck in the sixth, snapping a 3-3 tie.

"It means a lot," Damon said. "Obviously I want to be in thereas much as possible and get in some at-bats, so I can find mygroove a bit more. But it was a big moment for us. But Iexpect that of myself and I expect to have more of those kind ofhits as the season winds down."


Damon's seventh home run came after Andy Phillips hit a long flyball to the warning track in center field. It also came afterthe Yankees tied it in the sixth on Hideki Matsui's secondsacrifice fly and third RBI of the contest.


The blast made a winner out of Chien-Ming Wang (14-6), who likeRoger Clemens on Saturday worked in and out of trouble throughsix innings. Coming off two awful outings, Wang allowed threeand nine hits while also throwing two wild pitches.

"(I had) more control," Wang said. "I threw more strikes."

One of those wild pitches allowed former Yankee Gary Sheffieldto give Detroit a short-lived 3-2 lead. Sheffield drew atwo-out walk, took second on Magglio Ordonez's RBI single andthe two sluggers executed a double steal.


Ordonez was stranded at third when Wang struck out CarlosGuillen and retired Ryan Raburn on a groundout. After theYankees tied it, Detroit had rookie Cameron Mayin at third andCurtis Granderson at second with two outs but Casey, who gotahead on a 3-0 count grounded out to second and the Tigers didnot have another baserunner.


"We had opportunities," Ordonez said. "We didn't takeadvantage. We didn't come through when we had the chance. Youdon't score runs, you don't win. It's that simple."

Wang came out and warmed up for the seventh but manager Torrereplaced him with Joba Chamberlain, who worked the ninth inFriday's 6-1 win. Chamberlain tossed a nine-pitch inning as hestruck out Ordonez and Guillen.


After Chamberlain's fifth appearance, the Yankees added a pairin the bottom of the frame off Zach Miner. Wilson Betemit, whospelled Derek Jeter at shortstop lined an RBI single andPhillips added another run-scoring hit.


"We were able to sit Derek today and the guy who takes his placehas four RBI," Damon said. "So that was pretty cool."

New York (70-54), which took three of four games from Detroit,moved within 4 1/2 games of first place Boston in the AmericanLeague East.


The Yankees handed their three-run lead to rookie Edwar Ramirez,who struck out the side on just 14 pitches and also finished upNew York's 12th win in 15 games. Since Ramirez entered with athree-run lead, he was credited with his first career save.

Mariano Rivera warmed up but was not needed after Betemit had athree-run double in the eighth off Aquilino Lopez.

Bonderman (10-6) fell to 0-5 in his last six starts as heallowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.


"He had trouble controling his sinker," Detroit manager JimLeyland said. "His control wasn't good."


Backup catcher Mike Rabello tied a career high with three hitsfor Detroit. One of those hits was an RBI double in the fourth,which opened the scoring for the Tigers.


Detroit has lost eight of its last 12 games and is 15-23 sincethe All-Star break. After opening the series with an 8-5victory, the Tigers scored six runs the rest of the weekend butwill head into its three-game series with Cleveland two gamesout of first place in the AL Central.


"We're getting some chances and not taking advantage of it,"Leyland said. "We're getting some opportunities. We're justnot taking advantage of them."