GAME THREAD: AL: NY YANKEES (80-62) at KANSAS CITY (62-79)

AL: NY YANKEES at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 6 9 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 2 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: NYY - CHIEN-MING WANG, KYLE FARNSWORTH (8TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH)
AND JORGE POSADA

KAN - ZACK GREINKE, BRANDON DUCKWORTH (4TH), JOHN BALE
(5TH), JOAKIM SORIA (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK

HOME RUNS: NYY - ALEX RODRIGUEZ (52) OFF ZACK GREINKE IN THE 1ST, 1 ON

KAN - NONE</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 6 9 0
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 2 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: NYY - CHIEN-MING WANG, KYLE FARNSWORTH (8TH), MARIANO RIVERA (9TH)
AND JORGE POSADA

KAN - ZACK GREINKE, BRANDON DUCKWORTH (4TH), JOHN BALE
(5TH), JOAKIM SORIA (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK


WP - CHIEN-MING WANG (18-6)
LP - BRANDON DUCKWORTH (2-5)
SAVE - MARIANO RIVERA (25)

HOME RUNS: NYY - ALEX RODRIGUEZ (52) OFF ZACK GREINKE IN THE 1ST, 1 ON

KAN - NONE


TIME: 2:50 ATT: 24,910

PROBABLES: MIN - BOOF BONSER (6-12, 4.95)
KAN - BILLY BUCKNER (0-0, 5.40)

PROBABLES: NYY - PHILIP HUGHES (2-3, 5.33)
TOR - SHAUN MARCUM (12-5, 3.74)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (6) VS KANSAS CITY (3) - FINAL

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 .258
M Cabrera cf 4 0 0 0 1 2 2 .294
B Abreu rf 4 1 0 0 1 2 1 .287
A Rodriguez 3b 5 2 2 2 0 3 2 .318
H Matsui dh 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .292
J Posada c 3 1 2 2 1 0 0 .336
J Giambi 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .243
D Mientkiewicz 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .228
R Cano 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .302
W Betemit ss 4 0 1 1 0 2 1 .226
A Gonzalez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 35 6 9 6 4 11 11

BATTING: 2B - W Betemit (2, Z Greinke); J Posada (37, J Bale). HR - A Rodriguez
(52, 1st inning off Z Greinke 1 on, 2 Out). S - D Mientkiewicz. RBI - A
Rodriguez 2 (140), W Betemit (20), J Posada 2 (84), R Cano (80). 2-out RBI - A
Rodriguez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Giambi 2, A Rodriguez
1, R Cano 1. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - B Abreu (23, 2nd base off Z Greinke/J Buck).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (R Cano-J Giambi).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .317
D DeJesus cf 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .265
R Gload 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .299
B Butler dh 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .299
M Teahen rf 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .285
A Gordon 3b 4 0 1 3 0 1 0 .252
J Smith 2b-ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .200
J Buck c 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .232
T Pena Jr ss 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .256
a-S Costa ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .228
E German 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .268

Totals 31 3 6 3 4 7 9

a-walked for T Pena Jr in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - A Gordon (31, C Wang). RBI - A Gordon 3 (57). 2-out RBI - A
Gordon 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Smith 1, J Buck 1, J
Gathright 1. GIDP - R Gload. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: CS - J Gathright (6, 2nd base by C Wang/J Posada).

FIELDING: E - M Teahen (5, bobble); J Gathright (3, catch).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 210 020 010 -- 6
KANSAS CITY - 000 300 000 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
C Wang (W, 18-6) 7 5 3 3 4 4 0 3.69
K Farnsworth (H, 14) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.25
M Rivera (S, 25) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.02

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
Z Greinke 3 2/3 6 3 3 2 1 1 3.99
B Duckworth (L, 2-5) 2/3 1 2 2 1 0 0 4.19
J Bale 3 2/3 2 1 1 1 7 0 4.13
J Soria 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.52

Pitches-strikes: C Wang 90-52; K Farnsworth 11-8; M Rivera 13-9; Z Greinke
90-51; B Duckworth 16-7; J Bale 46-34; J Soria 12-9. Ground balls-fly balls: C
Wang 11-5; K Farnsworth 1-0; M Rivera 2-0; Z Greinke 4-6; B Duckworth 1-1; J
Bale 2-2; J Soria 0-0. Batters faced: C Wang 28; K Farnsworth 3; M Rivera 4; Z
Greinke 19; B Duckworth 4; J Bale 14; J Soria 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Fieldin Culbreth. 1B--Tim Mcclelland. 2B--Marty Foster. 3B--Paul
Schrieber.

T--2:50. Att--24,910.
Weather: 69 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, left
to right.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
NY YANKEES 6
KANSAS CITY 3 FINAL</div>

 

Rodriguez homers in fifth straight game; Wang wins 18th

<h3>NY YANKEES 6, KANSAS CITY 3</h3>By Marc Bowman
Special to PA SportsTicker


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez homered for thefifth straight game and Chien-Ming Wang joined Josh Beckett asthe first to win 18 games in the majors this season, as New YorkYankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees (81-62) won their fifth straight game to expandtheir lead in the American League wild card race to four gamesover the Detroit Tigers (77-66), who lost, 14-7, to the SeattleMariners.


Rodriguez's five-game homer streak matches his career best andNew York has won each of the last seven games in which he hashit a home run.


With two out in the first, Rodriguez gave the Yankees a 2-0 leadwith a blast into the left field bullpen off Zack Greinke.Rodriguez's 52nd home run of the season tied Mickey Mantle forthird-most in a season for New York.


Wang (18-6) allowed five hits and three runs over seven innings,walking four and striking out four. Just minutes earlier,Beckett got the win in Boston's 3-2 win over Baltimore.

It was Wang's fourth win in six career starts against KansasCity. Wang is 15-1 in 21 career starts against the AL Central.

Wilson Betemit extended the Yankees lead to 3-0 with an RBIdouble in the second inning.


The Royals tied the game with one swing in the fourth as AlexGordon hit a two-out double to clear the bases.


New York quickly responded as Jorge Posada doubled off the rightfield wall in the fifth to score Rodriguez and Hideki Matsuiand recapture the lead, 5-3.


Robinson Cano's one-out single in the eighth drove in Posada tocap the scoring.


Kyle Farnsworth pitched a perfect eighth before Mariano Riveraclosed out the Royals for his 25th save.


Five of the first nine Yankees batters hit safely againstGreinke. The righthander went 3 2/3 innings, allowing six hitsand three runs while walking two and striking out one.

Brandon Duckworth (2-5) was the first of three Royals relieverswho combined for 5 1/3 innings, limiting the Yankees to threehits.

 

AL: NY YANKEES at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (6) AT KANSAS CITY (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon grounded out to first. M Cabrera walked. B Abreu

grounded into fielder's choice to first, M Cabrera out at second. B Abreu
stole second. A Rodriguez homered to left, B Abreu scored. H Matsui singled
to right. J Posada singled to right, H Matsui to second, H Matsui to third,
J Posada to second on error by right fielder M Teahen. J Giambi flied out to

center. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 2, KANSAS CITY 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: R Cano singled to right center. W Betemit doubled to
right, R Cano scored. J Damon flied out to center, W Betemit to third.
M Cabrera grounded out to first. B Abreu walked. A Rodriguez struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: J Gathright singled to left. D DeJesus grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, J Gathright out at second. R Gload singled to
right center, D DeJesus to third. B Butler struck out swinging. M Teahen
walked, R Gload to second. A Gordon doubled to right, D DeJesus, R Gload and
M Teahen scored. J Smith struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 3.

NY YANKEES 5TH: B Abreu grounded out to first. A Rodriguez singled to
center, A Rodriguez to second on error by left fielder J Gathright. H Matsui
walked. J Bale relieved B Duckworth. J Posada doubled to deep right,
A Rodriguez and H Matsui scored. J Giambi struck out swinging. R Cano
lined out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 5, KANSAS CITY 3.

NY YANKEES 8TH: J Smith at shortstop. E German at second base. J Posada
walked. D Mientkiewicz sacrificed to third, J Posada to second. R Cano
singled to center, J Posada scored. W Betemit struck out swinging. J Damon
grounded out to catcher. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, KANSAS CITY 3.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NY YANKEES (6) AT KANSAS CITY (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- J Gathright LF, D DeJesus CF, R Gload 1B,
B Butler DH, M Teahen RF, A Gordon 3B, J Smith 2B, J Buck C, T Pena Jr SS,
Z Greinke RHP.

Umpires -- Fieldin Culbreth (HP), Tim Mcclelland (1B), Marty Foster (2B),
Paul Schrieber (3B).

Gametime Weather: 69 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind left to right at 11 mph.


NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon grounded out to first. M Cabrera walked. B Abreu

grounded into fielder's choice to first, M Cabrera out at second. B Abreu
stole second. A Rodriguez homered to left, B Abreu scored. H Matsui singled
to right. J Posada singled to right, H Matsui to second, H Matsui to third,
J Posada to second on error by right fielder M Teahen. J Giambi flied out to

center. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 2, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: J Gathright reached on bunt single to first. J Gathright
caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. D DeJesus grounded out to first.
R Gload lined out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 2, KANSAS CITY 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: R Cano singled to right center. W Betemit doubled to
right, R Cano scored. J Damon flied out to center, W Betemit to third.
M Cabrera grounded out to first. B Abreu walked. A Rodriguez struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: B Butler flied out to right. M Teahen grounded out
to second. A Gordon grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

NY YANKEES 3RD: H Matsui popped out to second. J Posada flied out to
center. J Giambi grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: J Smith grounded out to pitcher. J Buck grounded out
to shortstop. T Pena Jr bunt popped out foul to catcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

NY YANKEES 4TH: R Cano flied out to left. W Betemit flied out to right.
J Damon singled to left. B Duckworth relieved Z Greinke. M Cabrera lined out
to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: J Gathright singled to left. D DeJesus grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, J Gathright out at second. R Gload singled
to right center, D DeJesus to third. B Butler struck out swinging. M Teahen
walked, R Gload to second. A Gordon doubled to right, D DeJesus, R Gload and
M Teahen scored. J Smith struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 3, KANSAS CITY 3.

NY YANKEES 5TH: B Abreu grounded out to first. A Rodriguez singled to
center, A Rodriguez to second on error by left fielder J Gathright. H Matsui
walked. J Bale relieved B Duckworth. J Posada doubled to deep right,
A Rodriguez and H Matsui scored. J Giambi struck out swinging. R Cano lined
out to first. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) NY YANKEES 5, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: J Buck struck out looking. T Pena Jr struck out swinging.
J Gathright grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 5,
KANSAS CITY 3.

NY YANKEES 6TH: W Betemit struck out swinging. J Damon flied out to left.
M Cabrera struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 5,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: D DeJesus walked. R Gload grounded into double play,
second to first, D DeJesus out at second. B Butler walked. M Teahen flied
out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 5, KANSAS CITY 3.

NY YANKEES 7TH: B Abreu struck out swinging. A Rodriguez struck out
swinging. H Matsui struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 5, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: D Mientkiewicz at first base. A Gordon grounded out to
third. J Smith flied out to left. J Buck singled to center. S Costa hit
for T Pena Jr. S Costa walked, J Buck to second. J Gathright grounded into
fielder's choice to second, S Costa out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
NY YANKEES 5, KANSAS CITY 3.

NY YANKEES 8TH: J Smith at shortstop. E German at second base. J Posada
walked. D Mientkiewicz sacrificed to third, J Posada to second. R Cano
singled to center, J Posada scored. W Betemit struck out swinging. J Damon
grounded out to catcher. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: A Gonzalez at shortstop. K Farnsworth relieved C Wang.
D DeJesus grounded out to third. R Gload struck out looking. B Butler
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, KANSAS CITY 3.

NY YANKEES 9TH: J Soria relieved J Bale. M Cabrera struck out swinging.
B Abreu struck out swinging. A Rodriguez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: M Rivera relieved K Farnsworth. M Teahen grounded out to
second. A Gordon struck out swinging. J Smith singled to right. J Smith to
second on fielder's indifference. J Buck grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) NY YANKEES 6, KANSAS CITY 3.</div>

 

Rodriguez homers in fifth straight game; Wang wins 18th

<h3>NY YANKEES 6, KANSAS CITY 3</h3>By Marc Bowman
Special to PA SportsTicker


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez homered for thefifth straight game and Chien-Ming Wang joined Josh Beckett asthe first to win 18 games in the majors this season, as New YorkYankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees (81-62) won their fifth straight game to expandtheir lead in the American League wild card race to four gamesover the Detroit Tigers (77-66), who lost, 14-7, to the SeattleMariners.


Rodriguez's five-game homer streak matches his career best andNew York has won each of the last seven games in which he hashit a home run.


"He's having a good time, and he's really in a zone," Yankeesmanager Joe Torre said. "He seems to be having fun. We hope wecan keep him right where he is and keep him in that situation."

"He's a machine," first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said."Baseball's in his mind 24 by 7. He keeps his focus every day,day in and day out. That's what makes him so great. He may bethe best player in the history of the game.


"He always challenges himself to get better. He just wants tobe the best player ever. The game's not that easy and he'smaking it look ridiculous. That's not normal."


With two out in the first, Rodriguez gave New York a 2-0 leadwith a blast into the left field bullpen off Zack Greinke.

"If it wasn't on the corner, it was an inch over the plate,"Greinke said of the pitch to Rodriguez. "It was a good pitch,to a normal person, but to him it was probably too good. Iwasn't trying to throw a strike and it was a strike. He's hotright now. He's the best player and he's hot, so this is whathappens."


Rodriguez's 52nd home run of the season tied Mickey Mantle forthird-most in a season for the Yankees.


"It's been a magical season," Rodriguez said. "And I'm enjoyingit. The protection I'm getting behind me is the reason I'mgetting a chance to hit. I just want to finish strong."

"I used to marvel at what Bernie Williams was doing, passing allthose players on the career lists," Torre said. "But what Alexhas done in such a short period is amazing."


Wang (18-6) allowed five hits and three runs over seven innings,walking four and striking out four. Just minutes earlier,Beckett got the win in Boston's 3-2 win over Baltimore.

"I don't think too much about my wins," Wang said. "If I win itmeans the team wins."


"Anytime you pitch with the urgency to win that he has shownit's pretty impressive," Torre said. "He's quickly becomesomebody you count on."


It was Wang's fourth win in six career starts against theRoyals. Wang is 15-1 in 21 career starts against the ALCentral.


"He's our horse. He's our number one," catcher Jorge Posadasaid. "He can get away with stuff. He can get away with nothaving a changeup or a sinker because he can throw the sliderfor strikes and he can expand the strike zone with his fastball.

"He's proven a lot and he get better and better each time out.He's low key, so he probably doesn't get enough credit. Hedeserves all the credit in the world."


Wilson Betemit extended New York's lead to 3-0 with an RBIdouble in the second inning.


Kansas City tied the game with one swing in the fourth as AlexGordon hit a two-out double to clear the bases.


"The killer in that inning was walking (Mark) Teahen after wegot ahead (in the count) 1-2," Torre said. "And then we gotbehind Gordon. (Wang) was a little bit Jekkyl and Hyde today.It look like he just lost his zone a bit here and there. Itlooked like he had trouble locating and part of that is he hasso much movement the ball was moving out of the zone."

"He left a ball up to (Ross) Gload, and then we wanted to get asinker away to Gordon, but he left it over the plate," Posadasaid. "He might have been a little too strong. He wanted to goreally fast and had some problems early. It took time toadjust."


The Yankees quickly responded as Posada doubled off the rightfield wall in the fifth to score Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui andrecapture the lead, 5-3.


"When we got some guys on base I just wanted to stay in themiddle of the field and I got a good pitch to hit," Posada said."I'm really enjoying everything and I hope it continues."

"Even when we came back and tied the score, they were stillpretty much in control," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "Whenwe tied the score we felt pretty good, but they are just on fireright now."


Robinson Cano's one-out single in the eighth drove in Posada tocap the scoring.


"We know Cano has the ability," Torre said. "He's got greathands and the pressure of the game doesn't bother him.Sometimes it's so easy for him that he doesn't pay enoughattention. It's been (third base coach Larry) Bowa coming onboard that has helped him so much."


Kyle Farnsworth pitched a perfect eighth before Mariano Riveraclosed out Kansas City for his 25th save.


Five of the first nine New York batters hit safely againstGreinke. The righthander went 3 2/3 innings, allowing six hitsand three runs while walking two and striking out one.

"(This start) wasn't as good as the others," Bell said. "Hiscommand wasn't as good. His stuff was good. At times he wasout of the strike zone, maybe he was giving the hitters too muchcredit."


Brandon Duckworth (2-5) was the first of three Royals relieverswho combined for 5 1/3 innings, limiting the Yankees to threehits.