分類: 運動追蹤

Chien-Ming Wang has picked up four wins in his last five decisions for New York.

NEW YORK — When Yankees pitching coach Ron Guidry told starter Chien Ming-Wang that he was done after seven innings, the soft-spoken Wang protested a bit.
He said he’d thrown only 85 pitches. That meant he had 15 more left.

Manager Joe Torre laughed about his second-year starter’s resolve after the game. Just five days removed from being shocked by a walk-off homer in the ninth inning against Ryan Zimmerman and the Nationals on Sunday, Wang still wanted the ball down the stretch. Even more impressively, he pitched like the last game never happened, leading the Yankees to a 6-5 victory on Friday night.

And it’s that steadiness that has made the 26-year-old one of the Yankees’ most dependable arms in the rotation.

“You don’t like to do this, but you get to the point where you count on him,” Torre said. “You don’t like to put that on any kid with the limited experience he has. But the way he’s pitched, you just feel that way.”

Wang wasn’t stellar throughout the night — he allowed nine hits and four runs in his seven innings — but he was certainly good enough to pick up his fourth win in his past five decisions and eighth victory overall.

Torre shuffled the rotation to move Wang up a bit to try to give his overworked bullpen some rest. Coming into the game, Wang had pitched at least seven innings in each of his previous three starts. But there could have been some concern that Wang would have some ill effects hanging over from his last start.

That’s when Wang allowed the crushing two-run walk-off homer to Zimmerman in the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees up one run. He was on his way to a career day but left in ruins.

“He works extremely hard and not much fazes him,” said Alex Rodriguez, who went 3-for-5. “But for a guy who doesn’t show much emotion, that was devastating for him. So we all felt for him. … But he bounced back great tonight.”

Wang, who was still throwing 96 mph by the seventh inning, only had one poor inning. Just after the Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead courtesy of three first-inning Marlins errors, Wang gave all three back. He got the first two outs, but then allowed back-to-back doubles for the first Florida run. The next batter, Miguel Olivo, took the first pitch he saw deep to left for a two-run homer that tied the score.

Meanwhile, Wang’s teammates kept knocking the ball around. The Yankees had eight hits and 15 of 27 batters reach base through the first four innings, chasing Marlins starter Brian Moehler.

Johnny Damon, who went 1-for-3 with two walks, led off the fourth inning with a walk. Derek Jeter grounded out on a fielder’s choice and Jason Giambi walked to put men on first and second. As Rodriguez stepped to the plate, the Bronx Bombers fans who booed him after striking out with the game-tying run on second in the Yankees’ last home game, stood on their feet and applauded.

Rodriguez came through this time, poking an outside pitch into center field for a RBI single to give the Yankees a lead they would never squander.

“That was beautiful,” said Rodriguez of his single. “With the way the hits have been coming this year, I’m not complaining about any hits.”

Jorge Posada followed that up with another bloop single and Bernie Williams gave the Yankees a 6-3 lead on a sacrifice fly.

This time Wang didn’t give the lead back. He allowed one baserunner in the next two innings before running into a bit of trouble in the sixth. Hanley Ramirez, who had two errors in the first inning to help the Yankees build a lead, led the inning off with a single. Mike Jacobs followed with another single to put men on first and third with no outs.

When in trouble, Wang went to his strength — the sinker. Wang induced a double play from Marlins phenom Miguel Cabrera that plated one run but limited the damage and kept the Yankees ahead.

“His stuff is just overpowering,” Posada said. “He’s got the best stuff on our staff. I keep saying it: He does a lot of things well. He keeps it down in the zone and he keeps coming. He doesn’t really die down. He doesn’t really get rattled. I think we saw that last year and he keeps doing it.”

That poise is why Torre said he trusts the righty from Taiwan. And it’s why he left him in for the seventh inning even after the shaky sixth. Wang responded again, getting the first two outs before allowing a single to Olivo. He then reared back and struck out pinch-hitter Joe Borchard swinging to end his night.

Wang had done the job his coaches envisioned when they altered the rotation. He saved the bullpen. Kyle Farnsworth allowed one run in the eighth before Mariano Rivera picked up his 15th save by retiring the Marlins 1-2-3 in the ninth.

That has become expected from Rivera. Now, long starts are starting to become the norm for Wang.

“You have to pinch yourself and continue to try to treat him as a newcomer who’s still learning instead of a seasoned pro who’s pitching the way he’s pitching,” Torre said.

05/17/2006 11:35 PM

Wang rescues Yanks again
Right-hander gives ‘pen a breather with eight strong frames
By Mark Feinsand / MLB.com

Chien-Ming Wang has allowed just three runs over 16 innings in his last two starts. (Kathy Willens/AP)

NEW YORK — In each of Chien-Ming Wang’s last two starts, he has pitched one night after the Yankees had endured grueling four-hour games.
Last Friday, Wang responded with eight shutout innings against the A’s. Wednesday, he didn’t hold the Rangers off the scoreboard, but his eight solid innings were enough to lead the Yankees to a 4-3 win over Texas.

Wang (4-1) overcame three Yankees errors to hold the Rangers to three runs (two earned) on six hits, winning his third straight start.

“He’s feeling pretty good about himself right now,” said manager Joe Torre. “We could have helped him, defensively, a bit more than we did tonight, but we got through it.”

Jorge Posada, whose walk-off homer on Tuesday lifted the Yankees to the biggest comeback in team history, continued his torrid streak at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Posada is 11-for-25 on the current homestand, a .444 average.

“I feel comfortable, like I’m doing a lot of good things,” Posada said. “I’m staying behind the ball and getting the big hit. Hopefully I can continue that the whole year.”

“He had some great at-bats tonight,” Torre said. “We needed everything we could get.”

With Boston’s loss to Baltimore, the Yankees (23-15) are now in a first-place tie with the Red Sox in the American League East.

New York used a two-out rally in the fifth inning to snap a 1-1 tie, as Posada, Robinson Cano and Bernie Williams each had RBI singles, giving the Yanks a three-run lead.

Mariano Rivera, who allowed the go-ahead run in the ninth inning on Tuesday, setting up Posada’s dramatic homer, held on to a one-run lead on Wednesday to earn his eighth save.

“I wanted to get Mo in there after last night,” Torre said. “He seemed to be a little sharper tonight with location. He didn’t have any breathing room; it was vintage Mo.”

Wang looked sharp early, but the Yankees’ defense didn’t do much to help its starter out. Andy Phillips committed an error in the first, coming off the bag to take a throw from Alex Rodriguez, but Wang got through the inning without allowing a run.

Two innings later, Cano made the first of his two errors, receiving a potential double-play relay from A-Rod away from second base. Phil Nevin was safe at second on the play, and he went on to score on the next play, an RBI single by Kevin Mench.

Wang pounded the strike zone with sinkers and sliders, getting one ground ball after another. Cano committed another error in the sixth, but Wang erased the baserunner with a double play. Wang induced another twin-killing in the sixth, making up for a Mark Teixeira single.

“It didn’t seem to bother him, because we got a double play,” Torre said of Wang. “We understand that we’re going to be busy in the infield when he has his game going. He’s fun to watch pitch for our side, because we get a lot of quick innings.”

“He doesn’t get rattled by the things that are happening behind him,” Posada said. “He just keeps coming. He seemed to get more comfortable as the game went along.”

Texas starter Kameron Loe (2-4) got out of jams in the second and third, but he couldn’t do the same in the fifth, as the Yankees put together five consecutive two-out hits to break the game open.

Wang retired the side in order in the seventh, but after retiring the first hitter in the eighth, he gave up a double to Gerald Laird and a two-run homer to Gary Matthews, pulling Texas within a run.

Cano helped Wang make it through the frame, making a nice play on a hard grounder hit by Michael Young for the second out.

“I never put my head down,” Cano said. “You’re going to make some mistakes, but sometimes, you’ll make the right play. I made the right play at the right time.”

“When he needed to make a play in the eighth inning, he made one,” Torre said. “The kid is tough, but sometimes his mind wanders when he doesn’t get a couple of hits.”

Rivera closed it out with a scoreless ninth, throwing a perfect inning against the middle of the Rangers’ lineup.

“I wanted to be in there,” Rivera said. “These are the situations I always pitch in, so I expected it. I expected a good outing.”

So did the Yankees. And they got one.

Chien-Ming Wang fired eight shutout innings to pick up his third win. (Ed Betz/AP)
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NEW YORK — With Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield sidelined by injury, the Yankees’ offense was missing two of its most important cogs on Friday night.
The way Chien-Ming Wang pitched against the A’s, it didn’t make much of a difference.

Wang shut Oakland out over eight innings, while Alex Rodriguez gave the right-hander all the run support he would need, drilling a solo home run.

The end result was a 2-0 win for the Yankees, who bounced back with a crisp game after losing a tough one to the Red Sox on Thursday.

“It was nice to bounce back,” Rodriguez said. “Wang was the star of the day. He threw the ball incredibly; the best he’s thrown all year. It was refreshing to have a well-played game on both sides.”

Wang allowed three hits and walked two batters, but he induced four double plays, facing just one batter over the minimum.

“It was a great pitching performance,” said Johnny Damon. “One this team seriously needed.”

Barry Zito pitched a gem of his own, giving up one run over six innings, his only mistake coming in the sixth when A-Rod drilled a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left-center field. Zito, who is 1-1 with a 0.87 ERA in his last three starts, allowed five hits and walked four, striking out four.

“When you looked at the matchup, Wang against Zito, it didn’t seem like it favored us,” Torre said. “To have a game that close, pitching against Barry Zito, you have to be impressed. Wang needed one like this.”

Wang was as efficient as ever, facing three batters in each of the first five innings. He got plenty of help from his infielders, as Robinson Cano and Andy Phillips made some tremendous plays on the right side of the diamond.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning that Oakland even left a man on base, as Wang erased baserunners with double plays in the second, third and fifth innings.

“He lost the strike zone a time or two, but every time he got a man on, he got the ground ball for double plays,” Torre said. “He was in so much command tonight.”

With the game still scoreless in the sixth, A-Rod crushed a 1-0 changeup from Zito over the wall in left-center field. The homer was the second in three games for A-Rod, both of which accounted for the game-winning run.

“It was a game-winning home run; it always feels good to do that,” Rodriguez said. “The way both guys were throwing, you got the feeling that one run would be the difference — and it was.”

“I don’t know if he was sitting on it or what, but he stayed on that ball real well,” Zito said. “It wasn’t so much a bad pitch, but maybe bad pitch selection.”

In his last nine games, Rodriguez has three homers and 10 RBIs, including game-winning hits against the Devil Rays, Red Sox and A’s.

“Over the last 10 days, my RBIs have all been very important, going back to the Tampa hit,” Rodriguez said. “It’s pretty cool.”

“We’re all pleased for him because it’s helping us, but more importantly, it’s going to help him help us,” Torre said. “He fights himself a lot, so a couple of big, go-ahead home runs have to do a world for his confidence.”

Wang made the run stand up, pitching the seventh and eighth without any problems. Of the 24 outs Wang recorded, 20 came on ground balls, mostly the result of sinkers and sliders with plenty of late movement. Of Wang’s 85 pitches, only five of them were swinging strikes.

“Any time that Wang pitches, as an infielder, you know it’s going to be an active day out there,” A-Rod said. “He had 20 ground-ball outs; that’s incredible.”

Bernie Williams added a solo home run against Randy Keisler in the eighth, giving New York an insurance run.

Mariano Rivera tossed a scoreless ninth to record his seventh save of the season.

“You have to figure this is the type of game we’re going to have to win,” Torre said. “We’re going to have to get used to playing close games, so the more we do it, the less strange it’s going to appear.”

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