偉大失敗後的王建民勇奪第八勝

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.