Dominant pitching leads New York Yankees to double-header sweep of Chicago Cubs

Image: NYDN

With the tying runs in scoring position and two outs in the ninth inning in the nightcap of Wednesday’s double-header between the Yankees and Cubs, RHP Adam Warren had to buckle down to preserve New York’s 2-0 lead. And he did. Warren induced a ground out from RF Ryan Kalish to afford the Yankees (9-6) a double-header sweep.

It wasn’t just any sweep, however. Yankees’ pitchers dominated the Cubs (4-10) on Wednesday, holding the visitors scoreless for all 18 frames. It was the first time a team had fired shutouts in both games of a double-header since the Minnesota Twins blanked the Oakland A’s twice, 11-0 and 5-0, respectively, on June 26, 1988.

RHP Michael Pineda wasn’t as dominant as RHP Masahiro Tanaka (see Game One notes below) had been in the opening game, but he was effective enough. Pineda (2-1; 1.00 ERA) held the Cubs to four hits over six shutout innings. He walked one and struck out three.

Perhaps the most important sequence for Pineda and the Yankees on the night came in the top of the fifth inning with the home team clinging to a 1-0 lead. There, with runners at second and third and only one out, Pineda escaped trouble unscathed by striking out Kalish and inducing a fly out from 2B Darwin Barney.

New York’s offence did just enough to win despite stranding 12 runners on base. CF Brett Gardner and 3B Scott Sizemore, the latter enjoying his first day with the club, delivered two-out RBI singles against LHP Travis Wood (5.2 IP; 11 hits; 2 ER; 2 K) in the fourth and fifth frames, respectively. Gardner’s knock was especially important as the Yankees had stranded five men on base in the previous three frames.

Game One: Yankees 3 Cubs 0

Carlos Beltran running the bases, following his fourth HR on the season. (NYDN)

1. RHP Masahiro Tanaka was solid in his first two major league starts (1-0; 3.21 ERA), but he was almost unhittable on Wednesday afternoon. Over eight innings, Tanaka (2-0; 2.05 ERA) blanked the Cubs on two hits, both bunt singles. He struck out 10 and walked only one. Furthermore, his splitter was still filthy in the eighth inning, when he used it to fan 3B Luis Valbuena.

2. RF Carlos Beltran, the reigning American League Player of the Week, had another productive contest. He launched his fourth homerun of the season in the first inning, and his ground out with Gardner at second base in the fifth inning positioned the Yankees’ final run.

3. Gardner scored New York’s third run in somewhat strange fashion. At third base with one out in the fifth, he came home on a ground out by CF Jacoby Ellsbury. Initially, Ellsbury reached on catcher’s interference – his bat made contact with C John Baker’s glove on the follow through – and Gardner was forced to stay at third. However, because the ball was put in play, Manager Joe Girardi was allowed to choose to take the outcome of the play, which he did to allow the run to score.

4. Cubs’ manager Rick Renteria was successful on one of two replay challenges. He won his second inning challenge of an out call on LF Junior Lake’s bunt attempt, but his seventh inning challenge of RF Nate Schierholtz’s ground out failed.

5. RHP Shawn Kelley secured his fourth save in as many attempts by throwing a scoreless ninth inning. The two-out single that Kelley surrendered to 1B Anthony Rizzo was the only true (non-bunt) hit recorded by the Cubs in the game.

Notes:

1. This double-header marked the fourth-ever regular season series between the Cubs and Yankees; the Yankees had won six of the previous nine meetings. New York swept Chicago at Yankee Stadium in 2005 and took two out of three contests from the Cubs at Wrigley Field in 2011. Previously, the Cubs won two out of three games against the visiting Yankees in 2003.

2. New York made a couple of roster moves prior to the double-header. C John Ryan Murphy was recalled from AAA Scranton to replace C/1B Francisco Cervelli, who was placed on the 60-day disabled list because of a grade-two hamstring strain. Additionally, RHP Shane Greene was sent down to the minors and replaced by IF Scott Sizemore. The Yankees needed Sizemore, formerly a member of the Detroit Tigers and Oakland A’s, for infield depth as Cervelli and 1B Mark Teixeira are on the DL.

Greene was temporarily recalled for the second game of the double-header as clubs are allowed to use a 26-man roster in such situations.

3. The Yankees and Cubs will play another two-game set, this time at Wrigley Field, on May 20-21.

The Bombers will now travel to St. Petersburg, Florida for a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.