Yanks walk-off with fourth straight - 棒球

重點僅翻跟小王有關的:
1.厚黑posada說: "比賽中我們試著要小王做些調整, 希望讓他知道球都投在在好球帶的
上方。小王覺得自己很有力, 也設法多用點力去投, 但我告訴他:'小力點比較好'(老
托比較會舒服)', 這多少讓他投得好些。
2.小王在六局多的投球裡掉5分, 被打八支安打, 投出一次四壞兩個三振, 他說他要注意
把球投得低一點, 還有揮臂時要更注意把手指放在球的上方, 這讓他在1局後的局數投得
有效得多了。
3.老托說: "小王看來有點想得太多了, 想要讓投出的球能有他招牌的尾勁, 這反而讓他投
得相當辛苦。" (老托要小王知道小力點尾勁自然來, 就很舒服了)

Yanks walk-off with fourth straight
After Rivera falters in ninth, Yanks rally to take down O's
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The Yankees did without a quality effort from their ace starter,
and were surprised to see their Hall of Fame closer once again turn mortal.
By the end, it still didn't matter.
Melky Cabrera scored the winning run on Derek Jeter's ninth-inning dribbler
Monday as the Yankees edged the Orioles, 7-6, bailing out ineffective
performances from both Chien-Ming Wang and Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees, baseball's best team since the All-Star break, haven't yet found
a hurdle that can keep them down in the second half. New York's latest
victory, opening a seven-game homestand, was its fourth straight.

"Every time out, we need to try to win, regardless of who's pitching," said
Jeter, who connected off Orioles sidearmer Chad Bradford. "Guys aren't going
to go out there and pitch perfect at all times. Mo has picked us up plenty of
times and it felt good to pick him up."

With home runs from Bobby Abreu and Wilson Betemit, plus another electric
inning by rookie Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees delivered a one-run lead to
Rivera in the ninth inning, overcoming five runs charged to Wang.

Rivera had converted 19 consecutive save opportunities dating back to April
28, but the Orioles detached the string, despite a terrific throw to home
plate by center fielder Melky Cabrera that cut down what would have been the
tying run.

It mattered little because one batter later, Brian Roberts dunked a bloop
single to right field, scoring Tike Redman ahead of Abreu's high throw home
to send the game to the bottom of the ninth, where the Yankees rescued their
treasured fireman.

"It's great," Rivera said. "Today I wasn't able to hold the lead, so the guys
came back and scored. That's good to see guys picking you up."

In the decisive frame, Cabrera was hit by a one-out pitch and moved to third
when pinch-hitter Jason Giambi -- a reflection of the Yankees'
suddenly-lethal wealth of bench talent -- punched a single through the right
side of the infield.

Jeter followed by getting enough of a check-swing to dribble the ball past
Bradford and force the second baseman Roberts to throw home on a fielder's
choice, failing to catch Cabrera giving the Yankees their 24th victory in 32
games since the All-Star break.

"We've been on the balls of our feet, basically," said Yankees manager Joe
Torre. "We're not waiting around for something to happen. We're trying to
make things happen."

The Yankees had enough early to bail out a shaky first inning from Wang, who
had allowed a season-high eight runs to the Blue Jays in his previous start
last Wednesday and gave up three more in the first before settling.

"We made some adjustments during the game, trying to make him realize that
pitches were up in the zone," catcher Jorge Posada said. "He felt strong and
wanted to throw a little harder, and I told him, 'Less is better.' It helped
him a little."

Matched with Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, Wang proved better Monday,
though it didn't start that way. The right-hander was buoyed by Abreu's
two-run homer off Guthrie in the bottom half and Betemit's shot in the
second.

Wang -- who drew pitching coach Ron Guidry to a bases-loaded situation before
he even recorded an out -- was not stellar, but he received enough support to
leave as the pitcher of record.

Wang allowed five runs and eight hits over six-plus innings, walking one and
struck out two. He said that he needed to keep the ball down and get more on
top of the ball, tasks that were more efficient after the first inning.

"It looked like he was trying to be a little too deliberate, trying to make
pitches," Torre said. "The way his ball moves, it's very tough for him to do
that."

In the fifth, Wang experienced a rarity, giving up a solo home run on a
changeup to Corey Patterson -- the first blast allowed by Wang in 56 2/3
innings. Left-hander Ron Villone inherited a runner in the seventh and threw
two wild pitches, allowing a run, but otherwise recorded three outs.

Chamberlain nearly stole the show in the eighth, bringing the crowd of 54,398
to chant his first name as he made his Yankee Stadium debut, striking out two
in a perfect frame.

"To be honest with you, I didn't even know who I was facing," Chamberlain
said. "Sometimes I like it better that way. I just went in and attacked the
zone."

New York roughed up Guthrie for six runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings,
including the two home runs. The right-hander walked two and struck out
three, throwing a wild pitch while also allowing run-scoring hits to Posada
and Cabrera, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games with a
double in the fourth.

Abreu continued his RBI surge with his 12th blast in the first inning, giving
the outfielder 21 RBIs in his last 13 games. Betemit boosted New York with
his second blast since joining the Yankees, reaching the wall in front of the
right-center bleachers.

"That's how we are," Abreu said. "We know we can score some runs. We've got
the team to score a lot of runs. Early in the game, it doesn't matter. We've
got late innings and we can make comebacks."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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