Yankees 6 – Orioles
While the Yankees were busy dealing away Jose Contreras, Alex Rodriguez took care of business on the field.
July 31 may be the trade deadline, but the Big Deal this year always will be Feb. 16. That was the date the Yankees picked up A-Rod, just for days like yesterday.
Rodriguez stole home, hit a mammoth solo homer, and sent the Stadium crowd of 51,845 home knowing it had watched a future Hall of Famer. Basically, he put in a nice day of work.
Aiding A-Rod, Gary Sheffield slammed a solo shot and had two RBIs.
The offense combined with a mediocre, but good enough, start by Javier Vazquez for a 6-4 victory over the Orioles. Vazquez threw 5 1/3 innings and allowed four runs to pick up his 11th win.
The three-headed bullpen monster of Paul Quantrill, Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera did its job, putting up zeroes in the seventh, eighth and ninth.
Though yesterday will be remembered as the day the Yankees got rid of Contreras, bringing in White Sox righty Esteban Loaiza, Rodriguez put on a show on the field.
In July, Rodriguez earned his money, if anyone is really worth the kind of cash he is paid, hitting .357 with eight homers and 19 RBIs during the month. For Rodriguez, who entered yesterday hitting .281 overall, the average is the key.
Rodriguez’s steal of home wasn’t a straight steal, but the way he bounced up in excitement it might as well have been. In the fourth, with Hideki Matsui on first and Rodriguez on third, Ruben Sierra struck out. Matsui, stealing second, drew a throw from Javy Lopez. Rodriguez took off on the throw.
At second, Brian Roberts fielded the ball going to his right and immediately fired home. The return throw landed in the dirt, and Lopez couldn’t handle it cleanly. It appeared Rodriguez would have beaten a tag.
Rodriguez was the first Yankee to steal home in more than three years. Derek Jeter did it in May 2001, also against the Orioles.
An inning later, Rodriguez slammed a mammoth solo shot over the left-center field wall. Suddenly, largely because of No. 13, the Yankees were up 5-1.
Rodriguez owns a marvelous collection of talents. He is almost robotic in how he handles everything around baseball with some ease. It is obviously a byproduct of preparation because Rodriguez seems to know the perfect, if not the most entertaining, way to address any situation. The problem is he can’t pitch.
In the sixth with a four-run lead, Vazquez nearly gave up the advantage on one swing. After Vazquez sandwiched two singles around a walk, the combination of Miguel Tejada and Vazquez’s propensity to give up homers inspired Mel Stottlemyre to stroll out to the mound.
Entering yesterday, Vazquez was tied for fifth in the AL in homers allowed (22). In the third against Jerry Hairston, who entered yesterday with one homer, Vazquez gave up No. 23, a solo shot. With Tejada, who is in the AL’s Top 10 in homers and leads the league in RBIs, up, there was a need for Vazquez to be careful.
Tejada sent a drive that looked as if it might tie the game, but right fielder Gary Sheffield ranged to the warning track to make the catch. A walk later, Vazquez was done. Scott Proctor entered, allowed a couple of more runs to score, but Vazquez was able to pick up the win.
