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 All three made significant contributions for the New York on
Thursday night, and then were able to answer what it was like to do
so in a 4-1 win against the Boston Red Sox.
Pineda allowed one run and four hits in six-plus innings for his
first win in nearly three years, Anna hit his first career home run
after over 500 minor league games and Phelps picked up a
short-handed bullpen by getting a seven-out save.
"I'm so happy, this is my first time pitching in Yankee Stadium, so
I'm very excited," Pineda said.
Pineda (1-1) had not pitched for the Yankees the previous two
seasons due to shoulder surgery after being acquired in January 2012
from the Seattle Mariners, but came to spring training healthy and
pitched well enough to win the fifth starter's spot. That carried
over to his first start Saturday in Toronto, when he allowed one run
and five hits in six innings.
In his Yankee Stadium debut, Pineda was even more impressive, taking
a no-hitter into the fifth and a shutout into the seventh while
recording seven swinging strikeouts and issuing two walks.
"We're really encouraged, and I said it in spring training, what I
saw in spring training was a different guy," Yankees manager Joe
Girardi said. "A guy that the ball is coming out well. We saw that
tonight. He had command of the strike zone, threw a lot of first
pitch strikes, got ahead of hitters and did a really good job."
"He's a legit power pitcher, a strikeout pitcher," New York
shortstop Derek Jeter said. "When he throws like this he's going to
be tough."
His bid for a no-hitter was broken up by shortstop Xander Bogaerts'
leadoff single in the fifth and the shutout ended when right fielder
Daniel Nava drove a 1-0 cutter into the second deck in right field.
That was the worst pitch of a 94-pitch performance that ended with a
standing ovation by the 42,821 fans. Some of those pitches did seem
to generate some controversy however as the national and local
broadcasts showed Pineda with what might have been a foreign
substance on his right hand.
Boston's telecast speculated it might have been pine tar but
afterwards Pineda merely said it was dirt while the Red Sox did not
have any knowledge of it.
"I don't know," Boston designated hitter David Ortiz said. "First I
heard about it."
The Yankees also did not comment much on what was picked up by
television.
"Not much to speak on," Girardi said. "All I know is he pitched
extremely well and we're glad to have him back.
Pineda said it was dirt to prevent sweating and that he was not
asked to remove it by anyone.
Pineda took a 4-0 lead into the seventh when he seemed to tire by
leaving pitches up and having the Red Sox get better swings. He had
a 2-0 lead after the fifth on an RBI single by catcher Brian McCann
and a run-scoring double play groundout by designated hitter Alfonso
Soriano.
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An inning later, Anna made a swing that would eventually result in
over 100 texts and emails to his phone, sending a 1-1 splitter from
Boston starter Clay Buchholz (1-1) into the right field seats.
The home run came in the eighth-career major league at-bat for Anna,
who played over 500 minor league games and led the Pacific Coast
League with a .331 batting average last season.
That made things more comfortable for the New York bullpen, which
did not have injured closer David Robertson as well as right-handers
Adam Warren and Shawn Kelley.
That forced the Yankees to get creative, and after left-hander Cesar
Cabral recorded the first two outs of the seventh with Bogaerts on
base, Phelps came in and he recorded three of his seven outs via
strikeout, including a full count knuckle curve to retire Ortiz for
the final out of the eighth.
"That's great," Phelps said. "Anytime you can get a first as long as
it's a good first, that's a good thing, it's always exciting."
Buchholz allowed four runs (two earned) and seven hits in six
innings. Besides allowing the two runs in the fifth and Anna's home
run he also allowed a run-scoring single to former teammate Jacoby
Ellsbury.
"He was throwing the ball better," Boston catcher A.J. Pierzynski
said. "He just looked like Clay Buchholz that I remember for a long
time."
NOTES: In an interview with WEEI, Red Sox general manager Ben
Cherrington discussed contract negotiations with 30-year-old LHP Jon
Lester, who is a free agent after this season. "We're going to keep
working at it," Cherrington said. "We're not working in it
currently, but we'll be working on it at the right time. When
there's a desire on both sides, there's always a chance." ... OF
Grady Sizemore made his first career start in left as part of the
Red Sox's effort to cover the large spaces of left field at Yankee
Stadium. ... CF Jacoby Ellsbury spoke for about 11 minutes before
the game about leaving the Red Sox to sign a seven-year deal with
the Yankees. Among the things he said was that playing in New York
has already exceeded his expectations. He is expected to receive his
World Series ring from last season on Friday. ... New York 2B Brian
Roberts had the night off after appearing in the first nine games of
the season.
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