Again, Damaso Marte came in as a reliever to pitch the eighth. The first batter batter, catcher Mike Redmond, doubled. Hello, Girardi...that's a sign to take the guy out!
But again he didnt, and after Justin Morneau flied out, the third batter, Randy Ruiz, singled, putting runners on the corners.
So once again, Marte allowed two runners to reach base, and finally Girardi came to his senses and put in Mariano Rivera.
However, it apparently wasn't Rivera's night. Delmon Young hit a 3-run homerun, giving Rivera his first blown save of the season. He was 28-28 in save opportunities leading up to this point. After getting out the inning you could tell Rivera was very pissed and disappointed in his performance.
Luckily, things ended up working out for the Yankees, but not until the 12th inning. A-Rod and Xavier Nady came in clutch, each homering and giving the Yankees a 9-6 lead and win. The win ended New York's four-game skid, the longest this season.
It would have been more disaster for the Yankee ballclub had they lost this game. They just got lucky. In an eighth inning situation like this game, Girardi needs to know when to take out his pitchers.
The Yankees are playing tight. They need to relax but they have so much pressure on them to win. And it doesn't really help either when your owner says, "We're going to win it next year." What do you think that says? Come on, are you already giving up on this year?
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