Yankees shrug off Joba's injury, win ninth in row
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There were no fist pumps, either spontaneous or planned, until the final out was recorded, and that one was by a catcher. There was no heated confrontation between Joba Chamberlain and Aubrey Huff, just a first-inning single in their only matchup and then an early exit for the excitable Yankees pitcher.
Chamberlain left last night's start against the Orioles after allowing that single to Huff, the fourth batter he faced. Chamberlain was removed after two-thirds of an inning because he was struck in the right knee by a comebacker two batters earlier.
It hurt. He limped. X-rays were negative. Manager Joe Girardi said he hopes Chamberlain can make his next start in five days, but it's too early to know.
Chamberlain's short night hardly derailed the Yankees, who beat the Orioles, 7-4, for their ninth straight win.
"That's a tough game because you're asking an awful lot of your bullpen," Girardi said. "We were somewhat fortunate."
Alfredo Aceves (3-0) replaced Chamberlain and threw 31/3 scoreless innings, and the Yankees bludgeoned Adam Eaton (2-5) for six runs in the first two innings.
Robinson Cano, elevated to the second spot in the batting order with Johnny Damon out with a stiff back, went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and an RBI double. Melky Cabrera had a two-run double, Hideki Matsui hit a solo home run and the Yankees improved to 11-2 since Alex Rodriguez's return even though A-Rod contributed nothing other than his gravitas.
Some in the crowd of 43,342 were certainly aware of the Chamberlain-Huff intrigue, which stemmed from their May 10 encounter at Camden Yards. Huff hit a three-run home run off Chamberlain and then playfully - he says - pumped his fist rounding first base and again after he crossed home plate. Huff was booed every time up last night.
Before facing Huff, though, Chamberlain retired Adam Jones on a comebacker for the second out of the first inning. No problem, right? Except the ball struck Chamberlain on the right knee.
After a conference on the mound, Chamberlain pitched to two more batters, allowing singles to Nick Markakis and Huff. He was limping as he went to back up third base following Huff's single, and Girardi took him out after a short discussion on the mound.
"I [later] saw him walking around in the clubhouse," Girardi said. "My opinion that he'll make his next start, I'm just making that because there's not a ton of swelling right now and I saw him walking around the clubhouse. I don't know what it's going to look like [today]. It could be all black and blue. It could become an issue and then his start could be in jeopardy. At first glance, I feel pretty fortunate."
Chamberlain said he was "100 percent confident" he would make his next start. But he also didn't want to come out of the game when it was clear he couldn't walk.
Enter Aceves, who pitched two innings Wednesday. He got Melvin Mora to fly to center to end the inning. And then the Yankees went to work on Eaton.
Derek Jeter and Cano doubled for the first run. Mark Teixeira doubled to make it 2-0. Cabrera's two-out, two-run double gave Aceves a 4-0 cushion. Cano made it 6-0 in the second with a two-run laser to right, his eighth homer of the season.
Aceves gave way after 50 pitches to Jonathan Albaladejo to start the fifth. Albaladejo was greeted by Brian Roberts' solo home run. After Matsui went deep in the fifth (his fifth) to make it 7-1, the Orioles closed to within 7-3 in the sixth on Ty Wigginton's two-run, pinch-hit double, and added another run in the seventh on a Markakis homer.
Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save, striking out Huff for the final out. Rivera didn't pump his fist, but rookie catcher Francisco Cervelli did. Chances are it won't become a big deal, though, since almost no one noticed.
