Joba's debut as a starting pitcher was pretty rough. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't great, either. And his old bugaboo - efficiency - haunted him again. He pitched only 2.1 innings before pitch count forced Girardi to make the call to the bullpen. He gave up only two runs, one earned, but walked four.
And the pen without Joba is pretty horrendous. Though Giese wasn't half-bad. In the end, the Yankees lost big...to a team that usually doesn't score a lot.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati lost...by only one run. It's just bizarre, how Harang is the ace of the team...but they never score very many runs for him. Tonight was typical. Harang pitched six innings and gave up only three runs...but the Reds hitters scored only two. Another loss for Harang. He's now among the league leaders in losses.
Andy Phillips did not get into the game at all. Jeez, I thought with an NL team, he'd get to play more. When he has played, it's been mostly one at-bat as a pinch-hitter for the pitcher. Must be hard to keep his edge with that little playing time.
He might be getting a little more playing time now. Ryan Freel left the game with a strained hamstring. He's headed to the DL. Griffey is suffering "general soreness"; he's been limited to pinch-hitting. (Starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo pinch-ran for him tonight when he got on base via a walk.) So the Reds are desperately seeking outfielders. Lefty Corey Patterson, just sent down, will probably be called up. So with right-handed infielder/outfielder Freel being replaced by a lefty outfielder, Andy, as a right-handed infielder, might get more playing time.
