Cervelli Takes Two For The Team But Yankees Lose To Orioles in 10th

Two collisions at home plate involving New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli were the only highlights of the team's 10th inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

The spirited Cervelli almost single-handedly won the game by blocking the plate to save game-tying runs in consecutive innings before Scott Proctor surrendered a walk and two singles, the last which gave the Orioles a 5-4 win in Camden Yards.

Cervelli's heroics were in vain and probably left the catcher in a lot of pain.

The Yankees were clinging to a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning when centerfielder Curtis Granderson fielded Vladimir Guerrero's hit and threw a strike to second baseman Robinson Cano, who fired a perfect throw to Cervelli at the plate.  Cervelli didn't budge as he was bulldozed by Nick Markakis, ala Rose-Fosse.  The catcher went flying, but held on to the ball to preserve the lead.

In the following inning, Granderson caught the ball and cut down Mark Reynolds at the plate, in an almost identical play, with another great tag by Cervelli.  Robert Andino followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 4.

Andino would deliver the decisive hit in the 10th, singling home Nolan Reimold from second base with one out.

Yankees starter Ivan Nova (15-4) kept his consecutive win streak of eight straight starts intact but got a no-decision.  He didn't have his best stuff but was able to get out of trouble in the fourth and fifth innings and left the game in the sixth, after allowing five hits and three runs.  He threw 97 pitches.

The Yankees appeared to have the momentum with Cervelli's two clutch plays but couldn't hang on.

It's a sure bet the Yankees are glad they won't see the Orioles anymore this season.  The last two series were marred by weather, scheduling and home-run controversies including an 11 p.m. (?) start time after a four-hour rain delay on Tuesday night and playing in a monsoon on Wednesday.  They might want to change their name to the Baltimore Ducks.

Now they lose two in a row to the pesky club.

Yankees Beat A's With Record Three Grand Slams and Posada Playing Second Base

Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson each belted a grand slam as the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Oakland A's, 22-9, at Yankee Stadium today.

The three bases-loaded home-runs are a MLB record for most grand slams by a single team in one game.

Phil Hughes started the game and was hit hard early.  He went 2 2/3 innings and gave up six runs.

After a rain delay of almost an hour-and-a-half, the Yankees were looking up a 7-1 A's lead.  After four innings, the home team then scored 20 runs to rally for the victory.

Cano hit the first grand slam off A's starter Rich Harden, in the fifth, to knock the deficit down to one and Russell Martin followed up with his slam in the sixth to put the Yankees in the lead.  Granderson put the game in the record books with his home-run in the eighth.

The wild and lengthy game ended with the appearance of Jorge Posada grabbing a mitt and playing second base in the top of the ninth inning.  It was garbage time, with a big Yankees lead, and there was no chance of blowing the game because A.J. Burnett was no where near the mound.

Posada, the former-catcher, appeared rusty.  In the game's final at bat, he fielded a routine grounder and almost, single-handedly, made it look difficult.  It seemed like he was gunning out a base-stealer at second from behind the plate, after he drilled the ball into the dirt in front of the first baseman.

Nick Swisher, playing first, scooped up the ball and rolled over the base for the out as the hitter jumped over him.

Posada and Swisher had a good laugh afterwards.  Posada, who played second base in the minors, volunteered to take the position in the top of the ninth and the Yankees leading by 12 runs.

"I wanted to give Russell [Martin] a break and grabbed a glove and said put me in," said Posada.  "It's been a while since I've been in the middle of the infield."

Martin had two home-runs and the catcher recorded a career-high six RBI's in the game. 

Too bad Hughes couldn't have reaped the rewards of this historic slugfest.  He had won his last two outings but it took 78 pitches to get eight outs in this game.

Derek Jeter got his 3,056 hit to pass Rickey Henderson as No. 21 on the all-time hits list.  He is now batting .299.

The game lasted four-hours and 31 minutes.