Chamberlain wows 'em in the Bronx

Chamberlain wows 'em in the Bronx

Reliever puts on impressive show in scoreless eighth inning

By Caleb Breakey / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- First came the collective, ahhhhh, when Joba Chamberlain entered the game in the eighth inning and fired a 99-mph fastball. Then, after the big right-hander struck out two of the Orioles' most dangerous sluggers -- Miguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff -- the 54,398 in this House That Ruth Built embraced the one wearing No. 62 with a standing ovation and chants of "Joba! Joba! Joba!"

That's how Chamberlain introduced himself and his slingshot of an arm to New York. It was his first time pitching in Yankee Stadium.

Joba, the Big Apple is happy to meet you.

Chamberlain has followed in the footsteps of another homegrown Yankee, Shelley Duncan, quickly entrenching himself as a fan favorite by way of instant results.

Armed with a fastball approaching triple digits and a slider that can border on unfair, Chamberlain has the tools to be a big part of the Yankees' bullpen down the stretch. Still, Jorge Posada knew Chamberlain would be running high on adrenaline in his first home appearance, and he made sure to tell the rookie to stay within himself.

"You know, the crowd gets involved and you want to throw 1,000 [mph]," Posada said. "But the biggest thing is to throw strikes, and that's why I went out there before he even threw."

The Yankees have made no secret of their plan to not over-extend one of their most coveted organizational properties. They do not plan to pitch Chamberlain on back-to-back days. If he is stretched out to two innings in an outing, the big right-hander is slated to have at least two days of rest.

Given Saturday and Sunday off following his two-inning shutdown of the Indians on Friday night, Chamberlain had met the prerequisites to get into the action against the Orioles. After fanning Aubrey Huff with a nasty slider to end the eighth, Chamberlain pumped his fist and yelled with excitement.

"He was trying to keep himself in touch with the rubber out there," manager Joe Torre said after the Yankees 7-6 victory. "I think he was really pumped up."

Despite his amped up presence on the mound, Chamberlain didn't pitch like a rookie with jitters on the big stage. He threw 14 pitches in the frame, including nine for strikes.

Chamberlain has walked two and struck out eight in five innings since being called up. He said after Monday's game that his slider remained his most unpredictable pitch.

"It does whatever it wants to do sometimes, and so as long as it keeps getting outs and I keep getting confidence in it, I'm just going to keep going on."

Chamberlain hasn't been afraid to call on his veteran teammates for questioning and advice. Mariano Rivera -- who blew his first save since April 20 after following Chamberlain into the game on Monday -- praised the rookie for his openess with teammates.

"It's interesting," Rivera said. "Like I said before, it's unusual that he comes to you and asks you. I love it. Aggressive. I love his aggressiveness."

"He wants to learn and he asks a lot of questions," Jason Giambi said. "Even when I was down there [at Triple-A], he sat next to me and asked me, 'What's it like facing guys up there?' It's kind of fun to watch and reminds me of what I was like, trying to pick everyone's brain. He's going to be a phenomenal player. He really has a ton of talent but he really wants to learn."

Chamberlain's willing to learn, and he's certainly teaching American League hitters that he's capable of jumping into a pennant race without missing a beat.

"The kid is going to be good," Bobby Abreu said. "God bless him."

Yanks walk-off with fourth straight

Yanks walk-off with fourth straight

After Rivera falters in ninth, Yanks rally to take down O's

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The Yankees did without a quality effort from their ace starter, and were surprised to see their Hall of Fame closer once again turn mortal. By the end, it still didn't matter.

Melky Cabrera scored the winning run on Derek Jeter's ninth-inning dribbler Monday as the Yankees edged the Orioles, 7-6, bailing out ineffective performances from both Chien-Ming Wang and Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees, baseball's best team since the All-Star break, haven't yet found a hurdle that can keep them down in the second half. New York's latest victory, opening a seven-game homestand, was its fourth straight.

"Every time out, we need to try to win, regardless of who's pitching," said Jeter, who connected off Orioles sidearmer Chad Bradford. "Guys aren't going to go out there and pitch perfect at all times. Mo has picked us up plenty of times and it felt good to pick him up."

With home runs from Bobby Abreu and Wilson Betemit, plus another electric inning by rookie Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees delivered a one-run lead to Rivera in the ninth inning, overcoming five runs charged to Wang.

Rivera had converted 19 consecutive save opportunities dating back to April 28, but the Orioles detached the string, despite a terrific throw to home plate by center fielder Melky Cabrera that cut down what would have been the tying run.

It mattered little because one batter later, Brian Roberts dunked a bloop single to right field, scoring Tike Redman ahead of Abreu's high throw home to send the game to the bottom of the ninth, where the Yankees rescued their treasured fireman.

"It's great," Rivera said. "Today I wasn't able to hold the lead, so the guys came back and scored. That's good to see guys picking you up."

In the decisive frame, Cabrera was hit by a one-out pitch and moved to third when pinch-hitter Jason Giambi -- a reflection of the Yankees' suddenly-lethal wealth of bench talent -- punched a single through the right side of the infield.

Jeter followed by getting enough of a check-swing to dribble the ball past Bradford and force the second baseman Roberts to throw home on a fielder's choice, failing to catch Cabrera giving the Yankees their 24th victory in 32 games since the All-Star break.

"We've been on the balls of our feet, basically," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "We're not waiting around for something to happen. We're trying to make things happen."

The Yankees had enough early to bail out a shaky first inning from Wang, who had allowed a season-high eight runs to the Blue Jays in his previous start last Wednesday and gave up three more in the first before settling.

"We made some adjustments during the game, trying to make him realize that pitches were up in the zone," catcher Jorge Posada said. "He felt strong and wanted to throw a little harder, and I told him, 'Less is better.' It helped him a little."

Matched with Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, Wang proved better Monday, though it didn't start that way. The right-hander was buoyed by Abreu's two-run homer off Guthrie in the bottom half and Betemit's shot in the second.

Wang -- who drew pitching coach Ron Guidry to a bases-loaded situation before he even recorded an out -- was not stellar, but he received enough support to leave as the pitcher of record.

Wang allowed five runs and eight hits over six-plus innings, walking one and struck out two. He said that he needed to keep the ball down and get more on top of the ball, tasks that were more efficient after the first inning.

"It looked like he was trying to be a little too deliberate, trying to make pitches," Torre said. "The way his ball moves, it's very tough for him to do that."

In the fifth, Wang experienced a rarity, giving up a solo home run on a changeup to Corey Patterson -- the first blast allowed by Wang in 56 2/3 innings. Left-hander Ron Villone inherited a runner in the seventh and threw two wild pitches, allowing a run, but otherwise recorded three outs.

Chamberlain nearly stole the show in the eighth, bringing the crowd of 54,398 to chant his first name as he made his Yankee Stadium debut, striking out two in a perfect frame.

"To be honest with you, I didn't even know who I was facing," Chamberlain said. "Sometimes I like it better that way. I just went in and attacked the zone."

New York roughed up Guthrie for six runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, including the two home runs. The right-hander walked two and struck out three, throwing a wild pitch while also allowing run-scoring hits to Posada and Cabrera, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games with a double in the fourth.

Abreu continued his RBI surge with his 12th blast in the first inning, giving the outfielder 21 RBIs in his last 13 games. Betemit boosted New York with his second blast since joining the Yankees, reaching the wall in front of the right-center bleachers.

"That's how we are," Abreu said. "We know we can score some runs. We've got the team to score a lot of runs. Early in the game, it doesn't matter. We've got late innings and we can make comebacks."