Right fielder turns it up to 11, Yanks win seventh straight
By Caleb Breakey / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- A mass of colors spotted the field during a rain delay at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Members of the grounds crew wore white tops. Security guards sported yellow polo shirts. Arizona players warmed up in their Sedona red jerseys.
The colors had no significance other than resembling a banana split. At least, that's how it first appeared.
Then the Yankees took the field.
If ever there was attire that took on meaning, it would be fashioned with pinstripes. Sure, they're just uniforms. But are they really?
The mystique surrounding those wearing black piping from collar to cleat seems to be back, especially after the Yankees beat the Diamondbacks, 4-1, for their seventh straight win.
"This isn't happening because it's just a coincidence," manager Joe Torre said. "This is happening because they're working hard, and they're not going to be denied."
Most of Tuesday's game hinged on the first inning.
Designated hitter Johnny Damon reached on an error to start the game and attempted to steal second with Derek Jeter at the plate. The captain hit a sharp grounder toward the left side -- what appeared to be a double-play ball -- but Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew had raced to his left to cover second.
Normally, second baseman Orlando Hudson would have covered the bag because Jeter is a right-handed hitter. But, as Torre noted, Jeter is at his best when he hits to the right side of the field -- and Hudson knew it.
The grounder went for a hit, and Damon scooted to third.
Bobby Abreu came up next, and with two on and nobody out, the Yankees knew that this could be their only opportunity against Arizona starter Brandon Webb, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2006.
Webb hadn't given up a run in his past two starts, a total of 15 innings in which the right-hander also struck out 15. But Abreu, who has faced Arizona pitching more than every other current Yankee, hit a Webb sinker into the right-field stands for a 3-0 lead.
"I hit it good up front, hit a homer, we won, that's what it's all about," Abreu said. "He's tough. He's got pretty good pitches and nice command, too. He knows what to do on the mound. He won the Cy Young because he knows how to pitch. ... He just threw me one pitch that hung in there, and it's good that I caught it out front and hit it."
What could have been a double-play ball ended up setting the stage for the game-winning hit.
"All of a sudden, it made the difference in the game," Torre said. "You don't think it does that early in the game, but it certainly looked that way."
Starting with the eruption after Abreu's three-run homer, continuing through starter Chien-Ming Wang's seven strong innings and ending with Mariano Rivera's fourth June save, the fans hooted, hollered and roared.
The Yankees are back to winning, and their fans are back to enjoying it.
"They're here to support us, but they let you know what they want to see," Torre said. "It's more electricity right now."
Wang pitched the way he's been pitching since May 16, against the White Sox, and has held opposing teams to three runs or fewer in his past six starts. He used his secondary pitch -- the slider -- for seven innings against the D-backs to overcome the six hits he allowed.
Jeter had a clear view of Wang on the mound -- every set, every windup, every delivery.
"He's getting better, but it's tough to say he's getting better because he's pretty much been good since he first got here," Jeter said.
The win pushed the Yankees to the .500 mark, as the team's record now sits at 31-31. Torre said that breaking even has a psychological effect, but added that the team can't focus on Boston and the 9 1/2-game gap between the two teams.
With the winning streak, Torre said, smiles, jokes and quirks are spreading. The Yankees are playing like, well, the Yankees.
"I think they feel good about themselves. They really do," he said. "They've gone out here with a lot of fight over the last couple of weeks, and it's really paying dividends for them. I think that's the most important thing. The hard work is paying off, and they sort of like the feeling of going home with a win under their belt."
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