Mets knuckleballer Dickey baffles Yankees in 2-1 win

(Reuters) - Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey won an unlikely pitchers' duel as the visiting New York Mets nipped the New York Yankees 2-1 on Friday to take the opening game of their weekend Subway Series in interleague play.

 Dickey, who gave up six runs and 11 hits in five innings against the Astros his last time out, befuddled the Yankees for six innings.



The tricky right-hander yielded one run on four hits and struck out six to improve his record to 2-5 with the help of three spotless innings of relief and lift the injury-hit Mets to the .500 mark at 22-22 with their third successive win.



Mets first baseman Daniel Murphy, who had been mired in a batting slump, led off the sixth with a line-drive home run down the right-field line off Freddy Garcia to snap a 1-1 tie.



"I'm really proud of the way the club has held together with all the banged-up guys, Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters. "These guys have done nothing but gone out every night and just played as hard as they can play."



Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Dickey had his batters fooled in the briskly played two-hour, 47-minute game that dropped the Yankees to 23-20.



"Whenever you face a knuckleballer you're not sure what's going to happen," said Girardi, whose lineup produced 13 runs on Thursday in a win against Baltimore.



"It's not something you see very often. It's a totally different day for all of our hitters."



Yankees starter Garcia (2-4), who yielded five runs in five innings in his last start against Boston, pitched five-hit ball for seven innings but took the loss as the Bronx Bombers went out with a whimper, stranding five men in scoring position.



The home team struck first when Mark Teixeira reached out and hooked a 3-1 pitch just over the outstretched glove of Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran and into the seats to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third.



The Mets answered in their next at-bat, with back-to-back doubles by Fernando Martinez and Justin Turner tying the game 1-1 in the top of the fourth.



A spectacular play by shortstop Jose Reyes kept the Yankees from scoring in the fifth.



With men on first and second and two out, Alex Rodriguez hit a sharp grounder that was headed for center-field. Reyes dove outstretched to snare the ball, popped up and fired to first to retire Rodriguez and end the inning.



Murphy immediately capitalized on the run-saving play with his fence-clearing blast for the game-winning run.



Mets relievers were superb in preserving the one-run lead as Mike O'Connor, Jason Isringhausen and closer Francisco Rodriguez each pitched a perfect inning as the last 11 Yankees were retired in order including seven by strikeout.



When Rodriguez, nicknamed "K-Rod" for the scoring symbol for a strikeout, fanned Nick Swisher for the last out of the game, it was met with the loudest roar for a visiting team victory likely to be heard this season at Yankee Stadium.



read more at http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/21/us-baseball-yankees-idUSTRE74K0IO20110521

Red Sox starting five lined up to thrive

For a group that has faced itsshare of criticism, the five members of the Red Sox [ team stats ] starting rotationcarry some pretty impressive resumes.
Jon Lester looks like he could win a Cy Young Award beforehis career is through, with anAll-Star berth, no-hitter, and 19-win season already underhis belt.
John Lackey started and won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for the Angels as a rookie. Since 2004 he has won more games (97) than all but seven pitchers.
Clay Buchholz built off an outstanding second half in 2009 to make his first All-Star appearance last year.Had he not injured a hamstring running the bases,he might have been able to put himself in a position to win the Cy Young Award.
Fourth starter Josh Beckett [ stats ] is merely one of the best big-game pitchers of this generation, even if he is coming off a horrible 2010. He has dominated two postseasons, taking World Series MVP honors as a 23-year-old with the Marlins in 2003, and then basically carrying the Red Sox to the 2007 title.
In the fifth spot, the Sox have Daisuke Matsuzaka [ stats ] , the subject of one of the most intense bidding wars inbaseball history. The two-time World Baseball Classic MVP won 15 games asa rookie and then added another victory in the World Series. He followed that up with an 18-win 2008, and even if his results have been inconsistent since, he is nonetheless one of the best fifth starters in the game.
Oh, and let’s not forget the sixth starter, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield [ stats ] . He’s won more games in his career than any other active pitcher.
“We’ve got five guys here who could have started Opening Day,” said Lester, who’ll get the nod tomorrow in Texas. “I really can’t describe it any other way other than to say it’s an honor. At the same time, if any of the other four guys got it, it wouldn’t have hurt my feelings. The talent and experience we have in this rotation, flip a coin. Anybody is worthy.”
The Sox have had great rotations in the past, but they were typically top-heavy. Think Curt Schilling [ stats ] and Pedro Martinez in 2004, or Roger Clemens and Bruce Hurst in the late ’80s. Their supporting casts were solid, but unspectacular.
If this group pitches like it can, however, it would be strong from 1-5. That would separate it from virtually every other rotation in team history, particularly when viewed relative to its era; the 1903 squad only fielded six pitchers all season, for instance.
“We can be as good as anyone, for sure,” Lackey said. “We’ve got guys with pretty good track records. If we perform up to our capabilities, it’s going to be pretty good.”
Sox starters have been easy targets since struggling through an uneven 2010. While Lester and Buchholz were outstanding, Beckett was an unmitigated disaster,Lackey didn’t quite meet expectations, and Matsuzakawas a lost cause from almostthe moment he hurt his back early in spring training.
There’s reason to think 2011 will be different, however. Lackey arrived at camp in the best shape of his career, down roughly 10 pounds. Beckett pitched poorly in FortMyers, but seemed encouraged by his stuff, which could bode well for theseason. Even Matsuzaka, often a punching bag, made a small adjustment to his offday routine that paid dividends during two consecutive excellent starts.
“The most important thing, I think, for our pitching staff is starts and innings,” Lester said. “With the offense we have and the defense we have, if you outlast the other guy, you’re going to get a lot of wins. But this team, this organization isn’t built around what we do during the regular season. It’s built around what we do in the postseason. Everybody’s goalin that clubhouse is to win the World Series this year, and everybody’s pretty excited about it.”

Detroit Tigers (0-0) at New York Yankees (0-0), 1:05 pm

Following one of their most disappointing offseasons in recent memory, the New York Yankees open their 2011 campaign against the Detroit Tigers this afternoonat Yankee Stadium.
After losing in six games to the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series last October, New York went intothis winter with one plan - get Cliff Lee.
However, things did not work out, as the free-agent pitcher turned down the Yankees' money to go to Philadelphia. Then to make matters worse, left-hander Andy Pettitte retired, leaving the Yankees with two huge holes in their rotation.
Young Ivan Nova was the Yankees' best pitcher this spring and secured one of the vacancies, while veteranFreddy Garcia nailed down the fifth spot ahead of former Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon, who will pitch out of the bullpen after not pitching in the league at all last season.
As many concerns as the Yankees may have at the back of their rotation, there are none as it pertains to left-hander CC Sabathia, whowill take the ball this afternoon following a season that saw him go 21-7with a 3.18 ERA.
"He was not on the bubble," Yankee manager Joe Girardi said with a smile. "His spot in the rotation really wasn't up for discussion. For him, the spring was just about getting ready and getting his stuff sharp."
This will mark Sabathia's eighth career Opening Day start, having drawn the honors five times with the Cleveland Indians as well as in each of his first two seasons with New York. However, he has yet to win in either of his two assignments with the Yankees.
Sabathia figures to get plenty of run support, as the Yankees field basically the same lineup that scored a major league high 859 runs a year ago. In fact that vaunted offense may be even better than last season, as Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez all had down seasons.
Detroit manager Jim Leylandonce referred to the Yankees' lineup as"Murderer's Row and Cano". Well, Robinson Cano is no longer a supporting cast member. The second baseman distinguished himself as not only one of the best all-around players on the Yankees last season, but in the league as well. He hit .319 with 29 home runs, 109 RBI and 103 runs scored,while also playing a near-flawless second base to claim his first Gold Glove Award.
Rodriguez, though, had a phenomenal spring, as the three-time AL MVP batted.388 (19-for-49) with a team-leading six homers and 15 RBI. Jeter, meanwhile, enters the year 74 hits shy of becoming the first player in pinstripes to record 3.000 for his career.
Also, Girardi announced that Jeter will be moved from theleadoff spot against right-handers, with speedy Brett Gardner filling the role. Jeter will still lead off against lefties.
Jeter will be in the two-hole this afternoon against JustinVerlander, who is coming offanother sensational season. One of the few bright spots on the Tigers a year ago, Verlander was 18-9 with a 3.37 ERA.
Verlander seems to have picked up right where he leftoff a year ago, as he pitched to a 0.96 ERA in six spring starts.
The American League Central figures to be a three-team race this season and unlike last year, the Tigers should be right in the thick of it.
After losing a one-game playoff for a division title to the Minnesota Twins in 2009, the Tigers began the process of clearing out payroll and it showed, as they stumbled out of the gates and never recovered before eventually finishing.500.
On the bright side, Miguel Cabrera put forth the best season of his career with virtually no protection in thelineup. As good as he was last year, the first baseman could be even better this season with the addition of newly- signed Victor Martinez.
Things did not get off to a great start for the Tigers, though, as Cabrera was charged with DUI following arun-in with police shortly after the start of spring training. Leyland and Cabrera insist his problems are behind him and he is ready to get going.
The Yankees split their eight matchups with the Tigers last season, but are 9-5 against them since the start of the 2009 campaign.