NewsCano must regain confidence he can hit
New York (47-33) vs. Toronto (42-40), 1:05 p.m. ET
By Jared Diamond / MLB.com
07/04/09 7:09 PM ET
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez walked three times on Saturday afternoon. In his last two plate appearances, the Blue Jays chose to put him on intentionally, opting to face Robinson Cano in a key RBI spot in the late innings. If Cano doesn't break out of his hitting slump soon, he better get used to seeing opposing pitchers walk Rodriguez to get to him. Lately, that has been the best strategy. Cano has gone 0-for-his-past-20 with runners in scoring position and has just one RBI in his past 13 games, which came on a solo home run on Friday. Nevertheless, manager Joe Girardi has left Cano in the crucial No. 5 spot in the batting order, where he serves as protection for Rodriguez. Recently, though, he hasn't been much of a bodyguard for arguably the game's best player, and opponents are starting to wise up. Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston intentionally walked Rodriguez in the ninth and 12th innings, both times bringing up Cano in key situations with two runners on base. He made outs twice when singles would have won the game. "He has hit some balls hard in those situations," Girardi said. "Today was a tough day for him."It's not like he hasn't been productive at any point this season. He's in a little tough stretch. You don't want to see anyone go through that, but you've got to fight your way out of it. Sometimes, it can be a bloop hit that gets you going."
At this point, Cano would gladly take it. He went 0-for-6 on Saturday and made the final out of an inning five straight times. There were runners on base for all six of his at-bats, with runners in scoring position five times. He came up with just a runner on first in the seventh and hit into a routine double play. Cano also made a mental error at the plate that could have cost the Yankees the game. In the 12th inning, he came up with runners on first and second and nobody out, and Girardi called for a sacrifice bunt. But Toronto reliever Shawn Camp lost the strike zone and immediately fell behind 3-0 on the count. Girardi took the sign off, but Cano apparently missed it and bunted the ball anyway. Mark Teixeira, who was on second base, was unable to get a good jump off the bag and was easily forced out at third. Fortunately for Cano, his blunder was rendered irrelevant one batter later, when Jorge Posada drove a walk-off single into right to give the Yankees a dramatic 6-5 victory. Otherwise, they would have squandered a great opportunity. "Let's just say somebody missed something," Girardi said. "A better way to explain is he misunderstood something." Despite the 0-for-6 day on Saturday, Cano is still hitting an even .300 on the season, with 13 homers and 43 RBIs. He has remained one of the Yankees' best hitters, with a higher batting average than anyone but shortstop Derek Jeter (.308). But his splits are particularly striking. Cano is batting .245 with runners on base vs. .337 with the sacks empty. With runners in scoring position, he is down to .198. After Saturday's disappointing performance, Cano was not available for comment. He spoke with the media after Friday's game, and like his manager, tried to downplay his current hitting woes. "I still gotta get better," Cano said. "I still gotta get better with men on base. It's not something I want to go through, but this is the game of baseball." Pitching matchupNYY: RHP Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 3.89 ERA)
Chamberlain has been far from spectacular this season, but the Yankees are 10-5 in games he starts. He has worked more than six innings only three times, but has allowed more than three earned runs just twice. Chamberlain has shown a knack for keeping his team within reach but has not yet shown the dominating form he demonstrated as a reliever in 2007. In his last start against the Mariners on Tuesday, he surrendered three runs in 5 1/3 frames. TOR: LHP Brett Cecil (2-1, 5.09 ERA)
Scott Richmond, originally expected to start Sunday's game, was placed on the 15-day disabled list after Saturday's loss to the Yankees, so Cecil will be moved up from Tuesday's start to pitch at Yankee Stadium. Toronto skipped Cecil in the last cycle through the rotation due to having an off-day on Thursday. Cecil's last start came on June 25, when he earned a no-decision in an abbreviated performance against the Reds. The left-hander allowed five runs on nine hits, including four first-inning doubles, over three innings. The rookie finished with two strikeouts and three walks in the 86-pitch effort. Tidbits
Injured catcher Jose Molina spoke with reporters before Saturday's game and said he thinks he is on track to rejoin the Yankees in Minnesota on Tuesday. ... New York scored five or more runs off Roy Halladay on Saturday for the first time since April 15, 2003, at the old Yankee Stadium. Tickets
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• Monday: Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 8-3, 4.25) vs. Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 6-3, 2.85), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Yankees (CC Sabathia, 7-5, 3.85) at Twins (Scott Baker, 6-6, 4.99), 8:10 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Yankees (A.J. Burnett, 7-4, 3.83) at Twins (Glen Perkins, 4-4, 4.38), 8:10 p.m. ET
Jared Diamond is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
