It was not supposed to be that way -- two rookies teaming up to deliver a close win for a much storied baseball franchise like the New York Yankees (41-39), the same Yankees that had acquired the services of several former league MVP's and Cy Young winners.
But rookie infielder Robinson Cano and Taiwan's own Wang Chien-ming (王建民) outshined their multi-millionaire teammates in a 1-0 shutout win over the Detroit Tigers on the road to keep the Yankees above the .500 mark on Sunday.
Wang (5-3), who left the game with a 1-0 lead after allowing five hits over seven shutout innings, was relieved by set-up man Tom Gordon in a perfect eighth, before ace closer Mariano Rivera preserved the low-scoring victory for the Bronx Bombers by retiring the final three Tigers batters in the ninth inning.
It was not his best pitching performance by any means as far as his ability to keep the number of base runners to a minimum, but Wang managed to get out of several serious jams by holding Detroit to 0-for-7 hitting with runners in scoring position, while also getting some timely help from his defense, which turned two double plays for his fifth win of the season.
He also beaned three Tigers batters while issuing one walk on a day where the ball seemed to have a mind of its own.
The Taiwanese wonder, nevertheless, still won the praise of the Yankees' skipper.
"I can't think of any other pitcher with that kind of poise with that little experience," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He [Wang] doesn't surprise me anymore. When we write his name down [on the pitching roster], we know we don't have to worry about him."
The 1-0 win marked the first time in 28 chances where the Yankees had scored three runs or fewer and still came out ahead.
The last time that these Yankees were able to pull off a regular-season win when scoring three runs or fewer was in a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the final game of last season.
Cano backed up his rookie buddy on the mound with a leadoff double in the fourth, and reached home on the ensuing play when Gary Sheffield slapped a single up the middle off Tigers starter Nate Robertson for the lone run of the contest.
It was a nice piece of hitting by the left-handed Yankees rookie, who hacked away at a high pitch from Robertson (also left-handed) to the opposite field for a rare double by a left-hander against Robertson.
The Tigers had their chances against Wang and the two other New York pitchers, but failed to come up with the clutch hits, stranding 10 runners with seven of them in scoring position, wasting another quality start by Robertson in a complete-game effort, as he dropped to 0-4 at home this season despite a 2.56 ERA.
Also see story:
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim