Difficult Victory, and Yankees Have Bruises to Prove It
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Joba Chamberlain, left, and C. C. Sabathia with Robinson Cano, right, who singled home Alex Rodriguez in the 11th.
When the X-ray machine is used more than the star closer, it usually indicates problems. So it was Wednesday for the Yankees, who closed out another exceptional homestand with another extra-inning victory.
Robinson Cano singled home the winning run in the 11th as the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3. But afterward, the Yankees hobbled onto the bus for their West Coast trip with four of their top players aching and bruised.
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were hit by pitches in the first and final innings, and both required X-rays, which were negative. But Jeter was taken out of the game after the second inning, and if the Yankees had not scored in the 11th, Rodriguez said he would have come out as well, which would have forced the backup catcher Jose Molina to play third base.
“I’m glad we got it done when we got it done,” said Jorge Posada, who also took a pounding in the game.
Jeter hobbled around the bases for two innings before coming out, but he walked without a limp after the game and all but promised he would be in the lineup Thursday in Seattle. Rodriguez, who was hit just above the pad on his left elbow, was scheduled to have Thursday off anyway, but he could miss more time.
“I don’t think it hit the pad,” Joe Girardi said, “and that’s my concern that it could be more than one day for him.”
And Mariano Rivera, described by Girardi as “a little cranky” before the game, was not used in the ninth inning because of soreness in his right shoulder. Normally, he would have entered a tie game at home. Rivera played down the extent of the injury, which he said he had experienced before. But he could not guarantee he would be available Thursday.