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This is for you doubters out there.
Go Jeter, ITs your birthday!!!
Jeter, Tino, A-Rod, Posada power rout
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The New York Yankees are slugging their way back to .500, and the Oakland Athletics are taking most of the beatings.
Derek Jeter and Tino Martinez hit three-run homers, Alex Rodriguez added his major league-leading 12th shot and the Yankees won their seventh straight, beating the A's 15-6 on Saturday night.
New York has beaten Oakland four times in the last eight days. The A's have lost a season-high seven straight.
Jorge Posada also homered, while Martinez had three hits and drove in five runs for the Yankees, who have scored 59 runs during their longest winning streak in more than a year. Hideki Matsui matched his career high with four of New York's 18 hits.
Kevin Brown (2-4) won his second straight start for the Yankees (18-19), who are back within a game of third-place Toronto in the AL East after their April struggles. Though they concentrated largely on improving their pitching staff in the offseason, they're winning with the same big bats that got them within a game of the World Series last fall.
New York demolished Joe Blanton and the A's early on: Every batter except Gary Sheffield had a hit by the fourth. New York sent 35 hitters to the plate in the first five innings, with Jeter and Tony Womack batting in each of the first four frames.
Blanton (0-4) yielded nine runs, seven hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. Martinez homered off reliever Tim Harikkala in the fourth, and Posada added a two-run shot in the fifth.
Oakland has allowed 35 runs in its four straight losses to the Yankees.
Martinez's homer onto the short right-field porch was his sixth homer in seven games. His five-game homer streak -- New York's longest since 1987 -- ended Friday night, but the veteran first baseman also had a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single.
That provided more than enough support for Brown, New York's struggling 40-year-old right-hander. He had lost seven straight starts dating to last season before beating the A's twice in six days.
Brown's teammates staked him to a 4-0 lead in Oakland before he threw a pitch, then gave him an eight-run cushion in the third and a 12-run margin in the fifth. Brown hardly needed to be sharp, but he allowed eight hits and three earned runs in six innings.
Though Blanton still hasn't earned his first major-league win, he had pitched superbly in his rookie season until running into the Yankees, who have beaten him twice in a row. His ERA ballooned from 3.22 to 5.08 before manager Ken Macha removed him to scattered booing in the third.
Thanks to Blanton's first-inning jitters and horrific control, New York scored four runs without an extra-base hit. Matsui drew a bases-loaded walk, and another run scored when Blanton hit Rodriguez with the bases loaded.
Rodriguez hit a solo homer to center in the third, and the next five batters all reached base. Jeter chased Blanton with his fourth homer of the year, a hard shot to right-center.
Jason Giambi went 1-for-4 with a walk in his second straight start as the Yankees' designated hitter, slightly raising his average to .200. He had a solid first-inning single, but never got past first base while the usual boos rained down on the former A's star.
A fan threw something at Giambi from a seat near the Yankees' dugout after the slugger flied out in the eighth inning. Several other fans pointed out the thrower, who was brusquely removed.
Game notes
Ruben Sierra, on the Yankees' disabled list with a torn right biceps, should rejoin the club in Seattle on Monday. He would be available as a DH or pinch-hitter. ... Bobby Crosby, Oakland's injured shortstop, joined the club's broadcasters in the booth. Crosby, out with broken ribs, hit off a tee and took fielding practice Friday. ... Mark Ellis pinch-hit for Scott Hatteberg in the seventh, then replaced Hatteberg at first base. Ellis never had played first base in the majors before.
Next target : .500
This is for you doubters out there.
Go Jeter, ITs your birthday!!!
Jeter, Tino, A-Rod, Posada power rout
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The New York Yankees are slugging their way back to .500, and the Oakland Athletics are taking most of the beatings.
Derek Jeter and Tino Martinez hit three-run homers, Alex Rodriguez added his major league-leading 12th shot and the Yankees won their seventh straight, beating the A's 15-6 on Saturday night.
New York has beaten Oakland four times in the last eight days. The A's have lost a season-high seven straight.
Jorge Posada also homered, while Martinez had three hits and drove in five runs for the Yankees, who have scored 59 runs during their longest winning streak in more than a year. Hideki Matsui matched his career high with four of New York's 18 hits.
Kevin Brown (2-4) won his second straight start for the Yankees (18-19), who are back within a game of third-place Toronto in the AL East after their April struggles. Though they concentrated largely on improving their pitching staff in the offseason, they're winning with the same big bats that got them within a game of the World Series last fall.
New York demolished Joe Blanton and the A's early on: Every batter except Gary Sheffield had a hit by the fourth. New York sent 35 hitters to the plate in the first five innings, with Jeter and Tony Womack batting in each of the first four frames.
Blanton (0-4) yielded nine runs, seven hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. Martinez homered off reliever Tim Harikkala in the fourth, and Posada added a two-run shot in the fifth.
Oakland has allowed 35 runs in its four straight losses to the Yankees.
Martinez's homer onto the short right-field porch was his sixth homer in seven games. His five-game homer streak -- New York's longest since 1987 -- ended Friday night, but the veteran first baseman also had a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single.
That provided more than enough support for Brown, New York's struggling 40-year-old right-hander. He had lost seven straight starts dating to last season before beating the A's twice in six days.
Brown's teammates staked him to a 4-0 lead in Oakland before he threw a pitch, then gave him an eight-run cushion in the third and a 12-run margin in the fifth. Brown hardly needed to be sharp, but he allowed eight hits and three earned runs in six innings.
Though Blanton still hasn't earned his first major-league win, he had pitched superbly in his rookie season until running into the Yankees, who have beaten him twice in a row. His ERA ballooned from 3.22 to 5.08 before manager Ken Macha removed him to scattered booing in the third.
Thanks to Blanton's first-inning jitters and horrific control, New York scored four runs without an extra-base hit. Matsui drew a bases-loaded walk, and another run scored when Blanton hit Rodriguez with the bases loaded.
Rodriguez hit a solo homer to center in the third, and the next five batters all reached base. Jeter chased Blanton with his fourth homer of the year, a hard shot to right-center.
Jason Giambi went 1-for-4 with a walk in his second straight start as the Yankees' designated hitter, slightly raising his average to .200. He had a solid first-inning single, but never got past first base while the usual boos rained down on the former A's star.
A fan threw something at Giambi from a seat near the Yankees' dugout after the slugger flied out in the eighth inning. Several other fans pointed out the thrower, who was brusquely removed.
Game notes
Ruben Sierra, on the Yankees' disabled list with a torn right biceps, should rejoin the club in Seattle on Monday. He would be available as a DH or pinch-hitter. ... Bobby Crosby, Oakland's injured shortstop, joined the club's broadcasters in the booth. Crosby, out with broken ribs, hit off a tee and took fielding practice Friday. ... Mark Ellis pinch-hit for Scott Hatteberg in the seventh, then replaced Hatteberg at first base. Ellis never had played first base in the majors before.
Next target : .500
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