Say, that was some win by the Yankees last night, no? (Boxscore here.)
They rallied from a 6-1 deficit to take a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth against the Texas Rangers. As death follows taxes, that meant Mariano Rivera was on the mound seeking his 24th save of the season.
(ESPN play-by-play guy (not verbatim): People talk about Mariano Rivera’s decline, but he has a 3-2 won-lost record, and a 1.09 ERA.)
He also promptly gave up a lead-off triple.
Which prompted memories of his blown save Tuesday night in Texas that led to people talking about Mariano Rivera’s decline.
Then the funniest thing happened.
Right fielder Austin Kearns made a sno-cone catch of a sure single for the first out.
Rivera fielded a cool-as-a-cuke comebacker for the second out.
Alex Rodriguez snagged a grounder to third and made the long throw for the third out.
Mariano Rivera may no longer be the mortal lock he was the past 14 years, but he’s damned impressive nonetheless.
P.S. Rivera’s ERA is now 1.06.
Hey…. how about that close-out by Paps on Monday? Striking out Swisher, Jeter, and Teixeria! He’s having a good year too.
Absolutely – although he’s had his head-holding moments too.
You know, I think I want to take that comment back.
Great win by Yanks considering how few balls they put into play. Pettitte is needed and Granderson, Posada & Jeter have to get going. Hard to believe at times that they have the best record in the majors by the way they’re playing.
Amen.