NewsShort night for West in loss to Yankees
Rook struggles in four-plus frames; Marlins held to three hits
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
06/19/09 11:44 PM ET
MIAMI -- Considering the Yankees hadn't played a regular-season game at Land Shark Stadium since 2001, and the last meaningful contest they had in Miami was en route to losing to the Marlins in the 2003 World Series, Friday night featured a bit of a treat for South Florida residents. |
But for the Marlins fans -- who were lightly scattered among the 35,027 in attendance -- that treat didn't last very long at all, as the Yankees got on Sean West early, and Andy Pettitte took it from there in handing Florida a 5-1 loss.
New York put up five runs in the first three innings, and it did it without Miami product and superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who's scheduled to miss the first two games of this series because of general fatigue.
"That's a good group of hitters," said West, who gave up five runs on 10 hits in four-plus innings -- the shortest outing of his short career. "The best money can buy. They lose their top hitter and still have so many guys that can hurt you."
The Marlins, coming off a 4-2 Interleague road trip, moved to 7-11 all-time in the regular season against the Yankees. The last time the Bronx Bombers were in South Florida -- exhibition games excluded -- Florida won Game 5 of the World Series, 6-4, before clinching in Game 6 at the old Yankee Stadium.
Pettitte started that final game, and despite giving up just one earned run in seven innings, he was the 2-0 losing pitcher after Josh Beckett's shutout. But in a less-meaningful game on Friday, he outdueled West and got the victory after giving up just one run on three hits in seven innings.
"[Pettitte] was really good tonight, and you have to give him credit," said outfielder Cody Ross, who gave the Marlins their only run with a solo homer in the third. "They jumped on us early, and when that combo is working, it's tough."
The Marlins came into Friday's game with a .289 batting average in their first 17 games in June, which ranked second only to the Angels in the Major Leagues. Against the Yankees, though, they managed only three baserunners and put two men in scoring position other than Ross' homer.
After a two-hour and 26-minute rain delay at Fenway Park on Thursday night, Marlins players stumbled into South Florida just before sunrise on Friday. But coming off almost a 5 1/2-hour delay against the Nationals, New York got to South Florida in the early hours of the morning, too.
And the Yanks wasted no time getting the bats going.
"You can't use that as an excuse, but I'd be lying to you if I wasn't saying I was tired out there," Ross said. "That's part of it, though. You have to find a way to get it done and find some energy and get out there and play and try to come up with a victory."
West, who yielded three runs in the second inning, simply didn't have it in the opener of the three-game series.
It was evident when Derek Jeter took the first pitch of the game and blasted it off the top of the center-field wall for a ground-rule double; and when Rodriguez's replacement in the starting lineup -- rarely used Angel Berroa -- laced an RBI double in the left-center-field gap in the second inning; and especially when, right after that, West gave up an RBI double to Pettitte, who came in batting .133 for his career.
After West's first two frames, the Yankees held a 4-0 lead while putting up eight hits, and the 23-year-old rookie had fired 35 pitches.
Two starts earlier, West hurled a gem against childhood hero and likely future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. But against another veteran left-hander, the rookie was simply outpitched.
"He was having trouble keeping the pitches down," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "That's going to happen, but you wish that he would learn from that and make adjustments during the course of the game. That comes from experience, and hopefully he learned that tonight."
West was also pitching with a heavy heart.
Last week, his 70-year-old grandmother passed away. And while he was pitching against the Blue Jays last Saturday -- giving up four runs in 5 2/3 innings but still getting the win -- they were holding a funeral for her in Louisiana that he couldn't attend.
West said his grandmother would've wanted him to pitch. But her loss still weighs heavily on his mind.
"That's the first death I've had to deal with in my immediate family, and I took it pretty tough," said West, who always referred to her as "Mimi." "I try to dedicate every game to her. When I get in a deep count, I try to ask for her help a little bit, just to guide the ball in there. Just little stuff like that. I'm going to miss her."
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
