by Marc Carig
Thanks to a bullpen blowup, the six solid innings that pitcher Joba Chamberlain produced on Sunday afternoon may easily get lost in the shuffle. Nevertheless, the Yankees right-hander offered signs that he's worked his way into form after enduring a spring filled with ups and downs.
"I got ahead early and I think that set the tone for me as far as getting going and getting established, especially this being the first outing of the year," Chamberlain said after the Yankees fell to the Kansas City Royals 6-4 in his season debut.
The end result couldn't be pinned on Chamberlain, who exited the game in the seventh inning with a 4-3 lead. The right-hander's final line has him down for three runs, one earned and five hits in over six innings. But he pitched better than the stats would indicate.
The only real problem spot for Chamberlain came in the fourth inning, when he started the frame by walking a batter and then hitting the next one with a pitch. Chamberlain was close to escaping without damage, retiring the next two batters. He appeared to have the third when he induced a roller to the right side of the infield off the bat of Kansas City's Alberto Callaspo.
Instead, Callaspo's grounder bounced through the legs of both first baseman Nick Swisher and second baseman Robinson Cano, allowing the Royals to push ahead 2-1. The Royals made it 3-1 on an RBI single by John Buck, one of his three RBIs on the day.
"That kind of opened up the gate a little bit," said Swisher, who committed the error because he incorrectly expected the grounder to bounce a bit higher off the soggy turf.
Even after the bad break, Chamberlain settled in, working out of a two-out jam in the fifth before retiring the side in order in the sixth, his final inning, which he reached in 88 pitches.
The Yankees then pushed ahead 4-3 behind a three runs rally in the seventh, putting Chamberlain in line for the victory until the bullpen surrendered the lead in the eighth.
"Really, I look at it as one run in six innings," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He threw the ball pretty well. His velocity was great. His strikes were great. I thought he threw the ball pretty good."
"I got ahead early and I think that set the tone for me as far as getting going and getting established, especially this being the first outing of the year," Chamberlain said after the Yankees fell to the Kansas City Royals 6-4 in his season debut.
The end result couldn't be pinned on Chamberlain, who exited the game in the seventh inning with a 4-3 lead. The right-hander's final line has him down for three runs, one earned and five hits in over six innings. But he pitched better than the stats would indicate.
The only real problem spot for Chamberlain came in the fourth inning, when he started the frame by walking a batter and then hitting the next one with a pitch. Chamberlain was close to escaping without damage, retiring the next two batters. He appeared to have the third when he induced a roller to the right side of the infield off the bat of Kansas City's Alberto Callaspo.
Instead, Callaspo's grounder bounced through the legs of both first baseman Nick Swisher and second baseman Robinson Cano, allowing the Royals to push ahead 2-1. The Royals made it 3-1 on an RBI single by John Buck, one of his three RBIs on the day.
"That kind of opened up the gate a little bit," said Swisher, who committed the error because he incorrectly expected the grounder to bounce a bit higher off the soggy turf.
Even after the bad break, Chamberlain settled in, working out of a two-out jam in the fifth before retiring the side in order in the sixth, his final inning, which he reached in 88 pitches.
The Yankees then pushed ahead 4-3 behind a three runs rally in the seventh, putting Chamberlain in line for the victory until the bullpen surrendered the lead in the eighth.
"Really, I look at it as one run in six innings," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He threw the ball pretty well. His velocity was great. His strikes were great. I thought he threw the ball pretty good."
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