Now Pitching in Scranton, Some Relief for Yankees

Yankees 10, Orioles 6

BALTIMORE, July 29 — The Yankees will almost surely have a new setup man soon. They have switched Joba Chamberlain, the hard-throwing 21-year-old right-hander, to a relief role at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and they continue to receive poor results from Kyle Farnsworth in the majors.

Farnsworth was going to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday no matter what the Yankees did in the top half. The offense, however, erupted for five runs, giving Farnsworth a cushion and dulling the impact of another rocky outing.

cushion v. 緩和...的衝擊；給...安上墊子 n. 墊子；緩衝器
dull v. 緩和


The Yankees outlasted the Baltimore Orioles, 10-6, at Camden Yards to win their first full game since Wednesday. Johnny Damon had three hits and scored four runs, and Chien-Ming Wang worked six innings to earn his team-leading 12th victory.

The Yankees led by six runs when Farnsworth entered, making only his second appearance in the past nine games. The struggles that followed, he said, might have resulted from pitching only once in the previous eight games.

“It doesn't help, I'll tell you that right now,” he said. “I didn't come here to sit on the bench.”

Farnsworth walked the leadoff man, then gave up a two-run homer. He later threw a fastball when catcher Jorge Posada called for a slider, striking Posada on the wrist of his glove hand. As the pitch bounced away, Posada glared at Farnsworth and later stalked to the mound for a curt conversation.

stalk v. 高視闊步地走
curt a. 簡慢的，簡明的


Farnsworth walked off in the other direction after Posada's message. Alex Rodriguez was there to officiate, patting Posada on the chest protector. Posada did not seem upset after the game, saying Farnsworth simply missed the sign. But when asked if he was fine with Posada, Farnsworth said, “We'll see.”

officiate v. 執行職務

Farnsworth, who has a 4.57 earned run average, may not be around much longer. The nonwaiver trading deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday, and the Detroit Tigers have had a scout following the Yankees in two of their last three series.

scout n. 球探；偵察兵；偵察 v. 偵察；觀察(演員，運動員)的表現以估計才能

Farnsworth pitched well for the Tigers two years ago, and they have at least some interest in him now, although a deal seemed doubtful as of Friday. With Chamberlain presumably coming up soon and the Yankees still hoping to pry a reliever from a noncontender — Eric Gagné of the Texas Rangers is the best available — there is less need for Farnsworth.

pry v. 打聽；窺探

“I've been around long enough not to worry about things you can't control,” said Farnsworth, who has only 27 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings. “I signed a three-year deal to stay here for three years. But like I said, you can't control it.”

In Chamberlain, the Yankees have a prospect with a refined repertory and, by all accounts, a solid makeup. The Yankees still view him as a starter for the future, but he has been scratched from his start Monday for Scranton and will work an inning of relief instead.

The plan is for Chamberlain to throw another inning Wednesday, but it is not a stretch to think he could be with the Yankees by then.

Asked when Chamberlain might be promoted, Manager Joe Torre said: “The only thing I know is he's in Scranton, and that's certainly something that's going to be looked at. As far as what date, I don't know.”

Promoting Chamberlain presents a health risk; it is late in his first professional season, after pitching in the Hawaiian winter league, and the innings in the majors will be intense. Chamberlain had triceps tendinitis at the University of Nebraska, an injury that caused some teams to pass on him in the 2006 draft.

triceps n. 三頭肌
trendinitis n. 【醫】腱炎


Yet the benefits could be enormous. Chamberlain throws 98 miles an hour and could overpower hitters the way Francisco Rodríguez did for the Angels and Bobby Jenks did for the White Sox in their first seasons, helping their teams win the World Series. The Yankees, who are four games out of a playoff spot, do not have a shutdown bullpen. Their relievers allowed 9 runs and 16 hits over their last eight innings.

enormous a. 巨大的，龐大的

But the team won anyway Sunday, thanks largely to Damon, who is batting .361 in his last eight games and saved two runs with a catch on the warning track in the fourth inning.

It's great being healthy,” said Damon, who played left field. “Maybe I need to be out in the field more. I can keep my adrenaline going. I feel like I can help our team out there.”

adrenaline n. 腎上腺素