Philips Makes Case to Stay, and Igawa Doesn't.

Andy Phillips homered in his first major league at-bat, in 2004, and it sometimes seems as if it has been all downhill since. He has had an emotional Yankees career, learning hard the lesson that timing is everything. Now, at last, it may be his time.

Phillips singled in the go-ahead runs in the sixth inning to lift the Yankees over the Toronto Blue Jays last night, 6-4. It was the Yankees' ninth victory in their past 12 games, and the second in a row in which Phillips drove in the pivotal run.

pivotal a. 關鍵的

“It's a lot of joy to see what he's doing, especially with what he's been through,” said Jorge Posada, who singled to start the two-out, tie-breaking rally against Josh Towers. “He's come out here and getting a chance to play, and he's doing everything we ask for. It's a lot of fun to see.”

rally n. 重新振作，(網球等的)連續對打

Phillips is batting .375 this month, with the trading deadline two weeks away. Last July, as he helped his wife recover from cancer and a lost pregnancy, he played regularly and batted .165. The Yankees traded for a veteran first baseman, Craig Wilson, and Phillips became an afterthought.

afterthought n. 事後的想法

In the winter, the Yankees tried again to replace Phillips, adding Josh Phelps and giving him Phillips's job in spring training. Phelps outperformed Phillips, who lost time as he helped his mother learn to walk again after a serious car accident. Phillips cleared waivers and reported to the minors.

report to 報到

Manager Joe Torre pledged to play Phillips regularly after his promotion in June, but Phillips started once and Torre benched him for a week. Phillips has started in 14 of 16 games since, and his play may have convinced the Yankees that he finally warrants a long look.

pledge v. 保證給予，許諾
warrant v. 向…保證

“I'm happy I'm seeing what I'm seeing,” Torre said. “He works hard, and he's the type of guy you want to pull for.”

Before Phillips's single — a blooper to center on a 1-2 slider — every run in the game had scored on a homer. The Yankees hit three, including the 496th of Alex Rodriguez's career and Hideki Matsui's sixth in the past 10 games. Robinson Canó homered and doubled, and Toronto's Troy Glaus had two home runs and a triple.

blooper n. 噓聲
center on 集中

Phillips's production at the bottom of the order tempers the Yankees' need for a midlevel first baseman like Shea Hillenbrand. They have no plans to trade any of their top pitching prospects for an elite first baseman like the Texas Rangers' Mark Teixeira, meaning Phillips could keep his job.

temper v. 使緩和
elite n. 精英

“It certainly crosses your mind,” Phillips said. “Anytime you're up here, that's your hope. You're trying to accomplish something and solidify what you're trying to do. But it's not what consumes you every day, because then you start adding pressure.”

consume v. 使…著迷，使全神貫注

Feeling that pressure, Phillips said, was a burden for him in previous stints. When Phillips returned to the Yankees this season, Torre anticipated the problem and told him not to worry if he had a bad day because he would be getting more at-bats.

stint n. 工作期限，吝惜
anticipate v. 預料

“A different approach helps, coming in and having fun and not putting pressure on myself to feel I have to do something heroic,” Phillips said. “Mr. T was huge in that.”

One Yankee whose job seems more vulnerable is starter Kei Igawa, who waded through five innings last night. With Phil Hughes and Jeff Karstens scheduled to make rehabilitation starts this week for Class AA Trenton, Igawa had an uneven outing.

vulnerable a. 易受責難的
wade through 費力地做完
rehabilitation n. 復職
uneven a. 不穩定的
outing n. 體育比賽

He never retired more than three hitters in a row and required three visits from the pitching coach Ron Guidry. Yet the Blue Jays often struggled to pick up his patterns, striking out seven times and taking several awkward swings.

retire v. 【棒】使出局
pick up 掌握
awkward a. 笨拙的

That was a sign that Igawa had good stuff, though he walked 4, threw 115 pitches and rushed himself at times. As usual, he was disappointed.

“It was not good,” Igawa said through an interpreter. “Every inning I had runners on base. I never had a clean, three-out inning. That's what I'm not satisfied about.”

interpreter n. 翻譯員

The Yankees could bolster their bullpen through a trade, although Luis Vizcaíno worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning last night as Torre gave the struggling Kyle Farnsworth the night off, citing Farnsworth's recent workload. Scott Proctor (2-5) pitched two innings for the victory, and Mariano Rivera earned his 14th save.

bolster v. 支撐，支持

Vizcaíno has a 1.23 earned run average since May 28, and Farnsworth's E.R.A. is three runs higher in that time.

But Torre said he had not considered giving Vizcaíno the regular eighth-inning role.

“Farnsie has the most experience doing that for the eighth and the ninth; he was a closer, too,” Torre said. “I'd have to see something really bad from him where he was very inconsistent, and I haven't seen that.”