The Yankees Are Playing Like, Well, the Yankees

Yankees 9, Royals 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 24 — The Yankees are doing precisely what they are supposed to do. They are steamrolling mediocre pitchers, taking advantage of a soft patch in their schedule and roaring toward playoff contention.

steamroller v. 【口】壓垮
mediocre a. 二流的，平凡的

The Yankees buried the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, 9-4, for their 11th victory in 14 games since the All-Star Game break. They are just four and a half games behind the Cleveland Indians for the lead in the wild-card race.

Chien-Ming Wang was the beneficiary of the Yankees' latest offensive eruption. They have scored 56 runs in their last four games and, until the eighth inning on Tuesday, had put at least one runner on base for 24 consecutive innings.

beneficiary n. 受益人，受惠者
eruption n. (火山等)爆發

Before the game, Royals Manager Buddy Bell sounded as if he could sense the ugly night ahead. His starter, Scott Elarton, had a 9.17 earned run average, more walks than strikeouts and had missed a month with a foot injury.

“Scotty's stuff hasn't been an issue,” Bell said. “It's all about command. Hopefully, he'll have that tonight. He'll need it. This is a pretty good team.”

command n. 掌握能力

With command especially important, Elarton walked the Yankees’ leadoff batter, hit the cleanup batter and walked the fifth hitter. One run was in by then, and three more would follow on a single by Jorge Posada and a double by the sizzling Robinson Canó.

cleanup n. 【棒】四棒打者
sizzling a. 【美】火熱的

The Yankees sent nine batters to the plate in the first, and nine more in the second. Elarton would not be around to finish that inning.

He faced five hitters in the second, allowing a single to Johnny Damon, a run-scoring double to Bobby Abreu and a run-scoring single to Hideki Matsui. John Bale, a left-hander, brought Bell no relief: he walked his first three hitters, forcing in another run to make the score 7-0.

To that point, the Royals had sent only three hitters to the plate. The Royals did score twice in the second, but Wang was otherwise in command, cruising to his 11th victory, five more than any other Yankees starter.

Even so, the Yankees’'rotation has become a strength, and it is close to getting stronger. Phil Hughes started for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, throwing six shutout innings, allowing two hits, striking out seven and throwing 73 pitches. He is tentatively scheduled for one more start as he recovers from injuries to his hamstring and ankle.

tentative a. 試驗性的，嘗試的

The Yankees' unwillingness to part with Hughes or Joba Chamberlain will have ramifications before Tuesday's trading deadline. Without giving up Hughes or Chamberlain, the Yankees will probably have no chance to acquire first baseman Mark Teixeira from the Texas Rangers.

ramification n. 分枝，縱橫交錯

Hughes will rejoin the Yankees as soon as he is ready, replacing Kei Igawa in the rotation. The question is whether Chamberlain will eventually join him in New York.

It would be quite a jump for Chamberlain, who started the season in Class A Tampa and was promoted with another starter, Ian Kennedy, from Class AA Trenton to Scranton on Monday. Manager Joe Torre said that while the Yankees still envision Chamberlain as a starter, he could be a relief option down the stretch.

envision v. 想像，展望

“I’m not sure it's probable, but it's possible,” Torre said, adding that he would be careful with Chamberlain if he is called up. “I think they'll try to get a feel for it. That's why they're moving him to Scranton.”

Chamberlain, 21, was 4-2 with a 3.43 earned run average in seven starts at Trenton. Although the move still seems unlikely this late in his first professional season, there are indications that Chamberlain would favor a temporary bullpen move.

“Whether I'm pitching here or pitching in New York, it's 60 feet 6 inches,” Chamberlain told reporters on Tuesday. “They're not moving the mound back on me.”

Chamberlain's potential move was not the focus of Tuesday's organizational meeting in Tampa, Fla. But all of the top Yankees' executives were there, including the principal owner George Steinbrenner and his sons, Hank and Hal; the team president Randy Levine; the chief operating officer Lonn Trost; Cashman; the senior vice president for player development Mark Newman; the vice president for amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer; the special adviser Gene Michael, and the senior vice president Felix Lopez.

The group met for several hours to discuss alternatives before the trading deadline, with no deals imminent and with the acquisition of Teixeira looking doubtful.

imminent a. 即將發生的
acquisition n. 獲得

After giving away such talent as Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez and Francisco Cordero in failed trades in recent years, the Rangers are under more pressure than ever to make a good deal. They also may decide to keep Teixeira, who is signed through 2008.

For now, the Yankees are pleased with the job Andy Phillips has done. But Torre said there may be better alternatives.

I don't think we know that, because we don't know what's available,” Torre said. “Or if there is someone available, we don't necessarily want to pay the price for that guy.”

INSIDE PITCH

Robinson Canó, who walked twice in the entire month of May, walked three times on Tuesday. It was the first three-walk game of his career. ... To recognize the 24th anniversary of the so-called Pine Tar Game, in which George Brett homered off the Yankees' Goose Gossage with a pine tar-smeared bat, the Royals gave out T-shirts of Brett's powder-blue jersey smudged with fake pine tar stains. Brett, who is now a Royals vice president, caught the ceremonial first pitch.

tar n. 焦油，柏油 v. 塗焦油於
smear v. (用黏或膩的東西)塗抹;塗上(油、油漆等)；弄髒；中傷
powder-blue a. 粉藍色的
jersey n. 平針織物
smudge n. 污點 v. 弄髒，形成污跡