On Night Full of Memories, a Yankees Loss to Forget

Orioles 12, Yankees 0

If Phil Rizzuto would have been broadcasting last night's game at Yankee Stadium, his scorecard would have been covered with notations of W.W., his shorthand for wasn't watching.

notation n. 標記
shorthand n. 速記

On a night the Yankees paid tribute to Rizzuto, the Hall of Fame shortstop who died on Monday night at 89, they played a game to challenge the attention span. In another era, it would have made for hours of nonbaseball chatter by Rizzuto.

tribute n. 敬意
attention span n. The length of time during which a person can concentrate
on a subject or idea.

The Baltimore Orioles punished the Yankees, 12-0, taking advantage of four walks in three innings by the fill-in starter Jeff Karstens. It was only the second loss in 11 games for the Yankees, who face the Orioles' ace, Erik Bedard, today. They fell five games behind first-place Boston in the American League East.

“It's easy to turn the page when you have something ugly to look at,” Yankees Manager Joe Torre said.

Karstens, a long reliever, was starting in place of Roger Clemens, who is serving a suspension for hitting Toronto's Alex Rios with a pitch last Tuesday after the Blue Jays had hit Alex Rodriguez. The Blue Jays were angry with Rodriguez for yelling to distract a fielder May 30.

Rodriguez had an infield single for one of the Yankees' two hits last night. Despite drawing nine walks, the Yankees were shut out by their widest margin in nearly two years.

They had scored at least seven runs in 10 straight home games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was their longest streak since 1938, three years before Rizzuto's major league debut. But hot hitting can work for other teams, too.

straight a. 連續的

“Since I've been here, the hitting has been contagious,” reliever Jim Brower said of opposing batters he has faced. “You get into that, and how do you get out of it? That's the trick.”

contagious a. 接觸傳染性的

Brower could not find a way after the Orioles scored five runs against Karstens. He gave up six runs (four earned) in two innings, putting the game out of reach.

out of reach a. unattainable, 達不到的

Karstens was making his first Yankees start since April 28, when a line drive by Boston's Julio Lugo broke his leg. Karstens made five more pitches that day, but he was soon added to the disabled list. He pitched well in his rehabilitation starts.

As prospects go, Karstens is not in the class of Phil Hughes, who starts today, or Ian Kennedy, who has a 1.96 earned run average at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. But Kennedy is not on the 40-man roster and has never pitched in the majors.

Torre said he expected Karstens to throw only 70 pitches, but he probably never guessed they would have come in just three innings. Karstens allowed five hits, including Aubrey Huff's third-inning grand slam into the upper deck, right inside the right field foul pole.

Karstens ended up throwing 74 pitches, and Torre said the Yankees could recall a fresh reliever for today's game. Brower will also need rest after throwing 50 pitches. Edwar Ramírez continues to excel at Scranton, and Karstens and Brower have minor league options.

excel at v. 勝過他人，突出

Daniel Cabrera (9-12) walked six in six and two-thirds innings, but the Yankees again could not solve him.

The last time Cabrera pitched at Yankee Stadium, last Sept. 28, he had a no-hitter until Robinson Canó singled with one out in the ninth. Rather than breaking into stardom, though, Cabrera was leading the league in walks and earned runs coming into last night's game.

But with a 96-mile-an-hour fastball and a height of 6 feet 9 inches, according to the Orioles' media guide, he was plenty imposing to the Yankees last night.

imposing a. Impressive, as by virtue of size, bearing, or power

“He's tough because he throws hard, and every time he's throwing, he seems like he's right next to you,” Canó said. “When he throws strikes, he's a good pitcher.”

Karstens is a finesse pitcher, relying on control of his average assortment of pitches. When his control is off, he is in trouble.

finesse n. 技巧
assortment n. 各色各樣的搭配

“Anytime you put base runners on without them having to hit it, I don't know the percentages, but usually, they end up scoring,” Karstens said.

Karstens overcame a walk in the first inning, but walking the first two hitters in the second led to the Orioles' first run. In the third, a double, a walk and a single loaded the bases for Huff.

After striking out against reliever Joba Chamberlain in his last at-bat Monday, Huff fared much better against a different rookie pitcher in Karstens. He lined an 0-1 pitch toward the foul pole, leaning his body to watch it stay fair for his ninth home run.

fare v. 遭遇

The Orioles kept piling up runs, which made a sign on the loge level, above third base, seem prophetic. “A Tough Yankee Loss #10,” it read — a tribute to Rizzuto that was true in more ways than one.

prophetic a. 預言的