Yankees’ Two Young Catalysts Cook Up Another Victory

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4

catalyst n. 催化劑，刺激
cook up 編造


TORONTO, Aug. 6 — Robinson Canó had already doubled in the tying and go-ahead runs in the sixth inning Monday. As he crossed the plate on a single by Melky Cabrera, he clapped his hands in delight. Sure enough, at first base a moment later, Cabrera clapped, too.

“They're always together,” Derek Jeter said. “You don't see one of them without the other.”

It was just another installment of Me and My Shadow, playing almost every day to the amusement of the veterans on the Yankees. Canó and Cabrera charged the surging Yankees again in a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Center, lifting the team to the brink of the lead in the American League wild-card race.

amusement n. 娛樂
brink n. 邊緣


“We're battling, we're fighting,” said closer Mariano Rivera, who struck out Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and Frank Thomas in the ninth inning. “We're giving everything that we have to win the game. We did today.”

The Yankees have won seven of their past eight games, improving their record to 62-50, a half-game behind the Detroit Tigers, who defeated Tampa Bay by 6-4 last night. The Seattle Mariners (60-49) are idle.

After striking out in his first two at-bats, Canó doubled to left-center on a curveball from the left-handed reliever Scott Downs. The Yankees had been trailing by a run, but Canó ’s hit gave them a 4-3 lead. When Cabrera singled him home, it was his third hit of the game.

Jason Giambi is about to rejoin the Yankees, which could nudge an outfielder like Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui out of the designated hitter role. But Cabrera is not losing his starting job in center. He has a 12-game hitting streak, with a .412 average in those games.

nudge v. 推進，刺激

“I'm not saying we won't give him a day off here and there,” Manager Joe Torre said, “but it would really be tough to replace what he does for us.”

Part of what makes Cabrera tough to replace is that he gives the Yankees a switch-hitter with pop at the bottom of the order and a strong arm on defense that runners rarely challenge. Another part is intangible, but possibly as important.

intangible a. 無形的；模糊的

“You'll see guys sort of dragging, and they see them bouncing around and say, ‘Shoot, I can do that, too,’ ” said the third-base coach Larry Bowa, referring to Canó and Cabrera.

“There's no question it helps. They're still going to make some mistakes, but what they bring to the table outnumbers what they do wrong.”

outnumber v. 數目上超過

Canó said he and Cabrera only talked baseball after losses, so they can find ways to improve. After a game in Chicago in June, when the Yankees were well under .500, Canó and Cabrera resolved to get on base more often. Canó said they decided to be realistic about what the team needed.

“We're not here to hit home runs,” Canó said. “We're not going to prove that we're Babe Ruth or anything. Just go out there, get on base for A-Rod and Posada and Matsui, let them hit the home runs. Just swing at pitches we can drive, not like we were at the beginning, when we were swinging at everything and trying to hit the ball out of the park.”

Canó is batting .456 (41 for 90) in his last 23 games, coming on strong in the second half the way he did last season. He and Cabrera are playing with the boundless energy of teenagers, Alex Rodriguez said, as they compete against each other and the opposition.

“You see them doing their handshakes and jumping up and down,” Andy Pettitte said. “There's no doubt that they feed off each other. To watch them play, I don’t think either one of them wants to be outdone each day. It’s almost a competition like a staff — when guys are dealing, you want to pitch good also.”

Pettitte (8-7) pitched well enough to win Monday, working five and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs and six hits, and striking out seven. He has lost the groove he had early this season, but has won four of his past six starts.

“You realize it's going to be a battle, and I'm not going to give in and give these games up,” Pettitte said. “I don't care how many pitches I have to throw, I'll throw 'em.”

Pettitte needed 114 to get as far as he did, leaving two on with two out for the newcomer Jim Brower, who got a lineout from Reed Johnson to end the sixth inning. After Rios singled to lead off the seventh, Luis Vizcaíno came in to work two crucial innings before Rivera’s overpowering ninth.

“It's amazing he still throws that hard, and the ball's back to cutting, with command,” Pettitte said of Rivera. “That's why he's the best there is.”