NewsRoyals flee Bronx with a victory
Soria returns to notch 30th save after Buck's triple breaks tie
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
10/01/09 12:20 AM ET
NEW YORK -- So there's No. 1 -- the Royals' first victory at the new Yankee Stadium after two losses.This time, the Royals hung on to defeat the Yankees, 4-3, on John Buck's RBI triple on Wednesday night -- but it didn't come easily. The crowd of 46,956 was roaring when the Yankees put the tying and leading runs in scoring position in the ninth inning.
But, according to catcher Buck, there was no cause for alarm. After all, confident closer Joakim Soria was on the mound.
"You're in New York and they've been doing it all year," Buck said. "But you look in Soria's face and look into his eyes -- he's under control, even though a couple of things didn't go right. As soon as I walked out and talked to him, I got the sense that everything was OK, no matter how bad it looked."
It looked pretty chancy, for sure. Soria, whose sore shoulder kept him out of Tuesday night's crash and burn, retired the first two batters in the ninth. But then Francisco Cervelli singled. Freddy Guzman hit a sharp grounder past Soria that shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt fielded behind second base. But uh oh -- he threw the ball into the Yankees' dugout.
Cervelli was on third, and the error put Guzman at second. With the crowd urging on the American League East kings, Soria got Ramiro Pena on a flyout to center, and he had his 30th save of the season in hand.
"Always bet on me -- all the time," Soria said.
The Royals, twice ahead and twice tied, snapped a 3-3 deadlock in the seventh inning after Mark Teahen drew a one-out walk against Damaso Marte. With the Yankees giving their playoff-bound bullpen a workout, Sergio Mitre came in to face Buck. After a wild pitch, Buck sent a high fly to right field.
"I hit it and I was like, 'Arrgh,' but then I was like, 'Wait a minute -- this is New York,'" Buck said.
Yes, that right-field wall is rather friendly. Maybe the ball would float into the seats. It didn't, but it eluded the twisting, turning Nick Swisher on the warning track and dropped safely. Teahen scored and Buck churned to third with a triple, bellyflopping past third baseman Alex Rodriguez's tag.
"We did some things on the basepaths today that were positive," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Johnny, especially -- in a perfect situation with one out, going and taking the chance on getting to third base and making a great slide."
With a 4-3 lead, Hillman put on a suicide squeeze in an effort to add a cushion. But Betancourt missed the bunt and Buck, charging down the line, was an easy tag for catcher Jorge Posada.
"I got suicided," Buck said.
Things didn't begin well for Royals starter Robinson Tejeda. Derek Jeter's home run opened the Yankees' first inning, marking the 23rd leadoff homer of his career.
"It's like my mama says, 'It's not how you start -- it's how you finish,'" Tejeda said.
Tejeda breezed through the next 14 batters unscathed before he walked Robinson Cano to open the fifth and Swisher belted a home run to right field to tie the score at 3.
The Royals' first three runs came against Joba Chamberlain. They used two walks and Brayan Pena's single for a first-inning run. Alberto Callaspo doubled in the third and scored on Teahen's single, which took a startling hop over first baseman Mark Teixeira. And in the fourth, Pena singled home Josh Anderson, who had singled, swiped second and been bunted to third.
Chamberlain was lifted after Pena's second RBI single. Tejeda was taken out after five innings, and Jamey Wright took over, earning the victory with two scoreless innings. Roman Colon added a perfect eighth.
"Robby threw the ball really, really well. I'm really excited for him the way he's stepped into that rotation and done what he's done," Wright said. "He's been tremendous. Roman did a great job, and Soria does what he does."
Afterward, Soria said his shoulder was fine and that he was pleased to reach 30 saves after battling some shoulder problems earlier in the year.
Soria wasn't ready to pitch on Tuesday night, when Kyle Farnsworth gave up a 3-2 lead and let the Yankees win, 4-3. That loss made Wednesday's victory extra sweet.
"Especially after last night's heartbreaker," Hillman said, "when I felt like we should have finished that one off."
They did finish this one off for victory No. 1 at the new Yankee Stadium.
"We're proud of the way we played these guys," Pena said. "We lost a tough one yesterday, and we bounced back -- it's good. It's going to be happy flight."
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
