Yankees Game 3 Recap

Raul Ibanez might have just saved the Yankees season

Wow. I am absolutely speechless. Raul Ibanez just saved the Yankees season...again. Despite sitting on the bench for 8 and 1/2 innings, he still was more than ready to come through for the Yankees when his number was called, twice!

The Yankees took a 2-1 series lead after Raul Ibanez hit a game tying pinch hit home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. Ibanez later hit a game winning home run in his next at bat in the bottom of the 12th inning giving his team a 3-2 victory and more importantly, the series lead.

The Yankees had absolutely no business winning that game even though starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda gave up only 2 runs over a strong 8.1 innings. Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez simply out-dueled him. Gonzalez gave up 1 run in 7 innings of work, striking out 8 and was untouchable throughout the entire game. Everything was going smoothly until often reliable Orioles closer Jim Johnson failed to get the job done for a second time.

The turning point in this game was obviously when Ibanez hit his first home run of the game in the bottom of the 9th. Besides Derek Jeter and Russell Martin, it seemed as if the rest of the Yankee lineup was sleepwalking through the game. This was until manager Joe Girardi, whom I have knocked and bashed for years, made the managerial move of the century pinch hitting Raul Ibanez, for the team's three hitter and multimillion dollar man, Alex Rodriguez.

This was a move that many Yankee fans would have done just to spite A-Rod, who seems to fear the big moment, but nobody would actually be crazy enough to do. If Ibanez doesn't hit a home run, the consequences are enormous. You then have hurt egos, upper management questioning the move, and most importantly, it would have emphasized just how desperate the team was.

All of this doesn't matter now. Ibanez has cemented his name into Yankee immortality, at least in my lifetime. This is right up there with Aaron Boone's wild walk-off to send the Yankees to the World Series back in 2003. Joe Girardi probably has earned an extension, and most importantly, the team is one game away from the American League Championship Series.

One Last Thing: Derek Jeter was removed from the game after his at-bat in the bottom of the 8th due to an agitated bone bruise on the top of his foot. This occurred during his first at-bat and Jeter toughed it out for most of the game hitting a single and an RBI triple. He was seen limping around almost the entire time and is day-to-day. Girardi said he hopes Jeter will play tomorrow, and if his past is any indication for next game, Jeter will play. 

Tomorrow's pitching matchup will be Phil Hughes for the Yankees and Joe Saunders for the Orioles. Saunders earned the win in the wild card play-in over the Texas Rangers last Friday. The first pitch will come at around 7:37 PM ET on TBS in the Bronx.