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7:07PM - Here we go ladies and gentleman. Joba Chamberlain, all of 22-years-old, will begin his career as a starting pitcher in just moments. He's been no less than magical as a reliever in New York, and most expect the same success to transfer over into his new role. 7:09PM - I'm not going to lie, as a Yankee fan I don't think I've ever been this excited for a simple regular season game in June. 7:11PM - Damn. Catcher Jose Molina can't hold onto what would have been a strikeout of Shannon Stewart to begin the game. Stewart is battling, and earns a walk to lead off the game. Joba Count: 8 pitches 7:13PM - Marco Scutaro is at the plate and Chamberlain looks a little too excited. His stuff looks good, but he's throwing higher than usual. 7:15PM - Joba misses outside on a 2-2 count, but reaches back and strikes out Scutaro on a breaking ball. Joba Count: 14 pitches 7:16PM - Chamberlain gets called for a balk on a throw to first, called by the second base umpire. Stewart moves to second, on a call that most will question. Joba's movement was ever-so-slight. 7:18PM - A swing-and-miss by Alex Rios gets past Molina and Stewart moves to third as Joba is ahead 1-2 on Rios, who has a history of dominating the Yankees. 7:19PM - Rios grounds out to second, but Stewart scores to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. Boos are heard at the Stadium as Yankee fans continue to object to the balk call. Joba Count: 18 pitches 7:20PM - Joba races out to a 1-2 count on Scott Rolen, as the Stadium's clock registers a Chamberlain fastball at 101 miles per hour. Rolen stays alive though, and hits a ground ball between Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano. Joba Count: 22 pitches 7:22PM - Chamberlain looks startled as he throws three consecutive balls to Matt Stairs. He then throws the ball right down the pike and Stairs fouls one off to make the count 3-2. The crowd comes to it's feet in hopes that Joba is able to strike Stairs out to end the inning. Unfortunately, the sixth pitch of the at-bat is a ball and two men are on with two outs. Joba Count: 28 pitches 7:24PM - Lyle Overbay comes to the plate after a mound visit by New York pitching coach Dave Eiland. Joba's control isn't as sharp as usual, but he also doesn't seem to be getting the calls from the home plate umpire. Quickly, Overbay works a full count, with two men on and two out. Joba throws a low breaking ball and yet another walk issued as the bases are loaded. Joba Count: 34 pitches 7:27PM - The Yankees make a call to the bullpen as Joba is approaching the Major League high in terms of pitches thrown and he's yet to get out of the first inning. He gets ahead of Rod Barajas quickly, and strikes him out on four pitches. In his first inning of work, Joba allows one run on one hit and three walks. He also strikes out a pair as Toronto grabs a 1-0 lead. Joba Count: 38 pitches 7:30PM - Roy Halladay takes the mound for the Blue Jays as the Yankees come to bat in the home-half of the first inning. I wonder if the offense is juiced in hopes that they'll be able to give Chamberlain some support. That could be either good or bad. Johnny Damon starts things off quickly, hitting a triple to right-centerfield. 7:33PM - Derek Jeter hits a grounder to the third base side that prevents Damon from scoring. As New York hopes to do some damage on offense, I'm hoping Joba will have a nice quick second inning to prolong the excitement a little longer. 7:35PM - Chamberlain looks a little dazed in the dugout, as I'm sure the glutton of media attention surrounding this start had some kind of effect on the young hurler. Bobby Abreu strikes out, as the Yankees have wasted two outs with the chance to get Damon home. 7:38PM - Halladay hits Alex Rodriguez on a breaking ball, and Hideki Matsui will come to the plate with two men on and two out in the first. 7:39PM - Matsui hits an RBI single to right on the first pitch against Halladay, knotting the game up at 1-1 as Damon comes home. 7:41PM - Jason Giambi follows that up by going the other way, beating the defensive shift to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead with both scores coming with two outs. 7:42PM - If death and taxes are the two most foregone conclusions in life, Robinson Cano swinging on the first pitch is the third. He grounds out to end the inning. 7:44PM - Joba is back on the mound, looking to end the inning quickly after a 38-pitch first inning. He faces Brad Wilkerson, as his command continues to waiver. Chamberlain gets Wilkerson to fly out to left, but it takes six pitches for him to do so. Some help from the home plate umpire would help, as a few calls have been borderline strikes. Joba Count: 42 pitches 7:45PM - David Eckstein comes to bat and strikes out, but again it takes Joba seven pitches. Joba Count: 49 pitches 7:47PM - His velocity is still there, but Joba doesn't look long for this game. He works a 1-2-3 inning as Stewart flies out to left, but he might not make it past the third inning as his count continues to skyrocket. Joba Count: 54 pitches 7:50PM - The Yankees come to bat, and I'm beginning to gain some confidence that Chamberlain has settled down after a 16-pitch second inning. Ideally, I'd like to see that down to 10 or 11 in the third, but the Blue Jays seem content to take pitches in an effort to get Joba out of the game and feast on New York's questionable bullpen as early as possible. 7:53PM - Molina strikes out and Melky Cabrera grounds out to first, but Damon comes through again with a ground-rule double. He's halfway to the cycle in just the second inning, but I'll settle for a simple New York victory. 7:56PM - Jeter comes to the plate, a single away from a third New York run. He works a full count, but flies out on a shot to right. The Yankees maintain a 2-1 through two innings. 8:00PM - Scutaro comes to bat, as Chamberlain has to be looking for a nice, quick inning. Abreu makes a terrific catch at the wall to get Scutaro, as Joba retires his fifth-straight batter. In case you were wondering, we catch our first glimpse of Joba's infamous fist-pump. Joba Count: 58 pitches 8:02PM - Chamberlain walks Rios on four pitches, and he has faced his last batter. Joba's Final Count: 62 pitches 8:03PM - The look on Joba's face shows his frustration. He wasn't awful, or really even bad, but he just couldn't get batters out efficiently and walked four Blue Jays. Hopefully Harlen Chamberlain doesn't watch the game tape, because I believe Joba may have uttered a certain four-letter word as he walked to the dugout after just 2.1 innings of work. 8:05PM - Tonight isn't just a big night for Chamberlain, as Dan Giese makes his Yankee debut in relief. His first pitch is a strike, but Rios moves to third as he attempts to steal second and Molina throws the ball into centerfield. 8:07PM - Rios scores on a groundout by Rolen to tie the game at 2-2, finishing Joba's line. He threw 62 pitches in 2 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on one hit and four walks. Three of his seven recorded outs where strikeouts. 8:11PM - Giese walks Stairs, but gets Overbay to pop out in foul territory as Rodriguez makes a nice basket catch. The Yankees will come to back looking to break the 2-2 tie in the bottom half of the third. 8:17PM - The main attraction is over, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. It's not that I thought Joba would last five or six innings with the 65-pitch limit manager Joe Girardi mandated heading into the game, but I was hoping for a scoreless appearance to be honest. When you think about it, the 'experiment' is over and the Yankees are no worse for it. With the score 2-2 heading into the bottom of the third inning, Joba certainly didn't put New York in a hole. I did think, however, if the Yanks were able to post two runs through their first six outs that they'd had at least a one-run lead, but I digress. Joba's second start will be made on Sunday against the Royals, who are definitely less disciplined than this Toronto team. Kansas City is the worst-hitting team in the American League, with a lot of young hitters. Unless Trey Hillman is able to convince his players to take pitches, with Joba's increased load, he should have the opportunity to figure into his first decision as a starter on Sunday. I hope you enjoyed Joba's first appearance, and weren't overly disappointed. Enjoy the rest of the night, and let's see if the Yankees can end of the night on a high with a series-opening win against the Blue Jays. |
Senior Writer Andrew Perna blogged the happenings at Yankee Stadium as Joba Chamberlain made his first start for the New York against Toronto on Tuesday night.