New York Yankees - VS Kansas City Royals
Gary Sheffield, moved into the designated hitter's role to give him a breather from his duties in right field for a day, drove in four runs with a homer and single that helped the Yankees pound Kansas City, 12-5, at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.
The Yankees' third straight victory enabled them to reach .500 after a 1-4 start. The loss left the Royals with 13 straight losses to the Bronx Bombers at Yankee Stadium.
New York pulled away from the Royals with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, another in the sixth and three more in the seventh after Kansas City closed to within 6-5 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.
New York, as it had in the series opener on Tuesday, utilized the three-run home run as a lethal weapon. Sheffield, following the lead set by teammates Jason Giambi and Derek Jeter a day earlier, slugged a three-run home run to left field after starter and loser Jeremy Affeldt (0-1) walked Johnny Damon and Jeter to start his work day.
Sheffield's second homer of the season tied the game. Kansas City had grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning against winner Shawn Chacon (1-1). Reggie Sanders, who homered on Tuesday, lined a two-run shot to left and Emil Brown doubled home the third run.
New York broke the 3-3 tie when Alex Rodriguez singled and later scored on a single by Jorge Posada in the third. The Yankees then upped their lead to 6-3 in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Sheffield, who had three hits, and a wild pitch by reliever Jimmy Gobble that enabled Jeter to score.
The Royals climbed to within 6-5 with a pair of runs on three straight one-out hits, including doubles by Mark Grudzielanek and Doug Mientkiewicz , in the fifth. But Chacon, who yielded five runs, settled again, and the Yankees upped their lead to 8-5 in the bottom of the fifth against Gobble and Luke Hudson. Chacon pitched six innings plus one batter in the seventh. Every Yankees player had at least one hit on the day.
Read MoreThe Yankees' third straight victory enabled them to reach .500 after a 1-4 start. The loss left the Royals with 13 straight losses to the Bronx Bombers at Yankee Stadium.
New York pulled away from the Royals with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, another in the sixth and three more in the seventh after Kansas City closed to within 6-5 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.
New York, as it had in the series opener on Tuesday, utilized the three-run home run as a lethal weapon. Sheffield, following the lead set by teammates Jason Giambi and Derek Jeter a day earlier, slugged a three-run home run to left field after starter and loser Jeremy Affeldt (0-1) walked Johnny Damon and Jeter to start his work day.
Sheffield's second homer of the season tied the game. Kansas City had grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning against winner Shawn Chacon (1-1). Reggie Sanders, who homered on Tuesday, lined a two-run shot to left and Emil Brown doubled home the third run.
New York broke the 3-3 tie when Alex Rodriguez singled and later scored on a single by Jorge Posada in the third. The Yankees then upped their lead to 6-3 in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Sheffield, who had three hits, and a wild pitch by reliever Jimmy Gobble that enabled Jeter to score.
The Royals climbed to within 6-5 with a pair of runs on three straight one-out hits, including doubles by Mark Grudzielanek and Doug Mientkiewicz , in the fifth. But Chacon, who yielded five runs, settled again, and the Yankees upped their lead to 8-5 in the bottom of the fifth against Gobble and Luke Hudson. Chacon pitched six innings plus one batter in the seventh. Every Yankees player had at least one hit on the day.
