BALTIMORE -- Good news was not in short supply for the scuffling New York Yankees Friday night. Alex Rodriguez got the oohs and aahs, the adulation and the jeers, at Camden Yards, homering on the first pitch he saw from Jeremy Guthrie to give his team a lead it wouldn't relinquish in a 4-0 win over the Orioles.It was CC Sabathia who made that edge stand up, though. A-Rod or not, that might be the best news of all for the Yankees.
"He wants to be the guy who's the stopper," manager Joe Girardi said of Sabathia. "That's exactly what he was."
The Yankees plopped down $161 million last December to sign the burly left-hander, and for the first time in 2009 it seemed like he was worth it.
Sabathia allowed two hits in the first inning and two more in the ninth. In between, he was sublime, allowing a lone walk, retiring 16 straight at one point, and 23 of 24 on his way to a complete-game shutout.
"He took over," Girardi said.
As much as the Yankees need A-Rod's bat to "extend" their lineup, as Girardi put it, the focus of their latest offseason rebuilding project was starting pitching. A thin rotation has been their Achilles' heel in recent years, and Sabathia, along with fellow free-agent signee A.J. Burnett, was supposed to change that.
So far? Not so good.
The Yankees came into Friday night with a five-game losing streak, a weary bullpen and one quality start in the month of May. New York ranked 22nd in the majors in quality starts as a team, and its southpaw ace sported a 4.85 ERA.
Sabathia, sweat still glistening on his brow as he talked with reporters, said he didn't feel the pressure of the losing streak on the mound.
"We know we're a good baseball team," he said. "I don't think anybody was really thinking about [the losing streak]."
He sure pitched like a man impervious to the intense New York spotlight and unaware of the daily drama that is the Yankees.
He credited an improved cut fastball for his dazzling performance. Girardi chalked it up to better command, "the ability to throw any pitch at any time."
Whatever it was, when Sabathia finished his night by striking out the side in the ninth, he pumped his fist and barked emphatically, perhaps letting loose some frustration from the first month of the season, and maybe, just maybe, setting the tone for the rest of it.
Sabathia entered a start 364 days ago against the Blue Jays with a 1-5 record and a 7.51 ERA. He went 16-5 and posted a 1.84 ERA the rest of the way.
When asked how important the win was to the Yankees, Girardi smiled wearily and said "real bad." He has to be hoping that, as in 2008, Sabathia is just getting warmed up. If that's the case, Girardi won't find himself so desperate for victories going forward.
A-Rod may have taken some of the pressure off of himself Friday evening. It was Sabathia, though, who took the pressure off the Yankees -- something he has the power to do plenty the rest of the season.
