Javier Vazquez Makes Yankees Win Over Orioles

New York Yankee righthander baseball player Javier Vazquez was public enemy Number 1 in his own house. He was treated better while walking the streets of New York than he was at Yankee Stadium. Javier Vazquez said fans told him they supported him and his resume spoke for itself.

On Tuesday night, the embattled veteran was finally shown the love at Yankee Stadium as he had his fastball blazing (he was in the low 90s) and his offspeed pitches dancing in a gem of a performance that sent a sigh of relief throughout the Yankees organization.

In his first start at home since a May 1 implosion against the White Sox, Javier Vazquez (4-5) was brilliant, allowing four hits while striking out a season-high tying seven and walking just one over seven innings in a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He also pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning.

“I don't even remember the last time I started here It feels like a while. Obviously, I want to pitch good here. Everybody knows that. I'm working on that. I think it was important to throw a good game here, I feel better. I feel like my mechanics are there. I'm throwing much better pitches than I was early in the year. I have better command. My location was much better. It doesn't matter how hard I throw it. That (location) is the key for me.'' said Javier Vazquez.

Javier Vazquez rebounded from a shaky start last week in Minnesota by striking out seven, allowing four hits and one run, and pitching out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the seventh. In the bottom half, the Yankees scored two unearned runs to make him the pitcher of record, and Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera ensured his win by pitching two spotless innings.

“Obviously, I want to pitch good here,” Javier Vazquez said. “That’s something that everybody knows. I’m working on that.”

In his last outing, Javier Vazquez took a giant step backwards when he was rocked by the Twins, giving up eight hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings. He needed a strong outing on Tuesday night to solidify his place in the rotation, and he delivered.

New York Yankees all-star baseball player Javier Vazquez was rolling along until he gave up a a solo homer to Corey Patterson (he struck him out the first two times at bat) in the sixth inning to tie the score, 1-1. Then, he ran into trouble in the seventh. The Orioles loaded the bases with one out on two hits and an intentional walk.

But Javier Vazquez struck out Adam Jones swinging and got Julio Lugo to hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning. The Yankees scored two unearned runs on a throwing error by third baseman Miguel Tejada with two outs on a ground ball by Alex Rodriquez to take the lead for good.

“I wanted to stay (in the game) and I'm glad Joe let me finish that inning.'' said Javier Vazquez. “That was huge. ... I think (the strikeout of Jones) was the key pitch there. He's a dangerous hitter and I threw a pretty good pitch (an 87-mph fastball).''

Yankees manager Joe Girardi insists he saw this type of performance coming. After a rough start to the season -- losing four of his first five decisions, Javier Vazquez held the Tigers to two runs over seven innings on May 12, earned a victory against the Red Sox in relief on May 17 and shut out the Mets over six innings on May 21 before his meltdown against the Twins.

“He was great (Tuesday night), Four hits, he attacked the zone all night, I thought he used his fastball very effectively. This is kind of what we thought we were going to get from him. Everybody is going to run into bumps in the road. But we've been really encouraged by the way he has been throwing the baseball. He has strikeout stuff. He has groundball stuff. There's a lot of things that Javier can do. He has three different off-speed pitches, he can sink it. He can four-seam it. I thought he used everything effectively, but he was really good with his fastball.'' said New York Yankee Manager Joe Girardi