The piece of paper sat on Manny Acta’s desk. The number “.199” was circled in pen, a reminder, the Cleveland manager said, “of Curtis Granderson’s batting average over the past three years against lefties.”
That is why Acta said the most significant hits in the Yankees’ three victories in the four-game series against his Indians were not the seventh-inning grand slam by Robinson Cano on Friday that turned a 4-2 Yankees lead to 8-2, or the three-run homer by Mark Teixeira on Sunday that turned a 3-2 deficit to a 5-3 lead, or the grand slam by Alex Rodriguez yesterday that turned a 2-1 Yankees edge to a 6-1 bulge.
Instead, Acta credited hits earlier in each of those innings by Granderson, all against left-handers, that thwarted strategy and extended rallies.
“That set up the three homers that broke it open,” Acta said.
Granderson’s ineffectiveness against lefties was the main bugaboo on his resume when the Yankees obtained him in the offseason. He hit .183 against southpaws last year, the worst for anyone with 150 plate appearances against lefties. And when Granderson came off the disabled list on Friday, he was just 5-for-31 (.161) this year with one extra-base hit.
But he doubled off lefty Tony Sipp on both Friday and Sunday. Yesterday, with one out, he lined a single to right off lefty Rafael Perez. Teixeira was then intentionally walked and Rodriguez followed with his grand slam, and the Yankees were energized toward an 11-2 rout.
Suddenly, all the work Granderson had been doing with hitting coach Kevin Long since shortly after his acquisition, through spring training and to the present, looked valuable.
“His at-bats against lefties all year, despite the numbers, have been competitive,” Long said. “You just want to feel that he has a good chance in the at-bats, and I do.”