When you spank Zack Greinke, a sense of accomplishment should wash over you because he is among the elite hurlers in baseball.
However, the biggest thing the Yankees had to do last night to beat the NL Central-leading Brewers was punch in.
The Brewers played like a team that had two nights off in NYC, making physical and mental mistakes on the way to a 12-2 beating in front of 45,575 at Yankee Stadium.
Victimized by center fielder Nyjer Morgan’s misplay of Curtis Granderson’s first-inning fly ball into a triple that ignited a two-run rally, Greinke (7-3) lasted a season-low two innings in which he was rocked for seven runs and five hits. He walked three and hit a batter.
“The first inning messed him up mentally,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said of the mentally fragile pitcher. “He was not making his pitches. He wasn’t locating his pitches.”
Greinke, the 2009 AL Cy Young winner, was pulled after giving up five in the second, capped by Nick Swisher’s three-run homer.
“If the ball is caught maybe he gets on a roll,” said Mark Teixeira, who homered for the third straight game and knocked in four runs.
The Yankees are on the best roll in baseball these days, winning 13 of 17 since being swept by the Red Sox from June 7-9. Coupled with the Red Sox getting blanked by Cliff Lee and the Phillies last night, the Yankees’ victory moved them 1 **1/2** games ahead of their blood rivals in the AL East.
“Winning 13 of 17 and playing good baseball,” manager Joe Girardi said when asked what he put more stock in, first place or an extended hot streak. “We are getting good pitching and timely hitting. We are seeing some averages start to creep up where they should be.”
Freddy Garcia, who won for third time in four decisions and is 7-6, was the beneficiary of the offensive orgy. He allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings.
“I was able to make good pitches when I needed to,” said Garcia, who held the Brewers to two hits and one RBI in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.
As impressive as the Yankees’ lineup was, the Brewers made it easy on the winners.
Twice when they were trailing by five runs the Brewers made the final out of an inning on the bases. Marco Estrada dropped a ball from the stretch and was called for a balk. Zach Braddock issued a fourth ball to Robinson Cano by putting his fingers on his tongue while his feet were on the rubber. And Morgan slipped after he turned his back on a what should have been a routine fly ball by Granderson instead of an RBI triple.
“Offensively, we are finally starting to put a run together,” said Teixeira, who is tied with Toronto’s Jose Bautista for the AL lead in homers with 24. “We are scoring a lot of different ways and we are still going to hit home runs.”
Teixeira’s two-run blast off Estrada landed in the second deck in right.
Swisher, who has 10 homers, contributed by throwing Corey Hart out at the plate for the final out of the sixth. The Yankees continue to get fat against NL teams. With five left — two against the Brewers and three Subway Series clashes with the Mets — the Yankees are 9-4 in interleague play.
“You have to take advantage of what you get,” Swisher said.
He was talking about Greinke, but could have easily been talking about the very charitable Brewers.