Yankees Earn W On A Day Of Firsts

Apr 26, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher John Ryan Murphy (66) hits an RBI single in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

On a day that one rookie was in a big spot, two other rookies were important keys to the Yankees 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. John Ryan Murphy and Dellin Betances were huge reasons why the Yankees were able to earn the W today.

Vidal Nuno got the ball and Mike Trout, the second batter of the game, made it 1-0 with a great piece of hitting for his sixth homer of the year.

The Yankees were able to get back right away in the second. With one out, Hector Santiago was hit by a pitch. Brett Gardner singled and Brian Roberts walked to load the bases.  With Murphy batting, Santiago balked to bring in a run. Murphy then singled to make it 3-1.

The Angels tied it in the fourth. Albert Pujols singled and Yankee killer Howie Kendrick walked. Erick Aybar grounded out to short, but Roberts’ error allowed Pujols to score and Aybar reached second. Chris Iannetta doubled to tie it at three.

Murphy would give the Yanks the lead on his first major league homer in the bottom of the fifth.

The story of the game was the Yankee bullpen. Betances, Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton and David Robertson came up with 4.2 innings of shut out relief, giving up four hits, walking two and striking out six. Betances came in in the fifth for Nuno and pitched two shutout innings himself. He’s struck out 11 in 19.2 innings and has a 0.77 ERA.

The rubber game will be on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN at 8pm tomorrow. Garrett Richards will face Masahiro Tanaka.