Hiroki Kuroda and New York Yankees outlast Los Angeles Angels, 2-1
By Jason Marcum
In a season that both the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels were expected to be contending for a spot in the layoffs at this point in the season, no one could have imagined both teams would be sitting almost out of reach of even a Wild Card spot. New York entered tonight seven games out of the final Wild Card spot, while the Angles were an eye-opening 13 games back.
Needless to say, both teams need to win just about every remaining series they play in to even have a chance at the playoffs, and the Yankees took Game 1 of this four-game series by a score of 2-1.
Prior to tonight’s game, it had been over month since Hiroki Kuroda last pitched at home for the Yankees, his last being a five inning, 2-0 shutout over Minnesota on July 12.
He entered the game 6-2 with a 1.74 ERA in 10 starts in the Bronx, and went eight strong innings tonight while allowing just three hits and no runs.
Kuroda owns the best home ERA in the American League, and is a big reason why the Yankees are clinging on to any hope of making it into the postseason.
His opposition, Garrett Richards, sported a 3-4 record with a 4.20 ERA going into tonight, and he too went eight innings while allowing just two runs.