As hard as it has been not to sound like a broken record on the subject of the Yankees starting rotation, along comes the latest New York rookie from the depths of their not-so depleted farm system. For the eleventh time this season, Joe Torre has penciled in a new starter into the Yankees scorecard. For the seventh time it was a rookie, and for the fifth it was a rookie making his Major League debut. For Tyler Clippard it was the opportunity of a lifetime to showcase his 22 year old talent as the latest New York rookie to make his Major League debut this season. After getting the call from Triple A where he posted a 3-2 record with a 2.72 ERA, Clippard found himself thrown into the downside of an ailing Yankees team who had lost 7 of their last 10 games. With their backs against the wall looking at a potential Subway Sweep, Tyler Clippard took the opportunity and made the most of his Major League debut to lift the struggling Yankees.

Clippard pitched six solid innings in a 95 pitch effort that earned him his first Major League victory. Allowing only 1 run on 3 hits, Clippard worked in and out of trouble only once, in the second inning, escaping a bases loaded jam by getting Jose Reyes to fly out to left field. After surrendering a run on a solo home run by David Wright in the second, Clippard settled in to sit down 16 of his last 17 batters faced. He struck out six and looked poised on the mound going after each batter in the National League’s most potent lineup with a healthy mix of a devastating curveballs and late moving fastballs. And if that wasn’t enough, the flair and swagger he brought to the mound continued at the plate as he successfully laid down a sacrifice bunt and hit a towering double into the right field gap for his first career hit. Overall, Clippard was very entertaining to watch, from his motion on the mound, around the mound and at the plate, his jitters appeared overshadowed by his glowing confidence with fist pumps and leaps off the mound. With any hope, the rookie’s performance will bring a charge to the listless Yankees who have appeared to have lost their swagger at the plate over the last week. With the Red Sox coming to town in the next series, now is as good a time as any to look for a turnaround and leave it to the Yankees latest experiment to be at the center standing tall over the Big Apple.

(5 votes, average: 4.8 out of 5)

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