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Pitching in Eldred, Howry, Foulke combine on three-hitter
Posted: Wednesday May 17, 2000 12:19 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Even the presence of owner George Steinbrenner couldn't shake the New York Yankees out of their offensive funk. Cal Eldred pitched six scoreless innings, becoming the latest pitcher to shut down the struggling Yankees, and the Chicago White Sox handed New York its fifth straight loss, 4-0 Tuesday night. "He threw a good game," New York's Paul O'Neill said. "But I'm getting sick and tried of saying that night after night." Steinbrenner, who told reporters Monday that he "was not happy with the way some of our guys are playing," couldn't have liked what he saw at his first game since the home opener. The Yankees have fallen out of first place in the AL East and have lost five straight for the first time since May 11-15, 1999. But the Yankees, winners of three World Series titles in the last four years, aren't about to panic. The Boss, known for his outbursts following losing streaks earlier in his tenure, was silent Tuesday night. "This organization knows what it takes," O'Neill said. "A lot of teams who haven't won might handle this differently. We've been through it before." The skid coincides with the absence of shortstop Derek Jeter, sidelined since last Thursday because of a strained abdominal muscle. New York has scored 11 runs since then and hasn't held a lead at the end of any inning. "When you care so much you go up there and want to make more out of an at-bat than it is," manager Joe Torre said. "Everybody is squeezing the sawdust out of the bat." While the rest of baseball is taking advantage of lively balls, weak pitching and small stadiums to put up record offensive numbers, the Yankees haven't had an extra-base hit in three games. New York's 166 runs rank 28th in the majors, ahead of only Detroit and Philadelphia. "The only thing we can do is juggle the batting order a little," Torre said. "As far as personnel goes, the guys who normally play against lefties will be out there tomorrow." Orlando Hernandez (4-3) took his second straight tough-luck loss, after losing 1-0 to Tampa Bay last Thursday. He allowed a solo homer to Carlos Lee in the fifth inning and an RBI double to former Yankees farmhand Chris Singleton in the seventh. Hernandez has lost three straight decisions for the first time in his career. "It's frustrating not getting runs for him," O'Neill said. "It's not fair. He's pitching so well." So is everybody who faces the Yankees. Eldred (3-2) followed the lead of Tampa Bay's Steve Trachsel and Detroit's C.J. Nitkowski, Jeff Weaver and Dave Mlicki to shut down the Yankees. Those pitchers had a 5-19 record before beating New York the last five games. Eldred, who improved to 67-67 in his career, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He allowed three hits and four walks. Bobby Howry pitched two innings, and Keith Foulke finished the three-hitter. "Cal's a veteran pitcher and he's finally healthy," manager Jerry Manuel said. "When he's on, he can be a dominating pitcher." The Yankees' frustrations at the plate were most evident in the fifth inning, when four of their first five batters reached safely but produced no runs. Shane Spencer led off with a single but was erased on Scott Brosius' double play. The Yankees then loaded the bases when Clay Bellinger was hit by a pitch, Chuck Knoblauch singled and Ricky Ledee walked. But Eldred got out of the jam when O'Neill flied harmlessly to left. "Tonight I walked some guys but the big thing was I was able to make pitches when I had to," Eldred said. "That out was the big key because we had just scored in the previous inning." Lee broke a scoreless tie with one out in the fifth inning when he hit a high fly over the left-field fence for his eighth homer. "You can't be perfect. You're going to make mistakes," said Hernandez, who allowed two runs and four hits in eight innings. "But there are moments and there are moments. When it's 10-0, it's OK. Not when it's 0-0." Chicago scored twice in the ninth off Mariano Rivera on an RBI groundout by Lee and a run-scoring single by Greg Norton. Notes: The White Sox started a stretch in which they will play the Yankees and Cleveland in 22 of their next 38 games. ... Knoblauch walked in the third inning, the first time he had drawn a walk since April 18, a span of 54 plate appearances. ... The Yankees led 1-0 after the top of the second on Saturday in Detroit, before the Tigers scored four runs in the bottom half. ... Many of the Yankees are in a slump, including: Brosius (2-for-25), Ledee (0-for-14), Jorge Posada (2-for-19), and Bellinger (2-for-24).
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