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Chamberlain, Yankees stymie Pirates

Jun 26, 2008 - 3:14 AM By Chris Adamski PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Joba Chamberlain's transition from dominant reliever to winning starter is complete.

A night after handily losing their first game here since the 1960 World Series, the New York Yankees returned some of the embarrassment, getting 6 2/3 scoreless frames from Chamberlain en route to a 10-0 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

The 22-year-old Chamberlain (2-2) made his fifth start after 20 appearances out of the bullpen and picked up his first win in that role, allowing six hits while striking out seven and walking one.

"Obviously, there's a lot of hype with this young man," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Sometimes, it's not easy to live up to expectations, but he was really good tonight."

Perhaps most noteworthy about Chamberlain's performance was that he threw a career-high 114 pitches after slowly building up his pitch count over the past month-plus.

"I think this probably went as well as it could have went," Girardi said. "And I think that's just shows you how hard Joba's worked at it. He's embraced this challenge and really wanted to do this, and it's a testimony to how hard he works."

Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano each went 3-for-5 and hit home runs, and Derek Jeter had three hits and scored three runs as New York won for the ninth time in 12 outings, avenging a game in which they had allowed the most runs in a game since May 20 with their third shutout in their past nine games.

"To be quite honest with you, we were not thinking about (Tuesday) before (Wednesday's) game," Jeter said. "Tonight started out well, and Joba did a great job pitching once he got the lead."

Ryan Doumit continued his hot hitting for the Pirates, who won 12-5 in the series opener Tuesday and had won three of their previous four.

Doumit went 2-for-4 with the team's only extra-base hit and has gone 15-for-31 with four doubles and five homers in his past nine games.

The Yankees scored the game's first two runs, when Jack Wilson's relay throw after a double-play ball with the bases loaded was too far on the home plate side of first for Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke to handle. Jeter and Abreu scored on the play - a fielder's choice by Jason Giambi.

Giambi picked up another RBI in the third when his two-out single scored Jeter. That run also was set up by Wilson's throwing error.

"I think we started the game with a lot of intensity," Abreu said. "(Tuesday) night we were down. We didn't really play the game the right way. (Wednesday) we started it with intensity and concentration. We scored some runs early, and Joba did such a good job and helped us win the game."

New York manufactured another run in the fourth when rookie Justin Christian reached on a bunt single, was sacrificed to second by Chamberlain and scored two batters later on Jeter's double off the wall in center to make it 4-0.

"It was one of those games where we got behind, and against a team like that, you just can't get that far behind early," Pirates manager John Russell said. "Their offense is going to keep adding on."

Duke (4-5) allowed four runs - three earned - and seven hits with two walks in five innings. He did not strike out a batter and lost for the first time in five starts.

The rout was on after homers by Abreu and Cano in the sixth against former Yankees hurler T.J. Beam. Cano's shot led off the inning, and Abreu's came after walks to Melky Cabrera and Jeter. Abreu would add an RBI double in the eighth.

The closest the Pirates came to scoring was when Doumit was thrown out at home plate by right fielder Abreu on a single by Wilson in the second.

But Chamberlain had three 1-2-3 innings and only allowed one other runner to advance to third base.

"Every time you go out, you try to compete and give your team as much as you can give," Chamberlain said. "The numbers will take care of themselves if you attack the zone and locate pitches and do the things you've done to get to this point."