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BALTIMORE – He had a leak of oil, pint by pint, step by step, his right knee yelling at him every time he fell on it. CC Sabathia, 6 feet, 6 inches and 300 pounds, was sitting on the leg, knee, a sharp pain that started with his first shot of the night and lasted for the next 87 days.
"It makes it difficult to land," Sabathia will say later. "It's a throbbing pain that runs through me every time. It is difficult to finish the shots. "
What he wanted that night was finishing five innings. It's not going to be easy. This work is not easy for Sabathia anymore. The swagger once associated with the most intimidating left arm of the game has been replaced by a determination that inspires his teammates and a vulnerability that has earned him the eternal affection of the Yankees fans.
He still needed a run to score career victory # 249, and the other players on the team had done their job. Gleyber Torres scored two more home runs, his fourth home game of the year, against Orioles. Gary Sanchez had his daily dinger, one who from the outset seemed to have to go around Antietam.
The leaders were 5-0, 6-1, 7-2, but the Orioles did not stop after Sabathia, and Sabathia continued to grind, continuing to protect himself from the problem. Three other outs and he equalized Vic Willis, a turn-of-the-century pitcher who had already lost 29 games in one season, earning him 48th on the all-time list. You say that victories do not mean what they used to do? See what CC Sabathia says about it.
It was important for him to take the ball every five days in this season when injuries tried to slaughter the Yankees. Luis Severino is still in weeks, even months. James Paxton missed a few starts. Sabathia knew that he wanted at least to answer the bell until Paxton could resume rotation.
"We had so many injuries," he said. "Everyone had to do what he could to make up for that and do his part."
Sabathia's role was to move to fifth place and get the number 249. He already knew that he would be getting a cortisone shot in the near future, that the fluid in his knee should be drained, that he would miss some departures. maybe a few weeks. When you can see the end of your career every time you walk on the launcher mound, every start is a gift.
"I've already treated that before," he said.
He has already handled so much. The knee has been a problem for a few years now. During the off season, he had to undergo an operation at heart which, in his own way, seems more than slightly tinged with irony. Because at this stage of his career, he leads with his heart above all else. It is his heart that allows him to continue to have major hitters.
It's his heart that went through four. And, one way or another, would help him negotiate the fifth position even as his knee was starting to scream, even as the Orioles bats started to catch the sliders and knives that were now spinning the usual bite. Richie Martin hailed him in his first career game, scoring the fifth goal.
It was 7-3. The Orioles' followers, scattered among the 17,849 passengers of Camden Yards, who had been silent all night, cast their sleep out of their eyes. Hander Alberto made a solid contact, but his line training died in Clint Frazier's glove in the right field. Two outs to go.
Jonathan Villar scored twice in the left field line, but third-baseman DJ LeMahieu defeated a seed of Trey Mancini. An exit to go there. One on No. 249, and a tie with Vic (Delaware Peach) Willis in 48th place, two wins behind Bob Gibson at 251.
Renato Nunez crushed one in the dead center, over the wall, over the roaring roars. Another one to do, and now he was 7-5. Now, a laugher was once again a baseball game. There was activity in the Yankees Park, but Aaron Boone stayed where he was. Pedro Severino doubled left. Now the spinning was on the plate. Number 249 was a bit at risk. Boone stayed there.
"You could see that he was losing command," Boone said.
Joey Rickard is distinguished. He was going to be 7-6. Severino has chugged around third. In one way or another, Brett Gardner disheveled a perfect pitch, a small spike on the line of third base. Sanchez caught the ball, blocked the plate – a little too well, thought the Orioles, although their challenge to replay was denied. Severino was out. So was CC.
He descended slowly, limping down the steps of the canoe to the clubhouse. He had just enough to hit the band. It has ended 7-5. Sabathia had its third win of the year. He tied the Delaware fishery. Gibson will be next, whenever the knee will allow him to come back.
"The medicine has to be inside and it's magic to work," he said, one night when he himself had done a little sleight of hand.
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