Yankees fly by Blackbirds

The 38-and-over Yankees of  the Tucson Mens Senior Baseball League have some "big boys" in their starting lineup. If they aren't the best team in the TMSBL, they are certainly close, but one thing is for sure they parade a starting unit to the plate which will get your attention. The Yankees muscled their way to their fourth win of the young season Thursday night at Reid Park as they overpowered the Blackbirds, 12-6.

The Blackbirds dropped to 1-4 in the Mountain Division of the TMSBL, while the Yankees moved to 4-1. The Yankees had trouble with the Blackbirds early on and led just 4-3 after four innings, but in the fifth the Yankees flexed their muscles with a two-out three-run rally and never looked back. The Blackbirds, thanks in part to a two-RBI single up the middle by catcher Robin Badart, put together a three-run rally in the eighth and final inning, but that would be all they could muster off of the Yankees' ace Butch Washington.

The Yankee right hander threw an assortment of pitches,  mainly a hard-breaking curve ball and a nasty slider, while changing speeds on his fastball to keep the Blackbirds at bay. When the dust had settled, the Blackbirds were able to record just eight hits, while the Yankees finished with 18 hits. Every player in the Yankees lineup hit safely, except for Washington, who went hitless in four trips to the plate.

The Blackbirds face the Mountain Reds next week.

Price Watch:  As for me, a pretty uneventful night. Walked once and struck out once, while my son, Michael, went 1 for 3 and scored a run.