Chien-Ming Wang made it look so easy last night. He made it look effortless as he sliced and diced his way through the Oakland lineup, going eight strong innings and allowing three hits on 85 pitches.
Wang was a model of efficiency against Barry Zito, but riding shotgun at the front of the Yankees’ defense in last night’s 2-0 win was the slick fielding of Robinson Cano.
The Yankees’ second baseman was in on nine put-out plays with Wang, the groundball serving pitcher, on the mound, a few of which were eye-popping showstoppers that helped preserve victory.
“I know I’m going to get a lot of ground balls when he’s pitching,” Cano said after the Yankees got their first shutout win of the year.
In addition to a pair of sparkling plays Cano made charging hard to his right to steal base hits from the A’s, he turned three double plays, started a fourth.
First baseman Andy Phillips bailed out Cano in the eighth, picking a throw out of the dirt.
There was also the diving catch Cano made against Jay Payton when he went to his right for the first out of the third inning. There were a bundle of double plays on a night the Yankees turned five, the most since they rolled six against Tampa on June 17, 2003.
And finally, there was the eighth-inning play on which Cano went to the other side of second base to send Adam Melhuse back to the dugout for the first out of that frame.
“This year he’s been remarkable in terms of just being able to throw it in the vicinity of first base,” Joe Torre said. “Usually he makes the throw all the way up in the air. Phillips made a couple of great plays along with him, just to pick that one ball up and the play right after that down the line.
“That’s what it’s all about, pitching and defense. If you’re lucky enough to score a run or two, it can hold up,” Torre said. “Robinson Cano is a special talent.”