No damage done in pair of plate collisions

Collisions at home plate have been the talk of baseball this year, especially with Giants catcher Buster Posey having been put out for the season after one such play.

Saturday’s 4-3 victory by the Yankees featured a couple of hard plays at the plate, and everybody seems to have come through unscathed.

With the Cubs trailing by a run with one out in the sixth inning, Geovany Soto lifted a fly to short left field with Alfonso Soriano on first and Carlos Pena on third.

Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner circled, charged and fired a one-hop strike to catcher Russell Martin. Pena bowled Martin over, but Martin applied a hard tag and held on to the ball for a double play.

“No problem,” Pena said. “I had to try. I had to try to get the run. I thought that was the right thing to do. He (Martin) was blocking the plate. There was only one way to get to home plate, and that was through him. “He took the hit like a champ and held on to the ball, so it was a great play by him. Hat’s off. I know that he’s a hard-nosed player, and he appreciated that. He said, ‘That was a great job. You hit me good.’

“Among colleagues, at the end of the day, we’re all friends. We’re competing. In the heat of battle, it’s just the right thing to do.”

In the top of the ninth inning, Eduardo Nunez doubled to left-center. Robinson Cano scored from second base, but trailing runner Nick Swisher was out at home, sliding hard into Cubs catcher Geovany Soto, who applied the tag.

Big Z’s TV time:Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano had a word with FOX-TV dugout reporter Ken Rosenthal during Saturday#146;s game. It#146;s not certain who initiated the conversation, but Rosenthal wrote an online story Friday saying Zambrano would be willing to waive his no-trade rights if the Cubs wanted to move him.(The Cubs are getting no trade inquiries on Zambrano, sources say.)Rosenthal tweeted during the game that everything was OK and that Zambrano reiterated that he wanted to remain with the Cubs.Cubs manager Mike Quade said he didn#146;t see the exchange.#147;I didn#146;t even notice,#148; Quade said. #147;I#146;ll have to talk to Rosey and tell him not to bother my guys. He can bother me, but not my guys. Whatever.#148;Castro hot at home:Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro was 2-for-4, raising his batting average from .315 to .317. On the homestand so far Castro is 12-for-24.Castro has batted third some this year, but he has done most of his damage batting first or second.#147;Maybe the more exciting thing is he can still be a lot better,#148; Mike Quade said. #147;I don#146;t know how good he can be. When you see that he puts the ball in play with authority when it#146;s in the strike zone, you just think, #145;The more strikes he can get #133;#146;#147;He#146;s a kid who loves to play, and he doesn#146;t concern himself with first, second, third or seventh. He#146;s going to do the same thing. That#146;s the one thing that I#146;ve talked about.#147;People have asked, #145;Well, he#146;s better here. He#146;s better there.#146; I maybe beg to differ. You talk to people to find out if they have a feel for hitting first or third, and then you watch their approach. He hasn#146;t changed a thing.#148;