Game 31. Lineup, & Gardner suffers setback.

Brett Gardner suffered a setback, and there was more swelling in his elbow. Instead of coming back, it’s back in the MRI tube.

Yanks a mediocre 16-14, right on the Pythagorean mark. 3 1/2 out, 4th place. OPS+ 113, ERA+ 102

BA/HR/RBI/SB/ATT/ OPS+

Jeter SS .388-5-15  1/2  167     3138 hits, 3 behind Gwynn
Swisher RF .277-7-24  0/0  145
Cano 2B .270-2-9  1/1  92
Rodriguez DH .279-5-14  3/3  120
Teixeira 1B  .217-4-17  1/2  71   still battling illness
Granderson CF .274-10-19  0/2  151   still no SB?
Jones LF .222-3-5  0/0  94
Nunez 3B .265-0-5  4/5  80
Stewart C .238-0-4  51

Sabathia P   4-0, 4.15  ERA+ 104

The minors tonight.

AAA: 2-1 win for SWB (Empire State). Finally, the Betances we want to see. 8 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 walks and 7 k. Gardner 1 for 2, triple, 2 walks. Steve Pearce solo HR. Ronnier Mustelier keeps hitting. 2 hits, inc. a double.

AA:  5-1 loss. Shaeffer Hall 7 IP, 5 R, 3 ER. 2 hits, solo HR Melky Mesa.

High A:  4-3 loss. Jose Ramirez 3 R in 6 2/3. Kramer Sneed 1 1/3, 1 R, 0-3, 7.63. Kyle Roller 2 h, double, RBI.

Low A: No game scheduled. Charleston is 21-9.

The minors tonight

AAA: GAME 1: Tough loss for Manny Banuelos, 1-0. 5 IP, 1 R, 4 h, 0 walks and 3 K. The Man-Ban we want to see. His 2nd stint after coming back off the DL. Hopefully more length next time out. Chase Whitley two scoreless. SWB (Empire State) with only 4 hits, 2 by the rehabbing Brett Gardner.

Game 2: 4-3 win. Adam Warren struggled, 3 R, 11 H in 4 2/3. Gardner did not play in Game 2. Kevin Russo 3 for 3, 2 doubles, RBI.  Ronnier Mustelier a 2-run HR. Jack Cust 2 h, double, RBI.

AA:     Trenton wins 5-3. Craig Heyer 2 R in 6 IP. Melky Mesa double, HR, 3 RBI.

High A: Tampa lost 9-2. Shane Greene 8 R, 5 ER in 2 2/3. Eduardo Sosa 3 hits.

Low A:  Charleston lost 8-7 in 10. Gary Sanchez 2 for 4, solo HR. 2 hits, 2 RBI for struggling Dante Bichette, JR.

Game 29. Rain. Will it be played? Pettitte returns Sunday (Mother’s Day)

Tonight’s lineup.

Yanks 15-13, 4th in AL East. 3 1/2 out.
OPS+ 115, ERA+ 101

It has been raining all day in Eastern PA (about 100 miles from NYC). Tonight’s game could be ppd. There is also rain in tomorrow’s forecast, and possibly Thursday. The only surprise, if any, is that Nunez, a righty batter, is in LF instead of Wise, a lefty hitter against the righty Shields.

Jeter leads the AL in B.A., and the majors in hits.

Jeter SS .397-5-15  1sb/2att  OPS+ 175, 3136 hits, 5 behind Gwynn.
Granderson CF .284-9-18  0/2  157
Rodriguez 3B .269-5-14  2/2    118    634* HR; 2803 hits
Cano 2B  .261-2-8  1/1   84  hopefully Sunday’s slam woke him up. 
Teixeira 1B  .222-4-16  1/2  73   He and Cano need to pick it up. 
Swisher RF  .279-7-24  0/0  155
Ibanez DH  .254-3-13  2/2  98
Martin C  .192-3-7  1/1  82  see Cano and Teix.
Nunez LF .261-0-5  4/5   80

Nova P   3-1, 5.58    ERA+ 78    Some ugly OPS and ERA+ numbers here.

No word on Pettitte yet, or what those “complications” are regarding Mo’s knee.

UPDATE ON PETTITTE: He will be called up Sunday.

Gardner was supposed to start a couple of rehab games yesterday. Rainout last night, and there is supposed to be a DH today. It’s unknown whether he’d play in one game or both. Heck, with the rain, the whole DH could be washed out.

The minors tonight. AAA PPD. No Gardner rehab tonight.

Birthdays: Willie Mays was 81 yesterday, and Yogi Berra turns 87 on Saturday.

AAA: Rained out. Gardner was supposed to start a few games rehab tonight, but … SWB (Empire State) is 14-14.

AA: 14-14 Trenton off. No game scheduled.

High A: Tampa lost 10-5. Kyle Higashioka 2 -run HR. Rob Segedin 3 hits, (.314).

Low A: Charleston won 5-4 with a run in the bottom of the 9th. Scottie Allen 6 IP, 1 run, unearned. Gary Sanchez 3 for 4, double, 2 RBI, .354.

Well, the news on Jose Campos is better than expected. Yes, he’s been shut down with elbow inflammation, but at least it’s not TJ surgery.

Gardner going for rehab

The Yanks will be getting more “whole” soon. Swish came back yesterday, and it appears as if Gardner will be back soon. As for Pineda and Mo, we know how that is. Done for 2012. Probably Joba, too.

But our friends at the Bronx Baseball Daily blog report that Gardner will be playing for AAA tonight. He’ll play for them for a few games and then return to the Yanks later this week.

As for Pettitte, no decision yet on bringing him up or giving him another minor league start.

Game 28. Today’s lineup. Many ramifications today.

Today has a lot of ramifications. For one thing, the 14-13, 4th place Yankees (4 1/2 out) trot out Phil Hughes to the mound. Hughes, 1-4, 7.48, is running out of chances. Yanks OPS+ 113, ERA+ 99. Their record is even with the Pythagorean record (Pythagorean is what your record should be related to runs scored vs. runs against).

It may just be because of his testimony at the Roger Clemens’ trial, but guess who pitches today for AAA Empire State (SWB)? None other than Andy Pettitte. Both games start at the same time. Should Andy be ready and Hughes lay another egg, it would be no problem for Andy to just take Hughes next start, dump Hughes to the bullpen, and someone like Eppley would be sent down (no offense to Eppley).

Swisher is back, and the Yanks could use him. They aren’t putting rallies together. Let’s backtrack. Beat the O’s 2-1. Only runs of that game? 2-run HR by Chavez. The next night just one run, Granderson’s HR, in a loss. The next night? Shutout. Friday a win, four of the six runs on a two-run HR by Jeter and a 2-run HR by Teixeira. Last night a loss. The only run via a Martin HR. No rallies. You can’t just rely on the HR. Because of the leg problem, Swish comes back slowly, DH-ing today. Nothing against Paulino, but he’s a guy the Yanks should pound. Instead, Jeter made out with the bases loaded. Opportunity lost. Then, the next inning, to show how bad things are going, Granderson gets a leadoff double, then is thrown out at third tagging up after Teixeira flyout to RF.

Girardi insists nothing is wrong with A-Rod, who has started at DH in 9 of the Yanks’ 28 games. Jeter & Ibanez have started at DH 5x each.

From Lohud:

Also, Girardi said, the number of DH days will begin to dwindle after Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner come off the disabled list. For now, Raul Ibanez has been playing the field against right-handed starters, which opens some chance for other players to DH. That won’t be the case much longer, and Girardi is trying to take advantage while he can.

Jeter SS .390-5-15  1 sb/2 att.  OPS+ 169  Hit count: 3134; see below
Granderson CF  .279-9-17  0/2  160  AL HR leader.
A-Rod 3B .260-4-11  2/2  108
Cano 2B  .255-1-4  1/1  77
Teixeira 1B .229-4-16  1/2  74  Middle of lineup woes. 
Swisher DH .284-6-23  0/0  156
Ibanez LF .239-3-12  2/2  88   Looking like 2011 Posada.
Martin C .206-3-7  1/1  94
Wise RF     1 for 4, a double.

100 is average. What you see above is a lot of below average, and three guys carrying the lineup.

Hughes RHP   1-4, 7.48, ERA+ 58. 
See above. Andy is looming. Once again, 100 is average. 58? Horrible.

Jeter still leads the majors in hits, the AL in BA & TB

Also from LoHud: Gardner may be begin a rehab assignment tomorrow and be back sometime this week. Chavez is feeling better and should be back when his 7-day concussion DL stint is over.

The game is on TBS.

Game 12. Morneau owns Kuroda as Yanks lose 6-5

I don’t know how to say “I own you” in Japanese. Chances are Justin Morneau doesn’t either, but he could learn, and he could say it to Hiroki Kuroda after tonight.

I was up at the game tonight, courtesy of reader Dennis from this blog. Good seats, right in the porch (more on that in a bit). No sooner did the game start than big trouble.

Five batters into the game, the Yanks were down 4-0. Single, RBI double, bloop double for another run, Smoker of a groundout and a 2-run HR by Morneau into the RCF bullpen and it was 4-0 Twins before you knew it.

The Yanks came back with three in the bottom of the first. The red-hot Jeter singled for the first of his three hits for the night. Jeter is now at 3109 hits, one behind Dave Winfield on the all-time list. After a walk to Granderson and an out, Cano doubled in one and Swisher singled in two. In a tough break that could have turned the game around, Chavez hit a hot bases-loaded smash but it was a DP. If only he got the ball in the air a bit higher.

As for the lineup, it was Jeter, Granderson, Teix, Cano, Swish (DH), Ibanez, Jones (LF), Chavez and Martin. A-Rod didn’t start, only PH in the 9th.

Gardner was a late scratch, about 15-20 minutes before game time. Later, he was put on the 15-day DL. That catch he made in Game 11 aggravated his elbow. The Yanks are calling up RHP Cody Eppley to take Gardner’s roster place for now, figuring that with the short outings of the starters that the bullpen needs another arm. In 12 games so far this year, the Yanks have just 3 quality starts.

Kuroda gave up another run in the third. In the bottom of the third, Cano hit his first HR of the year to cut it to 5-4, and the HR came about six feet from hitting me right in the gut. If you go to Yankees.com and see the video of the Cano HR, you’ll see someone about two rows behind from where the ball landed wearing a Yankees cap, a blue Yankees jacket, the Yankee circle insignia on the left breast, jacket unbuttoned. That is me, with reader Dennis to my left (your right) in the video.

In the fifth, Kuroda gave up another HR to Morneau, who went 3-3 off Kuroda, 2 HR. This one was a bomb to the left of me, and over me into the bleachers. 6-4 Twins.

Kuroda (1-2, 5.00) went just 4 1/3, 6 R, 10 H, 0 walks and 4 K. He was hit hard all night in the game played in a light drizzle.

The Yankees relievers kept it close. Rapada 1 2/3, o R, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 K. Logan 2 IP, 0 R, 1 h, 1 walk and 4 K and Soriano 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 0 K.

The Yanks, though, couldn’t get anything going. With one out in the 9th, Jeter got his 3d hit of the game, a solo HR. Hit #3109 was career HR #244. Four HR already this season. Is he hot or what, and compared to what he was like a year ago at this time, what a turnaround.

But a 6-5 loss drops the Yanks back to .500 at 6-6.

Game 11. Yanks win 8-3 behind unexpected offense

So, eleven games into the season, backup C Chris Stewart has as many RBI as Robbie Cano and A-Rod… combined.

Baseball is a funny game, isn’t it?

CC struggled early, giving up a solo HR in the 2nd and two runs in the third, but then finally settled into the CC we haven’t seen much since last August 1st (see previous post), retiring 13 in a row at one point.

CC (W, 1-0) wound up going 7 1/3, 3 R, 4 h, 1 walk and 7 K.

The Yanks, down 1-0 in the 2nd after Josh Willingham touched CC for a HR, tied it in the bottom of the 2nd. Eduardo Nunez (2 H, now 6 for 13, .462) laid down a great bunt with Granderson on for a single. With runners at the corners, Brett Gardner (2 h, 2 walks tonight) doubled in a run to tie the game. As the inning progressed, the Yanks got Cano up with the bases loaded, but he grounded out. After eleven games this year, Cano has 0 HR, only 1 RBI. A-Rod 1 HR, 2 RBI. Thus the Stewart comment in the lead-in.

After CC gave up two in the top of the 3rd (which included an ejection of both a Twins player—Span—and manager Gardenhire), the Yanks came back with four in the bottom of the inning. Nunez got an RBI infield single, but the key blow of the game was a bases loaded, two run-single by Stewart, the catcher just picked up before the season started. Stewart, not known at all for his hitting, had 3 RBI tonight, the first time he’s ever done that in a MLB game. Jeter’s SF made it 5-3 Yanks.

As stated above, Stewart’s 3 rbi tonight equal the total Cano and A-Rod have combined. Is that some indictment or what?

Andruw Jones 2d HR of the year, a solo shot in the 4th, made it 6-3. It was career HR #422 for Jones.

In the fifth, a Gardner double and a Jeter single (hit #3106, four behind Winfield) made it 7-3.

The Yanks finished the scoring in the seventh. Gardner walked, stole second and scored on Stewart’s single.

David Robertson went 2/3, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 1 K.

Cory Wade finished up. 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 1 K.

Game 4: Yanks get first W behind Jeter’s 4 hits.

Derek Jeter went 4 for 4 with a sac bunt, raising his career hit total to 3095 as the Yanks picked up their first win of the 2012 season, 6-2 over the Orioles.

Teixeira singled in Jeter in the first, and in the fourth the Yanks broke a 1-1 tie (Wieters had HR’d for the O’s in the 2d) on an RBI single by Martin compounded by an E-7, a SF by Nunez and an RBI double by Jeter.

Andruw Jones made it 5-1 with a HR, #421, in the sixth. Brett Gardner, who replaced Jones, singled in a run in the seventh.

The Yanks did leave runners on, again. They had 10 LOB, 3 for 10 with RISP.

Nova (W, 1-0) went 7, 2 R, 10 h, 0 walks and 7 K. A nice rebound after a poor last spring training outing.

Robertson the 8th, 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 w and 2 K.

Mo the 9th to get some work in. 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 1 K.