Games 70 and 71. Yanks split DH.

Game 1: Yanks win 6-4. Lyle Overbay hit a 2-run double and Ichiro went 3-4, HR (3) and 3 RBI.

Hiroki Kuroda pitched 6 2/3. 2 R 8 H 1 walk and 2 K. He goes to 7-5, 2.78.

Shawn Kelley 1/3 IP. K. 4.73.

Preston Claiborne had a blip. 1/3, 2 R, 2 H, 0 walks and 0 K. 1.69.

David Robertson 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 walks and 0 K. 2.86.

Mo got save #25 on the year and #633 for his career. 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 2 K. 1.73.

Game 2: A 6-0 loss. The Yanks got just 3 hits & Phil Hughes was disappointing again.

Hughes fell to 3-6, 5.09. 6 IP, 5 R, 10 H, 0 walks and 3 K.

I’ve defended him (after all, he won 16 last year and 18 in 2010) but Hughes, a free agent after the year, won’t be back. You’d like to move him at the deadline, but who will take a two-month rental? Hughes, a flyball pitcher, may do well in a big ballpark, for example SD, SF or Detroit.

David Phelps has surpassed Hughes on the depth chart. If Nuno were healthy and not on the minor league DL, I’d advocate Hughes be pulled from the rotation for Nuno who had three very good starts.

Michael Pineda may be ready in a month or so.

One option is this: Swap Warren and Hughes. Give Warren a start and make Hughes the long man.

Warren tossed three innings tonight to lower his ERA to 3.11. You may remember that he tossed six scoreless in that 18-inning loss in Oakland last week.

Warren: 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 walks and 1 K.

Vernon Wells is down to .224. Brignac is now 4 for 41 as a Yankee. Austin Romine is now 7 for 55 for the season.

The Yanks have to find another backup c. Romine needs more seasoning. He is an automatic out. Brignac is also bad. You have two guys on the squad right now a combined 11 for 96 as Yankees. That’s barely above .110. .110! Pitchers can hit better than that.

Game 69. Yanks snap losing streak, escape vs. Angels 6-5.

It looked good going into the bottom of the 9th. Yanks up 6-0 and CC doing well.

It ended 6-5 when Mo had to strike out Pujols with the bases loaded to end the game.

The Yanks got five in the third when Travis Hafner broke an 0 for 23 skid with a two-out, 3-run HR (11). Wells then singled, Overbay doubled him in and Nix (3 hits) singled in Overbay. For the way this team has been lately, it was an offensive eruption.

A double by Cano, groundout by Hafner and SF by Wells made it 6-0 in the eighth and the Yanks needed it.

The first two men reached on CC in the 9th.

CC (7-5, 3.93) 8 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 3 walks and 6 K.

Robertson could only get one out.

1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 1 walk and 1 K. 2.93.

Mo finished it, barely, but was hardly vintage Mo. Save #24 and #632 of his career.

2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 walk and 1 K. 1.80.

Reid Brignac (ugh) an 0 for 4 and he is now 4 for 40 as a Yankee.  I hate picking on him everyday but it is what it is.       

The Yanks are off Monday (travel day) as they come home. They welcome Donnie Baseball and the Dodgers for a two-game set Tues. and Wed.

Game 66. Offense reaches new low in 18-inning loss, 3-2

I know I’m one of Mo’s biggest fans. I also know that he came in with a man on, one out, and gave up a hit, int. walk and hit and the Yanks then lost 3-2.

But he isn’t the story of this game. For he didn’t lose it (figuratively and realistically—-the L was put on Claiborne).

The Yankees offense lost it. For they reached a new low today.

In losing 3-2 in EIGHTEEN innings, consider this: Robbie Cano hit a 2-run HR in the first.

I had a 1/2 day of work today since I work a 1/2 day on Saturday. When I pulled into the parking lot at work today to start my shift, Robbie hit his HR. 2-0. 1st inning.

When I got out of work, it was 2-2 in the 15th. I drove to a bar for a few before heading home.

The Yanks lost 3-2 in 18. You aren’t dumb. You can do the math. The Yanks got 2 in the first on Cano’s 16th HR. They lost 3-2 in 18. You can figure out the rest.

The Yanks’ offense put up SEVENTEEN straight goose eggs on the scoreboard.

Mo should not have been in this game. Esp. after his ass picked up splinters off the bench for SEVENTEEN innings.

Kuroda was masterful. I feel most sorry for him and Warren (more on him in a bit). Kuroda 8 IP, 2 R, only 2 H. 2 walks and 3 K. 2.78 ERA but only a 6-5 record to show for it.

Robertson a scoreless 9th. 0 R, 2 hits, 0 walks and struck out the side. 3 K. ERA to 2.30.

Logan 2/3. 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 1.45.

Kelley 1/3. 0 R, 0 H 0 walks and 1 K. 4.62.

At this point, it became painful to watch. It was a war of attrition.

God Bless Adam Warren, who with this offense putting up nothing but zeroes, went out every inning knowing that if he gave up a run the game was over.

Warren tossed six shutout innings. 0 R, 4 H, 2 walks and 4 K. ERA to 3.12. He got some help when Wells gunned down a runner at the plate.

Six shutout innings in an extra-inning game. Where you knew in each one of those innings that if you gave up one run the game was over.

Great job.

Claiborne pitched a scoreless inning in the 17th but with one out gave up a hit in the 18th.

Then Mo picked out the splinters from his ass from sitting on the bench so long and gave up a hit, int. walk and a hit. Ballgame over and a 3-2 loss.

Claiborne 1 1/3, 1 R, 2 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 0-1, 0.86.

Mo’s ERA stays at 1.48. 0 IP, 2 H, 1 walk, 0 K. 

The 4-5-6-7 hitters in today’s lineup, Teix/Hafner/Youk and Wells, went a combined 0 for 28 with 12 strikeouts.

Want to know their batting averages?  Teixeira (0-5, 3 K), just off the DL, is now 8 for 49, .163. Hafner (0 for 8, 3 K) is in a HUGE slump and down to .220. Youk (0 for 7 and 3K) is down to .219 and Wells (0 for 8, 3 K) is down to .229.

Read that last paragraph again. 4-5-6-7. 0 for 28. 12 K.

Averages now .163=.220=.219 and .229.

Need I say more?

On top of that, Brignac came into the game late. He’s now 4 for 30 as a Yankee.

But the Yanks don’t promote OF Thomas Neal, who was at what, .339 for SWB entering tonight? Granted he doesn’t have power (2 HR for he AAA club) but how long will they let Hafner/Youk/Wells struggle? They were ok in April but have coming crashing down to earth and in doing so are showing why their previous clubs let them go.

Today was painful and excruciating to watch. Great pitching performances were wasted by a pathetic offense putting up 17 straight goose eggs.

Today, the phrase “Bronx Bombers” was laughable.

“Bronx Banjo Hitters” was more like it.           

 

 

Game 63. Phelps matches King Felix, Yanks win 2-1.

David Phelps matched Seattle’s King Felix, and Chris Stewart’s RBI single in the 8th  9th (oops) gave the Yanks a 2-1 win to up their record to 37-26.

Phelps went 6, 1 r, 3 H, 3 walks and 6 K as he lowered his ERA to 3.90. He has solidified a place in the rotation.

Brett Gardner had four of the Yanks’ 7 hits, and drove in the Yanks other run in the second inning. He now leads the team with a .284 batting average. Stewart had two of the other three hits and is now second at .276. The slumping Cano is down to .272.

It was a rough day for Teixeira, 0 for 5 with 4 K, and Vernon Wells (.238) continues to slump. The Yanks offense continues to struggle but the pitching is carrying them as you can see by the 3-1 win yesterday and 2-1 win today.

Boone Logan 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H,  0 walks and 2 K. 1.53.

Robertson escaped a man on third, one out jam in the 8th. He gets the W, 4-1, 2.39.

Mo 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 walk and 0 K. 1.48.

The Yanks are off tomorrow (Monday).

Game 62. Yanks win 3-1. #250 for Andy, 630 for Mo.

Andy Pettitte pitched 7 1/3 great innings and got career win #250 on the same day the Yanks drafted his son, and Mariano Rivera saved a Pettitte win for the 71st time (extending their record) as the Yanks beat Seattle 3-1.

For Rivera, it makes 22 saves in 23 opportunities and was career save #630.

Pettitte went 7 1/3, 1 R, 3 H, 0 walks and 6 K as he was just dominant. He goes to 5-3, 3.82. He passes Vic Willis on the all-time list for wins and with his next win will tie Bob Gibson. Meanwhile, Pettitte also found out that his son, a righty pitcher, was drafted by the Yanks on the same day he got career win #250.

David Robertson 2/3, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walk and 0 K. 2.49.

For Rivera, who perhaps is having the greatest farewell tour ever (that is, people know this is it, as opposed to, say, Koufax), 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk and 3 K. 1.54. 62 games in, 22 saves, 1.54 ERA at age 43 1/2 after missing most of last year. Amazing.

The top of the lineup did the damage. Brett Gardner had three hits, two of them doubles, and Jayson Nix had two hits and two rbi. Nix also got his seventh SB of the season and hasn’t been caught yet.

Game 58. Mo saves… again. #629. Yanks win 4-3.

When you are embarrassed, you want to make it up… right away. You carry a chip on your shoulder and want so much more to succeed the next time out.

I can only imagine that that was the feeling that David Phelps took to the mound tonight. After all, the last time out, Phelps was knocked out in the first inning.

Well, that chip that may have been on his shoulder tonight was a good thing, for Phelps tossed six shutout innings, giving up just one hit, as the Yanks won 4-3 tonight. He impoves to 4-3, 4.15.

6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 4 walks and 7 K. But the bullpen almost blew it.

The Yanks got all their runs in the third. Overbay doubled, Stewart singled, Overbay being held at third but Stewart thrown out at second. Ichiro singled in a run. Nix singled, the Teix hit HR #2, a three-run shot, to make it 4-0. Teix’s HR was his 340th, tying him with Jack Clark on the all-time list.

The Yanks almost blew it. Joba gave up a 3-run HR in the 7th.

Joba 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 walk and 1 K. ERA to 5.11.

Logan 1/3, 0R, 0 H, o walks, 1 K. 1.69.

Robertson had two on, no one out in the 8th when Swisher’s liner found mitt. Lucky, but a DP. 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk and 0 K. 2.55.

Then Mo. 21 for 22 in save opportunities this year. 1-2-3 with 2 K. ERA to 1.61. Save #629.

The greatest farewell tour ever. He’s going out at the top of his game, unlike players like Mays and Carlton.

Think about it. He’s 43 1/2. He missed most of last year due to an ACL. He’s retiring. He has 21 saves as the Yanks are 33-25. He’s saved 21 of their 33 wins. His ERA right now is 1.61.

Soak that in. We won’t see his like again.

Game 57. No 250 for Andy, but Yanks win 7-4.

Andy Pettitte has found it tough picking up career win #250. He couldn’t do it again tonight.

He went 4 2/3, 4 R, 7 H, 3 walks and 3K as his ERA climbed to 4.17.

Shawn Kelley got the win (3-0, 5.24) 1 1/3, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walk and 2 K.

Andy gave up a run in the third, but Teix’s first HR of the year in the bottom of the third was a grand slam that barely cleared the wall. 4-1 Yanks after 3.

Pettitte couldn’t hold the lead and left with the game tied in the fifth.

Gardner broke the tie with a two-run single in the sixth, and Hafner’s 9th HR made it 7-4 in the seventh.

The triumvirate of Joba, D-Rob and Mo closed it out.

Lyle Overbay started the game in RF, his first game in the OF in about 12 years as the Yanks sent Brennan Boesch to AAA to clear room for Pettitte.

Two Yanks struggling with the bat, Brignac and Romine, each had two hits tonight.

Joba 1 IP, 0 R 0 H 1 walk and 2 K. 3.09.

D-Rob 1 IP, 0 R. 0 h. 0 walks 0 k. 2.66.

Mariano save #20 on the year, #628 of his career.

1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 1.69.

 

Game 54. CC comes through, Yanks end skid, 4-1.

The Yanks snapped their five-game losing skid as CC finally pitched the game we have waited all year for him to pitch, winning 4-1.

CC went 7 1/3, 1 R, 6 H, 0 walks and 10 K. When I mentioned recently that I was waiting for that dominating outing from CC which we didn’t see this year, this is what I meant. CC goes to 5-4, 3.71.

Robertson 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 2.78.

Mo the 9th. After that blip against the Mets, back on track. 19 for 20 in save opportunities this year. 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 walks and 1 K. ERA to 1.77. Save #627.

The Yanks got two in the second on singles by Nix and Ichiro.

They got one in the fifth on a single by the just reactivated Youk, and Gardner drove in a run in the seventh.

To make room for Teix and Youk, Nuno and Nova were sent to AAA. Together with Wang, that AAA rotation might be pretty good right now (I am going there June 8th).

 

Game 51. Mo’s streak ends at 18 as he blows it, 2-1 Mets.

Mo is usually automatic. This year he was 18 for 18 in save opportunities.

But all streaks end sometime.

The Yanks took a 1-0 lead in the sixth when Gardner singled, went to second on an error, to third on a groundout and scored on an Overbay single.

But that was the only run they’d get all night as Met phenom Matt Harvey was tough.

One thing about the NL parks and losing the DH. It really exposes the weak Yankees lineup to have Hafner out of it. A 5-6-7-8-9 of Adams (in the majors just two weeks), the aging Ichiro, Brignac, Stewart and the pitcher is weak, and so the Yanks lose 2-1 to the Mets again.

Kuroda went 7, 0 R, 4 H, 0 walks and 7 K. ERA 2.39.

Robertson went the 8th, 1 R, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 2.86.

Gardner saved a run with a great catch in the sixth.

But Mo couldn’t get anyone out. A double, single and error and another single led to two runs and dropped Mo to 0-1, 1.86 on the season.

Thank goodness the next couple of games are at the Stadium. They need the DH back.

UPDATE 1: From the LoHud blog.

Mariano Rivera made his 1,072nd appearance tonight, passing Dennis Eckersley for the fourth-most ever. Remarkably, this was the first time in all those games, on all those nights pitching where the cushion was nothing or close to it, that Rivera had blown a save without recording an out.

UPDATE 2: Joba back. David Huff Dfa’d. That didn’t last long for Huff.

Game 50. Lineup, stats and comments.

The Yanks begin a four-game home and home series against the Mets at Citi Field tonight. Pitchers have to hit tonight and tomorrow night.

The Yanks are 30-19, tied for 1st, pct. points above Boston in the A.L. East. They are three games better than their Pythagorean (expected) record. OPS+ 94 (100 is average, higher the better) ERA+ 116.

With Mo’s next appearance, he will surpass Dennis Eckersley and go into fourth place all-time on the games pitched list.

BA/HR/RBI    SB/total Attempts    OPS+    Comments  Team Leader 

Gardner CF .259-5-20  9/13  103   HR, RBI a pleasant surprise.
Nix SS .231-1-11  5/5  63
disappointing offensive numbers, but do you remember the HR was off Verlander?
Cano 2B .291-13-34  2/2  137
Wells LF  .264-10-24  4/6  108  Last 8 games: 4 for 35.
Adams 3B .300-2-5  0/0  122   batting 5th. 12 for 40. 11th MLB game.
Suzuki RF .244-2-8  5/6  66   At 39, Ichiro has turned into…. Nix?
Overbay 1B .250-8-28  0/0  103
Stewart C .274-3-7  2/2  90  Great numbers when compared to Romine.
Hughes SP   2-3, 5.51  ERA+ 77   Good or bad Hughes tonight?

As a hitter, Hughes has four plate appearances in his MLB career and is 0 for 3, 1 strikeout and 1 sac bunt.

FYI, the last Yankee pitcher to hit a HR was Lindy McDaniel at the end of 1972.