Game 39. Yanks beat O’s, 8-2.

A few notes before the game recap. Today will be my last reports for a while. I have to go in for surgery tomorrow.

After the game, it was announced that Aaron Hicks will go on the I.L. I thought they were going to bring up Greg Allen, but it’s not Allen coming up, but Ryan LaMarre.

LaMarre, 32, bats right, throws left, and has played in 119 MLB games for the Reds, Red Sox, A’s, Twins, and White Sox. He’s hit .236-4-21 in 225 at bats, OPS+ 70. He’s even pitched in mop up roles, giving up 1 R in 1 2/3 IP. He was 9 for 33 (.273) for SWB this season.

Now to the game.

This is what we thought the Yankees’ (22-17) offense would be this year, not the one that has struggled. Eight runs, 13 hits, Four guys with two hits or more, including three from an unexpected source (Tyler Wade). An Aaron Judge HR.

An 8-2 win over Baltimore.

In the first inning, the Yanks got three runs. D.J. LeMahieu walked, Luke Voit singled, and Aaron Judge walked to load the bases. After Gio Urshela struck out, a passed ball moved up all runners and allowed LeMahieu to score. Gary Sanchez then followed with a 2-run single.

Judge hit a 2-run HR (11) in the second inning to make it 5-0.

In the top of the sixth, Brett Gardner singled, and after an out, Miguel Andujar and Tyler Wade both singled to load the bases. A balk moved up the runners and enabled Gardner to score, then after LeMahieu struck out, Luke Voit singled to make the score 8-0.

Baltimore got a run in the sixth, another in the ninth, and the final was 8-2.

Voit, 2 hits, 2 RBI
Judge 2 hits, a 2-run HR (11)
Urshela 2 hits
Sanchez 2 RBI
Wade 3 hits.

German (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 W, 6 K. 3.62
Luetge 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K 3.10
Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 5.91
Cessa 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.25

Minor League Report.

AAA: SWB (8-2) beat Lehigh Valley 6-4. 3B Armando Alvarez 2-run HR. SS Andrew Velazquez 2 RBI. Adam Warren 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings, one of five pitchers.

AA: Somerset (6-4) lost 7-3. 1B Dermis Garcia solo HR, 2 RBI.

High A: Hudson Valley (5-5) won 9-4. 2B/LF Oliver Dunn 2 hits, 2-run HR, 3 RBI. SS Oswald Peraza (someone to keep an eye on) 2 homers, both 2-run shots, 4 RBI. LF/RF Frederick Cuevas 2 hits.

Low A: Tampa (7-3) won 7-4. SS Anthony Volpe 2 RBI. C Austin Wells 2 hits, 3 RBI. 3B/2B Max Burt 2 hits.

Estevan Florial was moved up from AA to AAA, I presume to replace Greg Allen on the AAA roster. I believe Allen is or will be called up to the majors to fill in for Aaron Hicks, what with Hicks’ injury. Allen is a switch-hitter, has played in 221 MLB games, all but one for Cleveland. .239 hitter, OPS+ only 70, not much pop (8 HR) but did steal 21 bases for the Indians in 2018.

Game 38. Pinch me for luck! Gio’s PH HR gives Yanks 5-4 win.

Gio Urshela hit a pinch-hit, 3-run HR in the top of the seventh to erase a 4-2 Orioles’ lead and to give the Yankees (21-17) a 5-4 win Friday night.

Aaron Judge hit two homers, and his first of the night came in the top of the first to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead.

The Yanks got a bit lucky in the bottom of the first. One of two plays that also helped the Yanks win the game. Cedrick Mullins led off the bottom of the first with a single, but was caught stealing second. Catcher Kyle Higashioka’s nab of Mullins was huge, because Austin Hays then homered for Baltimore, tying the game at one instead of putting the O’s up 2-1. Huge in a game the Yanks won by one run.

Judge’s second HR (10) of the game put the Yanks up 2-1 in the fourth inning.

The Orioles scored three runs off starter and winner Corey Kluber in the bottom of the fifth, but once again, the O’s took another run off the scoreboard for themselves, once again helping to cost them the game. A double by D.J. Stewart, an out, then another double by Pedro Severino to tie the game at two. A single by Pat Valaka to put the O’s up 3-2, an out. A SB by Valaka, then a walk to Hays. First and second, two out, then a double by Trey Mancini that scored Valaka to make it 4-2, but Hays was out by plenty at the plate Judge to LeMahieu to Higashioka, to prevent another run from scoring. Once again huge in a game the Yanks won 5-4.

In the top of the seventh, with one out, Miguel Andujar singled for his first hit of the season. Higashioka walked, then Urshela pinch-hit for Tyler Wade. Urshela fought off several pitches, fouling them off to stay alive before hitting a 3-run HR (5) to put the Yanks up 5-4, and that it how it stayed.

LeMahieu 2 hits
Judge 2 hits, both solo HR (10), 2 RBI
Urshela pinch-hit 3-run HR (5)


Kluber (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 2 W, 6 K. 3.48 Gave up 1 HR.
Green (H, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.21 1 WP
Peralta (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.55 (Combined SF/NYY; 0.00 as NYY)
Loaisiga (S, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.49

Aaron Hicks was put on the injured list with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist that may require surgery. Time will tell. On meds, hope no surgery needed, but….

Game 37. Yanks fall, 9-1.

The Yanks (20-17) took two out of three from the Rays this week despite scoring only five runs in the three games. They did it because of pitching. The pitching wasn’t there in the game last night as the Yanks lost, 9-1.

In the games the Yanks won, they won 3-1 and 1-0.

Jameson Taillon struck out 9 in 4 2/3 IP, but took the loss to drop to 1-3, 5.40, ERA+ just 72 on the season. If there is a “weak link” in the Yanks’ rotation so far, Taillon has been it. He is just coming back from his second TJ surgery. The Yanks can look to replace him with Deivi Garcia, or Mike King, or (and what I think will happen) ride him out, hope he improves, but then look to replace him with Luis Severino, once Severino is healthy in two months.

Remember that Severino was the ace before the Yanks got Gerrit Cole. So far all indications are that Severino, himself coming off TJ surgery, looks great.

The Yanks bats were silent, and you keep wondering how long this will go on. Heck, even D.J. LeMahieu is only hitting .264. You still have too many people under .200 (Sanchez, who got two of the Yankees’ five hits last night is at .197; Andujar 0 for 13; Frazier .141; Gardner .182; Mike Ford isn’t even at .100! He’s at .095; Hicks .194; Odor .164; Bruce was at .118 when he retired). They are just hitting .220 as a team. Imagine if they were in the NL with no DH.

Taillon gave up 2 runs in the first, then a 2-run HR in the third. Down 4-0 after three, the way the Yanks haven’t been hitting, you basically knew game over.

When Mike King gave up a 3-run HR in the sixth, those feelings were confrimed. It wasn’t the Yanks’ night. Justin Wilson gave up two runs in the eighth.

The Yanks’ avoided the shutout by scoring in the ninth. Gio Urshela singled to lead off the inning, Sanchez doubled. Ford walked. The slumping Frazier GIDP, the at that time meaningless run scoring, the Rays, already up 9-0, gladly swapping the run for two outs. Andujar then flied out to end the game.

You keep waiting for one of those 12-run explosion games. Maybe this weekend in Baltimore?

Sanchez 2 hits.

Taillon (L, 1-3) 4 2/3 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 2 W, 9 K. 5.40 1 WP, Gave up 1 HR.
King 2 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 2 W, 6 K. 1.84 Gave up 1 HR.
Wilson 1 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 6.52

Funny stat. Pitchers gave up 9 runs. Struck out 16. Strange.

Before the game, Andujar had to be brought back up because Gleyber Torres had to go on the COVID IL . 8 Yankees, inc. players, coaches (1B, 3B, and P), and staff have been affected.

Game 35. Judge, Sanchez HRs back Montgomery in 3-1 Yanks’ win.

Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez hit solo homers to back Jordan Montgomery’s strong outing as the Yankees (19-16) beat Tampa Bay 3-1 Tuesday night.

Judge hit his solo HR (8) in the bottom of the first.

With one out in the third inning, D.J. LeMahieu singled and Giancarlo Stanton walked. Two passed balls by Rays’ catcher Mike Zunino enabled the runners to move up two bases, and LeMahieu to score. 2-0 Yankees.

Zunino homered in the bottom of third to cut the Yanks’ lead to 2-1.

Sanchez hit his solo HR (4) in the top of the seventh.

The game marked the return of Luke Voit from the injured list. Miguel Andujar was sent down.

Coaches Phil Nevin and Reggie Willits have tested positive for Covid, even though they were asymptomatic and had received the vaccine. They were two of a few positive Covid tests among coaches and staff.

Judge 2 hits, solo HR (8)
Sanchez solo HR (4)

Montgomery (W, 2-1) 6 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 9 K. 3.96. Gave up 1 HR.
Loaisiga (H, 4) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.61 1 WP
Chapman (S, 8) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00

Minor League Report. SWB hits 4 HR in slugfest. Tampa’s Hauver homers in fifth straight game.

AAA: SWB (5-1) hit 4 HR in winning a slugfest, 15-10. DH Luke Voit (coming back to Yankees Tuesday, Miguel Andujar going back down) 2 hits, HR, 3 RBI. 1B Chris Gittens, HR, 3 RBI. CF Socrates Brito 2 RBI. 3B Derek Dietrich 2 hits, HR, 2 RBI. RF Trey Amburgey 3 hits, HR, 5 RBI. 2B Kyle Holder 2 hits. C Rob Brantly 2 hits, SS Andrew Velazquez 2 hits.

AA: Somerset (5-1) won 6-5. CF Estevan Florial solo HR. 2B Hoy Jun Park HR, 2 RBI. C Donny Sands 2 hits. 3B Diego Castillo HR, 2 RBI. Three pitchers combined for six no-hit innings of relief.

High A: Hudson Valley (3-3) won 10-1. SS Oswald Peraza 4 hits. 2B Ezequiel Duran 2 hits, RBI. DH Josh Breaux HR, 4 RBI. C Mickey Gasper 2 hits. RF Steven Sensley 3-run HR. 3B Cristian Perez 2 hits. Luis Medina 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 7 K.

Low A: Tampa’s (5-1) offense finally came back to earth, as they lost 4-1. 2B Trevor Hauver homered for the fifth straight game. SS Max Burt 2 hits.

Game 32. Bullpen fails Yanks again in 11-4 loss.

Up until the last couple of games, the bullpen was a great strength. But in the last two games, it seems as if the law of averages is catching up to them, as for the second straight game, the bullpen blew it in the end.

A tie game going into the eighth inning became a 11-4 loss as the Yankees (16-16) slipped back to .500.

The Yanks scored first when D.J. LeMahieu led off the bottom of the first with a HR (2).

Washington came right back with three in the top of the second. Jameson Taillon gave up 2 HR that inning, but other than that, pitched well.

Gary Sanchez cut the Nats’ lead to 3-2 with a HR (3) in the bottom of the second.

LeMahieu tied the game with another HR (3) in the bottom of the sixth.

Then the roof fell in. Washington scored six in the top of the eighth off of Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa, who weren’t helped by three errors. The Nationals got two more in the ninth.

The Yanks got a gift run (defensive indifference) in the bottom of the ninth. 11-4 Nats.

The Yanks only got five hits.

LeMahieu 3 hits, 2 solo HR (3)
Sanchez solo HR (3)

Taillon 6 1/3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 W, 5 K. 5.02 gave up 2 HR.
Peralta 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.97 (Combined SF/NYY ERA)
Loaisiga (L, 3-2) 1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.89 Gave up 1 HR.
Cessa 1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 WS, 1 K. 2.40 Gave up 1 HR.

Before the game the Yanks brought up Miguel Andujar and sent back Albert Abreu.

Game 30. Yanks win 5th in a row, beat Astros 6-3.

Giancarlo Stanton is hot right now. He hit in his 11th straight game, got 3 hits, including a HR, and drove in 4 runs in the Yankees’ 6-3 win Wednesday night over the Astros. It was the Yanks’ (16-14) fifth win in a row.

In the bottom of the third inning, with two out, D.J. LeMahieu was HBP, then Stanton hit his 2-run HR (8).

Yankees’ starter Jordan Montgomery gave up three runs in the top of the fourth, and another runner was cut down at the plate, Brett Gardner to Gio Urshela to Gary Sanchez (7-5-2).

The Yankees tied it up in the fifth. With two out, Gardner singled and LeMahieu walked. Stanton doubled to tie the game.

The Yanks got three in the bottom of the eighth to win it. Gleyber Torres led off the inning with a single, then PH Clint Frazier walked. Tyler Wade PR for Frazier. Aaron HIcks blooped a single to make it 4-3, Yankees. Sanchez was HBP to load the bases, then Gardner hit a SF to make it 5-3. After a force-out, Stanton singled for the final tally of 6-3.

Stanton 3 hits, 4 RBI, inc. a 2-run HR (8)
Hicks 2 hits, RBI

Awful night for Aaron Judge. 0 for 5, struck out all 5x.

Montgomery 6 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 0 W, 4 K. 4.41
Cessa 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 1.35
Peralta 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. (combined SF/NYY 4.22) 1 WP
Loaisiga (W, 3-1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K 0.98
Chapman (S, 7) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.00

Before the game, Rougned Odor went on the 10-day IL (sprained knee) and P Albert Abreu was brought up.

Game 27. Yanks edge Tigers, 6-4.

Sorry for the late post, but I have been busy with a lot of things, one being a lot of tests on me before I need surgery in Mid-May. So come mid-May, there won’t be posts for a while because of my surgery, hospitalization, and recovery.

The Yankees (13-14) edged the Tigers Saturday afternoon, 6-4. Before the game, Darren O’Day was put on the injured list and Mike King was brought back up.

With one out in the bottom of the third, D.J. LeMahieu walked and Aaron Judge singled. Gleyber Torres hit a two-out single to drive in LeMahieu.

The Tigers tied it in the top of the fourth when Yankees’ starter Jameson Taillon gave up a HR.

The Yanks went ahead in the fifth when LeMahieu singled, stole second, went to third on a throwing error on the play, and scored on a double by Judge.

The Yanks got four runs in the sixth to go up 6-1. Aaron Hicks was HBP, then Gary Sanchez and Clint Frazier walked to load the bases with no one out. After two outs, Judge singled in two runs, the Rougned Odor walked to reload the bases. Torres then singled in two runs.

The Tigers got two runs off of Justin Wilson in the seventh, and Chad Green gave up a solo HR in the eighth as the Tigers made it close at 6-4.

For Jameson Taillon, it was his first win in exactly two years.

LeMahieu 2 hits
Judge 3 hits, 3 RBI
Torres 2 hits, 3 RBI

Taillon (W, 1-2) 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 3 W, 8 K. 5.24 Gave up 1 HR.
Loaisiga (H, 3) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 1.10
Wilson 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K. 5.40
Green (H, 3) 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1.08 Gave up 1 HR
Chapman (S, 5) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.00

Game 25. Yanks fall in 10, 4-3.

Somewhere in the great beyond, Phil Rizzuto, one of the greatest bunters of all time, is shaking his head, while saying “Holy Cow, can’t these huckleberries bunt?”

The lack of the Yankees to lay down a bunt, and the ability of Baltimore to do so, enabled the Orioles to beat the Yanks (11-14) 4-3 Thursday afternoon.

Baltimore got a run in the first inning off of Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery, but the Yanks went ahead 2-1 with a couple of runs in the top of the fifth inning.

The Yanks loaded the bases with no one out when Brett Gardner singled, D.J. LeMahieu walked, and Giancarlo Stanton singled. After two non-productive outs, Rougned Odor singled in two runs.

Montgomery gave up a game-tying HR in the bottom of the sixth, and the O’s went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth by getting a run off of Darren O’Day.

In the top of the ninth, Mike Ford walked, and after an out, LeMahieu also walked. Then came another out. Down to their last out, Gleyber Torres tied the game with a ground-rule double.

In the top of the tenth, the Yanks started the inning with Gio Urshela at second (I hate this extra inning rule). Tyler Wade couldn’t get down a bunt, and struck out. The Yanks failed to score when Aaron Hicks tapped back to the pitcher and after an intentional walk to Gary Sanchez, Ford struck out.

In the bottom of the tenth, the O’s started the inning with their man on second (once again, I hate that rule). Their guy DID get the bunt down to move the runner to third, then a sac fly brought home the winning run. Exactly what the Yanks needed to do.

One reason I hate that rule. The pitcher does his job, getting two outs, and it wasn’t his fault a man was on second. But he takes the loss. In this case, Loaisiga does nothing wrong. It’s just that MLB forces him to need a strikeout. They are forcing him to get an out a certain way.


Stanton 3 hits
Odor 2 RBI

Montgomery 5+ IP, 2 R, 6 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.39 Gave up 1 HR.
Green 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 4 K. 0.59
O’Day 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 3.00
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K. 0.00
Loaisiga (L, 2-1) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.17

Before the game Mike King went down, Wandy Peralta (just acquired) up. Wade replaced Tauchman (traded for Peralta) on the roster.