Aaron Judge was 1 for 5 with a single in the first game of a day/night DH, a game the Yankees (99-61) won 5-4. He is now hitting .310 after that game.
The Yanks have just the night game tonight and an afternoon game tomorrow left in their season before their postseason begins with Game 1 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium on October 11.
The Yanks did hit three HR in the game, including the first MLB HR by Oswald Peraza.
Oswaldo Cabrera got the scoring started with a HR in the top of the first inning (6).
Yanks’ starter Jameson Taillon gave two runs back in the bottom of the first and had to get out of a bases-loaded jam or else he would have given up more than that. Texas up 2-1 after one inning.
Peraza hit his HR in the top of the second to tie the game.
The Yanks went up 3-2 in the top of the fifth. Peraza (who has been playing great since he has been called up, as has Cabrera) singled and stole second. After a popup, Marwin Gonzalez singled in Peraza.
But Taillon gave up a 2-run HR in the bottom of the fifth and Texas took a 4-3 lead.
The Yanks’ winning rally came in the top of the eighth. Kyle Higashioka, hot lately, led off the inning with a HR (10) to tie the game. Judge singled and Anthony Rizzo was HBP. Cabrera sacrificed both runners over, and Harrison Bader singled to give the Yanks the eventual winning run.
Cabrera solo HR (6) Peraza 2 hits, solo HR (1) FIRST MLB HR Higashioka solo HR (10)
Taillon 6 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 2 W, 5 K. 1 HBP Gave up 1 HR. 3.91 Chapman (W, 4-4) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.46 The Chapman we need to see. Weissert (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 5.56 Loaisiga (S, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.13
Ron Marinaccio to the IL. He will miss the ALDS. Albert Abreu back off the IL.
Aaron Judge will have to wait for HR #62, going 1 for 2 with a pair of walks in the Yankees’ (96-60) 2-1 loss to Baltimore Friday night.
Judge is at .314, about 7/10th of a point behind Minnesota’s Luis Arraez (.315) as Judge also goes for a Triple Crown.
A couple of mistakes, lack of control, no run support and a lot of rust hurt the Yanks in the loss.
In the first inning, Baltimore scored on a walk, a SB, a throwing error on Jose Trevino on the SB that allowed Cedric Mullins of Baltimore to go to third, and an RBI single. I thought Gleyber Torres should have caught or at least knocked down Trevino’s throw, but it is what it is.
The Yanks only got four hits in the game, struck out 13x, and their only run came on a HR by Oswaldo Cabrera (5) in the bottom of the fifth. No way does Cabrera not make the postseason roster. Even if D.J. LeMahieu, Andrew Benintendi or Matt Carpenter do get over their injuries and make it.
As for someone else, I’ll get to that in a bit.
Domingo German was the tough luck loser in this game, having pitched well, but getting no run support save for Cabrera’s HR.
In the top of the sixth, German walked the first two hitters before getting a groundout that moved the runners up. He was then relieved by Zack Britton.
Britton is just coming off of TJ surgery and it is said that control is the last thing to return. Britton walked a batter before throwing a WP that enabled the deciding run in the game to score. He was then removed with a tired arm. Nice try in coming back and hoping to make the postseason roster. It is obvious that Britton isn’t ready yet.
It will be interesting to see if Matt Carpenter, now taking batting practice, can get a couple of games in before the postseason, and if he can make the postseason roster, because if Giancarlo Stanton wasn’t Giancarlo Stanton, and making over $30MM a year, then based on performance alone, Stanton should NOT be on the postseason roster. Stanton is hitting .140 since coming off the IL, and .156 since June 1. If the Yanks had guts (and it would be a highly controversial move), if Carpenter is ok, they put Carpenter on the postseason roster and DH him and leave Stanton off of it. It won’t happen, though. But the Yanks are racing against the clock to get Stanton straightened out. I fear Stanton will kill the Yanks in the playoffs. He’s been THAT awful. Gallo-like awful. If Stanton is on the postseason roster, as expected, then PLEASE Aaron Boone, drop him in the lineup. To Seventh. Maybe even Eighth like Joe Torre did with A-Rod in 2006. You can’t just keep putting him 4 or 5.
But then, Boone had Gallo hitting cleanup in last year’s wildcard game loss at Boston. Sigh. Don’t make the same mistake, Boonie.
LeMahieu came off the IL for the game. Locastro taken off the roster. LeMahieu went 0 for 3 and we will see if D.J. is good enough to be on the postseason roster or not. Soon, we see about Benintendi, too.
Feelings be damned. If someone isn’t ready or deserves to be on the postseason roster, then leave him off. You can’t mess around come playoff time.
Today’s game may be delayed or postponed. The weather forecast calls for rain in NYC.
Cabrera 2 hits, solo HR (5)
German (L, 2-4) 5 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 W, 6 K. 3.31 Tough loss. Britton 0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 1 WP. 13.50 Rusty. Not ready. Go home and heal up more. Marinaccio 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 3 K. 2.09 Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.11 Effross 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.59 (Cubs/NYY)
Boone also revealed postgame that right-handed reliever Clay Holmes received a cortisone injection for inflammation in his right rotator cuff and likely won’t pitch again until the American League Division Series starts Oct. 11. We will have to see how he is. Meanwhile, Wandy Peralta should be off the IL by then, and Miguel Castro and Albert Abreu have finished rehab. The Yanks will have a LOT of interesting decisions to make regarding the postseason roster.
Usually, I start at the highest level and work my way down. Not today.
AA Somerset won the third and deciding game of the Eastern League Finals in commanding and historic fashion, scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the first inning on way to a 15-0 blowout victory.
In doing so, they threw a combined no-hitter. What a way to win the Eastern League title.
Somerset starter Randy Vasquez (I thought they’d go with Clayton Beeter, but they went with Vasquez) retired the first 19 batters he faced before giving up a walk. Vasquez pitched 8 innings, and Carson Coleman finished up for the combined no-hitter.
Jasson Dominguez (“the Martian”), the Yankees 19-year-old #2 prospect, hit 2 HR, one from each side of the plate, and drove in 6 runs in the victory.
AAA SWB lost the completion of a suspended game, and that coupled with a win by Durham, dropped SWB’s tragic # for being eliminated to 1. SWB did win the regularly scheduled game.
But SWB (82-66) is now 2 games out with 2 games left in the season.
COMPLETION OF SUSPENDED GAME--Lost 5-4 in ten innings. Was suspended at 1-1 in the sixth inning on August 7.
Since then, Peraza and Cabrera now with Yankees, Andujar now with Pirates.
PR/SS Tyler Wade solo HR (2) C Josh Breaux 2-run HR (5) #22 prospect Overall .219-19-50
Spence 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.79 Rich Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 8.31 Mujica 2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gaveup 2 HR. 4.37 Shreve (BS, 1) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 9.00 Bard (L, 0-1) 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.68
REGULAR GAME–Won 8-7 in 11 innings. SS Anthony Volpe 2 hits, solo HR (3) #1 prospect Overall .248-21-65, 49 SB DH Ryan LaMarre 2 for 2, 3 walks. 1B Ron Guzman 2 RBI. 2-run HR (16) 3B Armando Alvarez 3 hits, 2 RBI. Solo HR (18)
Spence 4 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 W, 6 K. gave up 1 HR. 1 HBP 3.86 (remember game listed above he started Aug 7) Albert Abreu2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.86 REHAB M. Gomez (BS, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.92 Deivi Garcia (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 7.96 #26 prospect. Overall: 4-5, 6.89 Barnes (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.70 Cordero (BS, 1) 1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.15 Bristo (W, 3-3) 2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K. 4.56
Boyle (W, 4-1) 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 1 HBP 4.04 Miguel Castro (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00 REHAB Albert Abreu (H, 1) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 0.00 REHAB Bristo (H, 3) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.73 Shreve (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 0.00 Cordero (S, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.77
SWB is in second place, 1/2 a game out. There are five games left in the season, as well as the completion of a game started on August 7 in which the score is tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth.
AAA: SWB (77-63) lost 3-2. CF Blake Perkins 2 hits, RBI 2B Chad Bell 2 for 2 RF Michael Beltre 2 hits
Chi Chi Gonzalez 5 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.36 Effross (L, 0-1) 1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. 10.80 REHAB Bard 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.54 Deivi Garcia 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K. 7.75 #26 prospect. Overall: 4-5, 6.71 Zach Greene 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.34
AA: Somerset (83-53) won 6-3. This concludes their regular season. As the first-half division champ, Somerset will start a best-of-3 semifinal playoff vs. Portland at Portland on Tuesday.
DH Jasson Dominguez solo HR (1). First AA HR for “The Martian” #2 prospect. Overall stats (3 levels): .273-16-59, 37 SB. Just 19 years old.
3B Andres Chaparro 2-run HR (19) 2B Jesus Bastidas 2 Hits, 2 RBI Solo HR (18) C Rodolfo Duran Solo HR (9)
Albert Abreu to the IL. The Yanks brought up Luke Bard, who was at AAA after the Yanks recently plucked him off of the waiver wire. Bard, a RHP, is 4-4, 4.50 in his career, mostly for the Angels.
Also going on the IL is Scott Effross, who the Yanks just recently got off of the Cubs at the trade deadline. Clarke Schmidt was brought back up.
Giancarlo Stanton is expected to come off the IL on Thursday. He will strictly DH at first.
You never know. That is why you play the games. For example, in the mid-1960s, when the Mets were really, really terrible, a young pre-closer Tug McGraw outdueled future HOF Sandy Koufax. Who’d have thought?
Last night, if you bet on the game, you’d probably take future HOF Max Scherzer over Domingo German, especially with the way the Yanks have played in August (6-14). But German outpitched Scherzer, and the Yanks (75-48) beat the Mets 4-2. The Yankees’ magic # for winning the AL East is now 33.
Had Scherzer won, he would have gotten career win #200 before his 100th loss. Not too many pitchers have done that (Whitey Ford is one who did). Instead, he is 199-100 for his career.
The Yanks struck early, getting a run in the bottom of the first inning. Andrew Benintendi, who is heating up, was HBP. One out later, Anthony Rizzo singled Benintendi to third. Benintendi just got in ahead of the tag when D.J. LeMahieu hit a SF. 1-0.
After going over a week without a HR, Aaron Judge finally got HR #47, touching Scherzer in the bottom of the third inning. 2-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled, went to third on a sac bunt by Marwin Gonzalez, and scored on a double by Benintendi. 3-0, Yankees.
German was cruising until the Yanks messed up in the top of the seventh. With one out, a popup to short RF was dropped when there was miscommunication between 2B Oswaldo Cabrera and RF Gonzalez as to who would catch the ball. Because of the collision, Cabrera dropped it for an error. Two pitches later, German made his only mistake, giving up a 2-run HR to Daniel Vogelbach. 3-2.
The Yanks came right back in the bottom of the seventh, getting an insurance run. With one out, Kiner-Falefa singled with one out and went to second on a throwing error by Mets’ SS Francisco Lindor. One out later, Benintendi singled to make it 4-2, which wound up as the final score.
You can’t win if you can’t score, and the Yanks have scored only 21 runs in their last 10 games.
The frustration is building and was evident in manager Aaron Boone’s postgame press conference after the Yanks (73-48) lost for the 14th time in their last 17 games, 5-2 to Toronto. The loss cut their AL East lead, once 15 1/2, to 7.
The Yanks got on the board first, scoring a run in the second inning. With one out, Jose Trevino doubled, then Isiah Kiner-Falefa reached on an error. Estevan Florial, who was 0 for 16 coming into the game, got a single to put the Yanks up 1-0.
Gerrit Cole no-hit Toronto for 4 1/3 innings, then the roof fell in. All five of the hits he gave up came in the same inning. After a strikeout, Double, Walk, Double and Toronto led 2-1. Two infield singles then loaded the bases. Another double made it 4-1.
Gleyber Torres hit a HR (18) in the bottom of the eighth to cut it to 4-2, but Albert Abreu gave up a HR in the top of the ninth to Matt Chapman. 5-2 Toronto.
It doesn’t get any easier. The Yanks face Manoah today, then have two games against the Mets where they are scheduled to face Scherzer and DeGrom.
The Yanks retire #21 in honor of Paul O’Neill today.
Judge 2 hits Torres solo HR (18) Trevino 2 hits
Cole (L, 9-6) 6 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 2 W, 5 K. 1 HBP 3.41 All five hits in 4-run fifth inning. Marinaccio 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1.80 Effross 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.75 (Cubs/NYY) Abreu 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.32 (3-team ERA)
Frankie Montas struggled in his Yankees’ home debut and the Yankees’ offense went back into its funk in losing to Toronto 9-2 Thursday evening.
The Yanks’ lead in the division was cut to 9 over Tampa Bay and Toronto. The Yanks are 73-46 and the magic # for clinching the division is 36. However, the Yanks are only 21-28 in their last 49 games, and 3-12 in their last 15. Also, it’s tough watching the guys they got rid of doing well while the guys they got are struggling. It’s just been a bad month all around.
Once again, Yankees’ pitching couldn’t limit the damage when they were one strike away from doing so. In the top of the second, Montas gave up a single, got a strikeout, then gave up a double. A force out made it 1-0 Toronto. Then came the backbreakers. First, a walk that put runners at first and second, then a bloop single by George Springer on a 1-2 count (one strike away from getting out of the inning only giving up one run) that made it 2-0. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. then followed with a 3-run HR to make it 5-0 and the game was kind of over right then.
Guerrero’s HR, 362 ft., wouldn’t have been a HR in any other ballpark. The porch giveth, but the porch also taketh away.
The Yanks got their two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the score to 5-2. Jose Trevino led off with a walk and Estevan Florial was HBP. An infield single by D.J. LeMahieu plus an error on the play scored Trevino and put runners on first and third. Aaron Judge grounded into a force out that scored Florial.
Toronto got a run in the fifth as Springer was in the middle of everything. He was 5 for 5 for the night.
The Blue Jays got three runs in the seventh, helped by a two-base error by D.J. LeMahieu (originally a throwing error on Josh Donaldson but correctly changed to a fielding error on LeMahieu). They should have had a DP there. Instead, the error helped lead to three runs. 9-2. End of scoring for the game.
Yankees’ rookie Oswaldo Cabrera played SS in his second MLB game and went 2 for 4. His first MLB hit was a double. Meanwhile, Estevan Florial is trying to get off the schneid. He’s 0 for 16 in the majors this season.
The Sommer Frieze 
