Game 131. 8-run 3rd leads Yanks, 8-4.

The Yanks got nine straight hits off of David Price in the third inning, and used the 8-run inning to defeat Detroit 8-4 Wednesday night. The win put the Yanks at 69-62 for the season, six behind Baltimore, 2nd in the A.L. East.

They are 2 1/2 games out of the final wild card spot.

Shane Greene continued to be a revelation. He went 7 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 walk and 8 K. He improved to 4-1, 3.09.

Adam Warren 1 IP, 1 R, 1 h, 1 walk, 1 K 3.47.

Dellin Betances 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 1.52.

Derek Jeter got hit #3443 in the victory.

In 18 starts and one relief appearance between the two of them, fill-ins Brandon McCarthy and Shane Greene are a combined 9-4 with an ERA of around 2.80. They have filled in fine.

The Yanks signed Chris Young to a minor-league deal for some OF depth down the stretch. He hit .205-8-28, OPS+ 79 for the Mets this year and will be 31 next week. His 162 g. average for his career is .233-23-71, 19 SB, OPS+ 93. Low average, some speed and pop, lots of strikeouts. You hope he can run into one. A 20/20 guy if healthy and a regular, he was an All-Star for Arizona in 2010. In 12 postseason games, he has hit .326 with 5 HR. He is mostly a CF who has played a little of the corners. The Yanks released P Alfredo Aceves (just reactivated from a suspension) and INF Corban Joseph from their minor league deals.

 

 

 

Game 84. Yanks carry Tanaka to 7-4 win.

This year, Masahiro Tanaka has carried the Yankees. In his last start, he lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Boston.

It was time for the Yankees’ offense to return the favor.

Last night was the first night Tanaka didn’t get a “quality start”, after 16 consecutive quality starts to begin his MLB career.

Tanaka had his worst start as a Yankee, going 7 innings, giving up 4 R on 9 H, 0 walks and just 3 K. He improved his record to 12-3, and his ERA went up to 2.27.

Down 2-0 in the fifth, Carlos Beltran hit a 3-run HR (9) to give the Yanks the lead. It was the 367th HR of Beltran’s career. After an out, Zelous Wheeler, just called up from SWB, hit a HR in his second MLB at bat to put the Yanks up 4-2.

Tanaka gave up a run in the sixth before the Yanks gave him a cushion by scoring three times in the seventh. Ichiro walked, Wheeler singled, and Brendan Ryan doubled home a run. Brett Gardner singled in a run and Derek Jeter hit into an RBI force out to make it 7-3. Tanaka gave up a run in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-4.

Dellin Betances pitched the 8th. 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 2 K. 1.47.

David Robertson picked up his 19th save by pitching the 9th. 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walk and 3 K. 2.83.

The win put the Yanks back at .500, 42-42, 3 1/2 back of Toronto in the AL East.

Earlier in the day, disconcerting news on CC Sabathia. After his rehab outing on Wednesday, CC woke up with swelling and fluid in his knee Thursday. A setback.

In order to bring Wheeler up, Yangervis Solarte was sent down. Dean Anna was DFA’d. Meanwhile, Alfredo Aceves was suspended 50 games for marijuana usage.

The minors, 7-1-14.

AAA: Swb lost 3-2. Aceves 3 R in 5 1/3. Pat Venditte 5 K in 2 2/3 IP of relief, ERA 3.86. A bit inconsistent. He is the switch-pitcher that the Yanks have had for a couple of years now in the minors. 2 H, HR, 2 RBI LF Zoilo Almonte, who appears to be a better option right now than Soriano or Ichiro. Hey, bring him up, play him every day and see what you really have in him. You aren’t going to know by bringing him up and playing him once a week like he was before. Eventually you have to commit to him or let him go (sounds like dating, right?). RF Jose Pirela (.315, and also a possible replacement for Soriano/Ichiro) 2 hits. 2 hits for 1B Kyle Roller.

Earlier in the day, Jim Miller was called up for Jose Ramirez because the Yanks needed a fresh arm.

AA: Trenton lost 5-4, and it was a terrible outing for Manny Banuelos. He gave up two hits, two walks, got only one man out and all four runners scored. (L, 0-2, 5.09). Jairo Heredia relieved him and did well, 0 R, 1 H, 5 K in 5 2/3. LF Ben Gamel 4 hits and an RBI. C Gary Sanchez 2 hits. 3B Rob Segedin 2 hits and 2 RBI.

CC’s next rehab will be Wed. instead of Thursday.

High A: Tampa won 14-2. The offensive explosion we’d like from the big club. Dan Camarena 1 unearned run in 6 iP. RF Aaron Judge 2 hits, double, grand slam, 5 RBI. CF Jake Cave 4 hits. 3B Dante Bichette, JR. 4 rbi. LF Jose Rosario 2 h, 2 rbi. 1B Greg Bird 3 hits, 2 rbi. Tampa banged out 17 hits and drew 9 walks.

Low A: Charleston scored 3 in the top of the 9th, but gave 3 right back in the bottom of the 9th to lose 9-8. 2b Gosuke Katoh, HR, 3 RBI. Paul’s nephew, Mike O’Neill with 4 hits.

The Minors 6-26-14.

AAA: SWB won 7-4. Alfredo Aceves 2 R in 4 1/3, Matt Daley with a four-out, scoreless save. 3B Zelous Wheeler 2 rbi. 2B Rob Refsnyder 2 h, 2 rbi. CF Taylor Dugas 3 rbi. LF Jose Pirela 2 hits (.323). 1B Kyle Roller and RF Zoilo Almonte 2 hits.

AA: Trenton won 10-5. RF Zach Wilson solo HR. 2 rbi each for LF/CF Ben Gamel, 2B/LF Casey Stevenson and SS Carmen Angelini. 3B Rob Segedin with 3 hits.

High A: Tampa lost 4-3. CF Jake Cave (.313) 3 hits, 1 rbi. 3B Dante Bichette, Jr. 2 hits and 2 rbi.

Low A: Charleston won 9-0. Ian Clarkin 1 H in 6 IP. 7 K. 3B Miguel Andujar 2 h, HR, 6 RBI.

The Minors, 6-19-14.

AAA: SWB lost 7-4. Aceves started, 3 R in 3 IP. Pat Venditte 3 R in 2 2/3. LF Jose Pirela, 2B Rob Refsnyder and 1B Kyle Roller 2 hits each.

AA: Trenton off.

High A: Tampa scored two in the bottom of the 9th to win 3-2. Dan Camarena 2 R in 6 IP, 10 K. Jaron (son of Yankees hitting coach Kevin) Long 3 scoreless IP of relief. DH Greg Bird 3 hits, rbi. LF Yeicok Calderon 3 for 3, HR and 2 doubles. RF Aaron Judge, just promoted from Low A Charleston, 2 hits. 2 hits SS Cito Culver. GW hit by 3B Dante Bichette, Jr.

Low A: 10-7 win for Charleston. LF Mike O’Neill, nephew of Paul, 3 hits, 2 HR, 3 RBI. CF Dustin Fowler 3 hits, all doubles, 2 RBI.

The minors 6-13-14.

AAA: SWB lost 4-3. Aceves and newly acquired Heath Bell pitched three scoreless innings of relief. LF Zoilo Almonte HR, 2 rbi. RF Zelous Wheeler (.307), 2 hits.

AA: Trenton’s game was suspended due to rain in the 8th inning with Trenton up 2-1. Manny Banuelos pitched three scoreless innings. The problem is, when will he be stretched out beyond that? SS Ali Castillo 2 hits, rehabbing DH Francisco Cervelli 0 for 1 (strikeout), 2 walks.

High A: No games. All-Star game today.

Low A: 8-2 Charleston win. RF Aaron Judge 3 h, HR, 4 rbi (.330-9-45). DH Dustin Fowler 2 h, 2 rbi.

Game 58. Yanks fall to .500 with fourth straight loss, 7-4.

Before the game, the Yanks shook up their bullpen, DFA-ing Aceves, calling up Jose Ramirez from AAA, sending Preston Claiborne down, and putting just picked up Wade LeBlanc on the team.

Ramirez and LeBlanc got in the game, to mixed results, as the Yanks lost 7-4 to the A’s. It was the Yanks’ fourth straight loss and dropped them to .500 (29-29). The Yanks are in third in the AL East, six back of Toronto.

The Yanks actually got off to a 4-0 lead on an RBI single by Jeter (hit 3368) and a 3-run HR (3) by Ellsbury. Stat from Twitter: It was just the Yanks’ third 3-run HR all year long. 36 of their 50 HR have been solo shots.

But the Yanks never tacked on. All four runs came in the same inning.

Nuno went 4 2/3, 2 R, 6 h, 1 walk and 5 K. One problem with he and Whitley…. neither are providing length right now. You worry about the bullpen being used up. 5.33. Both are more long-man than starters, but with CC, Pineda and Nova out…

Daley 2/3 IP. 2 R, 1 ER, 1 h, no walks or K. Cespedes hit 2 HR in this game for the A’s, one off Daley, and I don’t know how Cespedes hit that one. It was a good pitch, Cespedes seemed to hit it off the bat to the opposite field, and it made the front row of the porch. 4.50. I don’t blame Daley on that one. I’m still shaking my head as to how Cespedes got that one.

Thornton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk and 1 K. 3.75.

Ramirez then made his MLB debut. The righty is 24. (L, 0-1, 4.50). 2 IP, 1 R, 2 h, 1 walk and 2 K. An inauspicious debut since he took the loss, but hopefully the youngster got his feet wet and will be good from here on out.

LeBlanc then made his Yankees’ debut. 1 Ip, 2 R, 2 H, 1 walk and 0 K. 7.36.

The stopper and ace, Tanaka, goes this afternoon. Thankfully. He needs to nip this losing streak in the bud.

Game 57. Yanks waste Kuroda’s effort, lose in 10, 5-2.

Adam Warren didn’t have it tonight. Unfortunately the Yanks offense doesn’t seem to have it every night right now. As a result, the Yanks lost to Oakland 5-2 in 10 innings.

Mark Teixeira returned to the lineup, and had an RBI single and a solo HR (10). But that was all the Yankees’ offense could muster. Teix’s HR (351) tied Dick Allen on the all-time list.

In the last seven games, they’ve scored just 17 runs, and 7 of those were in one game. The offense is 10th in the AL in OBP, SA and OPS. They are 12th in R, 13th in doubles and 9th in HR. The OPS+ is 95, 5% below average. That needs to improve.

The Yanks wasted a superb outing by Hiroki Kuroda, who went 6 2/3, 1 R, 2 H, 1 walk and 2 hits. ERA to 4.27.

The Yanks took a 2-1 lead into the eighth, but Dellin Betances could not hold it. 1 1/3, 1 R, 1 h, 1 walk, 2 K. 1.59.

Robertson the 9th, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 0 K. 4.26.

Warren (L, 1-3, 2.53) 3 R, 3 H, 1 walk and 0 K in 1/3 IP.

Claiborne 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 0 k. 3.57.

Blame Warren all you want, but when your starter goes 6 2/3 and only gives up one run on two hits, he deserves better support than that. Two runs. Right now it’s an effort for the Yanks to put up four runs in a game. The Yanks struck out 13 times last night.

Soriano was 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts. He’s down to .226, has walked just six times and has struck out 58 times. His OPS+ is down to 76. I love Sori, but those numbers are screaming for a release.

Before the game, the Yanks sent Almonte down, brought up Sizemore, placed Pineda on the 60-day DL retroactive to May 6th (won’t be back until mid-July at the earliest) and claimed lefty Wade LeBlanc off waivers. The lefty may be replacing Aceves. LeBlanc is 29, and has pitched in 97 MLB games for SD, Miami, Houston and the Angels, 68 starts. He is 20-32, 4.53, ERA+ 84 in his career.

The loss drops the Yanks to 29-28 and to third in the AL East, 5 back.

Game 56. Seattle beats Yanks, 10-2.

If you are going up against King Felix, and your offense has been struggling lately, you know that you are in trouble. David Phelps knew he had to pitch really well, and for six innings, he did ok.

After six, it was tied up at two. The Yanks getting their runs on a 2-run single by Ichiro.

But Phelps came apart in the seventh and you can’t do that against Hernandez.

Phelps went 6+, 6 R, 6 H, 3 walks and 4 K. He falls to 1-3, 4.11.

Thornton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 4.09.

Aceves was bad again. It might be time for the Yanks to part ways with him and give Jose Ramirez a shot. I’d rather get a kid’s feet wet and suffer with him than put out an over-the-hill veteran. Aceves gave up four runs in the ninth for the final tally.

Aceves 2 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 0 walks, 1 K, 2 HR given up.

The Yanks fall to 29-27, four back of Toronto in the AL East. Boston and Tampa Bay also lost. Toronto is opening up a little space for themselves.

Game 50. Yanks beat Cards, 6-4 in 12.

Chase Whitley pitched his third MLB game, and once again did a decent job. It took the Yanks 12 innings, and a game-saving catch to rob Yadier Molina of a HR, but the Yanks won 6-4 to improve to 27-23. It was the Yanks’ third straight win.

Each team scored in the first. The Yanks got a walk by Gardner, a hit (3363) by Jeter and a hit by Ellsbury. St. Louis got a leadoff triple, followed immediately by a double to tie the game and you thought it wouldn’t be Whitley’s day.

Instead, he settled in and that was all he gave up… until the sixth.

The Yanks had gotten two in the fifth on a Johnson single and Gardner SF. After five, Whitley had gone the 5 and went 81 pitches. Frankly, I wanted Girardi to pull him then, since that was the longest Whitley had gone in the majors. Instead, he stayed in and the Cardinals tied the game. But the Yanks bullpen (with help from Gardner) shut down the Cardinals.

Whitley 5+, 3 R, 8 h, 0 walks and 2 K. 2.57
Claiborne 1 1/3, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 2.87.
Thornton 2/3, 0 r, 0 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 4.66.
Betances 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 2 K. 1.48.
Aceves (W, 1-2, 5.28) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 0 K. Beneficiary of Gardner’s game-saving catch. Gardner was repaying Yadier Molina, who became the first catcher to catch Gardner stealing.
Robertson save #11, ERA 2.40. 1 Ip, 1 run, unearned b/c of a Jeter error. 1 H, 0 walks and 2 k.

In the top of the 11th, Roberts got a bases-loaded single, PH Soriano got a SF and Ryan singled in another.