Games 65 & 66. Yanks regain share of first with a DH Split vs. Mets.

Game 1: Masahiro Tanaka got through one bad inning, pitching into the seventh, as the Yanks pounded the Mets, 12-5.

The Yanks went up 1-0 in the second on a double by Didi Gregorius and an RBI single by Kendrys Morales.

Tanaka gave up 4 runs in the third, inc. a 3-run HR to put the Mets up 4-1.

In the bottom of the third, the Yanks got one back when Brett Gardner singled, he and D.J. LeMahieu were safe all around on an error, and with two out, Gary Sanchez singled to make it 4-2.

The Yanks got five in the fourth on a 2-run HR by Gio Urshela (5) and a 3-run bomb by Luke Voit (16).

With two out in the fifth, the Yanks tacked on two more runs on a double by Morales, RBI single by Urshela, and RBI triple by Gardner. 9-4.

After the Mets scored a run in the top of the sixth to cut it to 9-5, the Yanks got a run in the seventh when Clint Frazier and Urshela each doubled.

Sanchez hit a 2-run HR (20) in the bottom of the eighth for the final score of 12-5.

Voit 3-run HR (16)
Sanchez 2 hits, 3 RBI, 2-run HR (20)
Gregorius 2 hits
Morales 3 hits, RBI
Urshela 3 hits, 4 RBI, 2-run HR (5)
Gardner 2 hits, RBI

Tanaka (W, 4-5, 3.58) 6 2/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 H, 0 W, 7 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Kahnle 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.81
Hale 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.57.

Game 2: You worry about the Yanks’ pitching and their health and if they need or will get another pitcher. German on the IL for now, Tanaka’s elbow, CC’s knee, Severino and Montgomery haven’t pitched at all this year, Loaisiga on IL, and with Game 2’s starter, James Paxton, you wonder if his knee is affecting him. In his last two starts, Paxton’s ERA has gone from 2.81 to 4.04.

He was knocked out in the third. After just 11 pitches, the Mets, who won this game 10-4, were up 3-0 after a double, single, and 3-run HR.

The Mets tacked on three more in the third, knocking Paxton out of the box.

The Yanks got three in the bottom of the third to cut it to 6-3. LeMahieu singled, Voit walked. Sanchez singled to load the bases. Gleyber Torres singled in one run, and forceouts by Frazier and Urshela brought in two more.

But a 2-run HR off of Chance Adams in the fourth made it 8-3 Mets.

Adams, the “26th man” for the DH (and therefore going back down after the game), gave up another HR in the fifth, 9-3.

Stephen Tarpley gave up a run in the top of the ninth, 10-3 Mets.

Brett Gardner homered (10) in the bottom of the ninth for the final score of 10-4 Mets.

LeMahieu 2 hits, .316
Sanchez 2 hits
Torres 2 hits, RBI
Gardner 2 hits, solo HR (10)

Paxton (L, 3-3, 4.04) 2 2/3 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 2 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Adams 4 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 W, 3 K. Gave up 2 HR.  3.97
Cessa 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.  5.10
Tarpley 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.  8.53

Dellin Betances has been shut down for a few weeks. Lat issue.

The Yanks could be getting Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge back in about a week to two weeks.

First round draft pick Anthony Volpe (SS) has signed with the Yankees.

With the split, the Yanks (41-25) are tied for first with Tampa Bay. They are off Wednesday.

Advertisements

Minor League Report. DH shutout sweep for SWB.

AAA: SWB (33-23) swept a DH, winning both games by shutouts.

Reg. sched. game: Won 3-0. Good to see Rehabbing DH Didi Gregorius find his stroke with 2 hits. LF Trey Amburgey 2 hits. 2B Breyvic Valera 2 hits, RBI.

Adams (W, 4-1, 3.35) 7 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K.

Makeup of 4/19 postponement: Won 4-0 on a 1-hitter. Valera (.431) a 2-run HR. C Kyle Higashioka solo HR.  1B Ryan McBroom 2 for 2 w/a walk.

Cortes (W, 2-2, 3.86) 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 8 K.
Feyereisen 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.93

AA: Trenton (33-21) won 7-2 despite striking out 18x. 3B Wendell Rijo 2 hits, 2 RBI. C Kellin Deglan 3 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR. CF Rashad Crawford 2 RBI. Starter Deivi Garcia 4 1/3 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 4 W, 4 K. 2.97.

High A: Tampa (24-34) lost 7-3. 3B Angel Aguilar 3-run HR.

Low A: Charleston (32-27) won 2-1. Solo HR Canaan Smith (.311) in the top of the 9th. Solo HR in the 7th by 1B Mickey Gasper.

Vizcaino 7 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 W, 7 K.  3.16
Diaz (W, 3-1, 4.35) 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.

Minor League Report. Two shutouts and a comeback win.

AAA: SS Didi Gregorius went 0 for 5 in his rehab game for SWB (29-20) as SWB shut out Lehigh Valley 8-0. 1B Mike Ford 2 hits, one a 3-run HR. CF Mike Tauchman 3 hits, RBI. 2 Hits, one a 2-run HR for 2B Tyler Wade. Chance Adams (W, 3-1, 4.00) 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 W, 3 K.

AA: Trenton (31-19) won 2-0 on a two-hitter. 2B Hoy Jun Park 3 hits, both RBI. LF Zach Zehner 2 hits. Albert Abreu (W, 2-4, 4.11) 7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 W, 6 K.

High A: Tampa (22-31), down 7-5 going into the bottom of the eighth, scored once in the eighth and walked it off with two in the ninth to win 8-7. 2B Oswaldo Cabrera 2 hits, 2 RBI. 1B Dermis Garcia a solo HR. 3B Angel Aguilar 2 hits, RBI. CF Omar Carrizales 2 hits, 2 RBI, inc. GW RBI. LF Tyler Hill 2 hits, solo HR.

Low A: Charleston’s game postponed.

 

Games 50 and 51. Yanks sweep DH in KC, 7-3 and 6-5.

The Yanks (34-17) swept a DH in KC yesterday, winning the first (day) game 7-3 and the second (night) game 6-5. With the wins, the Yankees have won seven in a row and have opened up a 3-game lead in the AL East over the Rays, 7 1/2 over Boston.

In the first game, the Yanks scored two runs in the first on a two-run double by Clint Frazier.

They made it 3-0 in the sixth when Brett Gardner tripled and scored on a SF by Gio Urshela.

J.A. Happ, pitching a great game to that point, got victimized by the long ball in the bottom of the sixth. In that inning, he gave up 3 of the 4 hits he gave up, including a 3-run HR that tied the game. Billy Hamilton started everything off for KC with a bunt single.

But in the top of the seventh, Luke Voit hit a 470 ft. bomb. HR #13 of the season gave the Yanks a 5-3 lead.

A two-run double by Thairo Estrada in the eighth gave the Yanks a 7-3 cushion, the final score.

Voit 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (13)
Frazier 2 RBI
Gardner 3 hits
Estrada 2 hits, 2 RBI

Happ (W, 4-3, 5.09) 6 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 0 W, 10 K. Gave up 1 HR. Good except for that sixth.
Ottavino (H, 11) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.   1.48
Cessa 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.  3.33

In the second game, Chance Adams earned his first major league victory in the Yankees’ 6-5 win.

Chad Green started as the “opener” and his struggles this year continued as he gave up a run in his only inning of work.

The Yanks bounced right back with five in the top of the top of the second to take a 5-1 lead. Kendrys Morales singled, Frazier walked, and Urshela singled to load the bases with no one out. Austin Romine singled up the middle for two runs, Urshela going to third on an error. Cameron Maybin doubled in two runs. D.J. LeMahieu singled in Maybin.

The Yanks made it 6-1 in the third, then had to hold on for the 6-5 win. In the third, with one out, Frazier walked again. With two out, Romine singled Frazier to third and Maybin singled Frazier in.

Adams pitched better than his line. Two balls hit to the outfield were misplayed by Gardner and Frazier, and another dropped when neither saw the ball in the lights/dusky sky.

KC got one in the third, two in the fourth and their final run in the ninth to keep the game tight.

Romine 3 hits, 2 RBI
Maybin 2 hits, 3 RBI

Green 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 0 K.  12.15
Adams (W, 1-0, 3.86) 4 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 1 W, 3 K.
Holder (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.68
Kahnle (H, 8) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  1.71
Britton (H, 10) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.31
Chapman (S, 14) 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.  1.74

Adams was the 26th man, used just for the DH, and goes back down to SWB now.

Game 46. Sanchez 3-Runs HR caps Yanks’ comeback win. 10-7.

J.A. Happ has been the Yankees’ most disappointing starter this season, and that continued Monday night as the Yankees (29-17, 1st by 1 game) trailed 6-1 after four innings.

But the Yanks scored 4 times in the top of the ninth to complete a 10-7 win over the Orioles, capped off by Gary Sanchez’ GW HR (13).

Gleyber Torres homered twice (10). What Torres and Sanchez are doing to Baltimore pitching is amazing. 8 of Torres’ 10 HR are against the O’s, as are 7 of Sanchez’ 13.

The disappointing Happ gave up two runs right away in the bottom of the first.

Torres hit the first of his two HR of the night in the top of the second to cut the O’s lead to 2-1.

Happ gave up 2 HR in the third, 4-1. He gave up two more runs in the fourth and was knocked out of the game, 6-1.

In the sixth, D.J. LeMahieu singled and Aaron Hicks walked. A groundout by Luke Voit moved both runners up. Sanchez singled in one run to make it 6-2. Kendrys Morales’ groundout made it 6-3.

Luis Cessa gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth, 7-3 Orioles.

The Yanks cut it to 7-5 in the seventh. Gio Urshela singled and with one out, Cameron Maybin walked. LeMahieu singled in one run. Aaron Hicks hit a flyball and wasn’t given a SF, because twice in this game, LF Dwight Smith of the Orioles made poor throws to home plate. Instead, on this one, Smith got an error, no SF for Hicks as Maybin scored.

Torres’ second HR of the game cut the Orioles’ lead to 7-6 in the top of the eighth.

In the top of the ninth, Brett Gardner led off with a single, and advanced to third on a single by Maybin. Maybin took second on the throw, as the O’s tried to get Gardner at third. After a groundout that failed to advance the runners, Hicks hit his second SF of the game to score Gardner and tie the game, and Maybin took third. Great baserunning by Maybin in this inning.

Earlier in the game, Luke Voit dropped a popup. Now he popped up for what should have been the final out of the inning. Orioles’ catcher Pedro Severino misplayed the foul popup and it dropped. Voit walked, and on the first pitch to him, Sanchez drilled a 3-run HR to make it 10-7 Yankees, which was the game’s final score.

Before the game, Chance Adams, who threw 50 pitches Sunday in going three scoreless innings for the save, was sent down and Jake Barrett was recalled in order to give the Yankees a fresh bullpen arm.

LeMahieu 2 hits, RBI.
Voit 2 hits.
Sanchez 2 hits, 4 RBI. GW 3-run HR. HR #13. 7 against the O’s.
Torres 2 solo HR. 10 HR on the season, 8 against the O’s.

Happ 3 2/3 IP, 6 R, 9 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 2 HR. 5.16
Cessa 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K.  3.63
Holder 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  3.91
Britton (W, 2-0, 2.53) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K.
Chapman (S, 12) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.   1.93

Not counting Chad Green, who served as the “opener” on Sunday, Yankees’ starters ERAs are:

Tanaka 3.09
Happ 5.16
German 2.50
Paxton 3.11
CC 2.97
Loaisiga 4.50

Loaisiga of course, is on the DL and probably won’t return until August, and he was the fill-in starter. Paxton should come off the DL soon. But of the five regulars (Tanaka, Happ, German, Paxton and CC), you can see that Happ has been the most disappointing by far this season.

But a great comeback win which puts the Yanks a full game in front of the idle Rays.

Game 45. Yanks regain 1st place with 13-5 win.

The Yankees (28-17) stole a page from Tampa Bay’s book, employing an opener, and while that didn’t go smoothly, some plate patience, 3 HR, and a big PH double helped them to a 13-5 win over the Rays on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Yankees took two of three from Tampa Bay this weekend and moved back into first place by 1/2 a game.

Chad Green, who started, got help in the top of the first from Gary Sanchez. After a leadoff walk, Sanchez gunned down the runner trying to steal. This was huge because the next batter doubled. Green held the Rays scoreless in the top of the first.

The Yanks scored in the bottom of the first when D.J. LeMahieu singled and with one out, Luke Voit walked. With two out, Kendrys Morales singled home LaMahieu.

But in the top of the second, Chad Green’s struggles all season continued. With two out, he gave up back-to-back HR on consecutive pitches, then hit the next batter in the head, which, even if unintentional, isn’t a good look. 2-1 Rays.

Brett Gardner hit his 7th HR of the season, a 2-run shot, to put the Yanks up 3-2 in the bottom of the second.

But in the top of the third, Nestor Cortes gave up a 3-run HR to put the Rays up 5-3. To Cortes’ credit, he settled down after that.

One concern about having Green start and Cortes follow is this. Going into this game, the Yankees’ team ERA was 3.64. Take away Green, Cortes, Stephen Tarpley and Jake Barrett, and that ERA would have been 3.14. Hence the apprehension over Green and Cortes.

Aaron Hicks hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the fourth (1) that tied the game at 5.

Bottom of the fifth. Gary Sanchez triples to lead off the inning but the Yanks can’t bring him in. Aaargh.

Top of the sixth. Adam Ottavino comes in with two on, two out and walks the batter to load the bases. He gets a strikeout to get out of it.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Yankees scored seven runs, part of it due to good plate patience and taking the walk. Gardner singled to lead off the inning and stole second. Clint Frazier, 8 for his last 51 and dropped to ninth in the lineup, walked. LeMahieu popped up a bunt attempt for out #1. Aaron Hicks walked to load the bases. Luke Voit walked to force in the go-ahead run. 6-5 Yanks. With Gary Sanchez up, a pitch got away, but Frazier was thrown out at home for out #2, the other runners moving up. Sanchez was then intentionally walked to set up the force at any base for out #3, which didn’t come for a while. Kendrys Morales walked to force in another run. 7-5, Yankees. Gleyber Torres reached on an infield single, upheld by replay, 8-5 Yankees. Thairo Estrada PH for Gio Urshela, who got banged up earlier, and Estrada broke the game wide open with a bases-clearing double. 11-5. Gardner then doubled to make it 12-5 before Frazier struck out for the final out.

In the seventh, LeMahieu homered (3) for the final tally of 13-5.

Chance Adams closed things out with three scoreless innings of relief for his first MLB save.

LeMahieu 2 hits, solo HR (.312)
Hicks 2-run HR (1)
Sanchez 2 hits.
Morales 2 RBI
Torres 2 hits, RBI
Estrada 3 RBI
Gardner 3 hits, 3 RBI, 2-run HR
Frazier, slumping. 0 for 3, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk. 8 for last 51.

Green 1 2/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 2 HR. 1 HBP. 13.50
Cortes  4 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 2 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. 9.00
Ottavino (W, 2-1, 1.61) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Adams (S, 1) 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 4 K.  0.00

The Yanks now have an opportunity to open that lead a little wider. They now play two of the worst teams in the league, the Orioles followed by KC.

Time to make a little hay.

 

Yankees moves. Not all are good.

While we are waiting through a rain delay (when will it stop being cold, drizzly, rainy, windy, raw and downright miserable in the Northeast?) an update on Yankees’ moves today.

Aaron Hicks is back, scheduled to lead off and play CF tonight if the game gets in. Mike Tauchman was sent down for Hicks.

Tonight’s scheduled starting pitcher, Jonathan Loaisiga, has been placed on the IL with a sore shoulder. Rotator cuff inflammation. He’s had shoulder trouble in the past. He’ll be shut down for 4 weeks. Luis Cessa will start in his place and Chance Adams has been brought up from SWB where he was 2-1, 4.80 in six starts. Last year, Adams was 0-1, 7.04 in three games for the Yanks, one start.

Hopefully James Paxton comes off the IL soon. With Luis Severino not back until after the All-Star break, and Jordan Montgomery not back until August, maybe the Yanks need to look at Dallas Keuchel. Rumors are they may be the front runners for Keuchel, but that a signing wouldn’t occur until after the baseball draft so that the Yanks wouldn’t have to pay compensation. That would be in the first week of June.

Also, Miguel Andujar goes back on the IL. He’ll have that shoulder reevaluated. Since coming off the IL, he has only been 3 for 34. I suggested the other day that maybe there is more to that shoulder injury. He hasn’t looked himself, and maybe that injury not only hampers his throwing but his hitting too. Surgery, which could cost him the rest of the season, isn’t out of the question. His exit velocity is down, and of the six hits he has this year (and he’s only hitting .128), none have been for extra bases. No infield call-up yet, instead the Yanks just brought back Nestor Cortes.