Game 152. Rain gives Yanks rain-shortened 6 inning win, 2-0, robs Judge of an AB. Magic # 2

Before last night, the Yankees had no complete games out of their starters this season.

They do now, thanks to the rain. Nestor Cortes pitched six innings of one-hit shutout baseball, and since the rain ended the game after six innings, he’s credited with a complete game victory.

The 2-0 win means the Yankees (94-58) magic number for clinching the AL East title is 2. Since the Yankees now head to Toronto for a three-game series, all the Yanks have to do is to win one of the three games and the AL East crown is theirs.

The rain ending the game early also meant that Aaron Judge was robbed of at least one at bat. He was scheduled to lead off the bottom of the seventh for the Yanks. Judge doubled in the first inning, walked in the third, and flied out in the fifth. His 1 for 2, combined with Xander Bogaerts 0 for 2, put Judge back on top for the AL batting lead and the Triple Crown, and barely. Judge is currently hitting .3143, and Bogaerts .3137.

The Yanks scored in the fourth when Oswaldo Cabrera led off with a double and stole third. A single by Jose Trevino plated Cabrera.

In the sixth, Harrison Bader singled and was forced out by Aaron Hicks. With two out, Hicks came around to score when one-time Yankee Rob Refsnyder had trouble catching a ball between the pouring rain and the lights and was charged with an error.

Although it would have been great to have Judge hit #61 and #62 at home, the perfect scenario now would be for him to hit both in the same game at Toronto tonight. Therefore, there could be a ton of celebrating, for Judge would have broken the AL and Yankees’ single season HR record in the same game in which they clinch the division. Also, perfect would be for that little boy who is a huge Judge fan and who was gifted a HR ball by a Toronto fan in a scene that went viral this summer to be there to witness it.

Rookie SS Oswald Peraza had 2 hits.

Cortes (W, 11-4) 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 5 K. 2.56

Miguel Andujar, DFA’d by the Yankees, was picked up by the Pirates.

Yankees’ legend Don Mattingly will not be back as Marlins’ manager next year. No offense to any of the Yankees’ coaches, but here is hoping Donnie comes back home, perhaps as the Yankees’ hitting coach (no offense to the coaches doing that now). It would be great to see #23 wearing his retired Yankees uniform, not have the pressure of managing, and teaching what he (.307 career batting average) did so well.

Game 149. Yanks clinch playoff spot with 5-4, 10-inning win. Judge just misses #61.

The Yankees (91-58) clinched a playoff spot with a 5-4, 10-inning win over Boston Thursday night. Should they finish in a tie with Baltimore, the Yanks get in due to a tiebreaker. The magic # for clinching the division and a bye is 6.

A couple moves were made before the game. Scott Effross back off the IL. Greg Weissert sent down. Wandy Peralta to the IL. Zack Britton back off the IL.

The Yankees also DFA’d Miguel Andujar. They should have traded him when they could have got something for him. Since his 2018 season when he was second in ROY voting, hitting 47 doubles, 27 HR 92 RBI and OPS+ 130, Andujar hasn’t been the same. That injury that cost him most of the 2019 season seems to have destroyed his career. Since then, Andujar has only hit .228-8-26 in 359 at bats. OPS+ 58. The power hasn’t shown up. Of the 82 hits since 2018, only 15 were for extra bases. 100 is a normal OPS+. That drop-off from 130 to 58 is drastic. Granted he has been a yo-yo, up/down, up/down from SWB to NY in that time, but he clearly has dropped off considerably from 2018. A shame.

Aaron Judge almost won the game with a HR in the bottom of the ninth. How appropriate if #61 would have been a walk off into Monument Park. But the 404 ft. drive was caught just in front of the fence, 408 feet away. Judge was 0 for 2 in the game, with 3 walks. Boston’s Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 5 in the game, however, so Judge’s lead for the AL batting crown increased over Bogaerts. Judge is at .316, Bogaerts .314 as Judge tries not only for the AL single-season HR title, but also for a Triple Crown.

The Yanks scored first in the bottom of the fifth inning. Oswaldo Cabrera walked and went to second on a passed ball. He had to stay at second on Harrison Bader’s infield single. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (who made a fine defensive play in the ninth) singled to load the bases, and Kyle Higashioka’s SF scored Cabrera.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2-run HR (28) in the bottom of the sixth and the Yanks went up 3-0.

Jameson Taillon was great, pitching six shutout innings, but Clarke Schmidt gave up the lead in the top of the seventh. Schmidt started the inning by going HR, single, walk, HR and before you knew it, the Yanks lost their 3-0 lead and were losing 4-3.

Aroldis Chapman ran into trouble in the eighth, once again with his control. Lou Trivino got out of a bases loaded, one-out jam to keep the score at 4-3, but the Yanks need to fix their bullpen problems before the playoffs start.

The Yanks tied it in the bottom of the eighth. Stanton led off with a single and was PR for by Tim Locastro, who stole second. A groundout moved Locastro to third and he scored on a SF by Bader, who has really been great in his first three games with the club.

Judge got an OF assist in the top of the ninth, perfectly playing a single off the wall in right and throwing out Tommy Pham as he tried to make a double out of it. Then in the bottom of the ninth, the almost game-winning #61. So Close!

Clay Holmes had no trouble with the ghost runner for Boston in the top of the tenth, then it was the Yankees’ turn. Marwin Gonzalez PR for Anthony Rizzo as the ghost runner. Gleyber Torres was intentionally walked to set up a DP, but Josh Donaldson singled to win the game.

The Yanks sit as the #2 seed in the AL. There is almost no chance of catching Houston for the #1 seed (7 back with 13 to go). If, as expected, it stays this way, the Yanks get a bye into the ALDS where, as of now, they would face the winner of the Cleveland/Seattle series. You get what you hope for, and I won’t want to pick who I’d like to face, but I will say this. The Yankees targeted and didn’t get Luis Castillo, who went from the Reds to the Mariners at the trade deadline. Castillo has given the Yanks fits this year, as a Red and as a Mariner. The Yanks are 5-1 vs. Cleveland this year, 2-4 vs. Seattle (thanks in part, to Castillo). Now things could change, and it could be the winner of Cleveland/Tampa Bay or the winner of Cleveland/Toronto. Only 1 1/2 games separate Toronto, Tampa Bay and Seattle for the 4, 5, and 6 spots.

Donaldson 3 hits, GW RBI single
Stanton 3 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (28)

Taillon 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 W, 8 K. 3.90
Schmidt (BS, 1) 1 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 1 W, 0 K. Gave up 2 HR. 3.46
Chapman 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. 4.36
Trivino 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 WP 4.78
Holmes (W, 7-4) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.59

Game 148. Pinstripes Pummel Pirates, 14-2. 5 RBI each for Cabrera, Gleyber.

History was made at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night, but not the history fans came to see.

Aaron Judge didn’t hit HR #61 but did hit two doubles in the game. He still leads the AL in batting average, .3171 to .3166 over Xander Bogaerts as he tries to become only the second Triple Crown winner since 1967.

If Judge is to get HR #61 tonight, it would be against the same team Roger Maris got #61 against—the Red Sox. One thing though—Judge is 0 for 14 against Red Sox starter Michael Wacha.

With the win, 14-2 over Pittsburgh, the 90-58 Yankees’ magic # is 8 to clinch the division, and 1 to ensure a playoff spot. Since the Yankees own the tiebreaker over Baltimore, any Yankees’ win or Orioles loss and the Yankees get at least the #6 seed.

Oswaldo Cabrera and Gleyber Torres each had 5 RBI in the game, and each did it in record-setting fashion.

Luis Severino came off of the IL and was great, giving up just one run in five innings. With Frankie Montas going on the IL and who will probably NOT be ready for the playoffs (and Montas wasn’t pitching well anyway), Severino could be the starter for Game #3 after Cole and Cortes and in front of Taillon.

Miguel Andujar was sent down in order to bring Severino off of the IL.

In the bottom of the first, Cabrera hit a grand slam (3) to put the Yankees up 4-0. From MLB.com, here are a few history-making notes about his grand slam.

It marked the first time in AL/NL history that a team had won a game on a grand slam (Giancarlo Stanton’s ultimate slam on Tuesday night), then scored its first four runs in the next game with another slam.

It was also only the third instance of a team hitting a grand slam in the final inning of one game and then another slam in the first inning of its next contest. The others involved the Red Sox in 1955 and the Dodgers in 2017, according to Stats Perform.

The Yankees — who rode consecutive-inning slams by Judge and Aaron Hicks to a rout of these same Pirates on July 6 — also became the first club in history to hit slams in back-to-back innings twice in one season. The feat is so rare that no other team has hit a pair of consecutive-inning grand slams against the same opponent at any point in its history — not to mention the same season.

Pittsburgh got a run in the fourth off of Severino to cut the Yankees’ lead to 4-1.

The Yanks scored two in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Judge doubled. If he would have gotten under the ball just a little bit, maybe #61. Instead, the ball went 305 feet down the 318 ft. LF line and one-hopped the fence for a ground-rule double. After another out, Judge moved up on a WP and scored on a single by Torres. Josh Donaldson then doubled in Torres to make it 6-1.

The Pirates got a run in the top of the sixth off Lucas Luetge. 6-2.

Then the Yanks scored 8 in the eighth to blow the game open. Torres led off with a HR (22). Donaldson and Stanton each walked. Cabrera doubled in Donaldson, Stanton to third. Harrison Bader doubled in both runners to make it 10-2. So far in his first two games as a Yankee, Bader has been a sparkplug. 5 RBI for him in the two games. After an out, Jose Trevino doubled in Bader. Judge walked, and after a WP and another out, Torres hit his second HR (23) of the inning to make it 14-2.

Torres became the fifth Yankee to HR twice in the same inning. Judge can’t do everything by himself, so to see Torres get hot is a great sign. Now for Rizzo and Stanton to do the same.

Once again, from MLB.com:

The 25-year-old joined the company of Alex Rodriguez (who did it twice, most recently on Oct. 4, 2009), Cliff Johnson (1977), Joe Pepitone (’62), and Joe DiMaggio (’36). Coincidentally, Torres’ own skipper (Aaron Boone) also accomplished the feat during his playing days, smashing a pair of long balls for the Reds in the first inning on Aug. 9, 2002.

Judge 2 hits. Leads in all triple Crown categories. Barely in average. .3171 to .3166 over Bogaerts.
Torres 3 hits, 5 RBI. Solo and 3-run HR (23), Both HR in the same inning.
Cabrera 2 hits, 5 RBI. Grand Slam (3)
Bader 2 RBI.

Severino (W, 6-3) 5 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 6 K. 3.36
Luetge 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 3 K. 1 HBP 2.82
Marinaccio 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.25
Weissert 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 6.10

Game 140. Daddy Donaldson leads Yanks to 10-3 win.

Fatherhood must agree with Josh Donaldson, who came back from paternity leave (it was a girl) to help lead the Yankees to a 10-3 win over Tampa Bay Saturday afternoon.

Ron Guzman was DFA’d so that Donaldson could return.

Donaldson had one of seven straight singles to start the game off for the Yankees, then he homered later on.

The win put the Yanks (84-56) 4 1/2 up on Tampa Bay. The magic # for clinching the division is 20 (could be 19 if Yanks have won the tiebreaker over the Rays) and is 12 for getting into the playoffs (the Yanks HAVE won that tiebreaker over Baltimore).

The Yanks batted around in the first inning, scoring six runs. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton opened the bottom of the first with singles. Gleyber Torres singled in Judge, Stanton to second. Donaldson just missed a HR, hitting the top of the wall with a single that loaded the bases. Oswaldo Cabrera singled in two runs, Donaldson going to third, to make it 3-0. Miguel Andujar singled to make it 4-0. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) singled to re-load the bases. Still there was no one out. An RBI force out by Kyle Higashioka made it 5-0. After a popup by Marwin Gonzalez, Judge singled in a run. 6-0. Stanton grounded out rto end the inning.

In the second inning, Donaldson cleared the wall with a HR (13) to make it 7-0.

The Rays got a run in the third off of Yankees’ starter James Taillon to cut the score to 7-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, with one out, Donaldson was HBP. One out later, Andujar singled Donaldson to third, Andujar going to second on the throw. A WP scored Donaldson and moved Andujar to third. IKF then singled to make it 9-1.

Tampa Bay got two runs on a two-run single in the top of the eighth to make it 9-3. Oswaldo Cabrera almost had another outfield assist, just missing nabbing the second runner at the plate.

Tampa Bay used a position player to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Giancarlo Stanton took advantage of that, hitting his 25th HR of the season to close out the scoring. 10-3, Yanks.

Judge 3 hits, RBI.
Stanton 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR (25)
Torres 2 hits, RBI
Donaldson 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR (13)
Cabrera 2 hits, 2 RBI
Andujar 2 hits, RBI
IKF 2 hits, RBI

Beautiful. The bats wake up and a lot of people contribute.

Taillon (W, 13-4) 7 1/3 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 1 W, 8 K. 3.94
Trivino 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.70 (A’s/NYY ERA)
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.54

Albert Pujols tied one-time Yankee Alex Rodriguez for fourth place on the all-time HR list, hitting #696 last night.

Game 139. Lead down to 3 1/2 after 4-2 loss to Rays.

Before the game, news regarding C Jose Trevino. He was put on paternity leave. Ben Rortvedt was called up from AAA.

Trevino also is the team nominee for the Roberto Clemente award, given for community service.

With Trevino joining the list of unavailable Yankees due to injury or paternity leave, the lineup was further depleted, and the Yankees (83-56) lost to Tampa Bay 4-2 Friday night. Their lead in the AL East, once 15 1/2, is now 3 1/2.

Even the return of Derek Jeter to Yankee Stadium for the first time in a while didn’t bring any luck.

Some reinforcements back from the IL can’t arrive quickly enough (more on that in a bit), but how good will they be? How rusty?

Yankees’ starter Frankie Montas gave up back-to-back, one out doubles in the first inning, and the Rays were up 1-0.

The Rays got three runs in the fourth, thanks to a couple of misplays by Aaron Hicks, who was then booed mightily and pulled from the game. Harrison Bader can’t arrive soon enough, it seems. I had to laugh and pull a “show me” attitude when Hicks said his goal in spring training was to be a 30/30 guy. Not even close and right now his goal should be just to remain on the team in 2023, which I don’t believe will happen. Hicks contract, with 3 more years to go, is one of the worst in Cashman’s GM history. The Yanks, like they did with Joey Gallo and Sonny Gray, need to know when to cut the cord. As with Gallo and Gray, they’ve stuck with Hicks too long. Once the fans turn on you, you got to go.

With one out in that fourth inning, Ji-Man Choi walked. Montas got the second out, then gave up a single. Wander Franco, just off the IL, and who doubled in the Rays’ first inning rally, doubled again, driving in two runs. Hicks had the ball in his glove at the foul line, but with the side wall approaching, appeared to shy off and dropped it. He thought it was a foul ball and took his time getting the ball back in while two runs scored. Very bad look. Then he misplayed the next drive into another double and the Rays lead went from 1-0 to 4-0. If he makes the first play, the game remains at 1-0. He basically gave away three runs. With the Yankees’ offense compromised, that was like giving away the game. The fans then gave Hicks the “Gallo” treatment, not only booing him but actually chanting “Joey Gallo” at him. It was a bad look and made manager Aaron Boone pull Hicks after the inning.

On top of that, Hicks to that point was 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts, and his batting average dropped to .211.

You can’t have this. The Yanks need to find a taker for him or eat his contract. Like I wrote, when the fans turn on you as they have, you got to go.

This isn’t to be mean at Hicks. It’s just reporting the reality of what happened and what must happen.

The Yanks scored a run in the seventh, thanks to who else? Aaron Judge. Oswald Peraza walked, and with one out, moved to second on a groundout. Judge singled to make the score 4-1.

Kyle Higashioka homered (8) in the bottom of the ninth to make it 4-2. Judge walked with two out in the ninth, but Gleyber Torres, the potential tying run, flied to right to end the game. The ball was caught at the fence.

Judge 2 hits, RBI
Andujar 2 hits
Higashioka 3 hits, solo HR (8)

Montas (L, 5-12) 5 2/3 IP, 4 R, 9 H, 4 W, 4 K. 1 HBP 3.89 (Combined A’s/NYY record)
Luetge 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.49
Weber 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.84

Game 138. Yanks fall short, 4-3. Big Series with Rays this weekend.

Before the game, Deivi Garcia was sent back down so that Nestor Cortes could come off the IL and make the start. Cortes was limited to 60 pitches, however.

Miguel Andujar was to go down after having been the 29th man in Wednesday’s DH. Instead, he stayed and D.J. LeMahieu joined the large contingent on the IL.

With so many players on the IL, the depleted Yankees need to think outside the box. In some ways, they did last night, but in another way, they did not, and it may have cost them the game. I’ll explain soon.

With the 4-3 loss, the Yankees lead over Tampa Bay is now 4 1/2 games. The Yankees host the Rays for three HUGE games this weekend. The Yankees’ magic # for clinching the AL East remains at 22. It is 15 for a playoff spot.

The Yankees started the game with Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) hitting in the cleanup spot. It was one way of thinking outside the box, and this was more or less by necessity. Everyone else is injured. In trying to hold on to their division lead, the Yankees’ lineups are looking like spring training lineups. Maybe worse. At least IKF did have two hits.

Andujar hit a 2-run HR (1) in the second inning to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. They wouldn’t score again until the eighth and blew chances in the eighth and ninth to tie the game or possibly win it. With all these injuries, the Yankees may need Andujar to recapture that 2018 form when he hit .297-27-92, with 47 doubles, and finished second in ROY voting to Shohei Ohtani.

Cortes retired the first 12 men he faced, but then two ex-Yankees got him. Cortes gave up a single to Gio Urshela to lead off the fifth, then after a WP, Gary Sanchez doubled Urshela home. Clarke Schmidt relieved Cortes. After a walk and a strikeout, a single tied the game.

With one out in the top of the eighth, pitcher Wandy Peralta could not make the play at first base, first missing the bag, then when he did step on the bag ahead of the runner, he didn’t have control of the ball. That bobble helped cost the Yankees the game. Peralta got the next batter out, but then Greg Weissert came in to face Carlos Correa. Weissert gave up a 2-run HR to Correa that made the score 4-2 and turned out to be the game-winner.

I do have to question the use of Weissert there. I understand that you want to use a righty against the righty swinging Correa. But Weissert? It was only Weissert’s seventh MLB game. He is 3-0, but with an ERA of 8.22. That is a lot of trust in a big spot in a big September game to place in someone with that little experience. I understand the injury situation. No Trivino or Effross. That may have factored into things here, also the fact that a lot of the bullpen was used in that 12-inning game one of the DH the day before. So Holmes and Loaisiga may have been unavailable. Those two things (injury and BP usage in the extra inning game) may have forced the Yanks to use Weissert. It cost them.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Yanks got one run back, but it could have been more. Aaron Judge led off, and he doubled. What you are seeing now is teams avoiding Judge like the plague if they can. We will get to that in a bit. After Gleyber Torres walked, IKF hit into a force out, then stole second while Marwin Gonzalez struck out. On ball four to Estevan Florial, the ball got away and Judge scored to make it 4-3. IKF went to third. Giancarlo Stanton PH but struck out. I wonder if Stanton is hurt more than we realize. Since June 1, he is hitting .153. That is Gallo-like. He is 4 for 39 with 10 strikeouts since coming off of the IL. The failure of Stanton to be Stanton and to protect Judge in the lineup is hurting the Yankees.

In the bottom of the ninth, the failure of Aaron Hicks to think outside the box may have cost the Yankees the game. With one out, Oswald Peraza singled. Hicks doubled Peraza to third. Hicks should NOT have gone to second but should have stayed at first. In a Sports Century feature on Willie Mays, at the end of the show, it was mentioned how Mays would sometimes NOT take second base, but would stay at first, in order to force pitchers to pitch to Willie McCovey rather than to walk McCovey. That is exactly why Hicks should NOT have gone to second. He had to think outside the box there and realize what would happen. And what would happen DID happen. With one out and men on second and third, the Twins walked Aaron Judge of course. A Judge single wins the game. The Twins, being smart and playing for THEIR playoff lives, were not going to let the big guy (pun not intended) beat them. So, they walk Judge to 1) not face the big man and 2) set up a game-ending DP. I wonder if when Hicks went into second if he realized the mistake he made. He took the bat out of Judge’s hands.

Gleyber Torres, who needs to right himself with all the other injuries going on, struck out. Torres is down to .237 and is hitting .179 since July 13. Once again, Judge needs help. He can’t do it alone.

IKF then grounded out to end the game.

The point is, the Yanks need to think outside the box. They can’t do things that will take the bat OUT of Judge’s hands. The other team will try to do that enough times on their own.

Judge 2 hits
IKF 2 hits
Andujar 2 hits, 2-run HR (1)

Cortes 4 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 WP 2.73
Schmidt 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.82
Peralta (L, 2-4) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 big error. 2.55
Weissert 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR, which decided game. 8.22
Weber 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.04

Games 136 & 137. Despite depleted lineups, Yanks sweep Twins. Judge hits #55, IKF, Peraza, Cole star.

Sorry, my original draft got erased and I had to re-write a lot. UGH.

A load of baseball yesterday, and at first it didn’t look good. Due to injuries, the Yankees’ lineups looked worse than a spring training lineup. In the first game of the DH yesterday, the Yanks (83-54) started three rookies, plus another guy who, although he had MLB experience and wasn’t a rookie, hadn’t played in the majors all season.

The Yanks put Josh Donaldson on the paternity list. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) played 3B. IKF had won a GG at 3B for Texas in 2020. Bard DFA’d, Deivi Garcia up. Miguel Andujar up as 29th man for the doubleheader. Rizzo to IL, Ron Guzman up.

But at the end of the day, the Yankees had won both games off of their perennial whipping boys, the Twins, by scores of 5-4 (in 12 innings) and 7-1.

With the wins, the Yanks are 5 up on the Rays in the AL East. The magic # for winning the division is 22, and the magic # for a playoff berth is 15. The wins ensured the Yankees a winning season. They haven’t had a losing season since 1992.

Game 1: Domingo German had a rough start but settled in. A double, strikeout, and HR, and Minnesota was up 2-0 just three batters into the game. With two out in the fourth, three straight singles made it 3-0 Twins and with the weakened Yankees’ lineup, it didn’t appear good.

The Yanks got a run in the bottom of the fourth of Aaron Judge’s 55th HR of the season. The home run meant that Judge now has hit more HR in a season than any other righty hitter in Yankees’ history. Only Ruth (60 in 1927) and Maris (61 in ’61) have hit more. Judge was walked 5x yesterday, 3x intentionally. Another reason to hate the ghost runner. If Judge is the first guy up, even with the ghost runner on second, first base is open, and Judge is walked to set up a DP. You take the bat out of the hands of the most dangerous hitter in baseball.

Gleyber Torres tied the game with a 2-run HR in the sixth. (19).

Both teams wasted chances. Oswaldo Cabrera, an infielder brought up to the Yanks a few weeks ago, got his fifth OF assist of the season in the top of the tenth. Ron Guzman, up for Rizzo, struck out 4x and then with the bases loaded and no out in extra innings, hit into a 3-2-3 DP.

The Twins got a run in the top of the 12th off of Ron Marinaccio, but with the bases loaded and one out, Greg Weissert avoided further damage.

In the bottom of the 12th, Marwin Gonzalez was the ghost runner and IKF singled to tie the game. With one out, IKF stole second. Jose Trevino singled, IKF was held up and Trevino took second on the throw. With two out, Cabrera singled to win the game.

Judge solo HR (55)
Torres 2-run HR (19)
Kiner-Falefa (IKF) 2 hits, RBI
Peraza 3 hits FIRST 3 HITS OF MLB CAREER.

German 6 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.27
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.58
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.66
Holmes 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.29
Marinaccio 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 W, 3 K. 1.73
Weissert (W, 3-0) 2/3 I, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 7.36

Game 2: With the long game in game 1, and several bullpen members used, the Yanks needed length from Gerrit Cole. He went 6 2/3 IP, striking out 14.

Cole leads MLB with 218 strikeouts and is 30 away from Ron Guidry’s Yankee team single season record of 248, set in 1978. Cole has four, maybe five starts left in the season.

Cole gave up a HR to his ex-teammate, Carolos Correa, in the top of the third.

IKF hit a grand slam, just his third HR of the season, in the bottom of the fourth. He didn’t get his first HR until mid-August.

In the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Hicks hit a bases-loaded double for three runs to make it 7-1.

Hicks 3 RBI
Kiner-Falefa 4 RBI. Grand Slam. (3)
Florial 2 hits.

Cole (W, 11-7) 6 2/3 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 W, 14 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.20
Luetge (S, 2) 2 1/3 Ip, 0 R, 3 H, 0W, 3 K. 2.55

Nestor Cortes returns to the rotation tonight to face ex-Yankee Sonny Gray.

Minor League Report. Games of 9-4-22.

AAA: SWB (69-59) won 5-1.
DH Miguel Andujar 2 hits.
1B Ron Guzman 2 hits, 2 RBI.
2B Chris Owings 2-run HR (4)

Zach Greene 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K. 3.60
Mujica 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 4 K. 3.80
M. Gomez (W, 3-5) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 5.50
Bard (S, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 0 K. 4.78

AA: Somerset (76-48) lost 5-4 in 10 innings.
DH Austin Wells 3 hits, RBI. #4 prospect. Overall .285-18-58, 12 SB
3B Andres Chaparro 2 hits, RBI

Will Warren 3 2/3 IP, 4 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 W, 5 K. 3.34 #8 prospect. Overall 9-7, 3.41.
Semple 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 0.00 (AA stats only)
Cowart 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 0 K. 1 WP 4.50
McGarrity 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.70
Minnick (L, 4-3) 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.94

High A: Hudson Valley (69-56) lost 6-1.
DH Tyler Hardman 2 hits.

Carela (L, 1-3) 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 4 W, 5 K. 7.50
Dees 1 1/3 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.91
Holloway 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 WP 2.70
Neely 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.00 (HIgh A ERA only).

Low A: Tampa Bay (60-63) lost both games of a DH.
Game 1: Lost 7-3.
1B Anthony Garcia 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR (14).
2B Brett Barrera 2 hits, 2 RBI

Messinger (L, 1-8) 4 2/3 IP, 5 R, 7 H, 2 W, 5 K. 4.46
Paciorek 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. 29.45
Reyzelman 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 13.50
Bow 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 Balk. 0.00

Game 2: Lost 5-4 in 8 innings.
SS Alexander Vargas 2 hits, RBI. #27 prospect. .207-8-33, 27 SB
C Antonio Gomez 2 RBI. #18 prospect. ..244-7-46
RF Raimfer Salinas 3 for 3

Calderon 5 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 1 WP 2.84
O. Rodriguez (H, 1) 1 IP, 0R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.00
Stevens (BS, 1) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 5.40
McNeely (L, 0-1) 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00

Minor League Report from 9-3-22. 3 hits for Volpe in 2nd AAA game. Rehab for Sevy, Britton.

AAA: SWB (68-59) won 14-5.
SS Anthony Volpe 3 hits, RBI. 2nd AAA game. #1 prospect. .255-18-61, 44 SB overall.
C Ben Rortvedt 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (4)
LF Miguel Andujar 2 RBI
1B Ron Guzman 3 hits, RBI
3B Phillip Evans 3 hits, RBI
RF Ryan LaMarre 3 RBI 3-run HR (2)
2B Chris Owings 2 hits, 2 RBI

Bristo 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.88
Deivi Garcia (W, 1-3) 3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 9.11 #26 prospect. Overall 3-4, 7.26
Espinal 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 WP. 4.22
Rich Rodriguez 2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. 1 WP. 5.87
Barnes 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.25

AA: Somerset (76-47, 1st half division champs) won 4-1.
RF Elijah Dunham 2 RBI. #21 prospect. .255-16-58, 33 SB
CF Everson Pereira 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR (5) #5 prospect. Overall .277-14-55, 20 SB.

Clayton Beeter 4 2/3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 W, 9 K. 2 WP. 1.10 #9 prospect. Overall 0-3, 4.63. 68 IP, 117 K.
Ernst (W, 6-0) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.60
Jennings (H, 7) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.40
Correa (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 0.00 (AA stat only)
Coleman (S, 14) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 HBP 3.18

High A: Hudson Valley (69-55) won 13-2.
DH Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez 2 hits, RBI. #2 prospect. Overall .277-12-52, 35 SB
C Anthony Seigler 2 RBI
1B T.J. Rumfield 2 RBI
CF Grant Richardson 2 hits, 3 RBI
RF Aaron Palensky 2 hits, RBI
2B Benjamin Cowles 2 hits, RBI

Abeyta 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 4 W, 2 K. 4.28
C. Gomez (W, 2-3) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 HBP 3.47
Diaz 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 1 K. 1 HBP 4.58
Santana 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 3 K. 0.00 (high A stat only)

Low A: Tampa (60-61) completed a game from September 1 that was suspended TWICE.
Luis Severino and Zack Britton on rehab.
They won 3-1. The game was finally called in the top of the sixth.

DH Spencer Jones solo HR (3). #7 prospect. This year’s #1 draft pick. Overall .378-4-11, 12 SB. 20 games.

Yulie 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.95
Luis Severino (W, 1-0) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. 0.00 REHAB
Zack Britton (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.86 REHAB
Y. Castro (S, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.28

The regularly scheduled game was ppd.

STANDINGS

AAA: SWB 68-59 4th in IL East, 3 1/2 GB

AA: Somerset 76-47. Won 1st half Eastern League Northeast title with 44-25 record.
2nd Half: 2nd place, 32-22, 2 GB

High A: Hudson Valley 69-55. First Half: 3rd in SAL North, 34-32, 9 GB
2nd half: 35-23, FIRST by 1/2 a game.

Low A: Tampa (60-61) last IN FIRST HALF (Fla. St. League, West) at 27-39, 15 GB
2nd Half: 33-22, 2nd, 1/2 GB

Minor League Action from 8-23-22.

AAA: SWB (62-55) won 5-4.
LF Miguel Andujar solo HR (13). Needs to show that power in Majors. Hasn’t since that injury in 2019.
3B Armando Alvarez 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (12)

Weber 4 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.53
Zach Greene (W, 9-0) 3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.98
M. Gomez (H, 6) 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. 5.96
Weissert (H, 1) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 HBP 1.76 Could be called up soon.
Bristo (S, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 5.00

AA: Somerset (70-44; 1st half division champs) won 10-6.
SS Anthony Volpe 3 hits, 3 RBI. #1 prospect. .255-17-59, 43 SB
C Austin Wells 2-run HR (7) #4 prospect .277-15-42, 10 SB 3 levels
RF Elijah Dunham solo HR (16) #21 prospect .262-16-56, 32 SB
3B Andres Chaparro 2 hits
2B Jesus Bastidas 2 hits, 2 RBI 2-run HR (16)
DH Eric Wagaman 2 hits, 2 RBI 2-run HR (3rd at AA)

Will Warren 5 2/3 IP, 6 R, 6 H, 3 W, 5 K. Gave up 3 HR. 3.64 #8 prospect.
Myatt (W, 2-1) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 2 K. 5.49
Cowart 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 6.30

High A: Hudson Valley (61-53) lost 3-2.
CF Jasson Dominguez “The Martian” 2 hits.
#2 prospect. .273-12-50, 32 SB at Low and High A combined.

Yoendrys Gomez 3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 W, 4 K. 1.93 #12 prospect
Diaz 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 5.63
Edgar Barclay (L, 5-4; BS, 2) 3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 4 K. 2.06 #29 Prospect.
Alvarez 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.93

Low A: Tampa (54-59) lost 5-1.
RF Tayler Aguilar 2 hits
1B Connor Cannon HR (2)

Messinger 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 0 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.46
Mendez (L, 1-1) 2 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 2 HR. 6.14
Santana 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 1.82

I don’t know if it is a case of pitchers not being able to hold runners on, poor catching, great speed or a combination of all of that, but look at the SB numbers of some of those prospects. Impressive.