Game 119. “Happ”y Days are here again. Yanks win 4-1.

Early returns on Zach Britton have been disappointing, but not so with Lance Lynn or J.A. Happ.

Happ tossed seven one-hit, shutout innings as the Yanks beat Tampa Bay 4-1 Tuesday night to up their record to 75-44.

Boston won again, so the deficit remains at 10.

The Yanks scored in the first on a double by Stanton, error on a pickoff attempt, and bloop single by Hicks.

Austin Romine hit a 2-run HR (8) in the fifth that he sliced just inside the RF foul pole.

Dellin Betances gave up a HR in the top of the eighth that cut the Yanks’ lead to 3-1, but in the bottom of the eighth, with two out, Andujar and Bird hit back-to-back doubles to make it 4-1, PR Shane Robinson scoring.

Andujar was removed for defense, as manager Aaron Boone moved RF Neil Walker to 3B to replace Andujar, and Shane Robinson went to RF, replacing Walker.

Much is being made of Andujar’s defense, and yes there is room for improvement, but by way of comparison, Andujar has made 12 errors. In 1964, rookie 3B Dick Allen of the Phillies made 41. Wow.

Andujar 2 hits, both doubles.
Romine 2-run HR.

Happ (W, 13-6, 3.86) 7 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 4 W, 4 K. 1 HBP. (Tor/NYY; as NYY 3-0, 1.89)
Betances (H, 18) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.32
Chapman (S, 31) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.11

Don’t look now, but Oakland is just 1 game behind Houston in the AL West. Can you imagine if the A’s pass them and the one-game wild card game is Houston at the Yankees. (Shuddering).

Infielder John Kennedy, who was with the Yankees in 1967, passed away August 9 at the age of 77. Kennedy happened to be born on the same day, May 29, as President John F. Kennedy, but 24 years later, in a strange coincidence. Kennedy even started his career under JFK’s presidency, and in Washington, D.C. too.

Kennedy played for Washington (1962-1964), the Dodgers (1965-1966), Yankees (1967), Seattle Pilots (1969) , Milwaukee Brewers (1970) and Boston Red Sox (1970-1974). He was on the Dodgers’ 1965 WS Champion and 1966 NL Champion teams.

Mostly used as a defensive specialist, Kennedy played in 104 games for the 1965 Dodgers but only had 104 AB, hitting .171-1-5. He got more AB in 1966, hitting .201-3-24.

With the 1967 Yankees, he hit .196-1-17 in 78 games, 179 AB. He played 3B, SS and 2B in his MLB career, and even one game at 1B.

His 162 game average was .225-6-35, OPS+ 70. Good field/no hit. In the postseason (1965 and 1966 WS) he got into 6 games, going 1 for 6.

 

 

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Game 116. Get Miggy with it. Andujar leads Yanks to 5-3 win.

Miguel Andujar hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and lead the Yanks to a 5-3 win over Texas Saturday afternoon.

Despite the win, the 73-43 Yanks lost a 1/2 game in the standings to Boston, dropping 9 1/2 behind Boston because Boston swept a DH from the Bad News Bears (Baltimore Orioles) on Saturday.

With one out in the first, Giancarlo Stanton got the green light on a 3-0 pitch and hit HR #29 to put the Yanks up 1-0. After an out, Miguel Andujar singled and Greg Bird doubled to make it 2-0.

Lance Lynn gave up a run in the third as Texas cut it to 2-1.

In the sixth, Bird doubled and scored on a Neil Walker single.

But in the top of the seventh, with two out, Zack Britton imploded. Single, single, and 2 straight walks made it 3-2. In came Dellin Betances who balked in the tying run before getting out of the inning.

That set the stage for Andujar’s HR (17). You wonder if he may be stealing that ROY award away from Gleyber Torres (or Ohtani).

But in the ninth, Aroldis Chapman couldn’t get the save without some drama. Walk, K, single. Pop up. HBP to load the bases. K.

Stanton 2 hits, Solo HR.
Andujar 2 hits, GW 2-run HR.
Bird 2 doubles, RBI

Lynn 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 3 W, 8 K.  4.46 (Min/NYY)
Robertson (H, 16) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.   3.23
Britton (H, 3) 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 0 K.  4.50 (Balt/NYY)
Betances (BS, 1; W, 3-3, 2.19) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  Balk
Chapman (S, 30) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 HBP.  2.15

The game ended in rain, just in time as it had started to pour.

 

 

Game 114. 5 Yanks’ HRs power team to 7-3 win.

The Yankees (72-42) hit 5 HR to defeat Texas 7-3 tonight.

With Boston’s loss, they cut the deficit to 8 games.

Aaron Hicks got the first of the HR, a 2-run HR (20) in the first inning.

J.A. Happ gave up a HR in the 4th, 2-1.

The Yanks came right back in the bottom of the fourth, when Miguel Andujar (16) and Neil Walker (5) hit back-to-back HR, Andujar’s a 2-run shot, to make it 5-1 Yanks.

Happ gave up 2 runs in the top of the fifth, 5-3.

Once again the Yanks came right back. Giancarlo Stanton’s 28th HR, a 449 ft. laser shot, made it 6-3.

Neil Walker’s 2nd HR of the game (6) made it 7-3 in the sixth and that was the final score.

Gardner 2 hits.
Stanton HR
Hicks 2-run HR.
Andujar 2 hits, 2-run HR
Walker 2 solo HRS

Happ (W, 12-6, 4.07 combined Tor/NYY) 6 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 W, 9 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2 HBP
Robertson 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K.  3.29
Betances 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.25
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 2 K.  2.20

Yankees pitchers struck out 13.

Game 112. Yanks edge Chisox in 13, 4-3. Yanks pitchers strike out 20.

Sonny Gray pitched three scoreless innings of relief and got the win as the Yanks (70-42) edged the Chicago White Sox 4-3 in 13 innings Tuesday night.

Yankees’ pitchers combined for 20 strikeouts in the game.

CC Sabathia turned the clock back some ten years by striking out 12 in 5 2/3 innings, but left trailing 1-0, having given up a run in the third.

The Yanks didn’t get a hit until the sixth. In the sixth, they had runners on first and third with no one out but didn’t score.

The Yanks tied the game in the seventh when Miguel Andujar hit his 15th HR of the season.

In the top of the tenth, Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2-run HR (26) to put the Yanks up 3-1, but with two out in the bottom of the tenth, Zach Britton gave up a 2-run HR to Jose Abreu that tied the game.

In the top of the 13th, Didi walked with one out. After Torres struck out, Voit singled Didi to second and Andujar singled him in, 4-3 Yanks, the final score.

For the second straight night, a Yankee batter was robbed of a HR by Adam Engel. This time Kyle Higashioka was robbed.

Stanton 2 hits, HR, 2 RBI
Andujar 3 hits, 2 RBI

Sabathia 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 W, 12 K.  3.49
Green 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K  2.75
Robertson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  3.35
Betances 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.  2.30
Holder 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K.  3.57
Britton (BS, 2) 1 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR.  3.98 (Balt/NYY). Threw 2 WP, 1 HBP
Gray (W, 9-8, 5.40) 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 H, 4 K.

In other news:

Jacoby Ellsbury needed hip surgery this week. 6 month recovery time. Out all year.

Clint Frazier not happy at some comments Michael Kay made about Frazier’s stint on the DL re: concussion issues.

Ex-MLB player (and a former Yankee) Esteban Loaiza will get years in jail for running a drug ring. From the NY Post (edited):

Former Yankees pitcher Esteban Loaiza is expected to change his plea later this week in a felony cocaine distribution case, according to a report.

Loaiza — who was arrested in February in San Diego after authorities said they found 44 pounds of cocaine in a van parked in the garage of a rented townhouse — has a “change of plea” hearing listed in Southern California US District Court on Friday, WLS-TV reports.

The Tijuana-born Loaiza, 46, initially pleaded not guilty in February. A change of plea hearing results in a defendant submitting a guilty plea in “99 percent” of all criminal cases, according to the station’s legal analyst Gil Soffer, a former federal prosecutor.

…..

Federal investigators have said they believe Loaiza used the rented townhome as an intermediate destination for cocaine. Prior to his arrest, during which Loaiza was pulled over for a traffic violation and cops found a sophisticated compartment to hide contraband in his Mercedes-Benz, the former MLB star had crossed the Mexican border earlier that day, prosecutors said.

Authorities later obtained a search warrant for Loaiza’s rented home in Imperial Beach, where investigators said they found 44 pounds of cocaine stored less than 1,000 feet from an elementary school.

Loaiza, who posted bail in May, faces a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence and up to life in prison if convicted, according to the station.

Loaiza pitched for nine teams throughout his 14-season career, including the Yankees, Dodgers, White Sox and Pirates. He retired in 2008 with a 126-114 record and a 4.65 career ERA. He was a two-time All-Star and the second-winningest Mexican pitcher in MLB history, second only to Fernando Valenzuela. In 2003, he finished second in the American League Cy Young voting and started the All-Star Game.

Game 110. Yanks blow it in 9th, lose it in 10th. Lost Weekend. Swept in Boston.

THE WORST LOSS OF THE YEAR.

Up 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, three walks by Aroldis Chapman and an error by Miguel Andujar let Boston tie the game.

Then in the tenth, in came Jonathan Holder. The same Jonathan Holder who gave up seven runs and got no one out on Thursday night against these same Red Sox. The Red Sox scored off of him. Ballgame over, 5-4 Boston, and the Yanks are now 9 1/2 behind Boston after getting swept up there this weekend.

With the four-game sweep by Boston, and the loss to lowly Baltimore Wednesday, the 68-42 Yanks have lost five in a row.

Some struggles of youth. The 4-5 hitters last night for the Yanks were Torres and Andujar. Two rookies, one 21, and the other 23 years old. While each has been great this year, their inexperience has been showing the past few days.

MVP candidate Mookie Betts homered for Boston in the fifth. 1-0 Red Sox.

The Yanks, who only got one run Friday and only one Saturday (They really miss Aaron Judge, and to a lesser extent, Gary Sanchez (even with Sanchez’ .188 batting average.)St I mean, Luke Voit and Shane Robinson are in the lineup in this big series. No offense to those two, but really?) got all four of their runs in the seventh.

Gardner singled, Romine walked. Robinson walked to load the bases. Hicks reached on an error, two runs scoring, Robinson to third. Stanton singled to make it 3-1. Both runners moved up on a WP. After Didi struck out, Torres hit a SF. 4-1.

To the bottom of the ninth, and the wild Chapman we saw recently in a game vs. the Mets resurfaced. A strikeout, then two walks, another strikeout, another walk. Free passes. Ugh. A two-run lined single that Torres jumped for and just missed. 4-3. The error (second of the game) by Andujar that allowed Boston to tie the game (Greg Bird tried to scoop it and just couldn’t). Strikeout. (Update: Should Walker have replaced Andujar that inning for defensive purposes?)

Then the tenth, and when Holder came in, you just had a bad feeling after his outing the other night. He did get the first two outs. Then a single. WP. Intentional walk. Single by Benintendi to end the game.

A KILLER LOSS.

Now to try to rebound.

Stanton 2 hits, RBI
Gardner 2 hits

Tanaka 4 2/3 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 1 W, 9 K. Gave up 1 HR.  3.76
Robertson 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  3.42
Britton (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.  3.26 (Balt/NYY)
Betances (H, 17) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.35
Chapman (BS, 2) 1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 H, 3 W, 3 K.  2.25
Holder (L, 1-3, 3.65) 2/3 IP,  1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K.

Game 105. Miggy & Tanaka lead Yanks past O’s, 6-3.

Mashiro Tanaka worked his way through six shutout innings, and Miguel Andujar hit a 3-run HR as the Yanks beat Baltimore 6-3 Tuesday night.

The win, combined with a Boston loss, puts the Yanks 5 back of Boston in the AL East. The Yanks are 68-37.

There were a lot of trades yesterday before the non-waiver trade deadline, but the Yanks weren’t involved in any.

Tanaka’s line looks good, but he really had to work, throwing 105 pitches over six innings. It was harder for him than it looked and he had to escape a couple of jams.

The Yanks got on the board in the first inning when Gardner walked, and with one out, Didi walked. With two out, Gleyber Torres singled Gardner home.

The Yanks made it 2-0 in the third. Gardner singled and stole second. With Stanton up, everyone was safe, Gardner moving up, on an error. Didi Gregorius singled in Gardner.

The Yanks broke it open with four in the fifth. Stanton was HBP, and Didi singled. Hicks walked to load the bases with no one out. After Torres popped up, Bird hit a SF to make it 3-0 and Andujar hit a 3-run HR (13) to make it 6-0.

The Orioles got 3 in the eighth off of A.J. Cole.

Final 6-3.

J.A. Happ was sent home with hand-foot-and mouth disease. The Yanks are still hoping he can start Saturday in Boston. He is the second major leaguer, after the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard, to contract that virus in the last couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, the Yanks may have caught a bit of a break. Chris Sale, who owns the Yanks, was put on the DL by Boston with shoulder inflammation. He won’t be pitching against the Yanks this weekend.

Gardner scored 2 runs.
Didi 2 hits, RBI.
Andujar 3-run HR.

Since May 21, Tanaka has lowered his ERA from 4.95 to 3.84

Tanaka (W, 9-2, 3.84) 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 W, 8 K.
Cole 1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 5.13 (Comb. Wash/NYY ERA)
Betances 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.40
Chapman (S, 29) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.  1.88

 

Games 102 & 103. Yanks come back to salvage DH Split. What’s wrong with Seve? Shreve, Gallegos traded.

After yesterday’s day/night DH split, the Yanks made a move to get the recently acquired J.A. Happ on the roster. With the recent acquisition of Zack Britton, it was a given that Chasen Shreve was gone. Shreve, along with Giovanny Gallegos, was traded to St. Louis for 1B Luke Voit.

Voit, 27, a righty hitter, was 2 for 11 in 8 games with the Cardinals this season. 1 HR, 3 RBI. For his MLB career, he has played in 70 games, 125 at bats, and has hit .240-5-21, OPS+ 93.

Shreve was 2-2, 4.26, 1 save, ERA+ 102 for the Yanks this season, and Gallegos 0-0, 4.50, ERA+ 99. For Gallegos, it was in just four games.

The Yanks had to come from behind to win the second game of a day/night DH to salvage a split of that DH. At 66-37, they are now 5 1/2 behind Boston.

In the first game, a 10-5 loss, you have to be concerned about Luis Severino. After being brilliant against Boston on July 1, he was 13-2, 1.98. In his four starts since then, he is 1-2, 8.84(!) and his ERA has gone from 1.98 to 2.94. What’s wrong?

Seve gave up a two-run double in the third, then in the fifth, gave up a two-run single and 2-run HR. Yanks down 6-0.

They tried to come back. In the bottom of the fifth, Hicks singled and Stanton hit one to the moon (24) to make it 6-2.

In the sixth, singles by Torres, Bird and Walker (who had a big DH) scored one run, and another scored on a GIDP. 6-4.

In the seventh, Didi singled and Torres doubled him home, but Torres was thrown out at third on the play. Ouch. Never make the first or last outs of an inning at third.

But here is where David Robertson let the game get away, as he gave up a 3-run HR in the 8th. The Royals got another run off of Shreve (in his last Yanks’ appearance) in the ninth.

10-5 KC.

Hicks 2 hits, 2 walks
Stanton HR (a bomb) 2 RBI
Torres 2 hits, RBI
Bird 2 hits
Walker 3 hits, RBI

Severino (L, 14-4, 2.94) 4 1/3 IP, 6 R, 8 H, 1 W, 5 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Warren 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.70
Robertson 1 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR.  3.50
Shreve 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K.  4.26   (traded after game 2)

The Yanks scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth for a come-from-behind 5-4 win in Game 2.

The Yanks got two in the first when Gardner and Stanton singled, Didi flied out, moving up both runners. Andujar got an RBI single (Torres was the cleanup hitter in Game 1, Andujar in Game 2—two rookies) and after Bird was HBP (what is it with KC plunking batters this series? Judge fractured wrist, Romine got hit in Game 1, now Bird here) Walker got a SF to make it 2-0.

CC gave up a HR to Salvador Perez in the third, 2-1 Yanks.

Shane Robinson got his first HR of the season to make it 3-1 Yanks in the fourth.

KC got a run off CC in the fifth, when a couple of walks helped to walk a run in, and he had to be pulled before he could qualify for the win. Holder got out of a bases loaded jam.

Holder got into trouble in the sixth, and Chad Green came in but couldn’t get out of the inning without yielding the tying run. 3-3.

Zack Britton got the first two outs in the top of the seventh, then fell apart, giving up a double, infield single, then two walks to force in a run and put KC up 4-3 before finishing the inning.

But in the bottom of the eighth, Greg Bird led off with a HR (9) to tie the game. Walker doubled and Romine, PH for Higashioka, reached on a bunt single. Torres walked to load the bases and Hicks got a SF to put the Yanks up 5-4.

Chapman ran into trouble in the ninth, but escaped.

Bird solo HR
Robinson solo HR
Walker 2 hits, RBI

Sabathia 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 2 W, 8 K. Gave up 1 HR.  3.53
Holder 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K.  2.11
Green 1/3 IP, 0 R 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.  2.61
Britton 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K.  3.57 (Balt/NYY comb. ERA)
Betances (W, 2-3, 2.44) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Chapman (S, 27) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K.   1.98

At 66-37, with a .641 winning pct., the Yanks have the second-best record in baseball, and are on course to go 104-58, their best record since 1998, but of course, we know who has the best record in baseball right now (drat!)

HR watch: With 166 HR in 103 games, the Yanks are on pace for 261 HR, which would fall 3 short of the 1997 Seattle Mariners record. The losses of Judge and Sanchez really hurt the Yanks here.