Games 31 and 32. Yanks go extras in both games, sweep Mets in DH.

The Yankees (19-13) used a miraculous comeback to win the first game of a DH, then struggling Gary Sanchez hit a grand slam to enable the Yankees to gain the sweep in Game 2.

Both games were won in 8 innings, extra innings what with the 2020 Covid rules for a DH. (7-inning games, extras start w/man on second).

Game 1

Down 7-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Yanks scored five in the bottom of the seventh and once in the eighth to win 8-7.

In the bottom of the first, D.J. LeMahieu walked, was doubled to third by Luke Voit, and scored on a groundout by Mike Tauchman.

The Mets got two in the top of the fourth to go up 2-1, but the Yanks tied it in the bottom of the inning when Mike Tauchman walked and Mike Ford doubled him home.

Ex-Yankee Robbie Cano hit a 2-run HR in the top of the fifth to put the Mets up 4-2. The Mets got three more runs in the top of the sixth to go up 7-2.

Then, in the bottom of the seventh, the comeback. Ford reached on an error, and got back to the bag safely to avoid being doubled up when Brett Gardner lined out. Gio Urshela flied out for the second out. Down 7-2, things looked dire. Ford advanced to second on defensive indifference and Tyler Wade walked. Thairo Estrada was HBP to load the bases. Luke Voit singled to make it 7-4. Estrada should have been out at third to end the game but the 3B dropped the ball. WHEW. A WP made it 7-5. Aaron Hicks then tied the game with his third HR of the season.

In the bottom of the eighth, with the new rules, Tauchman started the inning at second base. Gary Sanchez flied out and Ford walked. After Brett Gardner flied out, Gio Urshela singled in Tauchman to win the game.

Voit 2 hits, 2 RBI
Hicks 2-run game-tying HR (3)
Urshela GW hit

KIng 3 2/3 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 1 W, 3 K.   6.23
Kriske 1 1/3 IP, 5 R, 2 H, 3 W, 4 K.  2 WP.    20.25  Gave up 1 HR.
Heller 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 4 K. 1.93
Green (W, 3-2, 3.45) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K.

Game 2

Deivi Garcia was brilliant in his MLB debut. At 21, he was the youngest Yankee starter since Phil Hughes in 2007.

The Yanks went up 1-0 in the top of the third (Mets home team in this one) when Tyler Wade hit his first HR of the season.

Garcia took a shutout into the bottom of the sixth. The Mets tied it up on a single after Luke Voit made a two-base error.

In the top of the eighth, Brett Gardner started the inning at second, and Clint Frazier walked. After a flyout moved both runners up, Tauchman was intentionally walked. Sanchez, now hitting just .134, PH for Erik Kratz and hit a grand slam for his sixth HR of the season. Of Sanchez’ 11 hits this year, six are HR.

The Mets got a run in the bottom of the eighth and had the bases loaded but the Yanks held on to win 5-2.

Sanchez Grand Slam (6)
Wade solo HR (1)

Garcia 6 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 W, 6 K.   MLB DEBUT
Holder (W, 1-0, 2.25) 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K.
Cessa (S, 1) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  4.09

 

 

 

Exhibition Game 20: Yanks beat Mets, 9-3

MLB.com goes back to spring training when the Yanks were 11-8 in posting their boxscore. Hence the “Exhibition Game 20” headline above, and spring training (summer camp?) in my categories. In any case, the Yanks improved to 12-8 with a 9-3 win over the Mets at Citi Field.

Clint Frazier hit a 2-run HR. Mike Tauchman had 3 hits and an RBI. Gleyber Torres had two hits and an RBI. Miguel Andujar had two hits and an RBI. Erik Kratz, who just turned 40 last month, drove in two runs.

The pitching line:

Michael King (Winner) 4 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 3 K.
Britton 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Kahnle 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Ottavino 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Heller 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.

The Mets featured ex-Yankees Robbie Cano, Melky Cabrera, Eduardo Nunez and Dellin Betances. Betances made one of the Mets’ four errors.

They’ll play another exhibition game tonight, this time at Yankee Stadium.

In other news, Domingo German took back some words he said the other day that made it seem like he was walking away from baseball. Still, don’t expect him until 2021, what with his suspension.

Ex MLB umpire Rick Reed passed away at the age of 70.

Yanks trade Torreyes to Cubs, to meet with Corbin today.

The Yanks on Wednesday traded infielder Ronald Torreyes to the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The Yanks will meet with free agent prize LHP Patrick Corbin today. Corbin met with the Phillies Tuesday and Washington on Wednesday.

As far as the Robbie Cano rumors, I have nothing to say on that unless it becomes fact…. and right now, even though Seattle may be shopping the ex-Yankee, there is nothing to go by.

 

 

Yanks’ game suspended, meanwhile, Seattle’s Cano suspended, too.

The Yankees game vs. the Nationals was suspended after 5 1/2 innings with the score tied at 3. The game will be resumed Wednesday at 5 PM, before the regularly scheduled game.

I hate inter-league games at NL parks where the Yanks lose the DH. Masahiro Tanaka started tonight and batted 8th in the lineup.

My grammy beating a rug had a better swing than most pitchers. I am a traditionalist when it comes to baseball except for the DH. Watching a pitcher hit is like enduring Chinese water torture.

Because of inter-league, and the possible need for another PH on the bench, Clint Frazier was called up from SWB and David Hale was DFA’d (again… the Yanks DFA’d him earlier this year, he went to the Twins, THEY DFA’d him and he came back to the Yanks. Some spring for Hale). How long Frazier’s call up lasts, who knows. It could be just for these 2 inter-league games vs. the Nationals.

Robbie Cano was suspended for 80 games by MLB. A couple things about this. When asked if he knew about PED use by Cano, and if that was why the Yanks didn’t re-sign Cano when Robbie became a free agent, Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman stated that he had no knowledge, because knowledge requires you to report it and if not reported, it is a $1MM fine. But, Cashman stated, knowledge is one thing and suspicions another. A very telling line by Cashman.

Maybe there were suspicions. The Yanks did offer 7 years and $180MM, but were blown away by Seattle’s $240MM, 10 yr offer.

Maybe the suspicions made the Yanks low-ball Cano.

The suspicions would be this: Cano’s two best friends on the Yankees were A-Rod and Melky, both of whom were busted. His charity was run by someone whose name became linked to Biogenesis. It could be Robbie was getting away with it for years but finally was caught.

What he was caught for was furosemide, the generic of Lasix, a diuretic. Furosemide in and of itself is not a PED, or steroid. But it can be used as a masking agent to hide steroids. Cano denies that it was used for that purpose, but MLB apparently had evidence that it was.

So Cano is suspended for 80 games, and is ineligible for the postseason should Seattle make it.

But here is the rub. The suspension begins immediately. Cano was appealing the suspension until he had his hand broken while hit by a pitch the other day. So he’d have been out 6-8 weeks anyway because of the break. So the suspension runs concurrently with his time on the DL.

This is wrong. MLB should change the rules so that any suspension like this starts AFTER THE PLAYER COMES OFF THE DL. That is why Cano dropped the appeal, because he knew that because of the broken finger, he would miss only a few weeks of REAL time.

Cano is listed as one of the top 10 2B of ALL TIME. His HOF credentials just took a serious hit today. Because of this, he may never make the HOF.

Game 40. SSS. Stanton, Severino, Sizzling. Yanks win 6-2, hit quarter-pole at 28-12.

So we hit the quarter pole and the Yanks are at 28-12 (unfortunately, so is Boston). You can do the math. We don’t expect both teams to end up at 112-50, but winning the division means so much more. You don’t want to go, say, 103-59 but NOT win the division and find yourself playing in that sudden-death, one-game only, wild card game.

Luis Severino didn’t have his great stuff today, labored a bit, but still pitched six innings of one-run ball. Hopefully he keeps this up all year and gets the CYA at the end of the year.

He got the offensive support from Giancarlo Stanton, who went 4 for 4 with 3 RBI.

In the first inning, Gardner singled, Judge doubled and Didi walked. Bases loaded, no one out for Stanton, who singled in two. After a DP, Hicks singled in a run to make it 3-0 and with Seve on the mound, you knew it would be enough.

The A’s got a run in the top of the fifth but Stanton got it right back in the bottom of the fifth with his tenth HR of the season.

In the seventh, Judge walked, and with one out, Stanton doubled. After a walk to Sanchez, Hicks’ force out made it 5-1 Yanks.

In the eighth, Andujar singled and with two out advanced on a WP. Judge singled him in to make it 6-1.

The A’s got a HR off of Shreve in the ninth, but the final score was 6-2 Yankees.

Gardner 2 hits.
Judge 2 hits, walk, rbi.
Stanton 4 for 4, HR, 3 RBI.
Hicks 2 RBI
Andujar 2 hits.

Severino (W, 6-1, 2.14) 6 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 W, 7 K.
Green (H, 5) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.45
Betances 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 5.00. Developed a blister.
Shreve 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.52

Robbie Cano for Seattle will be out 2 months. HBP, broken finger.

Chase Headley DFA’d by SD after starting the year .115. Bryan Mitchell has stunk for them, too.

The Yanks are off Monday. Two-game series in Washington Tues. and Wed. Tough series. Tanaka vs. Gonzalez, and CC vs. Scherzer. Hoping for a split.

The Yanks then travel to KC and Texas, both teams are bad, hoping for 4 or 5 out of 6 there.

 

 

s

AL wins ASG in 10, 2-1, on Cano HR.

Current Seattle Mariner and ex-Yankee Robbie Cano homered in the top of the 10th to lead the AL to a 2-1 win in the All Star Game.

The game doesn’t count anymore for home field advantage in the WS. That honor will go to who had the best record. IMO, that’s the way it always should have been, but hasn’t been.

Luis Severino didn’t get to pitch in the game. Dellin Betances went 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 2 K. He pitched the third inning, got into trouble (2 WP as well) but got out of it.

Aaron Judge went 0 for 3 as a starter, and Gary Sanchez, a backup, went 0 for 2. Sanchez was charged with a PB.

Starlin Castro was named an All-Star reserve, but had to be replaced (by Cano) because of injury.

The AL had gotten a run in the fifth on an RBI single by the Twins’ Miguel Sano. The Cardinals’ Yadier Molina homered in the sixth.

The Indians’ bench coach, Brad Mills, had to manage the AL because Indians’ manager Terry Francona is recovering from a heart procedure.

Game 90. Cano, M’s edge Yanks, 4-3.

From 2005-2013, Yankees fans saw Robbie Cano win a lot of games FOR the New York Yankees. According to WAR, he was their best player in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

Today, Yankees fans saw Robbie Cano BEAT the New York Yankees. Cano hit two two-run homers off of Michael Pineda to lead Seattle to a 4-3 win. The loss drops the Yanks to 49-41 and decreased the AL East lead to 3 1/2 games.

Cano hit the first of his two-run home runs in the top of the first. Brian McCann tied it up for the Yanks with a two-run blast of his own, #15 on the season, in the fourth, but Cano’s second two-run dinger, hit in the sixth, proved to be the game winner.

The Yanks had a shot in the bottom of the ninth. Teixeira led off the inning with a double, and after McCann struck out, Headley also struck out but reached on a wild pitch, Teixeira moving up to third. Chris Young pinch-ran for Headley and a groundout by Garrett Jones plated a run, Young moving up to second. Didi Gregorius then grounded out to end the game.

I find it very interesting that Didi was allowed to hit there. This could be very telling as to what the Yankees think of Stephen Drew right now. Yes, a base hit there with Didi ties the game, and Didi is hitting 56 points higher than Drew (.238 to .182). But a HR there wins the game, and even if Drew had gotten just a single to tie it, it would be no trouble having Drew go in at SS. Drew, despite the .182 average, does have 12 HR, and 23 of his 45 hits are for extra bases. Didi has just 4 HR, and 16 of his 66 hits are for extra bases. I just found it peculiar that manager Girardi decided not to go for it with a possible PH GW HR by Drew there. Maybe it is a telling sign, maybe not.

Before the game, the Yankees sent down Bryan Mitchell to get stretched out. They brought up Brandon Pinder.

Pineda (L, 9-6, 3.77) 6 IP, 4 R, 2 walks, 2 K.
Shreve 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 1.93
Warren 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, `1 H, 1 walk and 2 K. 3.60.

Game 87. Yanks lose, 5-3.

Ivan Nova has pitched decently (3.42 ERA) since his return from TJ surgery, but with some hard luck. He fell to 1-3 last night with the help of some fielding miscues as well as not enough hitting as the Yanks lost to Boston 5-3.

The Yanks still have a 3-game lead in the AL East.

A-Rod got the scoring started by homering (18, #672 career) in the first. Boston tied it in the third with the help of a throwing error by Yanks backup C John Ryan Murphy.

Nova gave up a two-run HR to Hanley Ramirez in the fourth. 3-1 Boston.

Jacoby Ellsbury, who had three hits in the game, homered (2) in the sixth to cut it to 3-2.

In the seventh, Adam Warren was one strike away from getting out of the inning and stranding a baserunner when Chris Young misplayed a fly ball into a run scoring triple. Boston got a run on this and another run later in the inning to break the game open a bit. 5-2.

Brett Gardner’s RBI double in the eighth made it 5-3.

Down to their last out, and with the tying run at the plate, Brian McCann’s deep flyball wasn’t pulled enough, and went into the “triangle” at Fenway, where it was caught for the final out of the game. If he had pulled it a little….

Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 3 in his MLB debut.

Nova (L, 1-3, 3.42) 6 2/3 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 0 walks and 3 K.
Warren 0 Ip, 1 R, 2 h, 1 walk and 0 K. 3.57. 3 batters, no outs.
Shreve 1/3 IP, 0 H, 1 h, 1 walk and 1 K. 2.02
Mitchell 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 2.89.

Today is the last game before the all-star break. The Yanks will then resume on Friday at home vs. Seattle. By the way, you have seen how poorly Robbie Cano is doing this year, haven’t you?

Game 64. T-time. Tanaka, Teixeira lead Yanks to 4-2 win.

Masahiro Tanaka had a shutout for 8 1/3, and wound up with a 4-2 complete-game victory. He improved his record to 10-1, and his ERA remained at 2.02.

Tanaka’s bid for a shutout was ruined when Robbie Cano hit a 2-run HR with one out in the 9th.

Tanaka went 9, 2 R, 6 H, 1 walk and 11 K.

Tanaka leads the majors in wins (10) and winning pct. (.909). He leads the AL in ERA (2.02), CG (2), and WHIP (.940).

He became the first Yanks’ rookie to win 10 in a season since El Duque in 1998.

The Yanks offense didn’t help much, but just enough. For the twelfth consecutive game, the Yanks’ offense scored fewer than five runs.

The Yanks got a run in the third on an Ellsbury single, and then the big blow, a 3-run HR by Teixeira in the fifth.

Teixeira’s HR was his 11th of the season and #352 of his career.

The win improved the Yanks’ record to 33-31. They are tied with the Orioles for 2nd in the AL East, 4 1/2 behind Toronto. They are 1/2 game out of the last WC spot.

Derek Jeter got two hits and is now at 3374 for his career.

Before the game, the Yanks DFA’d Wade LeBlanc and brought back David Huff from SF for cash considerations. They activated Shawn Kelley off the DL and sent down Matt Daley.

I must admit, I don’t understand the Huff move. He was there last year, and was 3-1, 4.67 in eleven games (ERA+ 87). He wasn’t doing that well with SF either, 1-0, 6.30 in sixteen games of relief. For his career, 22-27, 5.38, ERA+ 75.

For what it’s worth, Boone Logan is struggling with Colorado. 1-1, 5.87, ERA+ 74.

Cano returns tonight/McCann needs to get hot

Robbie Cano returns to Yankee Stadium for the first time as a visiting player as the Yanks host Seattle tonight.

Jimmy Fallon did a funny skit where Yankees’ fans booed a huge cardboard cutout of Cano, then Cano himself stepped out from behind the cutout.

Cano should expect some boos tonight. What he did was a business decision, and quite frankly, it’s hard to argue against taking a 10-yr., $240MM deal. But to say the Yanks “disrespected” him? I wish I was “disrespected” with a 7-yr., $170-175MM offer. Sorry, Robbie, let Seattle pay you $24MM a year at ages 38-40. I won’t.

Cano has been doing ok, but the HR are down, as expected. Safeco isn’t Yankee Stadium. Robbie is at .301-1-11 heading into tonight. OPS+ 114. Good but not $240MM/10 yr. good.

The Yanks needed to fill a bunch of holes this offseason, and if they did give Cano the extra $$ he wanted, would they then have been able to get Ellsbury, Tanaka, Beltran and McCann? Probably not.

Now Ellsbury has been good,  .312-0-11 and 8/10 in SB. His D has been great (he saved a run Saturday in the Yanks’ 4-3 win).  His two triples lead the majors. OPS+ 124. Solid.

Beltran the same. Good so far. 5 HR leads the team. 13 RBI tied with Solarte (!) for the team lead.  .275, OPS+ 133.

Tanaka has been great. 3-0, 2.27.  Five starts, 35 2/3 IP, an average of over 7 a start. 46 K/6 walks. ERA+ 185. An ace.

Which brings us to the fourth big free agent signing the Yanks made this offseason.

McCann.

McCann needs to get it going. Signed to be a middle of the order presence, McCann is at just .235-3-9 after 25 games. OPS+ 79. Two of the three HR and three of the nine RBI came in one game. His lefty pull-hitter bat was expected to do more than that.

The jury is still out on Jeter, who’s been ok, but whose OPS+ of 90 reveals (so far) that at almost 40, the power may not be there anymore (only three of his 21 hits are for extra bases) and the Jeter we remember who used to be good for about 20 SB/yr. hasn’t even attempted one yet. You wonder, after that ankle injury, how many SB Derek will even attempt this year. The jury is still out on Teixeira also. He missed two weeks of this year. Recent HRs against Boston and Sunday night against the Angels are encouraging but it’s early.

The Yanks are 15-10, and in first place by 2 1/2. Three of the four big free agents have done well so far.

But for the Yanks to be a better team, that fourth big free agent signing (McCann) has to get it going and become the middle of the lineup presence we thought he would be. From 2006-2013, McCann averaged 131 g./yr., .277-21-80, OPS+ 118. Posada-type numbers.

Yankees fans hope he gets to those numbers. So far it’s been a slow start. Here’s hoping he turns it on, starting tonight.