Game 150. Yanks hit 5 HR (2 by Gardy) in 13-3 win.

I remember seeing Brett Gardner over 10 years ago when he played in AAA, before coming up to the majors. Speedy. If you would have told me then that he’d make the majors and lead the league in SB with 49, I certainly would have believed you.

If you would have told me that he’d have a season where he’d hit 25 HR, I wouldn’t have. I didn’t think at that time he’d have a season where he’d hit 10. When I saw Gardner then, I was thinking he was another Brett Butler (who never hit more than 9 HR in a season in his career).

Things have certainly changed. Gardner hit 2 HR yesterday, giving him 25 for the season–at age 36—as the Yankees (98-52) hit five HR in a 13-3 win over Toronto.

With the win, the Yanks stay 9 up on Tampa Bay with 12 games to go. The magic # to win the division outright (no tiebreakers) is 4.

The magic # just to make it into the playoffs is 2.

They remain one game ahead of Houston for the AL’s best record (Houston has the tiebreaker) and two games ahead of the Dodgers (Yanks have tiebreaker).

They have 285 HR this season, two more than the Twins in the race for the new MLB record, but the Twins have played two less games.

The Yanks got a run in the second inning when Luke Voit walked, Gio Urshela singled, and Gardner doubled home Voit.

In the third, D.J. LeMahieu and Aaron Judge both singled, and after a fielder’s choice in which LeMahieu was out in a rundown, Voit doubled in a run to make it 2-0.

In the fourth, Gardner hit the first of his two HR for the game (24) to make it 3-0.

His three-run HR in the fifth (25) made it 6-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, he made a great catch up against the fence. Toronto did get a run that inning to make it 6-1.

In the top of the sixth, Gleyber Torres (37) and Luke Voit (21) went back-to-back with homers to put the Yanks up 9-1. Torres’ HR being a 2=run blow.

The Yanks got four runs in the top of the ninth. Kyle Higashioka led off the inning with a double. Thairo Estrada singled him home to make it 10-1. After an out, Clint Frazier doubled Estrada to third. Tyler Wade had an RBI groundout to move the runners up, scoring Estrada, to make it 11-1. Mike Ford then hit a PH HR (11) to make it 13-1.

Toronto got two runs off of Ryan Dull in the bottom of the ninth for the final score of 13-3.

LeMahieu 4 hits (.329).
Torres 2-run HR (37)
Voit 2 hits, 2 RBI. Solo HR (21)
Ford 2-run PH HR (11)
Urshela 2 hits (.326)
Gardner 3 hits, 2 HR (25) 5 RBI
Estrada 2 hits, RBI

Paxton (W, 14-6, 3.88) 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 3 K.
Gearrin 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.  4.24
Loaisiga 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.  4.56
Dull 1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 3 K.  13.50

Jordan Montgomery and Dellin Betances come off of rehab and join the team on Sunday.

 

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Game 138. Back to back HR’s in 9th tie, then win game for Yanks, 5-4.

What a game to be at (as I was)! and what a finish!

The Yanks (90-48) became the first team this year to 90 wins with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Oakland on Sunday. They maintain their 10 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East as the magic number is now 15 to clinch the division outright.

The win also keeps the Yanks one game ahead of Houston for both the best record in the AL and best record in the majors for home field advantage. Houston won yesterday as Justin Verlander tossed his third career no-hitter.

The Yankees and A’s were scoreless through six innings, as J.A. Happ, who has struggled all year long, had a good outing. In the bottom of the fifth, with the bases loaded and two out, A’s 1B Matt Olson made a great play on Mike Tauchman to save two runs.

But the Yanks were limited as to who to replace Happ. Having used a lot of pitchers in Saturday’s extra inning win, and with Zach Britton having a calf problem (it cramped in Saturday’s game), the Yanks were forced to use a couple of callups. Since yesterday (Sunday) was September 1, you had roster expansion. Some callups were OF/DH Clint Frazier, and pitchers Ryan Dull, Tyler Lyons and Chance Adams.

So Dull (who came from Oakland, for whom he pitched 2015-2019) came in for the seventh, making his Yankees’ debut, and gave up three runs. Adams gave up a HR in the eighth, and through 7 1/2 innings, the Yanks were down 4-0.

They got back into the game with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Tauchman led off the inning with a walk, then D.J. LeMahieu singled. Aaron Judge walked to load the bases. Gleyber Torres moved up all the runners with a SF. 4-1. After Gary Sanchez popped up, Didi Gregorius singled in two runs to make it 4-3.

In the bottom of the ninth, Brett Gardner led off the inning with a HR (19) to tie the game, then Mike Ford PH for Clint Frazier and Ford’s 10th HR of the year won it.

LeMahieu 2 hits  .335
Gregorius 2 RBI
Gardner game-tying solo HR (19)
Ford game-winning PH solo HR (10)

Happ 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 4 W, 5 K.  5.34
Dull 1 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K.  13.50
Adams 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.  7.54  Gave up 1 HR
Ottavino (W, 6-4, 1.69) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.

 

 

Game 135. Yanks sweep Seattle behind 4 HR, 7-3.

The Yankees swept Seattle by winning today, 7-3. So after being swept in Oakland, the Yanks have won five of their last six to finish the West coast swing at 5-4. Nice comeback.

With the win, the Yankees go to 88-47 on the season and the magic # drops to 18. As far as the magic # for clinching the division dropping further and home field advantages, we’ll have to wait on the outcomes of the Tampa Bay/Houston game tonight and also the Dodgers at San Diego.

UPDATE: Tampa Bay lost, so the magic # is now 17. The Yanks’ lead in the AL East is 11 1/2 over the Rays. The Yanks are 1/2 game ahead of Houston for best record in the AL and tied with the Dodgers for the best record in baseball.  

The Yanks, of course, wasted no time in getting on the board as Gary Sanchez hit his 30th HR of the season, a 2-run shot, in the first inning. The 434 ft HR was deemed fair after a review.

Seattle tied it in the fourth on a 2-run HR by Kyle Seager, the only hit James Paxton gave up. Paxton only gave up 1 hit in his five innings, but was a bit wild, walking five.

The Yanks got four in the top of the fifth driving ex-farmhand Justus Sheffield (who was traded for Paxton) from the game. Red-hot Mike Ford led off the inning with a HR, his 9th of the season and 4th in less than a week. 3-2 Yanks. After a groundout, Tyler Wade doubled, stole third and scored on a single by D.J. LeMahieu. 4-2. Aaron Judge, also red-hot, hit his 18th HR of the year (fifth in last six games) to make it 6-2.

In the top of the ninth, LeMahieu homered (23) to make it 7-2. Seattle got one run in the bottom of the ninth, but the final was 7-3 Yankees.

Gio Urshela had to leave the game with groin tightness. He’s considered OK and should be day to day.

LeMahieu 2 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR (23). .335
Judge 3 hits, 2 RBI, 2-run HR (18)
Sanchez 2 hits, 2 RBI; 2-run HR (30)
Ford solo HR (9)

Paxton (W, 11-6, 4.39) 5 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 5 W, 4 K.  Gave up 1 HR.
Green 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K.  5.04
Ottavino 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K.  1.58
Gearrin 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.  3.95

The Yanks have an off day Thursday and have Oakland at home Fri-Sun. I will be at the game on Sunday.

Game 133. Ford, Gleyber power Yanks past Mariners, 5-4. Magic #21.

Mike Ford hit two homers, and Gleyber Torres added another, as the Yankees (86-47) defeated Seattle Monday night 5-4.

With the win, the Yanks lead Tampa Bay by 9 1/2 games in the AL East and the magic # for clinching the division outright is 21.

The Yanks scored four times in the top of the second. Torres led off the inning with his 33rd HR of the season. After an out, Mike Tauchman walked and advanced to second on a groundout. Austin Romine singled him in, and Ford hit a 2-run HR (7) to make it 4-0. The Yanks proceeded to load the bases and bat around, but Torres popped up to end the inning.

Homer-prone J.A. Happ gave up a three-run HR to the Mariners; Dylan Moore with two out in the bottom of the second and the lead was cut to 4-3.

Happ only gave up two hits, but walked three and struggled through five. He did get the win, but didn’t help his chances (if any still exist) of making the postseason roster.

Ford hit his second HR of the game, and 8th of the season, in the fourth to make it 5-3 Yankees.

Nestor Cortes, Jr. gave up a HR to Mallex Smith in the seventh to make it 5-4, but the Yanks hung on for the win.

LeMahieu 2 hits, .332
Torres solo HR (33)
Ford 2 HR (8) 3 RBI

Happ (W, 11-8, 5.57) 5 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 3 W, 7 K.  Gave up 1 HR.
Gearrin (H, 12) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K.  3.83
Cortes, Jr. (H, 2) 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.42  Gave up 1 HR.
Kahnle (H, 25) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.73
Chapman (S, 36) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.26

The Yanks, with the win, have the best record in the AL by 1/2 a game over Houston, and are 1/2 game behind the Dodgers for the best record in baseball.

 

 

Game 132. German outduels Kershaw. Yanks win 5-1, hit 3 HR.

Domingo German may have come into the game 16-3, but he and his Yankees’ teammates knew they would have their hands full with Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw has an MVP award, 3 CYA, and has finished twice as the CYA runnerup.

German matched Kershaw pitch for pitch. Bested him, even.

And a guy who didn’t start the game, but who came into the game as an injury replacement (Mike Ford) turned out to be the key to the game as the Yankees (85-47) won 5-1. With the win, their lead in the AL East goes to 9 games, and the magic # to clinch the division (barring any tiebreakers) goes to 22.

Both teams started off with a bang. D.J. LeMahieu hit the third pitch of the game for his 22nd HR of the season to put the Yanks up 1-0, but Domingo German’s first pitch of the game was hit for a HR by Joc Pederson to tie up the game.

Aaron Judge homered in the third inning (16) to put the Yanks up 2-1.

Brett Gardner made a great catch to end the third inning and save two runs.

Then, in the sixth, a shocker. Mike Ford, who didn’t start the game, but who replaced Didi Gregorius in the lineup when Didi had to leave with a sore shoulder after being hit by a pitch, homered off of Kershaw (6) to put the Yanks up 3-1.

Kershaw, who came into the game with a career ERA of 2.41, and who has career numbers that compare favorably to another lefty Dodger great (Sandy Koufax), doesn’t usually give up 3 HR in a game, and especially to guys like Ford, who has spent most of the year at AAA and who is a lefty hitter.

So after six innings, Kershaw had 11 K, but had given up four hits, three of them HR. He wound up with 12 K.

In the eighth, LeMahieu singled and Ford doubled him home to make it 4-1.

The Yanks got one more run in the ninth, when Brett Gardner singled, advanced to third on an error on a pickoff attempt, and scored on a single by Gio Urshela.

Yankees pitchers really did a good job containing Cody Bellinger (ex-Yankee Clay Bellinger’s son) all weekend long.

LeMahieu HR (22), 2 hits.  .331
Judge HR (16)
Ford HR (6), 2 hits, 2 RBI.

German (W, 17-3, 4.03) 6 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 W, 5 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Ottavino (H, 27)  2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  1.61
Kahnle (H, 24) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.   2.79
Britton (H, 28)   1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.18
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K.  2.31

Game 128. Happ disappointing again, Yanks fall, 6-4.

J.A. Happ continued to disappoint and frustrate Yankees’ fans last night as the Yanks (83-45) lost their third in a row, this one by a score of 6-4 to Oakland. The loss cut the Yanks’ lead over Tampa Bay to 9 games. The magic # remains at 26 to clinch the AL East (not counting tiebreakers).

At this rate, there is no way Happ could be on the postseason roster. How bad is it? His ERA is worse than Sonny Gray’s was last year. The Yanks signed Happ for two years with a vesting option for 2021. $17MM a year. Now they have to wonder if they have another Sonny Gray dilemma on their hands.

Gray is now 9-6, 2.92 for the Reds this year after 11-9, 4.90 for the Yanks last year. As Brian Cashman stated, he’d be best out of NY.

Happ was 7-0, 2.69 for the Yanks last year after the Yanks got him from Toronto, so NY didn’t affect him last year. He then lost game 1 of the ALDS to Boston. But this year? 10-8,  5.58.

Is it NY? Or is it that Larry Rothschild just can’t get through to certain pitchers? What? You wonder what the problem is.

You have to wonder about certain guys who are All-Stars elsewhere but who come to NY and don’t succeed but fail miserably.

The problem is, despite the Yanks’ record, the other starters haven’t been dominating. No starter has an ERA under 4.00, and you wonder if Luis Severino makes it back, how effective he can be after missing all season, and how deep he could take you in a game.

It makes you wonder about October. Taking Happ out of the equation, you then have German, Tanaka, Paxton and CC. No sure things, especially CC, who, like Happ, also has an ERA over 5.

I’m concerned and Yankees’ fans should be too, about this starting rotation come October.

The Yanks struck first when the got a run in the top of the second when Didi Gregorius led off the inning with a double and scored one out later on a single by Mike Tauchman.

Happ was plagued by the gopher ball again, giving up a two-run HR in the bottom of the second, then another two-run HR in the bottom of the third. 4-1 A’s.

He left with the bases loaded and no one out in the fifth. Chad Green came in, and got out of it with just one run scoring. 5-1 Oakland.

With one out in the top of the sixth, Gio Urshela singled, Didi walked, and Gleyber Torres singled to load the bases. Tauchman hit a SF to make it 5-2.

Green gave up a HR in the bottom of the sixth, 6-2 A’s.

Mike Ford homered (5) in the top of the seventh to make it 6-3. Later that inning, with two out, Gary Sanchez singled, Urshela singled, and Didi doubled in a run to make it 6-4. They had second and third, two out, but Torres grounded out to end the inning.

The Yanks had first and third, one out in the eighth but D.J. LeMahieu and Aaron Judge both struck out.

Urshela 2 hits (.340, now hitting higher than LeMahieu .334)
Gregorius 2 hits, RBI
Tauchman 2 hits, 2 RBI .300
Ford 3 hits, RBI. Solo HR (5)

Happ (L, 10-8, 5.58) 4 IP, 5 R, 4 H, 2 W, 2 K. 1 HBP. Gave up 2 HR.
Green 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K.  5.44   Gave up 1 HR.
Ottavino 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.   1.64.

I don’t know what the Yanks will do about Happ. But it’s exasperating.

 

Game 123. Ugh. Yanks get hammered, lose 19-5.

Now the Yanks (81-42) know how Baltimore felt. They lost to Cleveland, 19-5, giving up seven homers in doing so. The lead in the AL East got cut to 9 1/2 over the Rays, and the magic # remains at 31. They still lead Houston by 2 1/2 for best record in the AL, and are tied with the Dodgers for best record in baseball.

When you have 162 games, you will have a game where you win like this, but one where you’ll lose like this.

The opener, Chad Green, didn’t open very well.

One out, five runs. Back-to-back HR. Grand slam and solo HR. Six batters into the game, the Yanks were down 5-0 and they didn’t even come to bat yet.

Ugh.

Jonathan Loaisiga came in. He had spent half the season on the IL. He got an out, but then gave up a hit then a HR. 7-0, and the Yanks didn’t come to bat yet. Double Ugh.

Loaisiga has electric stuff, but hasn’t channeled it at the MLB level yet. Injuries have also set him back.

The Yanks tried to come back in the bottom of the first. D.J. LeMahieu singled, Aaron Judge was called out on strikes, then Didi Gregorius and Gio Urshela each singled, Urshela driving in D.J. 7-1.  But they left the bases loaded. A couple hard-hit outs, but no luck. At least they got one back, but still, a long row to hoe, and a deficit they couldn’t overcome.

And that deficit grew larger.

Loaisiga gave up a 2-run HR in the second to Jose Ramirez, who had hit the grand slam in the first, and it was 9-1. Triple ugh.

As I was saying about Loaisiga. He strikes out the side in the second, showing his potential, but between coming in in the first inning and getting the three outs in the second, he gave up 2 HR before getting five outs. He needs consistency. Goes 2 2/3, gets 4 K, but gave up 4 R on 2 HR.

24, so hopefully he learns.

Chance Adams came in and wasn’t better. Adams had a couple nice seasons in the minors (28-6, 2.39 combined 2016-2017) a few years ago, but has regressed. In AAA for 2018-2019 he’s 8-8, about 4.60 and in 11 MLB games, he is 1-1, 7.36. He gave up five runs, including a HR. Adams just turned 25. We’ll see how he progresses or regresses.

The Yanks will have to make key decisions soon on both Loaisiga and Adams. Are either part of the future?

Things got so bad that 1B/DH Mike Ford had to pitch in order to save the bullpen. He gave up five runs in the eighth. He gave up 2 HR that inning. At that point it didn’t matter whether you lost 14-2, 19-2, 19-5, whatever. It still counts as just one loss, no matter what the margin of defeat was.

Aaron Judge is in an awful slump. He went 0 for 5 with 4 strikeouts and is down to .257. You wonder about that oblique.

The Yanks got solo homers from Didi Gregorius in the fifth that made it 12-2, Gary Sanchez in the sixth that made it 12-3, and Gleyber Torres in the eighth for the final run of the game.

LeMahieu 2 hits, .338
Gregorius 3 hits, solo HR (10)
Urshela 2 hits, 2 RBI .337
Sanchez solo HR (27)
Torres solo HR (27)

Close your eyes. These will be ugly.

Green (L, 2-4, 5.59)  1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 H, 1 W, 1 K.  Gave up 2 HR
Loaisiga 2 2/3 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 0 W, 4 K.   5.94        Gave up 2 HR
Adams    3 2/3 IP, 5 R, 10 H, 3 W, 2 K. 7.48        Gave up 1 HR
Cortes, Jr. 1/3 IP,  0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.   4.41
Ford           2 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 0 W, 1 K.      22.50       Gave up 2 HR.

The Yanks signed David Hernandez after he was released by the Reds to a minor league deal. Hernandez, RHP, 34, has had a bad 2019 (2-5, 8.02 for the Reds in 47 games), and is 38-47, 4.12 (ERA+ 103) in his MLB career. He has spent time with Baltimore (2009-2010), Arizona (2011-2013, 2015), Philadelphia (2016) the Dodgers (2017) Arizona II (2017) and Cincinnati (2018-2019). It’s a flyer. He was 5-2, 2.53 for the Reds in 2018.