The Yankees (51-46, 3rd, 8 GB) rallied for four eighth-inning runs to edge Boston 4-3 Saturday.
Jameson Taillon won his fifth straight decision. In turning his season around, he has lowered his ERA by almost a run and a half. Taillon gave up runs in each of the first three innings, but two of those runs were unearned because of two errors by Rougned Odor, who would redeem himself later.
In his last seven starts, Taillon is 5-0, 2.59.
Down 3-0 in the top of the eighth, Estevan Florial led off the inning with a double. Two outs later, Brett Gardner singled in Florial. Giancarlo Stanton hit a ground-rule double, Tyler Wade pinch-ran for him. Odor then tied the game with a double. Gleyber Torres singled in Odor to give the Yanks the lead.
Some shaky moments in the ninth, but eventually Aroldis Chapman closed it out.
The Yanks are 3 1/2 games out of the second wild card spot and would have to jump over Seattle and Oakland.
Gardner 2 hits, RBI Odor 2 RBI Florial 2 hits.
Taillon (W, 6-4) 7 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 W, 4 K. 4.36 Loaisiga (H, 12) 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.06 Just back from Covid IL. Chapman (S, 18) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 4.15
When you look at the Yankees’ win (6-4) over the Phillies last night, it’s easy to look at the four homers that were hit. But to me, most impressive was the little things that Greg Allen and rookie Estevan Florial did in the victory.
Both players are filling in while others are on the IL or Covid-IL.
Florial was brought up earlier in the day when Trey Amburgey (hamstring) had to go on the IL. This was his third MLB game.
The Phillies struck first when Rhys Hoskins hit a HR in the second inning off of Yankees’ starter Domingo German.
The Yanks tied it in the bottom of the third. Allen tripled, and Florial got him in with a groundout to second. Just doing the little things to get the run in.
The Phils got a run in the fourth to go up 2-1. They were helped by a balk by German, and ex-Yankee Ronald Torreyes doubled in the run.
The Yanks went up 3-2 in the fifth. Allen walked and stole second. He moved up to third when Florial flied out (doing the little things). I would have liked to have seen Tyler Wade squeeze home the run there, but he swung away and lined out to SS (to ex-Yankee Didi Gregorius). Gregorius tried to double Allen off of third but made a throwing error that allowed Allen to score. Brett Gardner followed that with a HR (4).
Gary Sanchez homered (17) in the sixth to make it 4-2 Yankees.
In the top of the seventh, Chad Green got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam with a couple of strikeouts, the last one to Didi.
In the bottom of the seventh, Giancarlo Stanton homered (16) to put the Yanks up 5-2.
The Phillies got a run in the top of the eighth to cut it to 5-3, and it was Torreyes who got the inning going for them.
In the bottom of the eighth, Florial hit his first MLB HR to put the Yanks up 6-3.
Aroldis Chapman gave up a HR in the ninth to Andrew McCutchen (another ex-Yankee playing for the Phils, managed by, you guessed it, ex-Yankee Joe Girardi) that made the score 6-4 before closing out the game.
With the win, the Yanks, 49-44, are in a virtual tie for third, 7 games back. After tonight’s game with the Phils, they have four games at Fenway against Boston, followed by three in Tampa Bay. These games are right before the trade deadline.
I won’t write about rumors, but if the Yanks do make deals, I’ll write about the deal and my reaction to it.
Gardner solo HR (4) Stanton 2 hits, solo HR (16) Sanchez 2 hits, solo HR (17) Florial 2 RBI, solo HR (1) FIRST MLB HR
German 4 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 W, 5 K. 1 Balk. Gave up 1 HR. 4.71 Cessa (W, 3-1) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. 2.89 Luetge (H, 3) 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 WP. 3.25 Green (H, 13) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.76 Britton (H, 2) 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. 6.00 Chapman (S, 17) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.41
The Yanks are bringing up Asher Wojciechowski for a spot start tonight vs. the Phils.
For the second time in a week, Nestor Cortes, Jr. got a spot start. The way he is pitching, maybe these won’t be spot starts anymore.
Michael King suffered a freak injury to a finger, and besides, King is better in relief than as a starter. Up stepped Cortes, and the Yankees shut out the Astros last night, 4-0.
The win moved the Yanks (45-42) into a virtual tie for third place in the AL East (Toronto .518 to the Yankees .517), 9 games back.
The Yanks got two runs in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Gleyber Torres singled. After Rougned Odor forced Torres, Gio Urshela singled. Brett Gardner doubled both runners in.
They got their other two runs in the seventh. With one out, Gardner walked. Tyler Wade doubled Gardner to third, and D.J. LeMahieu doubled both runners in. Wade had started in left partly because Miguel Andujar has a hand injury.
That was all the Yanks needed, as Cortes and three relievers shut Houston down on just three hits.
There were two rain delays totaling about an hour and 40 minutes. By the time the second rain delay was over, the game resumed around 11:30 PM and ended after 1 AM.
I’m glad I didn’t see the ending. My blood pressure would have caused another PE or a heart attack.
After last night, stick a fork in the Yankees. They are done. Sure, comebacks (think 1978) happen. But do any of you think it will happen with this team? They are now 41-39, 4th in the AL East, and 8 1/2 back.
And last night’s loss? Just excruciating. The Yanks scored 7 runs in the first inning, just one the rest of the game, took an 8-4 lead into the ninth, and gave up 7 runs in the top of the ninth to blow it and lose 11-8. Pathetic.
Before the game, controversy. The Yanks get swept in Boston last weekend. Their GM says “They suck.” The manager says that “the season is on the line.” But in a game with Ohtani on the mound, both Aaron Judge and Gio Urshela are out of the lineup. Where is the urgency? This “looking at the big picture stuff” as far as resting players right now is BS. What big picture? The playoffs (Cue Jim Mora here) that you won’t qualify for the way you are playing right now? What are you saving them for? Manager Boone says they are banged up. A lot of us remember a crippled, banged up Mickey Mantle playing through hellish injuries. Same with a banged up Thurman Munson. What crap. You should have heard the Michael Kay show on the YES network yesterday. Boy were they criticizing the Yanks over this.
Before the game, Justin Wilson up off of rehab, Albert Abreu sent down.
A slumping Domingo German gave up a 2-run HR in the top of the first inning to Phil Gosselin, and the Yanks were down 2-0 right away. I don’t know what it is with Yankees’ starters that they can’t make it out of the first inning unscathed. The homer came with two out and two strikes on Gosselin. Of course it did.
Shockingly, Angels’ star Shohei Ohtani had nothing as his control was off. The Yankees knocked him and his bat (the Angels forgoed the DH what with Ohtani and his 28 HR starting) out of the game after just 2/3 of an inning.
D.J. LeMahieu walked. Luke Voit walked. A passed ball. Gary Sanchez walked to load the bases. Giancarlo Stanton singled in a run, Gleyber Torres singled in another. After Rougned Odor struck out, Miguel Andujar made it 3-2 with an RBI groundout. Clint Frazier was HBP to reload the bases. Brett Gardner walked to force in a run, force Ohtani from the game, and make it 4-2. LeMahieu doubled to clear the bases. 7-2. Yankees’ fans were feeling good, not knowing what was to come later. What was to come later was just one more run, and a shocking defeat.
German gave up a run in the second. He was pulled after the first rain delay. Jared Walsh (we will hear from him later) homered in the fifth off of Luis Cessa to make it 7-4.
Brett Gardner homered in the eighth (3) to make it 8-4 Yankees. Game in the bag, right? Wrong.
In his first 23 games this season, Aroldis Chapman gave up just 1 earned run for an ERA of 0.39. That is through June 9. Starting on June 10 (when he gave up two 2-run HRs in the bottom of the ninth to blow a game), Chapman has given up 12 runs, 11 earned, in just 5 2/3 innings. It would be worse than that except for a triple play that saved his bacon. That ERA has gone from 0.39 to 3.77.
He walked the bases loaded, then gave up a game-tying grand slam to Walsh. Lucas Luetge came in and gave up three runs to complete the implosion. Ugh.
There aren’t any words. Well, yes, there are, but none you would use around children.
LeMahieu 3 RBI Stanton 2 hits, RBI Gardner 2 for 2, 2 walks, scored 2x, 2 RBI. Solo HR (3)
German 3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 3 W, 2 K. 1 HBP. Gave up 1 HR. 4.50 Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 5.65 Cessa 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. gave up 1 HR. 3.31 O’Day (H, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.70 Loaisiga (H, 10) 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.32 Chapman 1/3 IP, 4 R, 1 H, 3 W, 0 K. Gave up Game-tying grand slam. 3.77 Luetge (L, 2-1) 2/3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K. 3.15
The Yankees (41-38, 4th in AL East, 7 1/2 out) set a season high in runs scored, 11, in banging out 11 hits, including 3 HR, and drawing 9 walks in defeating the L.A. Angels, 11-5 on Tuesday night.
The 11 runs were a nice surprise for a team that has scored 3 or less runs in over half its games this season. The Yanks needed to score to keep up with Angels’ star Shohei Ohtani, who hit 2 more HR to lead the majors with 28. Ohtani, doing things not seen since Babe Ruth over 100 years ago, is the Angels’ starting pitcher tonight.
With the win, the Yanks snapped a four-game losing streak.
Gary Sanchez started things off with a solo HR in the first inning (14).
Yankees’ starter Jameson Taillon gave up a 2-run HR to Jose Iglesias in the top of the second, as the Angels took a 2-1 lead. Taillon got the win, but didn’t really pitch well, giving up 5 runs (3 HR, two to Ohtani) in 5 1/3 IP. He needed the run support.
The Yanks came back with four runs in the bottom of the second and weren’t headed off the rest of the game. With one out, Gio Urshela walked and Miguel Andujar singled Urshela to third. Brett Gardner hit a SF tying up the game, and Andujar moved up on the SF as well. D.J. LeMahieu singled in Andujar to make it 3-2, then Aaron Judge homered (18) to make it 5-2.
Ohtani hit the first of his two homers in the top of the third to make it 5-3.
The Yanks broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Andujar led off the inning with a HR (6). Gardner walked. Two outs later, Sanchez doubled in Gardner to make it 7-3. Giancarlo Stanton walked, then Luke Voit doubled in a run to make it 8-3. Gleyber Torres, in the midst of a terrible slump, singled in Stanton and Voit to make it 10-3.
Ohtani hit his second HR of the game, a 2-run shot, in the top of the fifth to cut the Yanks’ lead to 10-5.
The final run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Torres singled, and Urshela singled. Torres stole third on what was supposed to be a double steal, but Urshela slipped and had to stay at first. Andujar doubled in Torres.
Before the game, Darren O’Day was activated off of rehab. Brooks Kriske was sent down. The Yankees did not activate Justin Wilson yet off of rehab, and why should they? Both Nestor Cortes, Jr. and Albert Abreu are doing well (see below).
Taillon (W, 3-4) 5 1/3 IP, 5 R, 9 H, 1 W, 4 K. Gave up 3 HR. 1 WP. 5.43 Cortes 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. 1.02 Abreu 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 HBP. 2.13
UPDATE: The Yanks have sent Abreu back and will be activating Wilson today. I don’t know about that move. Hopefully Wilson (no options as opposed to Abreu) does better than the 6.08 ERA he had earlier. Abreu at 2.13 has been far better.
The Yankees had many chances to blow the game open. But they didn’t. They went 0 for 10 with RISP and left 13 men on base, and this came back to bite them in a 6-5 loss to KC last night.
With the loss, the Yankees are now 38-34, 3rd in AL East, 5 1/2 back.
The main culprits were Giancarlo Stanton, 0 for 3 (did walk twice) left six on, Gleyber Torres 0 for 4, all strikeouts (did walk once, left 3 on), and Clint Frazier (0 for 5, 3 strikeouts, left 6 on ). Torres is something like 2 for his last 33, and his batting average has dropped over 30 points. Where Torres’ power has gone is baffling too. I don’t expect 38 HR as in 2019, but we are close to the halfway point of the season, and Torres has just 3 HR. Something close to Torres’ 2018 rookie year when he hit 24 would be enough and expected.
The Yanks scored first, when Luke Voit, just off of rehab, hit the first pitch he saw 423 feet for a two-out HR, Voit’s 2nd HR of the season. The Yankees went on to load the bases, but Frazier grounded out.
In the second, Kyle Higashioka homered for his sixth HR of the season. It put the Yanks up 2-0. But with two on and one out, Voit popped up and Stanton struck out.
Right then I had a bad feeling. Yes, the Yankees were up 2-0 with their ace, Gerrit Cole, on the mound, but when you leave five men on base in the first two innings and don’t break the game wide open, it often comes back to bite you, and it did for the Yankees last night.
A bad break (literally) for Cole in the third when a couple broken bat hits led to a KC run as the Royals cut the Yanks’ lead to 2-1. Cole gave up a game-tying HR in the fourth. 2-2. Those were the only hits Cole gave up.
The Yanks left the bases loaded in the fourth, when Stanton grounded into a force out. Another blown chance to salt the game away.
In the seventh, the Yanks went up 3-2. Luke Voit tripled. A fan tried to catch the ball (kick him out of the park. I hate when fans reach over the wall. They know better and still do it). There was no interference, and it was unclear if the ball would have cleared the fence anyway. Pinch-runner Tyler Wade then scored on a wild pitch.
Jonathan Loaisiga came in for the eighth inning. Cole had once again done a fine job, but the Yanks didn’t support him enough. Cole is 8-3 this season, but the Yankees are 0-4 when Cole gets a no-decision. Loaisiga has been great this season, but didn’t have it last night, giving up four runs.
D.J. LeMahieu got the Yanks back in the game with a two-run HR (6) in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Royals’ lead to 6-5. Aaron Judge then just missed tying the game up, as he doubled. So the Yanks had the tying run on second with one out. Once again, nothing. Rougned Odor popped up, and Stanton grounded out.
The Yanks got two on in the ninth, but Brett Gardner popped up to end the game.
The lack of getting just one clutch hit to break the game open really killed the Yanks last night. What a frustrating loss.
LeMahieu 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (6) Judge 2 hits Voit 2 hits, triple and a solo HR (2) Urshela 2 hits Higashioka solo HR (6)
If only Stanton, Torres or Frazier had come through just once. Sigh.
Cole 7 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. Two broken bat his and the HR. That was all. 2.33 Loaisiga (L, 7-3; BS, 2) 2/3 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.52 Luetge 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.48
Minor League Notes, and a lot to think about and discuss here:
The 40-man roster creates some problems. Say someone is doing well (see below) but isn’t on the roster? Well, you want to add him, but who does he replace?
AAA: SWB (29-11) crushed Lehigh Valley, 14-5, in a game in which both Darren O’Day and Justin Wilson both started rehab stints. Both pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Hoy Jun Park, a 2B/SS, played CF. Read into that as you wish. He had 3 hits and an RBI, and is hitting .366 for SWB. He hits lefty. Interesting he played CF last night. Meanwhile, the Yanks aren’t getting anything from their lefty hitters. Odor (.193-7-15, OPS+ 78; 100 is average). Gardner .206-2-8, OPS+ 77. Gardner turns 38 in August. But Park isn’t on the 40-man roster. I’ve advocated bringing Park up. But at whose expense, and why did Park play the OF for the first time last night? I do have to wonder. RF Ryan LaMarre 3 hits, RBI. DH Trey Amburgey 3 RBI. Erik Kratz, former big-league catcher, and ex-Yankee, really likes Amburgey, a righty hitter. Amburgey is hitting .360 at SWB. Right now, he may be a better option than Frazier (.187-5-12, OPS+ 77) or Miguel Andujar (.242-5-9, OPS+77). Amburgey, like Park, is not on the 40 man roster, so if you give him a chance, at whose expense? The point is, if someone is raking at AAA, when do they get rewarded with a promotion? And at whose expense? How long do you continue playing someone whose adjusted OPS is 22-23% BELOW league average, as is the case with Odor, Gardner, Frazier and Andujar? These are legitimate questions GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone must decide, especially if the Yankees are to improve.
Besides the rehab stints of O’Day and Wilson, and the continued success and questions about Park and Amburgey, some other notes on SWB’s win: 2B Derek Dietrich 3 hits, RBI. 3B Armando Alvarez 2 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR. 1B Rob Brantly 2 RBI. C Max McDowell 2 hits. SS Andrew Velazquez, 2 hits, 4 RBI, a 2-run HR.
AA: Somerset ppd.
High A: Hudson Valley (26-16) won 12-3. SS Josh Smith 2 hits. C Josh Breaux 2 hits. CF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits, 4 RBI, a 3-run HR. 3B James Nelson 2 hits, 2 RBI. 1B Chad Bell 3 hits, 2 RBI. RF Frederick Cuevas 2 hits, RBI, solo HR.
Low A: Tampa was up 2-0 when the game was suspended in the top of the second inning.
Before the game, GM Brian Cashman addressed the media, stating he still believes in manager Aaron Boone and the team and that the Yankees (34-32, 3rd in AL East, 8 back) would be buyers, not sellers, at the trade deadline.
The Yanks then went out and snapped their 3-game losing streak with a 6-5 win in Buffalo over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The night started off shaky. Yankees’ starter Jordan Montgomery walked the bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the first but got out of the inning giving up only one run.
Gary Sanchez tied the game up in the top of the second with his ninth HR of the season.
Yankee-killer Bo Bichette homered in the third inning to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Chris Gittens got his first MLB hit, a HR, to tie the game. Gittens was 0 for 14 before that.
Toronto came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, all with two out, and Bichette was the guy again, delivering a two-run single.
The Yanks cut it to 5-3 in the top of the sixth. With one out, Gio Urshela singled, and Sanchez doubled him to third. A groundout by Miguel Andujar scored Urshela.
The Yanks then tied it up it the seventh, thanks to a gift run. Brett Gardner led off the inning with his second HR of the season. D.J. LeMahieu then doubled. Two wild pitches enabled LeMahieu to score and tie up the game.
The game-winning run came in the top of the eighth. Andujar singled, and Tyler Wade pinch-ran for him. One out later, Wade stole second, and pinch-hitter Clint Frazier then doubled home Wade to make it 6-5.
An oddity: Gerrit Cole, who is starting tonight, leads the Yankees with seven wins. Second is Jonathan Loaisiga with six—all in relief.
LeMahieu 2 hits Sanchez 2 hits, solo HR (9) Gittens solo HR (1). FIRST MLB HIT. Gardner solo HR (2) Frazier pinch-hit GW RBI double.
Montgomery 5 1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.20 Cessa 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.33 Loaisiga (W, 6-2) 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.78 Britton (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 0 K. 0.00 Chapman (S, 13) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.85
Minor League Notes:TIme to really get concerned about Deivi Garcia. He only got one man out last night, and gave up five runs. His ERA at AAA SWB is now 8.10 (and in his 2 starts with the Yankees, 6.48). Ugly. Estevan Florial had 2 doubles and a HR, and drove in 3 runs as SWB (21-11) won 12-6. Florial is still hitting just .195. 2B Hoy Jun Park went 4 for 4, 3 RBI, and is hitting .365 for SWB. I, for one, advocate calling him up and replacing Odor.
AA: Luke Voit went 1 for 4 on rehab as Somerset (23-13) won 10-1. Starter Glenn Otto 7 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 14 K (3-2, 3.95). SS Oswald Peraza 3 hits, 2B Diego Castillo 3 hits, 4 RBI, 2-run HR. C Donny Sands 3 hits, 3 RBI, 2 HR, a solo shot and a 2-run shot.
High A: Hudson Valley (21-14) won 6-5. C Josh Breaux 2 hits, solo HR. 1B Chad Bell a 3-run HR.
Low A: Tampa (27-10) won 10-5. C Austin Wells 3 hits, RBI. RF Josh Sanford 4 for 4, 2 RBI, solo HR. 2B Trevor Hauver 2 hits, 2 RBI. Two others with 2 hits each.
Saturday was a bad day for the Yankees in many ways. I will get to that in a moment.
Before the game, some moves. Zack Britton was activated off of rehab and Brooks Kriske was sent back to the minors. Also, Mike Ford, who only hit .133-3-5 (8 for 60) for the Yanks this year, and who was only 2 for 24 (.083) at SWB, was designated for assignment.
Jameson Taillon has been the worst Yankees’ starter this season. He is coming off of two TJ surgeries, and has fought off cancer. But coming into the game, Taillon was 1-4 with an ERA of 5.09.
Taillon could not get out of the first inning, and saw his ERA climb to 5.74. His ERA+ is 71, 29% below league average. Taillon only got one out, and put the Yanks (33-31, Tied for 3rd, 7 1/2 out) into a quick 4-0 hole in a game they would lose in 10 innings, 8-7.
So you think, ok, ride Taillon out until former Yankees’ ace Luis Severino gets back from rehab.
Not so fast.
Severino, in his second rehab game, gave up one run in 1 2/3 IP, but then had to be helped from the field after injuring his groin. Based on the reports I read, he will be out quite some time.
Not only that, with Corey Kluber on the injured list, Michael King has had to join the rotation. One problem with that. In his career, King is 0-4, 7.46 as a starter (7 games) and 1-1, 3.93 as a reliever.
That is not all. Deivi Garcia has started two games for the Yankees this year, and is 0-2, 6.48 ERA. At SWB, Garcia has an ERA of 6.26.
It looks like GM Brian Cashman is going to have to hit the phones and make a deal. You may say, several deals.
The Yanks are barely above .500 at 33-31. They are now 7 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East, and even though they have 98 games left, this does not look like a playoff team at all right now.
Taillon gave up singles to the first four batters of the game, leading to two runs for the Phillies. Then a walk to reload the bases before the only out he recorded—-a sac fly that brought in another run. After a single that made it 4-0, Taillon was relieved by Nestor Cortes, Jr. Cortes gave up a hit that loaded the bases up yet again, but then got two strikeouts to prevent further damage.
Cortes did a good job in trying to keep the Yankees in the game.
The Yanks got two runs in the top of the second inning. With one out, Gary Sanchez homered (8). One out later, Miguel Andujar singled, and Brett Gardner tripled him home. 4-2. But Gardner was left stranded at third because the Yanks were playing in a National League park, no DH, and the pitcher had to hit (I hate seeing pitchers hit, prefer the DH, but that yields to Mcproblems which I will get to in a bit). Cortes grounded out to end the inning, and in case you are wondering, the last Yankees’ pitcher to hit a HR was Lindy McDaniel at the end of the 1972 season (he hit it off of Mickey Lolich at the old Tigers’ Stadium).
Cortes gave up a run in the fourth, and it was 5-2, Phillies.
The Phils got two runs in the fifth off of Luis Cessa, and ex-Yankee Ronald Torreyes drove in one of those runs. It looked like a blowout with the Phillies now up 7-2.
But the Yanks came back. In the sixth, with two out, Rougned Odor homered to make it 7-3.
In the eighth, the Yanks cut it to 7-4. Aaron Judge singled, and one out later, went to second on a groundout. Sanchez then got a two-out hit to score Judge.
The Yanks tied it up in the top of the ninth. with one out, Gardner and Tyler Wade each walked. D.J. LeMahieu then hit a 3-run HR (4) to tie it up.
Gleyber Torres made a great defensive play to save the game in the bottom of the ninth.
I hate the ghost runner extra inning rule where they start extra innings with a man on second base. I also hate seeing pitchers hit and prefer the dh. But both rules do show a flaw with the Yankees, and that is in executing the fundamentals.
The DH has turned some AL teams like the Yankees into glorified beer-league softball teams instead of BASEBALL teams. What I mean by that is that they sit around waiting for the 3-run HR and don’t make things happen. They don’t bunt (4 sac bunts this season, 2 by Gardner). They don’t hit and run. They don’t steal (14 SB, last in AL. Heck, Rickey Henderson would have 14 by himself in a month’s time). They don’t hit behind the runner to advance the runner. They play station to station and don’t run the bases well.
That leads me to extra innings. You are starting the inning with a man on second. The Yanks left him there. And we have seen that too much this year. They don’t bunt him over so he then may be able to score on a sac fly. They don’t even hit the ball to the right side to advance the runner. Part of that fault is the predominance of righty hitters and in not having a lefty hitter to pull the ball. Yesterday, with that man on second, Gio Urshela grounded out, not advancing the runner, then two strikeouts (Sanchez and PH Kyle HIgashioka).
The Phils, an NL team, DID execute the bunt. Not only that, Aroldis Chapman made an error on the play, so the Phils had first and third with no one out. After a pop-up, an infield hit won the game for the Phils, 8-7.
In extra innings, it comes down to the fundamentals. Just because you have the DH, does not mean you forget to steal bases, run the bases poorly, don’t bunt, don’t move the runners over…..but the Yanks don’t do any of that. They need to become a BASEBALL team again, not a station-to-station beer league softball team that does nothing but wait for the HR.
Billy Martin would hate this team. It goes against many of the scappy things he did as manager.
For the first time all season, the Yankees have 10 or more hits in three consecutive games. They got 15 last night—4 of them homers—in a 9-6 win over the Twins.
The game really wasn’t as close as the final score. An ugly ninth inning by pitcher Brooks Kriske turned 9-2 into 9-6.
It’s just the Twins. But hopefully this offensive outburst means the bats are FINALLY waking up. with the win, the Yanks are 33-29, 3rd in the AL East, 5 1/2 games out.
The Yanks struck quickly. Aaron Judge, the second batter of the game, hit his 15th HR of the season to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
They made it 2-0 in the second inning. With two out, Kyle Higashioka singled and was doubled home by Brett Gardner.
They made it 5-0 in the third when Judge led off the inning with a double, Gleyber Torres walked, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a 3-run HR. It was the first of two Stanton home runs on the evening.
Yankees’ starter Gerrit Cole gave up a HR in the bottom of the third that cut the Yanks’ lead to 5-1. Cole went six innings, and gave up two runs, both on solo HR. After the spider tack grip controversy, where Twins’ 3B Josh Donaldson made some accusatory statements regarding Cole, Cole responded by striking Donaldson out the first two times he faced him.
The Yanks made it 8-1 in the fifth inning. Torres walked and Stanton hit a 2-run HR (11) for his second HR of the game. Two outs later, a red-hot Miguel Andujar hit a solo HR (5). It was Andujar’s fifth HR in his last eight games.
Cole gave up a HR in the bottom of the fifth and it was 8-2.
With one out in the seventh, Gio Urshela singled and Rougned Odor doubled him to third. Andujar got Urshela in with a sac fly. 9-2.
As mentioned above, Brooks Kriske had an ugly ninth inning, giving up 4 runs, including a HR, that made the final score 9-6 and the score seem like the game was closer than it actually was.
Judge 2 hits, solo HR (15) Stanton 3 hits, a double and 2 HR (11) 5 RBI Urshela 2 hits Andujar 2 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR (5) Higashioka 2 hits Gardner 3 hits, RBI
Now that is the offensive recap we’ve been waiting for.
Cole (W, 7-3) 6 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 W, 9 K. Gave up 2 HR. 2.31 Cessa 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.84 Kriske 1 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 WP. Gave up 1 HR. 11.25
SS Oswald Peraza was promoted from High A Hudson Valley to AA Somerset this week.
It was a lost weekend. Boston beat the Yanks, 6-5 in ten innings, to sweep the weekend series. In the important seven-game homestand against Tampa Bay and Boston, the Yanks went 2-5.
As a result, the Yanks (31-29) are barely above .500, are in fourth place in the AL East, and have dropped 6 1/2 games out. They are 8-17 against the three teams above them in the division.
Today is an off day, and one in which the Yanks need to do a serious reassessment of their team.
I like one thing Alex Rodriguez mentioned during ESPN’s broadcast last night. No surprise as to why the Yankees lead the majors in GIDP. The preponderance of righty bats. It takes righty batters a couple of more steps to get to first base than lefty hitters. It’s why when you look at who has hit into the most DPs all-time, you see names like Albert Pujols, Henry Aaron and Jim Rice.
Now when you look at a Yankees lineup that has very few lefty bats, you get those DPs. The Yankees have traditionally been built on lefty bats (inc. switch hitters like Mantle, Williams, White, Tresh) and lefty pitching. But before we get into the game recap, let’s look at how the roster is out of whack, and how lefty bats have been hurting the Yanks this year.
You may want to avert your eyes. Here are batting averages, and OPS+ of the lefty hitters/switch hitters:
Odor .180, OPS+ 71 (100 is league average) Gardner .190, 60 Wade .270, 80 Hicks .194, 78, out for season, Bruce .118, 33, retired Ford .133, 60, sent back down Tauchman .214, 57 was traded to SF. Florial .333, 174 just one game, 1-3, not hitting at AAA.
Ok. SERIOUS problem. A lot under .200, with OPS+ way below the league average of 100.
There needs to be a serious roster reconstruction made here.
UPDATE: Counting last year’s 60 games, and this year’s 60, in their last 120 games, the Yanks are 64-56. Not that much above .500. That’s an 86-76 pace, which most of the time doesn’t get you into the playoffs.
Boston got a HR by the second batter of the game. Up 1-0. Domingo German settle down after that and pitched well.
The Yanks got two back in the bottom of the first, but their inability to tack on more cost them the game. With one out, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela all singled to load the bases. Gary Sanchez doubled in two runs, putting runners on second and third. But then Chris Gittens (second MLB game) and Clint Frazier both struck out.
With one out in the fourth, Miguel Andujar single, and Brett Gardner and D.J. LeMahieu both walked to load the bases. Judge grounded into an RBI forceout, and the Yanks were up, 3-1.
Lucas Luetge gave up a 2-run HR in the seventh that tied the game. Boston went up 4-3 in the eighth, getting a run off Wandy Peralta.
The Yanks tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Judge walked and Torres doubled him home. After another out, then a walk to set up a force at any base, Rougned Odor struck out on an atrocious call by the home plate umpire. Two Yankees coaches (Nevin and Mendoza) were ejected for arguing the call. Hope the ump saw the replay. It was a horrendous call.
So the tenth begins with that silly ghost runner, and Luis Cessa walks the first batter. A sac bunt puts runners at second and third, one out. A groundout forces the runners to hold. Can Cessa get out of it? No. A 2-run single puts Boston up 6-4.
The Yanks did get a run in the bottom of the tenth. They had the ghost runner, and the leadoff hitter, Clint Frazier, was HBP. But then, you guessed it, a GIDP by Andujar. Tyler Wade singled in a run, and went to second on an error, but D.J. LeMahieu grounded out to end the game.
German 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.12 Luetge (BS, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. gave up 1 HR. 1 WP. 3.03 Peralta 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.74 (Combined SF/NYY ERA) Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.39 Cessa (L, 1-1) 1 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 3.09
Because of some expensive (and some of those are really bad) contracts, some changes can’t be made. But changes MUST be made.
Quick minor league update: Luis Severino started rehab games. He pitched for Low A Tampa yesterday, velocity up, and gave up 1 run in 2 2/3 IP in his first rehab start. Ken Waldichuk at High-A Hudson Valley still has an ERA of 0.00 after over 24 IP this year. The lefty starter has put up impressive minor league numbers so far.
