Game 75. Yanks edge A’s, 2-1.

With a huge lead (now 12 1/2 games), and facing the worst team in the league, the Yanks decided to bring up J.P. Sears to make a start, and to give their regular guys in the rotation an extra day off.

The move looks like a stroke of genius after Sears pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and got the win as the Yanks (55-20) beat Oakland, 2-1, Tuesday night.

To make room on the roster for Sears, Manny Banuelos was DFA’d.

Sears has now pitched in four MLB games, starting two, and is 3-0. He has not given up a run in 12 2/3 innings.

The Yankees sent Sears back to SWB after the game, as Aroldis Chapman is ready to come off of his rehab.

The Yanks got a run in the first inning when D.J. LeMahieu led off with a walk. Two outs later, Josh Donaldson doubled D.J. to third. Jose Trevino’s single scored LeMahieu, but Donaldson was thrown out at home for the third out.

Marwin Gonzalez homered (3) in the second to put the Yankees up 2-0.

Oakland got an unearned run in the ninth inning off of Clay Holmes, with help from a catcher’s interference call on Trevino.

Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes. It’s the same thing we’ve seen for years. A lousy, lazy home plate umpire who doesn’t adjust his strike zone. Aaron Judge is 6 feet, 7 inches tall. His knees aren’t where, say, my knees (I am about 5’8 1/2″) are. What is a strike to me is below the knees for Judge. But umpires keep calling the low strike on Judge that isn’t a strike. Boone was sticking up for his guy. I wish Boone would just come out of the dugout, bring Judge over and point to where Judge’s knees are—in front of the whole stadium.

Gonzalez 2 hits, Solo HR (3)

Sears (W, 3-0) 5 2/3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00
Marinaccio (H, 2) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.60 Bunch of scoreless outings lately.
Peralta (H, 7) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.20
King (H, 12) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.38
Holmes (S, 13) 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.50

Game 74. Yanks comeback for a 9-5 win. Score 6 in the 7th.

The Yankees (54-20) came back from a 5-1 deficit, capping it off with a six-run seventh inning, to defeat Oakland, 9-5, on Monday night.

Anthony Rizzo got the scoring started by hitting his 20th HR of the year in the bottom of the first inning. 1-0, Yankees.

Jordan Montgomery was victimized by one stretch. With two out and one on in the top of the third, Montgomery gave up a single, a run-scoring double, then hit a batter to load the bases. Another double cleared the bases, and a single gave up a fifth run. Outside of that five-batter stretch, Montgomery pitched well, but the damage was done, and the Yanks had some work to do.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Giancarlo Stanton hit a HR (18) to cut the A’s lead to 5-2.

The Yanks got a run in the fifth when with two out, D.J. LeMahieu singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Aaron Judge.

The Yanks got their six runs in the seventh with the help of TWO catcher interference calls. With one out, LeMahieu walked. Judge reached on catcher interference, and Rizzo was HBP. Another catcher’s interference, with Stanton batting, forced in a run to make it 5-4, A’s. Think of that. A walk, HBP and two catcher’s interferences gifted the Yanks a run. The Yanks made Oakland pay for that when Josh Donaldson then doubled in two runs to give the Yanks a 6-5 lead. One out later, Jose Trevino doubled in two runs, then Marwin Gonzalez singled in Trevino and the Yanks were up 9-5, which turned out to be the final score.

Rizzo solo HR (20)
Stanton 2 RBI, solo HR (18)
Donaldson 2 RBI
Trevino 2 RBI
Gonzalez 2 hits, RBI

Montgomery 6 2/3 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 1 W, 6 K. 1 HBP 3.27
Abreu (W, 1-0) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 4 K. 2.76 (combined ERA, 3 teams)

The Yanks have given up only 8 unearned runs so far this season.

Game 68. Yanks doomed by HRs, get edged by Rays, 5-4.

Isaac Paredes of Tampa Bay hit 3 HR and drove it 4 runs to lead Tampa Bay to a 5-4 win over the Yankees (50-18) Tuesday night. Nestor Cortes gave up 2 of the HR, and Clarke Schmidt the other.

Cortes gave up 3 HR on the night.

In the bottom of the first inning, Cortes gave up back-to-back HR to Paredes and Harold Ramirez, and the Rays were up 2-0.

The Yanks tied it in the top of the second. With one out, Kyle Higashioka singled, and Marwin Gonzalez doubled him to third. D.J. LeMahieu’s two-out single plated both runners.

Paredes homered off Cortes in the third to make it 3-2. In the fifth, Cortes gave up a one-out single. Rather than have Cortes face Paredes again, manager Aaron Boone brought in Clarke Schmidt. Understandable since Cortes had given up two HR to Paredes. The move backfired when Paredes hit Schmidt’s first pitch for a 2-run HR, Paredes’ third HR of the game, to make the score 5-2.

In the top of the ninth, with the Yanks down to their last out, Gonzalez hit a 2-run HR (2) to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 5-4. Aaron Judge then came to bat as a PH, but his attempt to tie the game was caught in front of the fence on the warning track.

LeMahieu 2 hits, 2 RBI
Gonzalez 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (2)

Cortes (L, 6-3) 4 1/3 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 0 W, 3 K. Gave up 3 HR. 2.31
Schmidt 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.13
Marinaccio 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 HBP 2.81
Luetge 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.66

Marinaccio is starting to come around. Isiah Kiner-Falefa should be back soon, he’s nursing a sore hamstring.

I had to peek at the schedule to see when the Yanks play Boston next. It’s in Fenway, July 7-10, then Boston comes to NY July 15-17. One reason I looked is that even though Boston (now in third) is 12 1/2 games back of the Yanks, they are 27-11 after an 11-20 start, and the Yanks haven’t played the Red Sox since the opening series to the season.

A couple of moves. Ender Inciarte at AAA became a free agent and signed with the Mets. Albert Abreu is back with the Yanks (going to AAA) after having been DFA’d by a couple of teams. The Yanks DFA’d David McKay.

CORRECTION: Abreu is out of options and has to go on the major league roster. A move is forthcoming.

Game 66. Yanks win streak snapped at 9 as the bullpen falters in 10-9 loss.

I was worried about how Luis Severino would do after having been out with an illness. He didn’t do badly, but it turns out I should have been more concerned with the bullpen instead.

The Yanks (49-17) had an 8-3 lead going into the bottom of the sixth but couldn’t hold on to it and wound up losing 10-9 to Toronto Sunday afternoon. The loss ended a 9-game winning streak.

Severino gave up a 2-run HR to Vlad Guerrero, Jr. in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the first, a potential Yankees’ rally was snuffed when Josh Donaldson was picked off of first base.

The Yanks got a run back in the second when Gleyber Torres homered (13).

The Yanks then went ahead in the third on a 2-run HR by Donaldson (6).

The Yanks got three runs in the fifth to go up 6-2. Joey Gallo led off the inning with a walk, then D.J. LeMahieu singled, Gallo moving to second. Aaron Judge doubled in Gallo, with LeMahieu stopping at third. Two outs later, Torres doubled in both runners.

Severino gave up a HR to George Spinger in the bottom of the fifth that cut the Yanks’ lead to 6-3, but back-to-back homers by Kyle Higashioka (4) and Marwin Gonzalez (1) in the top of the sixth put the Yanks up 8-3. They were the first two hitters Max Castillo faced in his MLB career. Rude welcome.

But in the bottom of the sixth, Severino was pulled after a single and a walk. Miguel Castro couldn’t get out of the inning, giving up a two-out grand slam to Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., and the Yanks’ lead was now 8-7.

Wandy Peralta gave up a 3-run HR to Teoscar Hernandez in the bottom of the seventh and the Blue Jays now had a 10-8 lead.

PH Anthony Rizzo homered (18) for the Yanks in the eighth, and it was 10-9. The Yanks had runners on second and third in the ninth with two out, but Rizzo grounded out to end the game. Final 10-9, Blue Jays.

Donaldson 2-run HR (6)
Torres 3 hits, 3 RBI. Solo HR (13)
Higashioka solo HR (4)
Gonzalez 2 hits, solo HR (1)
Rizzo solo HR (18)

Severino 5+IP, 5 R, 3 H, 4 W, 9 K. Gave up 2 HR. 3.27
Castro 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up Grand Slam HR. 4.35
Peralta (L, 1-1; BS, 2) 1 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 0 K. Gave up 3-run HR. 2.52
Marinaccio 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. 3.21

Game 51. Yanks complete sweep of DH 2-1 behind Taillon and Rizzo.

The Yankees (36-15) completed a DH sweep of the Angels by winning the nightcap, 2-1. They had won the opener 6-1.

Jameson Taillon was perfect for seven innings before yielding a leadoff double in the eighth. Two outs later, a single by Kurt Suzuki put the Angels up 1-0, and it appeared like Taillon’s gem would be for naught.

The Yankees to that point of the game were squandering scoring opportunities, but in the bottom of the eighth, with one out, Miguel Andujar doubled. Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked, Andujar going to third on ball four, a WP. Aaron Hicks followed with a walk to load the bases. Joey Gallo struck out. But Anthony Rizzo, pinch-hitting for Kyle Higashioka, singled in two runs to put the Yanks up 2-1.

Clay Holmes got the first two outs in the top of the ninth, but then created a lot of trouble for himself. He walked Shohei Ohtani, then hit both Mike Trout and Jared Walsh to load the bases. He then got a groundout to end the game and extend his scoreless streak of innings pitched to 25.

For the Angels, it was their eighth straight loss.

Kiner-Falefa 2 hits
Rizzo 2 RBI; GW pinch-hit 2-run single
Gonzalez 2 hits

Taillon (W, 6-1) 8 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 5 K. 2.30 Was perfect through 7.
Holmes (S, 7) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2 HBP. 0.35

The Yanks lead Toronto by 5 1/2, and are 6 up on Tampa Bay.

Game 50. 1st game of DH. Nasty Nestor and 4 HR beat Ohtani and Angels, 6-1.

Not a good first game of a doubleheader for Angels’ star Shohei Ohtani. The Yankees (35-15) hit 3 HR off of him, knocking him out of the box (he continued as DH) after three innings, sacking him with the loss, and not only that, in going 1 for 5 at the plate, he was picked off of first base by Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, Jr. who was nasty again.

The Yanks hit two HR off of Ohtani in the first inning. Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the first with his third HR of the year, and after Aaron Judge singled but was erased when Anthony Rizzo GIDP, Gleyber Torres hit his tenth HR of the season to make it 2-0.

Carpenter is 3 for 16 for the Yankees since joining them last week, but all 3 hits are HR. For Torres, his 10 HR are 1 more than he hit ALL of last season.

Aaron Judge made the score 3-0 in the third inning with his MLB leading 19th HR of the season.

Aaron Hicks led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, and Jose Trevino followed with a single, moving Hicks to second and removing Ohtani from the pitcher’s mound. Marwin Gonzalez greeted the new pitcher with an RBI double, making the score 4-0. The Yanks didn’t tack on, however.

To the fifth, and two more runs. D.J. Lemahieu led off the inning with his fourth HR of the season. One out later, Hicks singled, then Trevino and Gonzalez singled to load the bases. Miguel Andujar made it 6-0 with a SF.

Meanwhile, Nestor Cortes was his nasty self, looking once again like Whitey Ford was reincarnated as Cortes. Seven shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.50.

The Angels got a run in the eighth off of Clarke Schmidt. After a rain delay between the eighth and ninth innings, Wandy Peralta closed it out.

Final 6-1 Yankees.

Carpenter solo HR (3)
Judge 2 hits, solo HR (19)
Torres 2 his, solo HR (10)
LeMahieu solo HR (4)
Hicks 3 hits (nice to see the struggling Hicks break through).
Trevino 2 hits (hot lately)
Gonzalez 2 hits, RBI (same situation as Hicks)

Good to see a lot of hitters contributing.

Cortes (W, 5-1) 7 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 2 W, 7 K 1.50
Schmidt 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 2 K. 1.23
Peralta (S, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.08

One note: Last year the Yankees made 98 errors. The defense has been tightened up. After 50 games, 19 errors so far, which is a pace for 63 over the whole season.

Game 24. Eleven is Heaven! Yanks win 11th in a row, 9-1 over Toronto.

Alek Manoah is always tough on the Yankees, but once he left the game, the Yankees (18-6) teed off on Toronto relievers, and beat Toronto 9-1 Tuesday night.

The win was the Yankees’ 11th in a row. They lead Toronto by 3 1/2 in the AL East.

Toronto scored first, getting their only run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Aaron Judge hit a 427 ft. HR (9) to tie the game in the top of the sixth. A nice note: The Toronto fan who caught the ball gave it to a youngster wearing a Judge jersey. A nice moment. A few weeks ago, some of the Bleacher Creatures embarrassed Yankee fans with their behavior. It only takes a few to spoil it for thousands. I hope those few took note about how fans SHOULD act. Nice gesture by the fan up in Toronto.

The Yanks exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh, with maybe some help from the umpires. Giancarlo Stanton led off the inning by reaching on an error. Toronto challenged the call (Vlad Guerrero Jr. coming off the bag at first on a throwing error by Bo Bichette) but lost the call and their ability to appeal future calls. Josh Donaldson doubled Stanton home to make the score 2-1, Yankees. After Gleyber Torres struck out, Marwin Gonzalez doubled home Donaldson. 3-1. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to put runners on first and third. On a groundball by Jose Trevino, Gonzalez got caught in a rundown, but wound up scoring. Toronto argued two things: that he was tagged out by Guerrero, and that Gonzalez was out of the baseline. Since they lost their appeal rights on the previous play, it could not go to review and they lost this one too. 4-1. Men on second and third. Aaron Hicks then singled in Kiner Falefa, with Trevino stopping at third. 5-1. Judge then doubled in both baserunners. 7-1.

In the top of the ninth, Stanton hit a 442 ft. 2-run HR (5) to make it 9-1, which wound up as the final score.

Hicks 2 hits, RBI
Judge 2 hits, 3 RBI. Solo HR (9). Tied with Rizzo for MLB lead in HR.
Stanton 2-run HR (5)
Gonzalez 2 hits, RBI

Taillon (W, 2-1) 6 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 0 W, 4 K. 2.84
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.16
Castro 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.80
Luetge 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.15

Game 19. Yanks win 6th straight, 10-5.

Jameson Taillon was a bit shaky, and Ron Marinaccio had trouble closing out the game, but behind 4 RBI by Aaron Judge (including a 3-run HR), the Yankees (13-6) won their sixth game in a row, 10-5 over Baltimore Thursday afternoon.

Taillon escaped a second and third, two out jam in the first inning but gave up runs in the second and third innings. He didn’t help himself in the third inning with a HBP and two wild pitches.

The Orioles helped the Yanks out by making five errors in the game. The Yanks got four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a lead they would not relinquish.

In that bottom of the fifth, Tim Locastro reached on an error, and scored when Marwin Gonzalez doubled. After an out, D.J. LeMahieu reached on an error, Gonzalez going to third. Judge’s single scored Gonzalez, tying the game, and D.J. went to second. Anthony Rizzo singled to make it 3-2, with Judge going to second. Giancarlo Stanton singled in Judge and it was 4-2.

In the sixth, Joey Gallo led off with a walk and went to second on a WP. Tim Locastro singled Gallo to third, and Gonzalez scored Gallo with a SF. 5-2.

The Yanks got another run in the seventh to make it 6-2. LeMahieu doubled and went to third on a flyout by Judge. After Rizzo lined out and Stanton walked, Josh Donaldson singled in D.J.

The Yanks iced the game in the bottom of the eighth to make it 10-2. Locastro walked, and one out later, Kyle Higashioka was HBP. An error loaded the bases, and all runners moved up, Locastro scoring, on a WP. Judge then hit a 3-run HR (5) to make it 10-2.

Marinaccio had trouble closing it out, giving up three runs, and Lucas Luetge had to come in to get the last out.

Judge 2 hits, 4 RBI. 3-run HR (5)
Rizzo 2 hits, RBI
Gonzalez 2 RBI

Taillon 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 1 W, 4 K. 1 HBP. 2 WP. 3.26
Castro (W, 2-0) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.45
Peralta (H, 2) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.45
Loaisiga (H, 3) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. 6.75
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.32
Marinaccio 2/3 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 WP. 11.25
Luetge 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 5.68

Notes: Good to see nice outings from Loaisiga and Green after both have been getting roughed up a bit lately. As for Marinaccio, teams have to cut down from 28 to 26 in a few days and it appears he will be one of those going down. In his last two outings, Marinaccio was entrusted to close out Yankee blowout wins, and in both games he had trouble. 1 IP, 2 R in the April 24 blowout of Cleveland, 10-2, and today’s outing. Neither outing helped his cause.

UPDATE: Marinaccio was sent down after the game, as Aaron Hicks returned from paternity leave. Cuts to 26 from 28 still have to be made soon.

S.T. Game 12. Yanks crush Phils, 14-2.

The Yanks (5-6-1 in Spring training) crushed the Phils, 14-2, in Spring training on Tuesday.

After Clarke Schmidt started, the rest of the pitching was of guys who all should be bullpen to start the season.

Marwin Gonzalez continued to crush the ball, hitting a 3-run HR, driving in 4 runs, and going 3 for 3. The swtich-hitter who can play six different positions appears to have mde the team in my eyes.

Kyle Higashioka also continued to be hot this spring, crushing his fourth HR of spring training.

Minor Leaguer Max Burt hit a grand slam, and minor leaguer Ben Cowles also homered.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa had 2 hits.

Pitching line:

Schmidt 3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 3 K.
Luetge (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Peralta (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Holmes (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Abreu 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.

Hopefully nothing serious. Luis Severino with some arm soreness. The rotation to start the season is Cole, Severino, Montgomery, Taillon, and Cortes.

S.T. Game 10. Cole struggles, but Yanks win 7-4 behind 5 HR (2 by Judge)

The Yankees (3-6-1 in spring training) hit 4 HR, two by Aaron Judge, in beating Pittsburgh 7-4 Sunday afternoon.

Judge was 3 for 3 and drove in 3 runs. Besides Judge, Josh Donaldson had a solo HR leading off the bottom of the first for the Yanks, and Kyle Higashioka and Marwin Gonzalez (2-run HR) also homered.

Gerrit Cole struggled in his first spring training outing, but others, especially Jordan Montgomery, did well.

The Pitching Line:

Cole 2 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 W, 5 K. Gave up 2 HR.
Loseke 1 IP, 09 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K
Montgomery 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 5 K.
Mauricio (H) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Loaisiga (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Abreu (H) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Greene (S) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.