Game 39. Yanks beat O’s, 8-2.

A few notes before the game recap. Today will be my last reports for a while. I have to go in for surgery tomorrow.

After the game, it was announced that Aaron Hicks will go on the I.L. I thought they were going to bring up Greg Allen, but it’s not Allen coming up, but Ryan LaMarre.

LaMarre, 32, bats right, throws left, and has played in 119 MLB games for the Reds, Red Sox, A’s, Twins, and White Sox. He’s hit .236-4-21 in 225 at bats, OPS+ 70. He’s even pitched in mop up roles, giving up 1 R in 1 2/3 IP. He was 9 for 33 (.273) for SWB this season.

Now to the game.

This is what we thought the Yankees’ (22-17) offense would be this year, not the one that has struggled. Eight runs, 13 hits, Four guys with two hits or more, including three from an unexpected source (Tyler Wade). An Aaron Judge HR.

An 8-2 win over Baltimore.

In the first inning, the Yanks got three runs. D.J. LeMahieu walked, Luke Voit singled, and Aaron Judge walked to load the bases. After Gio Urshela struck out, a passed ball moved up all runners and allowed LeMahieu to score. Gary Sanchez then followed with a 2-run single.

Judge hit a 2-run HR (11) in the second inning to make it 5-0.

In the top of the sixth, Brett Gardner singled, and after an out, Miguel Andujar and Tyler Wade both singled to load the bases. A balk moved up the runners and enabled Gardner to score, then after LeMahieu struck out, Luke Voit singled to make the score 8-0.

Baltimore got a run in the sixth, another in the ninth, and the final was 8-2.

Voit, 2 hits, 2 RBI
Judge 2 hits, a 2-run HR (11)
Urshela 2 hits
Sanchez 2 RBI
Wade 3 hits.

German (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 W, 6 K. 3.62
Luetge 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K 3.10
Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 5.91
Cessa 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.25

Game 38. Pinch me for luck! Gio’s PH HR gives Yanks 5-4 win.

Gio Urshela hit a pinch-hit, 3-run HR in the top of the seventh to erase a 4-2 Orioles’ lead and to give the Yankees (21-17) a 5-4 win Friday night.

Aaron Judge hit two homers, and his first of the night came in the top of the first to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead.

The Yanks got a bit lucky in the bottom of the first. One of two plays that also helped the Yanks win the game. Cedrick Mullins led off the bottom of the first with a single, but was caught stealing second. Catcher Kyle Higashioka’s nab of Mullins was huge, because Austin Hays then homered for Baltimore, tying the game at one instead of putting the O’s up 2-1. Huge in a game the Yanks won by one run.

Judge’s second HR (10) of the game put the Yanks up 2-1 in the fourth inning.

The Orioles scored three runs off starter and winner Corey Kluber in the bottom of the fifth, but once again, the O’s took another run off the scoreboard for themselves, once again helping to cost them the game. A double by D.J. Stewart, an out, then another double by Pedro Severino to tie the game at two. A single by Pat Valaka to put the O’s up 3-2, an out. A SB by Valaka, then a walk to Hays. First and second, two out, then a double by Trey Mancini that scored Valaka to make it 4-2, but Hays was out by plenty at the plate Judge to LeMahieu to Higashioka, to prevent another run from scoring. Once again huge in a game the Yanks won 5-4.

In the top of the seventh, with one out, Miguel Andujar singled for his first hit of the season. Higashioka walked, then Urshela pinch-hit for Tyler Wade. Urshela fought off several pitches, fouling them off to stay alive before hitting a 3-run HR (5) to put the Yanks up 5-4, and that it how it stayed.

LeMahieu 2 hits
Judge 2 hits, both solo HR (10), 2 RBI
Urshela pinch-hit 3-run HR (5)


Kluber (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 2 W, 6 K. 3.48 Gave up 1 HR.
Green (H, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.21 1 WP
Peralta (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.55 (Combined SF/NYY; 0.00 as NYY)
Loaisiga (S, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.49

Aaron Hicks was put on the injured list with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist that may require surgery. Time will tell. On meds, hope no surgery needed, but….

Game 36. Yanks edge Rays 1-0 behind Cole and Chapman.

Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman combined on a four-hit shutout as the Yanks (20-16) defeated Tampa Bay 1-0 on Wednesday night.

Cole was dominant in going to 5-1 on the season with an ERA of just 1.37. He struck out 12. Chapman still has not given up an earned run this season while having nine saves.

Cole has struck out 78 batters this season while walking only three.

Since starting out 6-11, the Yanks have now won 14 of their last 19 games. This win was their fourth in a row and they are 8-2 this month.

It has been the pitching doing it, as the bats are still cold.

The Yanks got the only run of the game in the seventh inning. Aaron Judge led off the inning with a single, then Gio Urshela doubled. After a non-productive out, Aaron Hicks hit a sac fly.

Of the Yanks’ six hits, five were by Judge and Urshela.

Judge 3 hits
Urshela 2 hits

Cole (W, 5-1) 8 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 W, 12 K. 1.37
Chapman (S, 9) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00

Clint Frazier was ejected for arguing a called third strike.

During the game, Cole became the second fastest pitcher to 1500 K.

With the win, the Yanks are in second place, one game behind Boston (22-16). They are even in the loss column. Boston has played (and won) two more games.

Game 34. Yanks win in bottom of 9th, 3-2.

The Yankees (18-16) won 3-2 by scoring in the bottom of the ninth today.

The Yanks scored first in the bottom of the third inning. Brett Gardner walked, and after an out, Giancarlo Stanton walked. Aaron Hicks singled to make it 1-0.

Gleyber Torres finally hit his first HR of the season in the bottom of the sixth to make it 2-0 Yankees.

Kyle Schwarber hit a 2-run HR for Washington in the top of the seventh to tie the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees (18-16) got a leadoff walk from Tyler Wade. Aaron Judge (PH) then walked. After a force that made it 1st and 3rd, one out, Giancarlo Stanton singled to win the game.

Gary Sanchez 0 for 3, 3 K. .174
Mike Ford 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks, .103. Surprised Andujar going down with Voit Callup, not Ford.


German 6 1/3 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.02
King 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 0.00
Peralta 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.86 (Comb. SF/NYY)
Chapman (W 2-0) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K 0.00

Game 31. Yanks’ bullpen falters in 7-4 loss.

Gerrit Cole left after 7 innings with a 3-2 lead, but the Yanks’ (16-15) bullpen, a strength so far this season, faltered in a 7-4 loss to Houston Thursday afternoon.

The Yanks struck first when the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo HR (9). He has a 12 game hitting streak.

Cole gave up a HR in the top of the fourth to Yordan Alvarez, who would torment the Yanks all game.

A 2-run HR (3) by Clint Frazier in the bottom of the fourth put the Yanks’ up 3-1.

Cole gave up another HR to Alvarez in the seventh. 3-2.

In the top of the eighth, the wheels fell off. Chad Green gave up a 3-run HR to Jose Altuve and Houston went up 5-3.

On a strange play in the bottom of the eighth, Gleyber Torres scored all the way from first on an infield single by Aaron HIcks to cut Houston’s lead to 5-4.

But Justin Wilson gave up a 2-run HR in the top of the ninth, final Houston 7-4. The Yanks’ bullpen disappointed today.

Gio Urshela had to leave the game. MRI today.

Can’t wait to get Luke Voit back. Jay Bruce retired after hitting just .118. Mike Ford is 3 for 31 (.091).

Stanton solo HR (9)
Urshela 2 hits.
Hicks 3 for 3, walk, RBI.
Frazier 2 run HR (3)

Cole 7 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 W, 4 K. 1.61 Gave up 2 HR.
Green (L, 0-3; BS, 1) 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.50 Gave up HR.
Luetge 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.63
Wilson 1 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 7.04 Gave up 1 HR.

Missing Zack Britton too. Wilson hasn’t filled his shoes.

Two sidenotes about three of the greatest players in MLB history.

One, Happy 90th birthday to Willie Mays.
Two. Albert Pujols released by Angels. 3253 hits, 667 HR.
Three. Miguel Cabrera last I saw hitting about .105. Needs something like 128 hits for 3000, 11 HR for 500, but ugh. Something like 6 for 57 so far.

Minor league report tomorrow morning.

Game 30. Yanks win 5th in a row, beat Astros 6-3.

Giancarlo Stanton is hot right now. He hit in his 11th straight game, got 3 hits, including a HR, and drove in 4 runs in the Yankees’ 6-3 win Wednesday night over the Astros. It was the Yanks’ (16-14) fifth win in a row.

In the bottom of the third inning, with two out, D.J. LeMahieu was HBP, then Stanton hit his 2-run HR (8).

Yankees’ starter Jordan Montgomery gave up three runs in the top of the fourth, and another runner was cut down at the plate, Brett Gardner to Gio Urshela to Gary Sanchez (7-5-2).

The Yankees tied it up in the fifth. With two out, Gardner singled and LeMahieu walked. Stanton doubled to tie the game.

The Yanks got three in the bottom of the eighth to win it. Gleyber Torres led off the inning with a single, then PH Clint Frazier walked. Tyler Wade PR for Frazier. Aaron HIcks blooped a single to make it 4-3, Yankees. Sanchez was HBP to load the bases, then Gardner hit a SF to make it 5-3. After a force-out, Stanton singled for the final tally of 6-3.

Stanton 3 hits, 4 RBI, inc. a 2-run HR (8)
Hicks 2 hits, RBI

Awful night for Aaron Judge. 0 for 5, struck out all 5x.

Montgomery 6 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 0 W, 4 K. 4.41
Cessa 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 1.35
Peralta 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. (combined SF/NYY 4.22) 1 WP
Loaisiga (W, 3-1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K 0.98
Chapman (S, 7) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.00

Before the game, Rougned Odor went on the 10-day IL (sprained knee) and P Albert Abreu was brought up.

Game 26. Yanks tame Tigers 10-0 behind Cole and 5 HR.

The bats are starting to come around.

This is more like we expected. The Yanks (12-14) clobbered five home runs, and Gerrit Cole was at the top of his game as the Yankees clobbered Detroit, 10-0, on Friday night.

I don’t know what ailment (lower back) bothered Aaron Judge that it kept him out of the starting lineup for two straight games, but you’d never have know it last night. Judge hit two homers, one a grand slam, and drove in five of the Yankees’ ten runs.

The Yanks scored in each of the first five innings, and cruised the rest of the way. In the first inning, with one out, Giancarlo Stanton doubled. He went to third on a WP and scored when Gio Urshela delivered a two-out single.

Clint Frazier made it 2-0 in the second inning with a solo HR (2).

The Yanks got two runs in the third inning. Judge led off the inning with a monstrous HR to CF. Two outs later, Aaron HIcks homered (4) to make it 4-0.

The Yanks broke open the game with five runs in the fourth inning. Kyle HIgashioka led off the inning with a walk, and after a forceout, D.J. LeMahieu singled. Stanton singled to load the bases, then Judge unloaded his grand slam, his seventh HR of the season, to make it 8-0. After an out, Gleyber Torres walked, then Hicks doubled Torres home to make it 9-0.

Rougned Odor closed out the scoring by hitting a solo HR (4) in the fifth to make it 10-0.

The Yanks close April at 12-14, tied for 4th in the AL East, 4 1/2 back.

I remember when Ron Guidry struck out 18 Angels in 1978. The Yanks struck out 18 Tigers in this game, but used four pitchers to do so. With such a big lead, no need to extend Cole further.

Stanton 3 hits
Judge 2 hits, both HR (7), one a grand slam. 5 RBI
Urshela 2 hits, RBI
Hicks 2 hits, 2 RBI Solo HR (4)
Frazier solo HR (2)
Odor solo HR (4)

Cole (W, 4-1) 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 W, 12 K. 1.43
Cessa 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1.42
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.82 (combined ERA SF/Yankees; YANKEES DEBUT)
Luetge 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K. 4.02

Game 20. Cole outduels Bieber. Yanks win 2-1.

When two of the best pitchers in baseball face off against each other, you expect a low-scoring game with a lot of strikeouts, and that is what you got Saturday night when the Yankees (9-11) beat Cleveland, 2-1.

Yankees’ starter Gerrit Cole struck out 11, outduelling Indians’ starter Shane Bieber, who struck out nine. For the Yankees, it was their third straight win.

The Indians got a run in the fourth on a triple and single off Cole, but those were two of only three hits they would get in the game. The Yanks got both of their runs in the top of the fifth. Aaron Hicks homered (3) to tie the game, and two outs later, Rougned Odor’s homer (3) proved to be the difference in the game.

Hicks HR (3)
Odor HR (3)


Cole (W, 3-1) 7 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 11 K. 1.71
Wilson (H, 2) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 0.80 1 WP
Loaisiga (S, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.35

Game 19. Yanks hit 4 HR in 5-3 win.

The Yankees (8-11) hit four homers in beating Cleveland 5-3 Friday night.

Just as in Thursday night’s game, the game didn’t start out too well, and once again the Yanks found themselves down 3-0 after one inning, and they had to come back to win the game.

That comeback started right away in the top of the second inning. With one out, Aaron Hicks homered (2). Gary Sanchez then singled, and after another out, Rougned Odor homered (2) to tie the game.

Then Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, once in the third inning, then again in the fifth, to give the Yanks the lead and an insurance run. They were his fourth and fifth homers of the season.

Jordan Montgomery settled down after the rocky first and pitched into the fifth. The Yankees’ bullpen pitched 4 1/3 innings of no-run, one-hit ball.

Hicks solo HR (2)
Odor 2-run HR (2)
Stanton two solo HRs (4 and 5)

Montgomery 4 2/3 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 3 W, 5 K. 4.57
Luetge (W, 1-0) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.97
O’Day (H, 3) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K 1.29
Green (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K 0.73
Chapman (S, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00

Today will be one heck of a pitching matchup. Gerrit Cole vs. Shane Bieber.

Game 15. Losing streak hits 5. Yanks get just 3 hits, Tampa concludes weekend sweep, 4-2.

OK, first things first.

There is NO WAY to sugarcoat this. You can’t put a cherry on a piece of crap.

5-10 is what it is. FIVE AND TEN. Five losses in a row,

Swept by Tampa Bay, who has beaten you something like 17 of the last 20 games or so?

Your pitchers are operating scared. You give up so much as two runs and they feel as if game over. That is too much pressure on your pitchers.

You have a player (Clint Frazier) who has NO RBI in his last 66 or so plate appearances.

You have another, in Gleyber Torres, hitting in the middle of the lineup, who is hitting under .200, with NO HR and just ONE RBI in 15 games.

The Yanks got only THREE hits today in losing 4-2 to Tampa Bay today. THREE.

They came into the game with a .217 team batting average. That is going down. FACT. (Update: Now .210).

The hitting coaches should worry about their jobs, Maybe even Boone.

Giancarlo Srtanton hit a HR in the second inning (3) to put the Yanks up 1-0.

Tampa Bay got two in the top of the third off of Gerrit Cole to take a 2-1 lead. Aaron HIcks (booed throughout the game) and Clint Frazier performed poorly defensively in enabling those two runs.

D.J. LeMahieu (the only TRUE hitter, not slugger on the team) got a two-out hit in the fifth to tie the game.

Cole gave up a run in the 7th, and Tampa Bay got another in the ninth, to ensure the win.

Judge 0 for 4 struck out 3x.

Stanton solo HR (3)

Cole (L, 2-1) 6 1/3 IP. 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 W, 10 K. 1.82. Don’t blame him, but pathetic offense.
Green 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.93
O’Day 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up HR. 1.50.