Game 118. Yanks lose to Mets 8-5. Seve struggles again. CC to DL.

The Yanks have a problem. Should they play in the wild card game, what pitcher starts?

Before last night’s game, CC Sabathia was placed on the DL, and once and now again Yankee George Kontos was brought up from the minors for the time being (until a starter, Chance Adams? is needed to fill CC’s spot). Also, Luke Voit was sent down and Ronald Torreyes brought back up.

So there is the issue with CC.

And now the issue with Luis Severino. Severino gave up a HR to the first batter of the game, and gave up another run before getting out of the first inning. 2-0 Mets before the Yanks came to bat.

Severino is still leading the majors in wins (15) but since July 1 is 2-4 with a 7.31 ERA. He is not trending as you would like heading down the stretch.

Whether it is tipping pitches or a mechanical issue, he has to be straightened out.

The Yanks tied the game in the third when Romine singled and Gardner walked. Stanton hit into a force play but and error on the play enabled Romine to score and Stanton to reach second. Hicks singled to tie the game.

But Severino gave up a two-run HR to an old Yankees’ nemesis, Jose Bautista, in the top of the fourth that put the Mets up 4-2.

The Yanks cut it to 4-3 in the fifth when Gardner doubled and Didi singled him home.

A.J. Cole was awful. He gave up a HR to ex-Yankee Todd Frazier in the sixth, and back-to-back HRs to Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto in the seventh. 7-3 Mets.

Miguel Andujar hit a two-run HR (18) in the bottom of the eighth for the Yanks to cut it to 7-5, but Zach Britton’s struggles continued (aided by a Gleyber Torres’ error) as the Mets got an insurance run in the top of the ninth, 8-5 Mets, the final score.

The Yanks have to get CC healthy, and get Severino and Britton on track. They also need Judge and Sanchez to get healthy, and Gleyber Torres (down to .261) to get out of his slump.

Otherwise, if they make the postseason, it could not be for long.

Meanwhile, they fall to 74-44, and 10 back of Boston. They are 3 1/2 up on Oakland for the top wild card seed.

Hicks 2 hits, RBI
Andujar 2-run HR

Severino (L, 15-6, 3.27) 4 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 2 HR. ERA as 1.98 on July 2.
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.  2.93
Cole 1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 3 HR.  5.58 (Wash/NYY)
Kontos 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.   4.39 (SF/NYY)
Britton 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K.  1 HBP.  4.70 (Balt./NYY)

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Game 117. CC and Didi spark Yanks to 7-2 win.

CC Sabathia and Didi Gregorius sparked the Yankees  (74-43) to a 7-2 win Sunday afternoon. It keeps the Yanks 9 1/2 games back in the AL East  .

The Yanks got a run in the first when Stanton homered. #30 put the Yanks up, 1-0.

With the fifth, with one out, Romine singled & Gardner doubled. Hicks singled in two runs. Stanton singled Hicks to third. Andujar drove in a run on a force out, and Didi hit HR #21 to make it 6-0.

In the sixth, Voit and Walker singled and Romine’s groundout moved the runners up. Gardner singled to make it 7-0.

CC pitched six innings of one-hit, shutout ball. Win #244 of his career passed Juan Marichal on the all-time wins list.

Sonny Gray gave up 2 runs in the seventh.

The Yanks play the Mets on Monday night in a makeup game. The game will be on ESPN. Severino vs. DeGrom.

Hicks 2 hits, 2 RBI
Stanton 2 hits, solo HR.
Gregorius, 2 hits, 2-run HR, Some fine defensive plays.
Romine 2 hits,
Gardner 2 hits, RBI.

Sabathia (W, 7-4, 3.32) 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 W, 7 K.
Gray 1+ IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 W, 0 K.   5.52
Holder 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 4 K.  3.35

 

Game 114. 5 Yanks’ HRs power team to 7-3 win.

The Yankees (72-42) hit 5 HR to defeat Texas 7-3 tonight.

With Boston’s loss, they cut the deficit to 8 games.

Aaron Hicks got the first of the HR, a 2-run HR (20) in the first inning.

J.A. Happ gave up a HR in the 4th, 2-1.

The Yanks came right back in the bottom of the fourth, when Miguel Andujar (16) and Neil Walker (5) hit back-to-back HR, Andujar’s a 2-run shot, to make it 5-1 Yanks.

Happ gave up 2 runs in the top of the fifth, 5-3.

Once again the Yanks came right back. Giancarlo Stanton’s 28th HR, a 449 ft. laser shot, made it 6-3.

Neil Walker’s 2nd HR of the game (6) made it 7-3 in the sixth and that was the final score.

Gardner 2 hits.
Stanton HR
Hicks 2-run HR.
Andujar 2 hits, 2-run HR
Walker 2 solo HRS

Happ (W, 12-6, 4.07 combined Tor/NYY) 6 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 W, 9 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2 HBP
Robertson 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K.  3.29
Betances 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.25
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 2 K.  2.20

Yankees pitchers struck out 13.

Game 113. Stanton slams Chisox, 7-3.

Giancarlo Stanton’s grand slam highlighted a 6-run second as the 71-42 Yanks beat the White Sox 7-3 Wednesday night to sweep the three-game series.

Luis Severino, shaky in his last few outings, started off shaky again, giving up two runs in the first inning before settling in for his career high 15th win of the season.

Gleyber Torres walked to lead off the second. After Andujar struck out, Neil Walker singled. Austin Romine singled in Torres. Shane Robinson singled in Walker to tie the game at two. Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch. Stanton’s 27th HR, an opposite field grand slam that just curled around the foul pole, made it 6-2 Yanks.

In the fifth, Aaron Hicks hit his 19th HR of the season to make it 7-2.

Severino gave up a HR in the bottom of the fifth to cut it to 7-3 but that was the end of the scoring.

The Yanks stay 9 back of Boston. They are 4 up on Oakland for that top wild card spot.

Stanton Grand Slam, 4 RBI
Hicks HR

Severino (W, 15-5, 3.11) 7 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 0 W, 8 K.  Gave up 1 HR.
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K.   2.70
Holder 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  3.50

 

Game 111. Lynn masterful as Yanks snap losing streak, 7-0.

Lance Lynn, taking the ineffective Sonny Gray’s place in the rotation, was masterful as the Yanks (69-42) shut out the Chicago White Sox 7-0 Monday night to stop their five-game losing streak.

It’s as if Lynn basically showed Gray, “that’s how it’s done” in pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Yanks scored two in the fourth when with one out, Stanton walked and Didi doubled. Hicks singled in one run, Torres singled in another. Bird was robbed of a 3-run HR.

In the fifth, the Yanks upped the lead to 4-0 when with one out, Higashioka singled. Gardner singled Higashioka to third, and a WP moved both runners up, Higashioka scoring. With two out, Didi Gregorius singled in Gardner.

A couple of homers in the eighth finished the scoring. Gleyber Torres hit a solo HR (18) and a few batters later, Neil Walker hit a 2-run HR (4) for the final score of 7-0.

Gregorius 2 hits, RBI
Hicks 2 hits, RBI
Torres 2 hits, HR, 2 RBI
Walker 2 hits, HR, 2 RBI

Lynn (W, 8-8, 4.58) 7 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 9 K. Stats Min/NYY (1-0, 0.00 NYY)
Cole 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K.  4.86  (2-0, 1.69 as NYY)

Game 107. Yanks’ pitching is atrocious in 15-7 loss.

Before the game, the Yanks put J.A. Happ on the DL with foot, hand and mouth disease and brought up Luis Cessa (who was supposed to start for Happ Saturday. After this game, who knows who starts Saturday?). Luke Voit came up and Tyler Wade went down.

It also was announced (finally!) that Sonny Gray is out of the rotation and that Lance Lynn will take his place.

The game started well for the Yanks as Didi Gregorius hit the first of his two HR, a 3-run shot, in the first inning.

In the top of the second, Aaron Hicks homered (18) to make it 4-0 Yanks.

Then the roof fell in as the Yankees’ pitching was just atrocious, especially Jonathan Holder. Steve Pearce hit 3 HR for Boston as they won 15-7.

Years ago, I wrote that the Yanks should bring up Pearce from the minors, where he was doing pretty well for SWB. At that time, Pierce had been a bit player for the Pirates for a few years. One sportswriter (which I should but won’t name) argued against it, and in doing so, was e-mailing me in the middle of a game he was covering. A close game. He was more concerned about me and my comments that the Yanks should bring up Pearce and in arguing against it, than in covering the game and doing his job. Talk about thin-skinned. He basically had a low opinion of Pearce’s abilities and pooh-poohed me. This was in 2012.

Pearce went on to different teams and has bounced around a little since then, but he did hit 21 HR as a platoon player for the 2014 Orioles. His adjusted OPS from 2014 to today is 125. Pretty damned good for a platoon player.

Yes, from 2007-2012, when I had this confrontation with this guy, Pearce’s OPS+ was 82. But from 2013 to today, it’s 124. I guess I have had the last laugh for a while over that arrogant dude.

Anyway, back to the game. CC Sabathia gave up a run in the second, another in the third, and struggled all three innings he pitched, throwing 77 pitches in those three innings.

So in comes Holder and the roof fell in on the Yanks. Holder got no one out, giving up 7 runs in Boston’s 8-run inning, and watched his ERA go from 2.01 to 3.50.

Cessa, who was supposed to start in place of Happ on Saturday, had to come in in relief later, and gave up 5 runs himself. Now who starts Saturday, who knows.

Didi hit his second HR of the game (20) to make it 10-5 in the fifth, but Boston got one in the fifth and three in the sixth. 14-5.

Stanton homered (25) in the seventh, 14-6, but Boston scored in the eighth.

Stanton got a SF in the ninth.

Final 15-7.

Ugh.

Hicks solo HR.
Stanton 2 hits, HR, 2 RBI
Gregorius 2 HR, 4 RBI

Sabathia 3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 4 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR.  3.59
Holder (L, 1-2, 3.50) 0 IP, 7 R, 5 H, 1 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Green 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.82
Cessa 3 2/3 IP, 5 R, 7 H, 1 W, 1 K.  Gave up 1 HR.  4.50
Britton 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.  3.44 (Balt/NYY)

 

The loss drops the 68-39 Yanks 6 1/2 back of Boston in the AL East.

After tonight’s game, the season will be 2/3 over.

Because we are switching systems at work today, it’ll be hectic and I have to go in a bit earlier to make the adjustment to a new system. Therefore no minor league report today on last night’s games.

Game 104. Oh, “Happ”y Day as Yanks beat KC 6-3.

J.A. Happ pitched six strong innings and won his Yankees’ debut as the Yanks beat KC 6-3 on Sunday afternoon. Monday is an off day.

Before the game the Yanks sent Caleb Frare, who spent most of the year at AA Trenton, to the White Sox for $1.5MM in international bonus $$$. They also received $1MM of that in the Shreve/Gallegos deal with St. Louis.

The Yanks jumped off to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Didi walked and Hicks homered (17) off the foul screen.

In the fourth, Hicks doubled and scored on an Andujar single, 3-0.

To the fifth, and Gardner and Stanton singled to lead off the inning. A groundout by Didi moved both runners up. Hicks walked to load the bases and a groundout by Torres made it 4-0. Bird singled to make it 5-0.

The Yanks gave up 3 HR in the game, but thank goodness, all were solo shots. Happ gave up one to Salvador Perez (he killed the Yanks this weekend) to make it 5-1 Yanks.

The Yanks got one back in the bottom of the sixth. Walker was HBP and Romine doubled. Stanton got the run in with a SF.

Green gave up a HR in the seventh and Robertson (I’m concerned about them, both Green and Robertson, lately) gave up one in the eighth. Final, 6-3 Yanks.

Boston won again so the Yanks couldn’t pick up any ground. Still 5 1/2 out.

Hicks 3 for 3, HR, walk, 2 RBI. Scored 2x.

Happ (W, 11-6, 4.05 [combined Tor/NYY]) 6 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Green 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.  2.74
Robertson 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.  3.61
Chapman (S, 28) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.  1.93