Luetge traded to Braves

Lucas Luetge, DFA’d by the Yankees last week to make room on the roster for Tommy Kahnle, was traded to the Braves yesterday for a couple of minor leaguers.

Luetge spent two seasons with the Yankees, going 4-2, 2.74 in 2021 and 4-4, 2.67 in 2022. Luetge turns 36 next spring. He did not appear in any postseason games for the Yanks.

A baseball passing: Fred Valentine, an OF who played for the Orioles (1959, 1963), Senators (1964-1968) and Orioles again (1968) passed away, age 87, on December 26. The switch-hitter’s best season came in 1966, when he hit .276-16-59 and stole 22 bases. OPS+ 131. He finished 21st in MVP voting that season. For his career, in 533 games, he hit .247 with 36 HR. His 162-game average was .247-11-42, 14 SB and an OPS+ of 106.

Judge named captain; Yanks DFA Luetge. NFL Legend Franco Harris passes away.

At the press conference yesterday to announce his signing, Aaron Judge was named the Yankees’ captain, their first since the retirement of Derek Jeter after the 2014 season.

A press conference regarding Carlos Rodon’s signing will be today.

In order to make room on the team for the signing of Tommy Kahnle, Lucas Luetge was DFA’d.

Sad news: Another part of my childhood is gone. I am a Steelers fan and growing up in the 1970s the Immaculate Reception kind of sealed the deal as far as me becoming a fan of the Steelers. Just a few days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, and a few days before weekend celebrations about that play, and a few days before the Steelers were to retire his #32 at halftime of the Steelers/Raiders game Saturday evening, Franco Harris died at the age of 72. RIP, Franco.

ALCS Game 1. Old script repeated. Yanks fall, 4-2.

Before the ALCS began, a couple of moves. Off the roster are Hicks (injured, done for year), Luetge and Gonzalez. On go Peraza, Montas and Weissert.

For those wanting Giancarlo Stanton in the OF and Matt Carpenter DH-ing, they got their wish. But you know the old saying. Be careful what you wish for.

Carpenter’s story is a nice one. He fought to come back from a fractured foot. But it is clear he should not be on the roster (although, to be fair, with injuries to Hicks, Benintendi and LeMahieu, who could they put on?). He’s 0 for 6 in the postseason, all strikeouts. He’s 36 years old. He was 0 for 4 last night. All strikeouts.

Another 36-year-old, Josh Donaldson, also disappointed, going 0 for 3 last night with a walk in the Yankees’ 4-2 loss to Houston. The few chances the Yanks had came down to Donaldson and/or Carpenter needing to come up with a big hit. They didn’t even put the ball in play. I was not a fan of getting Donaldson, who is 37 soon and who earns almost $22MM a season. I didn’t want to let Gio Urshela, who is six years younger than Donaldson, go. Urshela hit .285-13-64 this year, OPS+ 121. He cost $6.55MM. Donaldson showed serious signs of slippage due to age. He hit .222-15-62, OPS+ 94. Donaldson’s defensive metrics seem to have been much better than Urshela’s, though. You’d have to weigh the cost, and the decline of Donaldson’s offense against the better defense he supposedly provided. But the way Donaldson has declined, you have to worry about 2023 and even 2024. He has a $21.75MM deal for 2023 with up to $550K award bonus available. There is a team option of $16MM for 2024 (I can’t see that being picked up) with a $8MM buyout option that may increase to $12MM based on 2023 awards. So, it looks like the Yanks are stuck with him for 2023 and will have to cough up a lot of money via a buyout to be rid of him in 2024. Terrible contract the Yanks took on.

Anyway, it’s apparent that Donaldson should not be hitting fifth. Nor should Carpenter be in the lineup. But what are the solutions? Let me get into the game recap and I will try to find one.

The same old, same old. For those sick of losing to Tom Brady (45 years old) year after year and want him to go home to his money and supermodel wife (or ex-wife? Marital issues), we feel the same about 39-year-old Justin Verlander, who apparently wants to pitch until he is 45. Take your money and go home to your beautiful supermodel wife. We are tired of losing to you. Ugh. 2006, 2011, 2012 (those years with Tigers), 2017, 2019 and maybe 2022? The Yanks have to find a way to beat this guy. He is 5-1, 2.62 vs. the Yanks in the postseason.

Just kidding about the go home already regarding Brady and Verlander, but you get the drift. You get tired of losing to them. Although, truth be told, a lot of people have been tired of losing to the Yankees since 1921.

Verlander is a future first ballot Hall-of-Famer. The history on pitchers like that is to get them early or you won’t get them at all. That is what happened last night.

Top 1st: Donaldson struck out with 2 men on base to end the inning.
Bottom 1st: Judge saves two runs with a diving catch.

Top 2nd. Bader homers (again!) to put Yanks up 1-0. I would move the red-hot Bader up to first in the lineup and drop Torres to fifth, which enables me to drop Donaldson down.
Bottom 2nd. Taillon is one strike away from getting out of the inning when he gives up a game-tying double.

Taillon did all we could ask for. 4 1/3 innings, only one run. He struggled but kept the Yanks in the game.

Top 3rd. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, both Donaldson and Carpenter struck out. This was the ballgame right there. They left Verlander off the hook and he then settled in. A big hit by Donaldson in the first or either Donaldson or Carpenter here and you have Verlander on the ropes. Instead, he became unhittable.

The Yanks got only 5 hits in the game and struck out 17 times. Once again this postseason, the runs came on homers and the Yanks did not string hits together.

Bottom 4. Stanton makes a great play in LF to rob a batter of a double.

Bottom 5. Schmidt in for Taillon after a one-out double. An intentional walk and another walk load the bases, but Schmidt gets a DP to get out of it. BUT …

Bottom 6. Schmidt gives up 2 HR and Houston goes up 3-1.

Bottom 7. Frankie Montas comes in. Montas?! Ugh. And he gives up a HR. 4-1, Houston.

Anthony Rizzo homered for the Yanks in the top of the 8th to make it 4-2 but that was it.

Jose Trevino looks like he ran out of gas around Labor Day. Great first half, but he hit .177 in September/October and is now 1 for 15 in the postseason.

Most losses to the Astros are just like this. Pitching OK but not good enough. Bats silent. We have seen this in the 2015 wild card game (a 3-0 loss), the 2017 ALCS (losses of 2-1, 2-1 and 4-0) and the 2019 ALCS (3-2 in 11 innings, 4-1).

Between losing to Verlander and losing to Houston in a close game, same old script.

Severino starts for the Yanks tonight in Game 2. It’s time to flip the script.

Rizzo solo HR
Stanton 2 hits
Bader solo HR.

Taillon 4 1/3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 W, 0 K.
Schmidt (LOSS) 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 0 K. Gave up 2 HR.
Trivino 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Montas 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Castro 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.

One last thing. Some players have physical gifts, but you question their mental acumen. Those Yankees’ teams of the late 1990’s had players who were not only gifted physically, but also mentally. Pettitte, Jeter, Rivera, O’Neill, Tino, etc. You usually didn’t see them do anything mentally wrong or boneheaded. The same can’t be said for some players today. The Yanks need some more players with the mental toughness of those past players. Just saying.

San Diego came back from an early 4-0 hole to even up the NLCS at a game apiece with an 8-5 win over the Phillies.

Game 162. Yanks drop regular season finale, finish 99-63. Next up, ALDS Game 1 Oct. 11.

The Yankees dropped their regular season finale, 4-2 to Texas to finish the season 99-63, 7 games in front of second place Toronto in the AL East. Game 1 of the ALDS is next Tuesday, October 11, at Yankee Stadium against the winner of the Tampa Bay/Cleveland Series.

The Yankees were 11-8 vs. Tampa Bay this season, and 5-1 against Cleveland.

Aaron Judge did not play in today’s game, getting a well-deserved rest after playing in 55 games in a row, with the last two weeks seeing incredible pressure. He finished second in the AL batting race at .311, five points back, so no Triple Crown, but he ends at .311-62 (new AL and Yankees record)-131, 16 SB, 111 walks, OPS+ 211 (! that could change by a point or so, but still, !) He led MLB in R, HR, RBI, OBP, SA, OPS, OPS+ and Total bases, and the AL in walks.

It’s amazing how many people wanted him to play in a meaningless game today. What if he would have pulled a hamstring running out a double? Or gotten hit by a pitch that broke his wrist? It was smart to have him out of the lineup and save him for the playoffs. People can be so dumb sometimes.

The Yanks scored first in the second inning when with one out, Oswald Peraza walked. Jose Trevino singled Peraza to third and one out later, Kyle Higashioka hit an RBI single.

Yankees’ starter and losing pitcher Domingo German gave up a HR to Charlie Culberson in the third that just snuck around the LF foul pole. Tie game, 1-1.

The Yanks went up 2-1 in the top of the fourth on a HR by Trevino (11).

German gave up a HR to Jonah Heim in the bottom of the fourth that tied the game at two, then two runs in the bottom of the fifth that cost him the game. He wasn’t helped by an error from Aaron Hicks or a double that Josh Donaldson probably should have made a play on. Final score 4-2.

Trevino 2 hits, solo HR (11)

German (L, 2-5) 4 1/3 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 2 HR. 3.61
Abreu 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.26 Just off IL
Castro 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 0 K. 1 WP 4.03
Trivino 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.53 (A’s/NYY ERA)
Luetge 1 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.67

Game 158. Tough day for Judge, Yanks, in 3-1 loss.

A raw, rainy day in NY was only made more miserable with a 3-1 Yankees (97-61) loss and a tough day for Aaron Judge.

If Judge is going to break Roger Maris’ AL and Yankee record of 61 HR in a season, #62 will have to come in Texas, where the Yanks play 4 games in 3 days, starting tonight. (DH on Tuesday).

Maybe it would be a good thing. Maybe the pressure of trying to hit the HR in front of the home fans was daunting. One thing for sure, the weather (high of 84 to 86 degrees and sunny) in Texas will be much nicer than what Judge faced yesterday.

Judge was 0 for 3 with three strikeouts and a walk, dropping his batting average to .311. He is four points behind the Twins’ Luis Arraez, and unless Judge gets really, really hot in the next three games, will probably NOT win the Triple Crown, especially since Arraez has sat out a few of the last couple of games, and the Twins will try to protect Arraez’ lead.

Chi Chi Gonzalez was brought up to start the Yanks’ home finale and Jacob Barnes was DFA’d to make room for Gonzalez. Gonzalez pitched into the fifth and pitched well, giving up just one run. Baltimore got that run in the top of the first inning.

The Yanks got their only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. The Aarons, Hicks and Judge, led off the inning with back-to-back walks. After an out a WP moved the runners up, with Hicks scoring on a throwing error on the play, Judge remaining at second.

The Yanks only got four hits in the game and were 0 for 7 w/RISP.

In the seventh, Aroldis Chapman once again proved why he is no lock for the postseason roster and why he can’t be trusted. A single, two walks, a strikeout and yet another walk forced in what proved to be the winning run. Ron Marinaccio relieved Chapman and gave up another run on a SF. Chapman threw 26 pitches. Only 12 were strikes. That’s been Chapman’s problem for a while now. You just can’t keep giving free passes.

Gonzalez 4 2/3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 W, 3 K. 5.87 (3-team ERA). Could be his only game as a NYY.
Luetge 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 HBP. 2.72
Chapman (L, 3-4) 1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 3 W, 1 K. 4.58
Marinaccio 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.05
Loaisiga 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.21
Schmidt 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 3.23

Game 151. Yanks hit 3 HR (none by Judge) in 7-5 win over Boston. Magic #3 for AL East crown.

The Yankees (83-58) reduced their magic # for winning the AL East to 3 with a 7-5 win over Boston on Saturday.

While they hit 3 HR, none were by Aaron Judge, who is stuck on 60 as he tries to tie and surpass Roger Maris’ AL and Yankee record of 61.

Judge went 0 for 3 with a walk and fell one point behind Boston’s Xander Bogaerts in the batting race, .315 to .314. Luis Arraez of the Twins is at .313. Since Judge is way ahead in HR and RBI, he also could be a Triple Crown winner as well.

The Yanks got on the board first when Gleyber Torres homered (24) in the bottom of the first inning. 1-0, Yankees.

Domingo German had a shaky second inning though, giving up 2 HR and 3 runs as Boston took a 3-1 lead.

The Yanks got a run back in the bottom of the second. With one out, Oswaldo Cabrera and Harrison Bader both walked. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) singled in Cabrera, Bader out at third.

The Yanks went up 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run HR by Cabrera (4). Now this will be interesting in the offseason. Andrew Benintendi is a free agent, and currently on the IL with a broken hand. Do the Yankees try to sign Benintendi or do they feel confident in having the 23-year-old rookie Cabrera as their starting LF in 2023?

In the fifth inning, the Yanks upped their lead to 5-3. Kyle Higashioka led off with a single and Judge walked. A flyout moved Higashioka to third. One out later, Josh Donaldson’s infield single brought home Higashioka. 5-3, Yankees.

After a year away because of Tommy John surgery, Zack Britton returned to the mound but was ineffective, as Boston cut the Yanks lead to 5-4 in the sixth when Britton walked in a run. Lou Trivino came in with the bases loaded and one out and made sure that was all the Red Sox got.

But Boston tied it up in the seventh off of Trivino and Lucas Luetge, who with two out, couldn’t slam the door before Boston tied the game.

Anthony Rizzo hit a 2-run HR (32) in the bottom of the seventh that wound up deciding the game. 7-5 Yankees.

Rizzo 2-run HR (32)
Torres 2 hits, solo HR (24)
Cabrera 2-run HR (4)

German 5 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 W, 5 K. Gave up 2 HR. 3.30 One rough inning.
Britton (H, 1) 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 3 W, 1 K. 27.00 First appearance of season.
Trivino (H, 4) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.86 (A’s/NYY ERA)
Luetge (W, 4-4; BS, 1) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.78
Schmidt (H, 3) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.40
Effross (S, 3) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.70 (Cubs/NYY ERA)

Game 148. Pinstripes Pummel Pirates, 14-2. 5 RBI each for Cabrera, Gleyber.

History was made at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night, but not the history fans came to see.

Aaron Judge didn’t hit HR #61 but did hit two doubles in the game. He still leads the AL in batting average, .3171 to .3166 over Xander Bogaerts as he tries to become only the second Triple Crown winner since 1967.

If Judge is to get HR #61 tonight, it would be against the same team Roger Maris got #61 against—the Red Sox. One thing though—Judge is 0 for 14 against Red Sox starter Michael Wacha.

With the win, 14-2 over Pittsburgh, the 90-58 Yankees’ magic # is 8 to clinch the division, and 1 to ensure a playoff spot. Since the Yankees own the tiebreaker over Baltimore, any Yankees’ win or Orioles loss and the Yankees get at least the #6 seed.

Oswaldo Cabrera and Gleyber Torres each had 5 RBI in the game, and each did it in record-setting fashion.

Luis Severino came off of the IL and was great, giving up just one run in five innings. With Frankie Montas going on the IL and who will probably NOT be ready for the playoffs (and Montas wasn’t pitching well anyway), Severino could be the starter for Game #3 after Cole and Cortes and in front of Taillon.

Miguel Andujar was sent down in order to bring Severino off of the IL.

In the bottom of the first, Cabrera hit a grand slam (3) to put the Yankees up 4-0. From MLB.com, here are a few history-making notes about his grand slam.

It marked the first time in AL/NL history that a team had won a game on a grand slam (Giancarlo Stanton’s ultimate slam on Tuesday night), then scored its first four runs in the next game with another slam.

It was also only the third instance of a team hitting a grand slam in the final inning of one game and then another slam in the first inning of its next contest. The others involved the Red Sox in 1955 and the Dodgers in 2017, according to Stats Perform.

The Yankees — who rode consecutive-inning slams by Judge and Aaron Hicks to a rout of these same Pirates on July 6 — also became the first club in history to hit slams in back-to-back innings twice in one season. The feat is so rare that no other team has hit a pair of consecutive-inning grand slams against the same opponent at any point in its history — not to mention the same season.

Pittsburgh got a run in the fourth off of Severino to cut the Yankees’ lead to 4-1.

The Yanks scored two in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Judge doubled. If he would have gotten under the ball just a little bit, maybe #61. Instead, the ball went 305 feet down the 318 ft. LF line and one-hopped the fence for a ground-rule double. After another out, Judge moved up on a WP and scored on a single by Torres. Josh Donaldson then doubled in Torres to make it 6-1.

The Pirates got a run in the top of the sixth off Lucas Luetge. 6-2.

Then the Yanks scored 8 in the eighth to blow the game open. Torres led off with a HR (22). Donaldson and Stanton each walked. Cabrera doubled in Donaldson, Stanton to third. Harrison Bader doubled in both runners to make it 10-2. So far in his first two games as a Yankee, Bader has been a sparkplug. 5 RBI for him in the two games. After an out, Jose Trevino doubled in Bader. Judge walked, and after a WP and another out, Torres hit his second HR (23) of the inning to make it 14-2.

Torres became the fifth Yankee to HR twice in the same inning. Judge can’t do everything by himself, so to see Torres get hot is a great sign. Now for Rizzo and Stanton to do the same.

Once again, from MLB.com:

The 25-year-old joined the company of Alex Rodriguez (who did it twice, most recently on Oct. 4, 2009), Cliff Johnson (1977), Joe Pepitone (’62), and Joe DiMaggio (’36). Coincidentally, Torres’ own skipper (Aaron Boone) also accomplished the feat during his playing days, smashing a pair of long balls for the Reds in the first inning on Aug. 9, 2002.

Judge 2 hits. Leads in all triple Crown categories. Barely in average. .3171 to .3166 over Bogaerts.
Torres 3 hits, 5 RBI. Solo and 3-run HR (23), Both HR in the same inning.
Cabrera 2 hits, 5 RBI. Grand Slam (3)
Bader 2 RBI.

Severino (W, 6-3) 5 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 6 K. 3.36
Luetge 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 3 K. 1 HBP 2.82
Marinaccio 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.25
Weissert 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 6.10

Game 144. Disappointing 7-6 loss for Yanks.

It was a disappointing game in many ways as the Yankees (87-67) blew a 5-0 lead and lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 on Friday night.

Before the game, Aroldis Chapman came off the IL, and Ryan Weber was DFA’d. The Yanks will have many more moves next week as several others come off the IL.

With the loss the Yanks’ magic # to clinch the AL East remains at 13. Since Baltimore lost, the Yankees’ magic # to secure a playoff berth is 7 (since the Yankees own the tiebreaker against the Orioles).

It looked great early on for the Yankees. They scored three runs in the top of the first. Aaron Judge led off the game with a single, and one out later, Gleyber Torres doubled, Judge going to third. A SF by Josh Donaldson plated Judge. Oswaldo Cabrera walked, then Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) singled in one run and Marwin Gonzalez singled in another. 3-0. They had runners on second and third after a WP but couldn’t add on further.

Later in the game, Gonzalez had to leave due to illness, and Cabrera had to move to first, which he never played before. Also, catcher Jose Trevino had to leave after taking a foul ball off his knee. He was replaced by Kyle Higashioka.

The Yanks added two runs in the top of the second, when Aaron Hicks led off with a single, then Judge singled. A walk to Giancarlo Stanton loaded the bases. Torres flied out, no advance, but a run scored when Donaldson hit into a force at second. An error on the play allowed Judge to score as well. 5-0.

But Yankees’ starter Frankie Montas, who struggled in the first inning, gave up a 3-run HR in the bottom of the second. 5-3. The trade for Montas has been a disappointment. He is 1-3, 6.35 as a Yankee in 8 starts (5-12, 4.05 overall). With Sonny Gray before, and now Montas, the joke going around is that the Yankees should stop trading for Oakland pitchers. Anyway, I cringe every time I hear talk about whether Montas is the Game 2 or 3 playoff starter for the Yankees. From what I’ve seen, HE SHOULD NOT BE ON THE PLAYOFF ROSTER! I’d prefer Cole, Cortes, Severino (off the IL next week), Taillon and even German over Montas right now. That is 5 guys when you probably only need 4 and maybe, depending on the playoff schedule and off days, 3. Yes, that is right. In my pecking order, once Severino comes back, Montas is #6 … and depending on how you like Clarke Schmidt, maybe even #7.

To the top of the third, and Aaron Hicks made the same mistake he made a few days ago. He has to realize who bats behind him. With two outs, he doubled. NORMALLY, you would be happy with the double. You go to second base. NOT IN THIS CASE. Hicks should have just stopped at first. For by going to second, he took the bat out of the hands of the most dangerous hitter in baseball, Judge. Judge, of course, was intentionally walked. Stanton made out. Hicks has to learn to stop at first on such occurrences, or Stanton (hitting .215) needs to step it up. Aaron Boone and the coaches also should realize this and talk to Hicks about it.

Willie Mays would sometimes stop at first in those situations so as to NOT take the bat out of the hands of Willie McCovey. Mays had baseball smarts. Hicks? Not so.

Maybe move Torres to 2 behind Judge? After all, he’s hot lately. Stanton isn’t.

To the fourth, and the Yanks stranded two more runners. Meanwhile, the Brewers tied the game in the bottom of the fourth off of Montas and Lucas Luetge. Given a 5-0 lead, Montas couldn’t get out of the fourth inning and Boone had to use most of his bullpen for the rest of the game. Unacceptable.

The Yanks stranded two more runners in the sixth.

In the bottom of the eighth, Milwaukee took the lead. On one play, Gleyber Torres couldn’t come up with a ball hit up the middle. A tough break there. But on another, IKF made an error with two out allowing a run to score. The internet has been on his defense lately. Could Oswald Peraza have made that play? Who knows. But IKF has to make that. Instead, 6-5, Brew Crew.

Donaldson tied the game in the top of the ninth with his 14th HR of the season, a ball that hit the foul pole. Cabrera followed with a double but was left stranded. The home plate umpire made an absolutely horrendous called third strike call on Miguel Andujar with Cabrera on third and one out. MLB needs to do more than to give umps a slap on the wrist on these egregious errors. They need to suspend or fire umps. We have seen so many bad calls and nothing happens to the umps. Boone was tossed arguing the call. Yeah, the manager and/or player pays for the umps f-up.

Clay Holmes came on for the bottom of the ninth and blew the game. This has to be very concerning for the Yankees. You need a reliable closer going into the postseason. In 2009, EVERY closer blew a postseason game except for one. Mariano Rivera. The Yankees won the World Series, their last one to date. Since July 9, Holmes ERA is 6.86. He has lost 4 games and has 3 blown saves. He has walked 13 in 19 2/3 innings. He has to right the ship and quickly or the Yanks will have to find another closer for the postseason.

The loss is one thing. But the 2 for 11 w/RISP, 11 left on base, and the struggles of Montas and Holmes are another. That is what made this loss so disappointing. Oh yeah, one more thing at the bottom.

Judge 2 hits.
Torres 2 hits
Donaldson 3 RBI. Solo HR (14)
Cabrera 2 for 2, 3 walks.
Hicks 2 hits.

Montas 3 1/3 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 4 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.05 (Oak/NYY ERA)
Luetge 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.75
Weissert 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 7.56 SEE BELOW
German 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 3.12
Peralta 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.40 SEE BELOW
Trivino 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K. 4.69 SEE BELOW
Loaisiga 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 4.43
Holmes (L, 6-4) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K. 2.59.

One more thing here. (I told you above, didn’t I?) Check the pitching line above. Weissert faced one batter. Stuck him out. Peralta faced one batter. Struck him out. Trivino faced three batters, struck them all out.

WHY DIDN’T THEY STAY IN THE GAME LONGER, BOONE? Don’t mess with success!

Game 142. Judge hits 2 HR (now has 57) in Yanks’ 7-6 win over Boston.

Aaron Judge kept up the pace (he’s on pace for 65) for being the new AL and Yankees’ single season HR champ, hitting two HR last night to put him 4 behind Roger Maris’ AL and Yankee record of 61. There are 20 games left.

The Yankees’ (86-56) 7-6 win in 10 innings means that their magic # for clinching the AL East is now 15. It is 9 for clinching a playoff berth (you may see 10 but the Yankees own the tiebreaker due to head-to-head record against Baltimore).

Despite Judge’s HR, it took a bases-loaded double by Gleyber Torres and some relief by Wandy Peralta to win the game for the Yankees in the tenth.

Yankees’ starter Gerrit Cole only gave up 4 hits, but 3 of them were HR. In the bottom of the second inning, he gave up a 2-run HR to Triston Casas, and Boston was up 2-0. (None of the 3 HR Cole gave up were to Rafael Devers, who owns Cole).

Marwin Gonzalez tied the game for the Yankees in the top of the third inning with a 2-run HR (5). But Cole gave up a HR to Reese McGuire in the bottom of the third and Boston went back on top, 3-2.

Judge hit HR #56 to tie the game in the top of the sixth, but in the bottom of the sixth, Xander Bogaerts sliced a HR around the Pesky Pole to put Boston up 4-3.

One thing about the Pesky Pole. Many people, including sportscasters, have it all wrong. They act as if it is named that because Johnny Pesky hit a lot of HR around that pole. WRONG. Boston SS/3B Johnny Pesky hit 17 HR IN HIS WHOLE CAREER, 13 with Boston and 4 as a Detroit Tiger. It is named the Pesky Pole because his name was actually John Michael Paveskovich. He was Polish. The Pesky Pole is because of his ethnicity, not his HR ability.

Judge tied the game up with HR #57 leading off the top of the eighth inning. 4-4.

To extra innings and that blasted ghost runner. Isiah Kiner-Falefa was the ghost runner at second for the Yankees. Aaron Hicks PH for Jose Trevino and walked, but Gonzalez GIDP. With a runner on third and two out, Boston, of course, intentionally walked Judge. But Giancarlo Stanton also walked, and he was then PR for by Estevan Florial. Torres cleared the bases with his double to put the Yanks up 7-4.

Boston got a HBP in the bottom of the tenth to have runners on first and second with no one out. Clay Holmes got a K, but then was relieved by Wandy Peralta. Wandy escaped, but barely. A single made it 7-5. Then a flyout for out #2. One strike away from a win, Peralta threw a WP to make it 7-6 and put the tying run on second. He then got a swing and a miss to end the game.

Judge 3 hits, 2 RBI. Two solo HR (57) He is now hitting .310 with 123 RBI.
Judge Leads MLB in 9 categories, and the AL in a 10th. Stop talking Ohtani MVP. It’s Judge.
Ohtani’s team is 61-81. What, you are penalizing Judge because he doesn’t pitch as well? C’mon.
Without Judge, the Yanks aren’t in first place. With Ohtani, the Angels are still in fourth. Enough said.

Torres 3 RBI
Gonzalez 2-run HR (5)

Cole 6 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 2 W, 10 K. Gave up 3 HR 3.30
Cole has 228 K, 20 behind Guidry’s Yankee record of 248 in 1978.
Luetge 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.60
Trivino 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 HBP. 4.79 (A’s/NYY ERA)
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.42
Holmes (W, 6-3) 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP. 2.35
Peralta (S, 4) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 WP 2.41

Before the game, Jose Trevino off the paternity list, Ben Rortvedt sent down.

Game 141. Yanks have a cushion after 10-4 win over Rays.

As Yogi said, “it ain’t over ’til it’s over.” The 1964 Phillies blew a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games left in the season. The 2004 Yankees blew a 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 series. The 2007 Mets blew a 7-game lead with 17 games left. You don’t count your chickens until they are hatched.

But with yesterday’s 10-4 win over Tampa Bay, coupled with the 10-3 win on Saturday, the Yankees (85-56) opened up a 5 1/2 game lead with 21 games to go. Had the Rays swept the Yankees this weekend instead of only winning the first game, the lead would have been down to 1 1/2 games and the pressure really would have been on after having once had a 15 1/2 game lead.

There are other things finally turning in the Yankees’ favor after almost two months of things going sour. For one, the Rays have some 15 of their 24 remaining games against Toronto and Houston, making it that much more difficult to catch the Yankees for the division title. Toronto sits 6 back of the Yankees, and just 1/2 game behind Tampa Bay. Seattle is in a virtual tie with Tampa Bay. So those three teams are jockeying for 4-5-6 playoff position.

You will see that the Yankees have magic numbers of 18 for the division and 11 for a playoff spot. Actually, it is one less number for each because the Yankees own the tiebreakers.

Another thing in the Yankees’ favor is that the cavalry is on its way. Four Yankees started rehab assignments with AA Somerset yesterday (see other post). Yes, rust may be a factor, but hopefully they come back healthy and refreshed.

Lastly, something you will see in the game recap. The bats of Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres seem to be waking up after long slumbers. This is extremely important. It means that teams just can’t pitch around Aaron Judge. He needs protection. Stanton and Torres hitting provides that protection. Then the Yankees’ offense can go.

As they did on Saturday, the Yankees jumped out early and big. Judge led off the bottom of the first with a single, and Stanton walked. Torres followed with a 3-run HR, #20 on the season, and the Yanks were up 3-0.

Domingo German started the game for the Yankees on short rest because of the rainout and subsequent doubleheader against the Twins a few days ago. He only pitched the first inning as the Yankees went with a bullpen game, using eight pitchers.

Tampa Bay got a run in the top of the second, but the Yanks blew the game open by responding with seven runs in the bottom of that inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off the inning with a walk, Kyle Higashioka walked, and Marwin Gonzalez singled to load the bases. Judge hit a SF to make it 4-1, and Stanton followed with a 3-run HR (26) to make it 7-1. Torres followed with another HR (21) to make it 8-1. Josh Donaldson then walked, and Oswaldo Cabrera hit his first MLB HR to give the Yankees a 10-1 lead.

Cabrera also got another OF assist. When will teams learn not to run on him?

The Rays scored two in the sixth and another in the ninth. Final score 10-4.

Ben Rortvedt, who didn’t get into a game, was sent back to AAA after the game as Jose Trevino will be returning from paternity leave.

Stanton 3 RBI. 3-run HR (26)
Torres 2 hits, 4 RBI. 3-run HR and Solo HR (21) 4th Yankee with 20 or more HR
Cabrera 2 RBI. 2-run HR (1) First MLB HR.

German 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 3.21
Luetge 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.63
Weissert (H, 1) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 7.88
Peralta (W, 3-4) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.44
Trivino 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 0 K. 4.82 (A’s/NYY ERA)
Marinaccio 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1.93
Schmidt 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 4 K. 2.70
Holmes 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 WP 2.41

Albert Pujols hit HR #697 yesterday, passing Alex Rodriguez for fourth place on the all-time list.