Game 160. Yanks lose, 8-1.

There isn’t much to write about regarding this one. On a lousy weather night for a game, the Yanks only got one run on three hits and lost to Baltimore 8-1.

Michael Pineda was victimized by the HR ball again as Baltimore got 2 in the fourth and 6 in the fifth. The Orioles belted 3 HR in that fifth inning, two off Pineda.

While we root for the Yanks to have success, every year there are players that make you shake your head.

For me, that is Pineda right now. So much talent and potential, so little results.

Sterling and Waldman were mentioning his lack of results on the radio last night.

One thing is for sure, the Yanks need to upgrade their starting pitching for 2017. How, is a good question. The free agent market for starters is weak. It’d have to be via trade, and that will make this off-season very interesting.

The Yanks could go after Chapman on the free agent market. He won’t come cheap. Then they can move Betances to the 8th, and Warren and Clippard can move up, to the sixth and seventh.

But they really need some young pitchers to develop, especially starters.

Green? Cessa? Mitchell? A rookie like Enns, Adams, both high up in the system? How far away are Justus Sheffield and James Kaprielian?

They also need power in the outfield, which is why Gardner or Ellsbury may be dealt. You can’t have three outfielders out there where none can hit 15 HR. The Yanks are finding out that they can have either Gardy or Ells, but not both.

It’ll be an interesting off-season for Brian Cashman.

Pineda (L, 6-12, 4.82) 4 1/3 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 3 walks, 5 K. Gave up 2 HR.
Pazos 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 walk, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 13.50
Swarzak 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walks, 1 K.5.52
Shreve 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 walks, 1 K. 5.18
Heller 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 1 K. 6.43

Game 158. Teix slams Boston, 5-3.

If this was the last HR of Mark Teixiera’s career, what a way to go out…with a walk-off grand  slam.

The 5-3 win over Boston puts the Yanks at 82-76 and assures them a winning season. Their last losing season was in 1992.

The game was scoreless until the eighth, when Boston loaded the bases with one out. Mookie Betts doubled in two runs and another run scored on a passed ball. The inning started on an error by Castro.

The Yanks only had one hit in the game going into the bottom of the ninth.

Gardner (who got the only hit up to that point) singled. He moved up on defensive indifference, but Ellsbury walked anyway. A WP moved the runners up, and Sanchez walked to load the bases. He was pinch-run for.

Brian McCann walked to force in a run. 3-1 Boston. McCann was PR for.

Castro struck out and Didi popped up, setting the stage for Teixeira and his GW HR.

It was #15 of the season for Teix, #409 of his career.

Bryan Mitchell had a great start.

It was the first MLB victory for James Pazos.

The Yanks tragic # is 1. Just one Orioles win or Yankees loss will eliminate the Yanks from the postseason.

Mitchell 7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 walks, 2 K. 3.24.
Warren 1/3 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 walks, 0 K. 4.76 (Cubs/NYY)
Layne 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walk, 0 K. 3.45 (Bos/NYY)
Holder 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 6.43
Pazos (w, 1-0, 6.75) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 0 K.

Game 156. Yanks rally with 5 in 9th to win “brawl” game.

The Yankees scored 5 times in the top of the ninth and won 7-5 over Toronto in a game that saw a brushback battle, and Luis Severino, Joe Girardi, Rob Thompson and Larry Rothschild all ejected.

The Yanks go to 80-76 and close the season with six games at home. They are all but officially eliminated, being 5 out of a playoff spot with six games to go. The most wins the Yanks can have is 86. Toronto already has that and Baltimore has 85. Not only that, there are three teams between the Yanks and Baltimore.

In the first, Gardner got on on a bunt single (where was that all year) and went to third on a 2-base throwing error on the play. He scored on an RBI groundout by Sanchez.

In the bottom of the first, with one out, Severino hit Josh Donaldson with a pitch. A single and two walks later, the game was tied at 1. Severino got out of the inning giving up just that one run.

In the top of the second, Headley was HBP and the benches cleared. Girardi was tossed. In the bottom of the second, Toronto’s Josh Smoak was drilled, benches emptied and more ejections were made.

Toronto got two in the third to go up 3-1.

The Yanks got one back in the eighth. Gardner, who doubled,  scored on an RBI single by Ellsbury.

In the ninth, Teixeira homered with one out (14) to tie the game. #408 of his career passed Duke Snider on the all-time list. Gregorius singled, and Hicks homered (8) to put the Yanks up 5-3. Solano doubled, Gardner walked, and Ellsbury singled in a run to make it 6-3. Sanchez got a SF to make it 7-3.

Betances came in and needed help. He once again looked completely out of gas and couldn’t field his position. Layne came in to save it.

Gardner had 3 hits and scored 3 runs. Ellsbury had 2 hits and 2 RBI. 2 RBI for Sanchez. Big 2-run HR for Hicks.

Severino 1+ IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 walks, 1 K. 2 HBP. Ejected. 5.75
Holder 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 walks, 0 K. 7.11
Pazos 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 0 K, 7.71
Yates 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 walks, 3 K. 5.36
Bleier 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 2.33
Warren (w, 7-4, 4.64 Cubs/NYY) 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 1 K.
Betances 0 IP,  2 R, 1 earned, 0 H, 2 walks, 0 K.  Made an error. 3.13. Faced 3 batters, all reached. 2 walks and an error.
Layne (S, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 0 K. 3.14.

James Kaprielian, who was dominant in spring training and in three games for High-A Tampa this year before being shut down with a flexor strain, is now OK and will be making up time in the Arizona Fall League this offseason. Good news.

Game 153. Yanks blanked again, 9-0.

As I wrote yesterday, Gary Sanchez can’t do it by himself. He had two hits Friday night, but other than him, the Yanks only got one other hit (Ellsbury) and lost 9-0 to Toronto.

The loss is the Yanks’ 9th in their last 12 games. It officially eliminated them from winning the division.

They are 79-74, and as far as a playoff spot is concerned, they are 4 out with 9 games to go, and have to jump four teams.

Besides not hitting, nothing much went right last night. An error let in two unearned runs, and although Bryan Mitchell was decent, the bullpen let the game get out of hand.

Mitchell (L, 1-2, 4.50) 6 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 6 H,  4 walks, 2 K.
Parker 1/3 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 2 walks, 0 K. 5.17 (Sea/NYY)
Pazos 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 10.80
Heller 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 0 walks, 2 K, 7.50. Gave up 1 HR.

Game 147. Yanks lose 3rd in a row, 7-4.

The Yanks lost their 3rd game in a row, 7-4, to Boston on Friday night. The loss drops them to 77-70.

With 15 games to go, they are 6 out of the division lead and 4 out of a wild card spot. They have to top 4 teams to get that last playoff spot. Things look very bleak. They most likely have to go on a 12-3 or 13-2 run to pull it off.

Boston got two runs right away in the first inning off of Yankees starter Luis Cessa on RBIs by David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez. They added another in the fourth when Ramirez, who hit a 3-run walkoff HR on Thursday night, hit a solo HR to just about the same spot.

They Yanks got 2 runs back in the fifth on a 2-run double by Gary Sanchez.

Middle relief failed the Yanks.Instead of keeping the game close, they gave up 2 runs to Boston in the sixth and two more in the seventh. 7-2 Red Sox. Michael Kay, on TV, was questioning the use of some pitchers in a big game that had been in the minors all year and who had little MLB experience.

Maybe other, more experienced, guys were just burned out. Who knows.

Billy Butler hit his first Yankees HR in the ninth (fifth total for the year) to make it 7-4.It was a PH, 2-run shot.

 

Cessa (L, 4-2, 4.44) 5 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 0 walks, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Pazos 0 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 18.00  Faced one batter, gave up a hit.
Holder 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 walk, 1 K. 6.75
Shreve 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 5.34 Gave up 1 HR.
Yates 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 walk, 0 K. 5.59
Heller 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 5.40

 

 

Game 143. Yanks lose, 8-2.

When Bryan Mitchell won the last time out, it was his first MLB victory.

Kind of tough for a youngster to face a good team like the Dodgers in the midst of a pennant race. Tougher when you have just 1 MLB victory and only four MLB starts under your belt while doing so.

Tougher yet when this is your second game of the season after missing most of the year with an injury.

Even tougher yet when 2 errors (Judge and Sanchez) allow 4 unearned runs to score.

The Dodgers got one in the first, three unearned runs in the second, and another 2 (1 unearned) in the third on their way to an 8-2 win over the Yanks.

Starlin Castro hit a solo HR (21) in the second for the Yanks. They got another run when Aaron Judge hit a HR (4) in the fifth.

But the game was all LA.

Tyler Austin was 0 for 4 with 4 K.

Mitchell (L, 1-1, 2.45) 2 1/3 IP, 6 R, 2 ER, 8 H, 0 walks, 2 K.
Shreve 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 2 K. 5.12
Bleier 4 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walk, 3 K. 2.50. Great job in fruitless cause.
Pazos 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 9.00 Gave up 1 HR.
Heller 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 6.75 Gave up 1 HR.

The loss puts the Yanks at 76-67.  It drops them 5 behind Boston for the Division title, and 2 behind Baltimore for the last playoff spot. They need to jump Baltimore and Detroit.

Game 137. Yanks win heartstopper, 7-6.

The Yankees needed every inch of the ballpark to win a back and forth, thrilling heartstopper of a game on Tuesday night, 7-6 over Toronto.

Luis Cessa started and did quite well for a rookie in a pennant race, pitching into the sixth and giving up just two runs.

He gave up a HR to Edwin Encarnacion in the first, but the Yanks tied it in the fourth on a HR (17) by Brian McCann.

Toronto went up 2-1 in the fifth but then in the bottom of the seventh, things started to get wild.

Tyler Austin hit a 2-run HR (2) in the bottom of the seventh to put the Yanks up 3-2.

But the Yanks bullpen was shaky as heck. They gave up the lead in the top of the 8th, and it was now 4-3 Toronto. I couldn’t understand why that inning, in a big spot, Girardi went to Ben Heller. It was the kid’s sixth MLB game, and a tough sp;ot to bring in a rookie like that.

The Yanks came back with four in the bottom of the eighth. Ellsbury walked, and after Sanchez struck out, Gregorius tripled to tie the game. Castro hit a SF to give the Yanks the lead, then McCann walked and Headley followed with a 2-run HR (13). 7-4 Yanks.

Betances coming in. Game over, right?

Wrong.

Betances almost blew the game. Two walks, a WP, and an infield single made it 7-5. 1st and 3rd, no out. Betances got a strikeout, but then a walk loaded the bases. An infield single make it 7-6, bases loaded, one out.

In came Blake Parker to relieve Betances. He got a strikeout.

Then Justin Smoak “smoaked” on to the wall in left. Gardner went back and made the catch right at the wall. For a moment, it appeared the ball would pop out of his glove.

Whew.

The win puts the Yanks at 72-65, 4 1/2 out in the AL East. They are still 3 1/2 out of a playoff spot and still have three teams to jump over.

Tonight it appears as if Bryan Mitchell will get the start. He and James Pazos were called up yesterday. I just wonder if Mitchell is ready and stretched out enough in coming off the DL.Also, Girardi went through eight pitchers. He didn’t use Severino, so maybe he hopes for four from Mitchell, then four from Severino today.

Cessa 5 1/3 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 2 walks, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.07
Pazos 0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 0 K. Faced one batter gave up a hit. 1st MLB appearance this season. ERA infinity.
Warren 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 2 K. 5.00 (Cubs/NYY)
Layne 0 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 1 walk, 0 K. 3.55 (Bos/NYY). Faced 1 batter, walked him.
Heller (BS,1 ) 0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 0 K. 6.00. Faced 2 batters, gave up a hit and a walk.
Shreve (w, 2-1, 4.80) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 1 K.
Betances (H, 28) 1/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 3 walks, 1 K. 2.31.
Parker (S, 1) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 3.09 (Sea/NYY)

The Minors.

AAA: SWB lost 7-5. James Pazos gave up 4 in the top of the 9th. Kyle Higashioka and Tyler Austin had solo HR. If you are wondering why Parmalee and not Swisher, well, Swish was 0 for 5 last night and is at .234 for SWB. He DH’d last night. Ben Gamel 2 hits, Aaron Judge 2 hits, 2 rbi.

AA: Reg. Game: Trenton won 7-1. Daniel Camarena, 1 R, 5 H, 7 IP (CG). Dante Bichette, Jr. and Juan Silva each had 2 hits and 2 RBI. HR for Silva. Dustin Fowler also had 2 hits.

Makeup game from 4/9: Trenton lost 5-2. Lane Adams had two of their four hits, one rbi.

High A: Tampa lost 12-4 in a sloppy game. They made four errors, their opponent three. Bo Thompson 2 RBI.

Low A: Charleston gave up 4 in the top of the 9th to lose 5-3. They made three errors and three of those runs were unearned. Jeff Hendrix and Conor Spencer two hits each.

Game 25. Vintage CC. Yanks blank O’s, 7-0.

CC Sabathia turned back the clock and the Yanks blanked Baltimore 7-0 Wednesday night.

For the first time in three years, CC went seven scoreless innings.

Prior to the game, A-Rod was put on the DL (hamstring) and reliever James Pazos was brought up.

Jacoby Ellsbury was 3 for 3 with 2 walks and 2 SB. Mark Teixeira drew three walks and Brian McCann drove in 3 runs.

Sabathia (w, 2-2, 3.81) 7 IP, 0 r, 6 H, 2 walks, and 6 K.
Yates 1 /3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 walks, 1 K. 3.00
Betances 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 2.92.
Shreve 1 IP, 0 R, 0 R, 0 walks, 2 K. 4.82

S.T. Game 24. Mitchell strong in Yanks’ 4-3 win.

After Ivan Nova’s performance yesterday, it was pretty much a given that he pitched himself out of the starting rotation. It was also pretty much a given that CC Sabathia would have the #5 slot.

As ESPN’s Lee Corso is known to say, “Not so fast, my friend.”

Although it still strongly appears that CC will have that #5 slot, if only because of his salary, Bryan Mitchell gave the Yanks some food for thought as he continued his fine spring training with four scoreless innings in the Yanks’ 4-3 win over Toronto in spring training action today.

Aaron Hicks led off the game with a HR for the Yanks.

Poor Rob Refsnyder took a bad hop off of his face for the second day in a row. He’s made three errors at 3B in the last two days. Meanwhile, don’t count out Ronald Torreyes maybe beating out Refsnyder for a spot on the team as the backup infielder. Torreyes, 23, has had a fine spring. The rookie had two hits today and is at .313 for the spring.

A-Rod had an RBI. The winning run scored in the ninth on an E-2.

Nick Rumbelow and James Pazos were sent down to AAA. I still think the final bullpen spot(s) are down to Barbato, Yates and Pinder.

Today’s pitching line:

Mitchell 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 4 K.
Swarzak 2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 walks and 2 K.
Moreno 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 walks and 1 K.
Pinder 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk and 1 K.
Mullee 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 3 K.