Game 65. West Woes continue as Yanks lose another close one, 7-6.

The Yanks (38-27) AL East lead is down to one after a 7-6 loss Friday night in Oakland. The West coast trip has been hellish.

Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks are day to day with the injuries, and Adam Warren was put on the DL, joining CC. Giovanny Gallegos was sent down, Mason Williams (for Hicks) and Kyle Higashioka (for Sanchez) were brought up. It’s hard to keep up with the moves lately.

Once again the Yanks had a lead, and once again the B-listers (anyone not Warren, Chapman, Clippard or Betances) of the bullpen blew it. Chapman is supposed to return Sunday (see the minor league report for his rehab stint), Warren is now on the DL and the others aren’t getting the ball to Betances.

In the four-game losing streak, the Yanks have lost three games by one run, and two in extra innings. Excruciating. The losses have been by Shreve, Herrera (MLB debut), Gallegos (rookie on the NYY-SWB shuttle with 9 MLB games under his belt) and now Holder, another rookie.

The close losses have really affected their Pythagorean record. According to runs scored vs. runs allowed, the Yanks should be five wins better than they are right now. But close losses like these and big blowouts like last weekend against Baltimore skew that Pythagorean record. It’s a sign of what a team should be doing, and after all it’s the real record that counts anyway.

Luis Severino had one bad inning, giving up four runs in the second.

But the Yanks came back, and took a 6-4 lead late in the game. Aaron Judge started the comeback with a 3-run HR (23) in the third.

Gardner and Didi were getting days off. Sanchez and Hicks are hurt, day to day. As a result, the lineup had Refsnyder in left, Mason Williams (20 MLB games before last night) in CF. Romine was catching and Torreyes was at SS. So half the lineup was backups, who did OK.

In the fifth, the Yanks tied it on Torreyes’ double and a single by Williams.

Chris Carter hit a HR (8) in the sixth to put the Yanks up 5-4.

In the seventh, Judge tripled, Holliday walked and Castro singled to put the Yanks up 6-4.

Then the roof caved in.

The A’s got a run in the seventh off Shreve to cut the lead to 6-5. They then got two off of Holder in the eighth to win the game 7-6.

When Holder ran into trouble in the eighth, I wondered if Girardi would turn to Betances for a multi-inning save. Nope, and the Yanks lost because of it, but I can see you can’t just burn Betances out. With Warren and Chapman on the DL, the rest of the bullpen isn’t picking up the slack, and some guys are a bit fried right now. Clippard has been in a slump.

Judge 2 for 3, scored 2, 3 RBI, HR, triple. Walked twice.
Castro 2 hits, RBI.
Torreyes 2 hits.

Severino 6 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 4 W, 6 K. Uncharacteristically wild, all 4 hits in same inning.
Shreve (H, 1) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1.86
Holder (BS, 2; L, 1-1, 3.49) 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 0 K. First MLB loss.

 

Game 64. Road trip from hell continues as Yankees lose in 10, 8-7, more players hurt.

Before the game, the Yankees made moves, sending down Ron Herrera and putting CC Sabathia on the DL. They brought back Ben Heller  Domingo German (my mistake) and called up Luis Cessa.

After the game, an 8-7 Yankees’ loss in 10 innings, the Yanks may have to make more moves, like maybe bringing up Dustin Fowler, Kyle Higashioka and a reliever.

The road trip from hell continued with not only a Yankees’ loss,  their third in a row, but now more players may be headed to the DL.

In the minors, the Yankees have shut down Greg Bird, who now has a knee injury on top of trying to get over the ankle injury. Poor guy appears to be like Nick Johnson. So much potential, but injuries keep eating him up.

We don’t know when Ellsbury is coming back from that concussion. That’s important because last night Aaron Hicks had to be taken out of the game because of an Achilles injury.

Gary Sanchez had to be taken out because of an abductor muscle injury. Adam Warren wasn’t available because of a sore trap muscle in his pitching arm.

We’ll see if these injuries are day to day or if they require DL stints. But geez…

The loss puts the Yanks at 38-26, and they maintain a 2-game lead in the AL East. It was a tough loss, because the Yanks came back in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth and took the lead in the tenth.

In the tenth, Giovanny Gallegos got the first two outs, then gave up two hits and an intentional walk before a blooper just extended past Starlin Castro’s reach, tipped off his glove, found grass, and gave the A’s their 8-7 walkoff win.

The Yanks left the bases loaded in the first, not scoring. They left two on in the fourth.

Jordan Montgomery gave up a solo HR in the first to Jed Lowrie and a 2-run double in the second to put the Yanks in a 3-0 hole.

The Yanks tied it in the sixth when with one out, Castro singled, Sanchez walked and Didi (17 g. hitting streak) singled to load the bases. Headley singled in two runs, Carter tied the game with a single.

The A’s got a run in the bottom of the sixth to go up 4-3 on a Yonder Alonso HR. The Yanks tied it in the seventh. With two out, Castro singled, stole second, and scored on a Gary Sanchez double.

The A’s scored in the bottom of the seventh, going up 5-4. The Yanks came back again to tie it in the eighth on a Chris Carter HR (7).

Once again, the Yanks couldn’t hold the A’s, as the A’s got a run in the bottom of the eighth. The Yanks tied the game at six in the top of the ninth when Castro doubled with one out and Sanchez singled him home. Sanchez was having a big game when he got hurt.

In the tenth, with one out, Gardner and Refsnyder (in for the injured Hicks) each singled. Judge walked to load the bases and Castro hit a SF.

Then came the bottom of the tenth when Gallegos got the first two batters but couldn’t salt the game away.

Gardner 2 hits.
Castro 3 for 5, scored 3, 1 RBI. (.328)
Sanchez 3 for 3, 2 walks, scored 1, 2 RBI. He raised his average to .297 before the injury.
Headley 2 hits, 2 RBI
Carter 2 hits, 2 RBI, HR
Montgomery 5 2/3 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 1 W, 5 K. 3.78. Gave up 2 HR
Green 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.70
Clippard 1/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.30
Betances 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 3 K. 0.42
Gallegos (BS, 1; L, 0-1; 7.15) 2/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K.

 

Game 62. CC hurt as Yanks give one away, 3-2 in 11.

CC Sabathia strained his hamstring (how bad, how long a DL stint and who’ll replace him we don’t know yet) in a 3-2 11-innings Yankees’ loss to the Angels Tuesday night.

The loss cut the Yankees’ (38-24) AL East lead to three games, because the Red Sox are taking advantage of the fact that they are playing the worst team in the majors right now in the 21-42 Phillies.

The Angels scored first, With two out, Chris Carter made a 2-base fielding error and the next batter singled in a run.

The Yanks tied it in the fifth on a Headley double and Gardner single.

Headley homered in the seventh (4) to put the Yanks up 2-1.

I’ll never understand why managers feel the need to pull a guy who just pitched a scoreless inning just to put in their “eighth inning guy”. After pitching a scoreless seventh, Adam Warren was pulled for Tyler Clippard. Clippard gave up a game-tying HR to the first batter he faced. When will managers stop going by the book and go by what they see and what is in their gut? Guy is doing well, leave him in! Getting too fine and cute costs you. I hate this mix and match. If the guy had a good inning, leave him in there.

In the top of the eleventh, with one out, Sanchez walked, Gregorius doubled to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, and Headley was intentionally walked. But Carter and Gardner both popped up.

In the bottom of the eleventh, a walk, SB after an out, another out that moved up the runner, a walk and a single won the game for the Angels.

Headley 3 for 4, HR.

Sabathia 4 IP, 1 R, UNEARNED, 3 H, 1 W, 4 K. 3.46. Headed to DL.
Gallegos 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 5.91
Warren (H, 6) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.23
Clippard (BS, 4) 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.00 Gave up 1 HR.
Holder 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.96
Shreve (L, 1-1, 1.47) 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 W, 1 K.
Heller 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 0.00

 

 

 

Game 60. You have heard of Boston Massacre? How about Baltimore Blitz? Sweep. 38-8 over 3 games! Sanchez 450 and Judge 495 Ft. HRs in 14-3 rout.

You have heard of the Boston Massacre. What do you call this, the Baltimore Blitz? For the Yanks swept Baltimore this weekend 38-8 in three games, and during their five game winning streak, have scored 55 runs (11 per game).

Today, four more HR, and two were absolute bombs.

Once again, the Yanks jumped out early and put the game away in the very first inning. With the 14-3 blowout, they go to 37-23 on the season.

In the first, singles by Gardner and Judge. WP . A 2-run single by Castro. A 3-run 450 ft. HR by Sanchez (10). That 450 foot HR would look like nothing by the end of the game.

The Orioles mounted a comeback, getting 3 in the third. Chad Green started, but did not last long due to pitch count. 5-3.

In the fourth, Hicks walked, Judge doubled and Holliday singled in two. 7-3.

To the sixth. Judge homered, and #20 for Judge was something to behold. Over the LF bleachers and a fan reached over the walkway for it. 495 feet!

After that, Holliday reached on an error and then Castro HR’d (12) to make it 10-3.

In the seventh, with one out, Torreyes and Gardner walked. Hicks doubled in two, and Judge hit his second HR of the game (21) to make it 14-3.

Domingo German made his MLB debut (Tommy Layne was DFA’d) and did a great job in this 14-3 win.

As far as pitching, a job pieced together by Girardi.

Batting:

Hicks, 2 RBI.
Judge 4 for 4. Walk. Scored 4 runs. Drove in 3. 2 HR.
Holliday 2 RBI.
Castro 2 hits, HR and 4 RBI
Sanchez HR and 3 RBI.
2 hits for Didi.
2 hits for Carter.

Green 2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 3 K. 2.41
Shreve 1 IP, 1 R 2 H, 0 W 2 K. 1.08
Holder 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 0 K. 3.04
Warren (W, 2-1, 2.30) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
German 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00   MLB DEBUT.

UPDATE: German was sent back down after the game. The Yanks are expected to call up Ben Heller.

 

 

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Game 57. Pineda and Sanchez bleach the Red Sox, 9-1 Yanks.

Michael Pineda pitched 7 strong innings, and Gary Sanchez continued “owning” David Price, hitting 2 HR off him, as the Yanks bombed Boston, 9-1, on Thursday night.

The win gives the Yanks a 3 game cushion in the AL East at 34-23.

The Yanks got a run in the second on a walk to Sanchez, single by Didi and after two out, a single by Gardner.

In the third, Sanchez hit a 3-run HR to make it 4-0 Yanks.

An error, bunt single and passed ball gave Boston their only run in the fourth.

In the fifth, Sanchez hit his second HR of the game (8) off of Price, a 2-run shot, to make it 6-1 Yanks. After this HR, Sanchez was 4 for 7 off of Price in his career, and all 4 hits were HR.

In the sixth, Judge singled, on a ball with an exit velocity of 119.6 MPH! Holliday walked and Castro singled to make it 7-1.

The Yanks got two more in the eighth on a HR by Gardner (13) (who’d have thought the power surge?), singles by Hicks and Judge, HBP by Holliday, and RBI forceout by Castro. Holliday was hit on the helmet and hopefully is OK.

Girardi got a little cute in the 9th, bringing in Betances to get some work and the last out, and he loaded the bases before finally getting it.

Pineda (W, 7-3, 3.39) 7 IP, 1 R, unearned, 4 H, 2 W, 8 K.
Warren 1 IP, 0 R, 0 , 0 W, 1 K. 2.43
Gallegos 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 7.04
Betances 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 2 K. (Batter reached on 1 K on a WP). 0.49.

Gardner 2 hits, HR, 2 RBI
Judge 3 hits
Castro 2 hits, 2 RBI
Sanchez 2 HR, 5 RBI
Didi Gregorius 2 hits.

Game 53. Yanks hit 4 HR in the 8th inning of a 7-0 win. Bad News on Ellsbury.

The Yankees set a team record for most hits in a game without getting a single when they hit 4 doubles and 4 homers in a 7-0 win over Toronto Saturday afternoon.

All four homers, three of them consecutive, came in the eighth inning to break open a tight ball game.

Before the game, the Yankees shut down CF Jacoby Ellsbury, who will go to see a neurologist after the headaches came back from the concussion he received running into the wall making a great catch last week.

The win puts the Yanks at 32-21 as the hit the 1/3 point of the season tomorrow with Game #54.

Jordan Montgomery pitched six shutout innings as he won for the first time in almost a month. Would you believe that right now the two lowest ERAs in the Yankees’ rotation are held by the youngsters? Severino and Montgomery.

In the third inning, Rob Refsnyder reached on an error, and scored on a double by Aaron Hicks. Aaron Judge then doubled Hicks home on a bullet. The line drive off of Judge’s bat had an exit velocity of 116.2 MPH. You often see a first baseman or third baseman eaten up by a line drive, but a CF?

It stayed 2-0 until the seventh, when back-to-back doubles by Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius made it 3-0.

Then came the eighth and HR Derby.

Gardner led off the inning with his 12th HR of the year. After the next two batters made out, the Yanks got three consecutive HRs from Holliday (12), Castro (9) and Gregorius (4).

Montgomery (W, 3-4, 3.67) 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 W, 5 K.
Warren (H, 5) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 k. 2.51
Clippard 1 IP, 0 r, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.57
Betances 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.49

Game 52. Yanks fall, 7-5.

Michael Pineda gave up 2 HR in the first inning to put the Yanks into an early 3-0 hole and the Yanks couldn’t climb out of it in losing 7-5 to Toronto Friday night.

The loss puts the Yanks at 31-21.

Pineda gave up a solo HR to Josh Donaldson and a 2-run HR to Justin Smoak in the first inning.

Toronto added runs in the third and fourth to go up 5-0.

The Yanks made it a game again in the sixth when Aaron Judge (18) and Starlin Castro (8) each hit two-run homers.

But every time the Yanks inched closer, the bullpen gave up another run.

After the Yanks made it 5-4 in the top of the sixth, Jonathan Holder gave up Josh Donaldson’s second HR of the game to make it 6-4 Toronto.

The Yanks got a run in the seventh to make it 6-5 on an RBI double by Matt Holliday.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Adam Warren gave a run back, 7-5 Toronto and that’s how the game ended.

Pineda (L, 6-3, 3.76) 5 IP, 5 R, 10 H, 3 W, 1 K. Gave Up 2 HR.
Holder 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.52
Warren 1 IP, 1 R, unearned, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.60
Shreve 1 Ip, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.60

Judge and Castro each with 2-run HRs. 2 hits for Hicks.

The Yanks were 0 for 9 with RISP.