Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Ellsbury, Murphy Power Yankees Offense Past Cardinals in Rubber Game

After getting shutout yesterday, the Yankees were no doubt in dyer need of a victory.

The Bombers, who had just 5 hits in last night's loss, had fallen to three games out of first place, with a star-lacking lineup this evening making them appear to be weak. 

That wasn't the case though, as the Pinstripes scored seven runs off Cardinals Starter Shelby Miller on way to a 7-4 rubber game win.

For the first two innings, the Yanks' offense failed to get a runner in scoring position, but for the next two frames the bats couldn't be stopped.

The Yankees' original rally began with runners on first and second and one out in the top of third, when Jacoby Ellsbury lined a single to right-center to give New York an early 1-0 lead.

Two batters later, backup Catcher John Ryan Murphy added to the advantage, driving in two more with a hit of his own followed by an RBI Fielder's Choice from Ichiro.

In their next half-inning, the Bombers continued to embarrass Miller, crossing home three more times thanks to a two-run single from Ellsbury, his second and third RBIs of the contest, and a liner to right from Brian McCann, scoring Ellsbury from second.

At that point, the ballgame looked to be over, as the Pinstripes had a dominant 7-0 lead.

Unfortunately, that wasn't completely true, as New York's Hiroki Kuroda ended up surrendering three runs on 9 hits in his 5.2 frames of work, costing him a quality start.

Still, that line was good enough for #18 to get the win, improving his 2014 record to 4-3 and slightly raising his ERA to 4.57.

After he left this one, Dellin Betances, who originally wasn't supposed to appear, came in to get the last out of the sixth, inducing a Matt Holliday flyout on the first pitch he threw.

Following him, the usually-perfect Adam Warren entered the contest, leaving a man on second in a rough five-out performance. 

That runner would eventually score in the bottom of the eighth on a single surrendered by David Robertson, who did bounce back later on to end the non-save situation with three consecutive strikeouts, lowering his ERA to a solid 2.20.

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Cardinals 5/28


The New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals will finish up their three game set tonight in Busch Stadium in the finale of this historic and rare series. The Yankees will send the struggling and home run prone Hiroki Kuroda to the mound to face off with the struggling and home run prone Shelby Miller for the Cardinals. The game will be played at 8:15 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

I just wanted to take a second to praise our new partners over at Ticket Monster. I am taking my son to his first baseball game on August 10 when the Atlanta Braves host the Washington Nationals and decided to give them a look while trying to find the best price on tickets and I was extremely pleased that I did. Ticket Monster was not only cheaper than Stubhub, Braves ticket exchange, and the equivalent but the shipping and handling was free, there were no fees, and the tickets were shipped the same day. I got a tracking number already and will have my actual tickets, not a digital print off, in hand by this Friday. I don't think I'll buy my tickets from anywhere ever again. Check out Ticket Monster HERE for all your ticket needs.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your evening.

To Be The Best You Have To Beat The Best... Meme


Shelby Miller is on the mound tonight in the finale of the three game set between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees. According to this meme Miller is the best, the world champ, so to be the best you have to beat the best. Beat the best tonight Yankees and let's use this game as a springboard that we talk about in the Canyon of Heroes.

Yankees Sitting Half of Starting Lineup in St. Louis Finale

Despite the fact that tonight's game in St. Louis both decides the series and determines whether or not this road trip is winning, the Yankees have sat half of their starting lineup for the contest, The YES Network's Jack Curry reports. 

While Mark Teixeira not playing isn't necessarily surprising, the other three somewhat are, as Yangervis Solarte, Derek Jeter, and Alfonso Soriano will be replaced by Kelly Johnson, Brendan Ryan, and Ichiro Suzuki respectively. 

Now considering that Solarte and Jeter haven't gotten games off for a while (Solarte - May 5, Jeter - May 18), their break is reasonable, but since Soriano just sat Monday his is definitely a little strange.

As for who's replacing Teixeira, John Ryan Murphy technically's the guy, catching while Brian McCann plays first. The start at first will be the first of McCann's career, although the veteran isn't completely inexperienced at the position, recording two putouts in a game back on April 24.

Neither of those plays were necessarily hard for #34, as they each were just step-on-the-base-and-catch-it kind of putouts, but still, I wouldn't panic right now if I'm a Yankees fan. Clearly, McCann knows something about playing the position, otherwise he wouldn't be doing it.

Preview: New York Yankees @ St. Louis Cardinals 5/28


The New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals will play the finale of their three game set this week at Busch Stadium. The Yankees will send Hiroki Kuroda to the mound looking to seal the win for the Yankees before the off day and will face off with Shelby Miller for the Cardinals. The game will be played at 8:15 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Kuroda is coming off a start in which he allowed four runs, two earned, and eight hits in only 4.2 innings against the Chicago White Sox. Kuroda will look to go deeper into a game and keep the ball in the ballpark as he has allowed five home runs in his last three starts.

Miller has not shied away from putting runners on base this season and it finally came back to bite him in the rear in his last start. Miller allowed four runs in a start for the second time this season and failed to make it through more than five innings pitched. Miller is very walk prone and home run prone so I expect this to be a long and patience testing game for the Yankees and their fans.

Go Yankees!!

Dante Bichette Jr. Named FSL Player of the Week


Tampa, Fla. - The Florida State League named Tampa Yankees Infielder Dante Bichette Jr. Player of the Week today. This honor was for games played May 19 - May 25, 2014.  
  
           Bichette Jr. played in eight (8) games during this span batting .357 with eight (8) hits in 28 plate appearances. He hit one (1) double and three (3) homeruns with 13 RBI's and five (5) runs scored. His OBP was .406 and his slugging average was .714. He currently leads the team in doubles and is second with 30 RBI.      

          This is the fourth year of professional baseball for the 2011 Supplemental Round A (51st overall) First-Year Draft pick from Orlando, FL. He was ranked No. 9 among Yankees prospects by MLB.com entering the 2013 season.

        The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced Affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information about the Tampa Yankees call (813) 673-3055 or visit www.tybaseball.com.

Jeremy Bleich Earns E.L. Pitcher of the Week


Trenton Thunder starting pitcher Jeremy Bleich has been selected as the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the period of May 19th-May 25th.  

The 6’2”, 200 lb. hurler started one game for the Thunder last week and had a record of 1-0 with 10 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA in 7.0 IP.  Bleich, who is a native of Metairie, La. made his lone appearance of the week on Friday night at Richmond in a 6-1 victory by the Thunder. He gave up just four hits while striking out a career-high 10 batters and walking two while matching his career-high for innings pitched.

The 24-year old tied for the league lead last week with a 0.00 ERA and also finished ranked among the weekly league leaders in wins, strikeouts (10-tied 5th) and batting average against (.154-tied 8th).  In 10 starts for the Thunder this season Bleich has a record of 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA.  He currently ranks sixth in the league in strikeouts (49), eighth in WHIP (1.16) and ninth in batting average against (.229) and is tied for seventh in wins.  

The left-hander was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round with the 44th overall pick of the 2008 draft after putting together a record of 3-3 with a 2.09 ERA in 11 games, nine starts, during his junior season at Stanford University.

Daniel Ortiz, an OF for the New Britain Rock Cats, was selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for the period.

Bleich is the third Trenton Thunder player (second pitcher) to win an E.L. weekly award in 2014. RHP Bryan Mitchell earned Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 21 and INF Kyle Roller earned the Player of the Week for the period ending April 27.

The Thunder begin a three-game series in Reading, Pa. against the Reading Fightin Phils Tuesdaynight before returning home for a four-game/three-day series starting Friday against the Portland Sea Dogs. Saturday is a split doubleheader with first pitches scheduled for 2:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m., and tickets for all four games are available by visiting trentonthunder.com/tickets or by calling(609)394-3300.

Can't Predict Baseball: Picking On A Pitcher


On this day in 1939 George Selkirk, over two successive games, hits four home runs in four at bats against the same pitcher. The Yankee outfielder hit the home runs off the A's starting pitcher Robert Joyce with two home runs yesterday and hit two more on this day when he came in as a reliever. Can't predict baseball.

On this day in 1941 before the first night game played in Washington D.C. and in Griffith Stadium the Senators Walter Johnson throws a strike through a beam of light triggering a switch that lights up the stadium. While that was a pretty awesome gesture and show the Senators would lose the game to the Yankees 6-5 for their tenth consecutive loss.

Yankees Starting Pitching Could Always Be Worse


The New York Yankees pitching has quietly been really good this season, it could get a lot worse. The Yankees come into player yesterday with a team ERA of 3.88 including a 27.00 ERA from Cesar Cabral, 22.50 ERA from Chris Leroux, and a 18.00 ERA from Dean Anna. What got me thinking of the Yankees pitching staff was what happened on this day in 2005.

On this day in 2005 the Boston Red Sox beat the crap out of the Yankees, there is not other way to put it, by the score of 17-1. The Red Sox beat us so bad the scoreboard went blank for a few minutes because the operator could not keep up with the Red Sox barrage. Boston had 27 hits, one shy of the Yankees record for hits allowed, which were the most collected by the Red Sox since tying the team record of 28 in Hune of 2003.

The ironic part about it all is that Carl Pavano was on the mound on this day in 2005 and on the mound in June of 2003 when the Red Sox beat the crap out of the Florida Marlins.

I said all that to say this. We got the crap beat out of us by our division and most hated rival and we still won the division that season. So what if the Yankees give up a run or two or twelve, we will be there when it matters. Patience Yankees family.


Quick Hit: Eight Consecutive Days w/ Home Runs


Today marks the day that the Pittsburgh Pirates first basemen Dale Long made history way back in 1956. Long would hit his eight home run in eight games establishing a new major league record. While this record would later be tied by New York Yankees first basemen Don Mattingly in 1987 and the Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr in 1993 the record has still yet to be broken.

Not that the two should matter or necessarily collate but two of the three men never got a World Series ring. Was this the Baseball Gods saying they could have their cake but not eat it too? The world may never know. Long got a World Series ring finally as a member of the New York Yankees in 1962 but was a part time player and only played in two games and had five at bats in the series against the San Francisco Giants.


Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/27


Long's Two-Hitter Caps Doubleheader Sweep
Jaron Long strikes out nine in game two, extends scoreless streak to 22.2 innings in complete game

CHARLESTON, SC - Jaron Long pitched a two-hitter with a career-high nine strikeouts to lead the Charleston RiverDogs to a 3-0 shutout win against the Greenville Drive to sweep a Tuesday doubleheader in front of 3,327 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action. Caleb Smith and Tyler Wade led the RiverDogs to a 4-2 triumph in game one.
The RiverDogs are now 27-24 and leap over the 25-25 Drive to take third place in the Southern Division. Charleston also leads this four-game series by a 2-1 margin. Long has not allowed a run in four total starts and has been scoreless in his last 22.2 consecutive innings pitched overall. This is the eight-best streak by a RiverDog in the past decade.
In game two, Charleston's offense worked quickly to give Long a 3-0 lead in the nightcap. Michael O'Neill and Wade reached on first-inning walks from Myles Smith and scored on a double from Mike Ford. In the second inning, Jose Rosario received a leadoff walk and would score later in the frame during a groundout by O'Neill.
Long allowed just two singles in a seven-inning complete game with a personal-best nine strikeouts. He even picked up four strikeouts during the fifth inning when he escaped a situation with runners on the corners to keep the shutout intact.
In his first win as a starting pitcher, Long is now 3-1 overall this season. Smith fell to 1-3 as he was charged with the loss.
Caleb Smith started the opener and received a four-run cushion. In the bottom of the third inning, Wade's two-run single against Daniel McGrath provided Charleston with a 2-0 lead. Aaron Judge increased the lead to 3-0 on a groundout that scored O'Neill. During the fifth, Brandon Thomas was hit by a pitch, stole second base, and scored after another single by Wade.
Greenville only managed a pair of runs off Smith in the sixth inning. Jantzen Witte and Carlos Asuaje each drove in a run with back-to-back doubles, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Smith finished his 5.1 innings pitched with only those two runs allowed before Cesar Vargas relieved him and retired all five batters he faced to close game one.
By earning the victory, Smith improves to 4-3. McGrath took the loss and is 1-2. Vargas picked up his third save of the season.
BALLPARK FUN: The RiverDogs celebrated Re-Opening Night with a grand pregame parade with player arrivals on horse-drawn carriages. Charlie T. RiverDog joined the fun when a helicopter dropped him off in the middle of center field prior to the twin bill. Also as a part of Re-Opening Night, the night ended with a rare Tuesday fireworks display to make up for the rainout on the original Opening Night that was scheduled for Monday, April 7.
COMING UP: The fourth and final game of this series will be at 7:05pm on Wednesday, featuring RiverDogs RHP Brady Lail (7-1, 3.14 ERA) and Drive RHP Joe Gunkel (1-0, 1.29 ERA). Firefighters Night, presented by ServiceMaster, will be celebrated as firefighters look to raise money for the MUSC Children's Hospital Burned Children's Fund. MeTV sponsors HealthSouth Senior Wednesday, and it will also be Guaranteed Wins-Day as Charleston and Greenville continue The Battle of the Palmetto State Rivalry Series, presented by Spinx. Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away worldwide onwww.riverdogs.com and locally on 1250 WTMA, the new radio home for RiverDogs baseball.
Box Score - Game One: http://atmilb.com/1hvHWV5
Box Score - Game Two: http://atmilb.com/1hvI3zT

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs, the original post can be seen HERE

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/27

Austin Homer the Difference in 3-1 Win over Reading

READING, PA - Tyler Austin's two-run homer in the top of the seventh gave the Thunder a more comfortable 3-0 lead in a 3-1 win over the Reading Fightin Phils Tuesday night.
In a ballgame that was delayed 59 minutes, the Thunder jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off Reading starting pitcher Severino Gonzalez. Mason Williams stroked a double to left field and Ben Gamel followed with an infield single to set-up first and third with no outs. Rob Segedin, who would later leave the ballgame in the bottom of the fourth inning, grounded into a run-scoring double play to plate Williams.
Austin finished the ballgame 2-for-3 with a walk , but his biggest contribution came in the seventh inning following a Slade Heathcott two-out single. Austin's first home run of the season cleared the wall in left-center field to extend what was a 1-0 lead at the time, but proved to be the winning two runs Tuesday night.
Thunder starting pitcher Matt Tracy made his first start for the Thunder since May 11th vs. Reading, and went 6.2 IP with one run allowed. The St. Louis, Mo. native claimed his fifth Double-A victory of the season after his two most recent outings came in Triple-A with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Tracy has now allowed one run in 13.2 innings against the Fightins this season.
On in relief of Tracy was lefty Tyler Webb who allowed one hit in 2.1 IP and struck out the first four batters he faced. Webb scoreless innings earned him his second save of the season.
The Thunder have won 4-of-5 to begin their road trip and continue their three-game series against the Fightin Phils Wednesday with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch and 6:20 p.m. pre-game show on 91.3 FM and www.trentonthunder.com.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder, the original post can be seen HERE

Yankees Shutout By Cardinals in Game 2, 6-0

For the Yankees, the last three games have been a roller coaster.

On Saturday, they rallied late to beat the White Sox. On Sunday, behind a dominant Masahiro Tanaka, they topped Chicago easily. Yesterday, they bounced back after blowing two leads to emerge victorious over the Cardinals in 12 innings.

But tonight, well, they just didn't do any of those things, falling behind early and being shutout by Lance Lynn, 6-0.

The game wasn't always a blowout, as Yankees Starter David Phelps did escape multiple jams in the first two St. Louis at-bats to keep it tied after two, but from then on things just fell apart.

With men on first and third and one out in the bottom of the third, Matt Adams hit a ground-rule double to put the Cards on the board, followed by back-to-back errors from Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts that quickly made it 4-0.

Of those 4 runs, just two were earned off Phelps, who gave up a total of 5 (3 earned) over his 6 frames of work. 

Technically, the performance he put up was quality, but since it took him 109 pitches to get those eighteen outs it's unlikely he sees that way.

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/28


On this day in 1946 the first night game is played in New York at Yankee Stadium when General Electric president Charles E. Wilson throws out the first pitch. The Yankees drew 49,917 fans as the Washington Senators beat the Yankees 2-1. Dutch Leonard would have a complete game for the Senators and allowed only six hits to improve his record to 5-0 on the season.


On this day in 2004 Mariano Rivera converted his 300th save of his career in a 7-5 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Rivera would become the 17th reliever in major league history to reach the historic milestone.