Live Game Updates: Rockies at Yankees - 6/21

7:31 p.m., Mid 1st: A nightmare of a first inning for Nova. He allows three runs on five hits, needing 35 pitches to get three outs. Just like that, the Yankees are in a hole.

7:39 p.m., End 1st: Yankees get a run in the first after singles by Gardner and Beltran, but it could've been more. A groundball double play from A-Rod kills their chances at a crooked number.

7:54 p.m., Mid 2nd: A Refsnyder error leads to a unearned run for the Rockies. They're now up 4-1.

8:54 p.m., End 2nd: Yankees get a little closer thanks to a fielding error by DJ LeMahieu. They still trail 4-2, but at least the Rockies aren't playing great either.

8:34 p.m., End 4th: After Charlie Blackmon hits his second home run of the game, the Yankees go down 1-2-3 in the fourth. Once again, Nova is unable to hold Colorado at bay.

8:52 p.m., Mid 5th: Rockies score again in the sixth, knocking Nova out of the game. He is charged with six earned runs over 4+ innings.

9:03 p.m., End 5th: Yankees continue to hang around. A-Rod drives in a run with a sac fly as the Rockies' lead is cut to 6-3.

9:16 p.m., Mid 6th: Nolen Arenado deals what could be the finishing blow in the sixth. His two-run shot to left puts the Rockies up 8-3, as the Yankees' bad night gets worse.

10:40 p.m., End 9th: Game over. Yankees lose 8-4.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies 6/21

Here we are again Yankees family. Back to Yankees back in the Bronx and back to being able to watch games without sacrificing all your sleep on a work or school night because the games start late and head well into the wee hours of the night. Thank God for 7:05 pm ET starts including the one tonight between the New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies. In the contest the Yankees will send Ivan Nova to the mound looking to solidify his spot in the starting rotation while the Rockies counter with a familiar foe in Chad Bettis. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.

To see any game live home or away for the remainder of this season be sure to click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to secure your seats now. Also you want to look good for the game and we have you covered there as well with our TGP T-Shirts which is also linked at the top of the blog. I just recently purchased my Jacoby Ellsbury milk carton shirt and it’s in the mail now so be sure to snag one for you as well. Share your picture with your Ellsbury milk carton shirt on Twitter with us by giving @GreedyStripes a follow and we may showcase it right here on the blog!

Nova is ready to start dealing and Mr. Ellsbury himself and the rest of the Yankees are ready to get the offense going so let’s get to it. Go Yankees!

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

Breaking News out of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball’s office as apparently the New York Yankees are petitioning the league to change the name of Minnesota’s Target Field to “Little Yankee Stadium” based on their win/loss record there since it’s opening. Obviously I joke about the petition and the potential name change but the rest of the statement was accurate, the Yankees have owned the Twins for quite some time now and the team always seems to pick up their game a bit more when playing on the road inside Target Field. New York is fresh off taking three-of-four from the Twins in a weekend series but how would this affect them in the USA Today’s weekly power rankings? Well you’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

I won’t leave you in suspense for too long. The New York Yankees finished the week ranked 17^th, right where they were when they began the week unfortunately. Is that kind of like no news being good news? The rest of the AL East had a good week as well as the Boston Red Sox finished 6th while the Baltimore Orioles finished 5^th at the top of the rankings and the division. The Toronto Blue Jays finished the week at the #7 position while the Tampa Bay Rays finished another week towards the bottom of the rankings at #21.

The Top 5 teams according to the rankings are the Chicago Cubs, the Texas Rangers, the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants and the Baltimore Orioles. The five worst teams according to the rankings are the San Diego Padres, the Oakland Athletics, the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins.

The biggest rise of the week went to the Kansas City Royals who rose five spots from the #15 position to finish with the #10 while the biggest fall of the week went to the New York Mets. The Mets fell three positions to finish the week where they didn’t want to at the #11 position.

Another week in the books and another week closer to the August 1^st Trade Deadline. This deadline will shape this rankings this year much like they do every year, especially if the heavy hitters continue to add talent from the teams that are in the middle of the pack. For instance, can you see the Cubs relinquishing the top spot if they acquire one of Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees? Better yet can you see it if they acquire both? Can you see the Washington Nationals making a push if they acquired both? I sure could. It will be interesting to say the least and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out this season.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies 6/21

The New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies face off again head-to-head this week but this time the pitchers won’t be hitting and the air isn’t rarified. This time the game goes down in the Bronx in front of the Yankee Stadium faithful. This time around the Rockies will send a familiar face in Chad Bettis to the mound to face off with the Yankees starter Ivan Nova.

Nova has not been sharp in his last five starts while Luis Severino is looking better and better with each start down in Triple-A with the RailRiders. If Nova wants to keep his starting job he’s going to have to prove it and posting a 6.30 ERA like he has in his last five starts is far from proving it. Nova has allowed five runs in two of his last three starts leaving many to wonder when the chants for Severino will begin again in the Bronx.

Bettis faced the Yankees his last time out and earned his first victory since May 17^th in the contest. Bettis earned his fifth win of the season last Wednesday thanks to his Rockies offense behind him that has given him 5.43 runs of support per game this season.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV. The last time these two teams faced off head-to-head the Rockies swept away the Yankees in Coors Field in a short two-game set and the Yankees will look to return the favor tonight in the Bronx with a sweep of their own. How sweep it would be, now get it done. Go Yankees!

Yankees Stats Leaders Through 69 Games

Offense

Games Played:

 Starlin Castro - 67

At Bats:

Starlin Castro - 256

Runs Scored:

Brett Gardner - 39


Hits:

Carlos Beltran - 68

Doubles:

Carlos Beltran - 14

Home Runs:

Carlos Beltran - 18

RBI:

Carlos Beltran - 48

AVG:

Carlos Beltran - .283 

Robert Refsnyder - .283 (non-qualifying)

Pitching

GS:

Masahiro Tanaka, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda - 14

AP:

Dellin Betances - 34

Wins:

Nathan Eovaldi - 6

Losses:

Michael Pineda - 7

ERA:

Andrew Miller - 1.21 (bullpen)

CC Sabathia - 2.20 (rotation)


K's:

Michael Pineda - 88 (rotation)

Dellin Betances - 62 (bullpen)

Weekly Prospects Check In: Where the Hell is James Kaprielian?

The New York Yankees drafted James Kaprielian with their first pick in the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft with the hopes of getting him through the Yankees system quickly and into the Bronx. Why wouldn’t he move quickly? He was a college pitcher that was considered to be MLB ready straight out of the draft. The only thing besides an act of God or some higher power that could stop Kaprielian from reaching the Major Leagues this season was going to be an injury. That is exactly what has happened thus far to Mr. Kaprielian.

Kaprielian was placed on the MiLB disabled list on April 25^th and was said to be “close to throwing” again on May 20^th. Here it is June 21^st and the Yankees top draft pick in 2015 is still shut down with elbow inflammation. Where the hell is James Kaprielian and when do we begin to worry about another Ian Clarkin or, gulp, worse situation?

Year	Age	Tm	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2016	22	Tampa	2	1	1.50	3	3	18.0	8	6	3	1	3	22	0.611	4.0	0.5	1.5	11.0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/21: Yankees Club the Rays

On this day in 2005 the Yankees had a week of it at the plate in a 20-11 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Rays led the Yankees 10-2 at one point in the game before the Rays lost the lead. This would make the second time in Rays franchise history that they led by at least eight runs in a game only to lose by at least nine runs. The Rays gave up 13 runs in the bottom of the second inning which was the second time they have given up at least 13 runs in an inning in the same season, a major league record they did not want to be a part of.


Also on this day in 1967 the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox had a benches clearing brawl to keep the fans entertained. Joe Foy was struck in the helmet and in retaliation the Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg hit the Yankees pitcher Thad Tillotson to start the fight in the second inning. No ejections were handed out and Reggie Smith is brushed back in the next inning while Dick Howser leave the games in the fifth inning after being hit in the head with a pitch.


Finally on this day in 1941 the New York Yankees team consecutive streak of hitting a home run in 17 straight games is extended with a seventh inning home run by Phil Rizzuto. The home run would tie the major league record originally set by the Detroit Tigers and would come in a 7-2 loss to that same Tigers team in Yankee Stadium. This was only Rizzuto's second career home run.