The Night of 2 Bad Pitches...

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill-NY Post

Rays 2, Yankees 1...

The Yankees picked a bad night to go dry offensively as they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays despite a solid complete game effort from Sonny Gray. In the end, it was two misplaced pitches that were deposited into the outfield seats that helped the Rays overcome the Yankees. If the Yankees fall short of their bid to win the AL East, they'll look back at games like this and wonder what could have been.

Matt Holliday put the Yankees on the board first. Aaron Judge took a one-out walk in the top of the 1st inning, his 110th of the season to extend his own MLB rookie record.  He moved to second on a slow rolling ground out by Gary Sanchez. Matt Holliday laced a double to left when the ball went under the glove of left fielder Corey Dickerson, scoring Judge. But Holliday was left stranded when Starlin Castro followed by striking out.

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

The Rays wasted no time in answering the run. Rays leadoff hitter Kevin Kiermaier jumped on the first pitch by Sonny Gray to send it over the center field wall. As YES Network announcer Al Leiter said, "Welcome to the game, Sonny Gray".  

Gray rebounded and found his groove, shutting the Rays down until the 8th inning. Unfortunately, he left a pitch high and over the middle of the plate for Adeiny Hechavarria and the hitter did not waste the opportunity.  He got all of the Gray pitch to send it over the wall in left center. The Rays had their first lead of the game, 2-1.

Credit:  Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, the Yankees just couldn't get any going. Rare was the inning they sent more than three men to the plate. A 5th inning walk by Todd Frazier, a 6th inning single by Brett Gardner, and a 7th inning single by Chase Headley were the only baserunners that the Yankees could get. Unfortunately, none could get past first base, thanks in large part to ten strikeouts by Rays starter Blake Snell and the bullpen.  

The Yankees bowed out quietly in the 9th against Rays closer Alex Colome who picked up his 44th save.  

The Boston Red Sox beat the punchless Oakland A's, 11-1, so they increased their AL East lead over the Yankees (78-66) to four games. The Minnesota Twins scored two touchdowns and a safety in destroying the San Diego Padres, 16-0 (hey, it's football season, gimme a break!).  So, the lead in the Wild Card Standings shrank to three games. The Rays were able to leap-frog the Baltimore Orioles for third place in the AL East with the win. They are 7 games behind the Yankees. The O's lost a close 3-2 game to the Toronto Blue Jays.  

Sonny Gray's final line was great. He pitched 8 innings and only allowed five hits, two runs, and one walk. He struck out five. But the killer was two home runs out of 94 pitches thrown.  Run support has not been Gray's friend during his short Yankees career. In his five losses as a Yankee, he's been backed by four runs.

Credit:  Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Clint Frazier, making his return from the disabled list, tried. He had a couple of deep balls in his two at-bats, the second of which would have been met with "See ya!" from Michael Kay had the game been played at Yankee Stadium. Instead, it was just a running catch by Rays right fielder Stephen Souza, Jr.

Credit:  Anthony J Causi-NY Post

I wish I had more optimism about today's game but it is hard to get excited about Jaime Garcia, especially when he is going against Chris Archer. On paper, it looks like a mismatch in favor of the Rays.  The Yankees have had a fair amount of success against Archer so hopefully this afternoon will be another one of those times. We need runs. Hopefully the offense decides to bring their bats for the series finale.

Odds & Ends...

It was also a bad night for the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders as they dropped Game 1 of the International League's Governor's Cup Finals to the Durham Bulls (Rays), 6-0. The losing pitcher for the RailRiders was starter Ronald Herrera.  Not much offense as the RailRiders were only able to pound out three hits (two by Mason Williams). Game 2 is scheduled for this evening in Durham, NC. Domingo German gets the start for the RailRiders.

Credit:  Ben McKeown-for Times Leader

The losing continued with the Double A Trenton Thunder as they dropped Game 1 of the Eastern League Championship Series to the Altoona Curve (Pirates) by a score of 2-1. The losing pitcher for the Thunder was Dillon Tate, who like Sonny Gray pitched a great game. But at the end of the game, the scoreboard showed more runs for the other team. Game 2 will be this evening in Trenton, NJ with Justus Sheffield on the mound for the home team.

Have a great Wednesday! Let's make it a Winning Wednesday for the Pinstripers and their top farm teams! Go Yankees...and RailRiders...and Thunder!

Game Preview: New York Yankees “@” Tampa Bay Rays 9/12

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays continue to dodge Hurricane Irma and continue their series home away from home inside Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. In this second game of this three-game set the Yankees will send Sonny Gray to the mound looking to take the Yankees one step closer to the postseason while the Rays with their backs against the playoff wall send Blake Snell to the mound looking to prolong the season just a little longer. This is September baseball ladies and gentleman and it’s only going to get better from here.

Gray pitched well in his last time out against the Baltimore Orioles holding the Fighting Showalters scoreless for the first time as a Yankee. This game also marked just the second time in his Yankees tenure that Gray held a team to two runs or less in a start.

Snell on the other hand didn’t pitch as well as he had presumably hoped to against the Minnesota Twins in a no-decision. Snell lasted just four innings in the start snapping a career-long streak of five straight starts of 6 innings pitched or longer. No need to start that streak over again tonight, we won’t mind a bit.

The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET inside Citi Field and can be seen on YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Also, just as a reminder, the Tampa Bay Rays are considered the home team here this week in Queens despite the games being played in New York. It’s uncommon but not unheard of in the history of Major League Baseball, it just sucks because of the circumstances. Either way you should try to enjoy the game because the Yankees need a win, so get a win. Go Yankees!

Plouffe! The Toddfather Has Spoken...

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

Yankees 5, Rays 1...

A fielding error by Rays third baseman Trevor Plouffe in the 4th inning opened the door for an offensive outburst that was capped by a three-run homer by Todd Frazier. The single inning explosion carried the Yankees to victory over the "home" Tampa Bay Rays in Queens, NY.  

Credit:  Steven Ryan-Getty Images

For three innings, the Yankees couldn't muster a hit off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi. Meanwhile, the Rays scratched out a run against the Yanks in the bottom of the 2nd. Lucas Duda, at home at Citi Field and using his old locker, drew a walk to start the inning.  Yankees starter CC Sabathia retired the next two batters and had Adeiny Hechavarria down to two strikes. Hechavarria battled and finally on the 9th pitch of the at-bat tripled to the center field wall, splitting the outfielders, to score Duda with the game's first run.  

Aaron Judge opened the 4th inning with a walk, extending his own MLB record for most walks by a rookie to 108. Gary Sanchez finally got the first hit for the Yankees, a line drive to center. The Yankees had runners at the corners.  Didi Gregorius hit a sacrifice fly to right which scored Judge standing up. The game was tied.  Starlin Castro struck out for the second out. Then the magic happened.  Well, maybe not from Trevor Plouffe's perspective. Matt Holliday hit a grounder to third that Plouffe was unable to field (under his glove). As the ball rolled down the left field line, Sanchez scored to give the Yankees the lead and Holliday moved to second on the play. On a full count, Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on catcher's interference when his bat hit the catcher's mitt. It was the 30th career catcher's interference for Ellsbury which surpassed Pete Rose for the most all-time. Todd Frazier came to the plate and homered to left off the facing in the second deck to make it 5-1.  The Yankees got two more runners on base when Tyler Austin doubled to the left field wall and Brett Gardner walked. It spelled the end for Jake Odorizzi who went from a no-hitter to a four-run deficit despite only allowing one earned run. Rays reliever Chaz Roe came in and struck out Aaron Judge, who had led off the inning, to end the Yankees' rally.

CC Sabathia was allowing baserunners, giving up two singles in both the third and fourth innings, but had been escaping unscathed.  He got into trouble again in the bottom of the 5th. He walked Peter Bourjos to start the inning. After striking out Kevin Kiermaier on three pitches, Trevor Plouffe singled to center over Sabathia's back with Bourjos moving to second. Manager Joe Girardi opted to take no further chances and pulled Sabathia (avoiding a confrontation with Evan Longoria). The move appeared justified when David Robertson came in and struck out both Longoria and Lucas Duda to end the threat. Sabathia probably wasn't too happy with the early hook, but he had thrown 88 pitches and allowed six hits. It was only a matter of time before the Rays broke through but the D-Rob insurance card paid off. 

Credit:  Andrew Savulich-The New York Daily News

The Rays did have a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the 6th with D-Rob still pitching. Adeiny Hechavarria hit a two-out ground-rule double which hit the warning track in left and bounced off the back wall. He took third on a passed ball by Gary Sanchez, but was left stranded when Danny Espinosa grounded out to short.

The Yankees got their final hit of the night in the 7th inning when Brett Gardner led off with a single to left. A failed stolen base attempt, a perfect throw from catcher Wilson Ramos to second baseman Danny Espinosa, sent Gardy to the bench.

D-Rob pitched the bottom of the 7th, making this outing the longest in his career (pitching a total of 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with 4 K's).  

Credit:  Richard Rodriguez-Getty Images

The bottom of the 8th brought out Dellin Betances and it was time to start drinking heavily. Evan Longoria started off with a single that dropped in right field. Betances struck out Lucas Duda for the first out, but then walked Cesar Puello. Aargh! Logan Morrison was up next, pinch-hitting for Wilson Ramos, and I was seeing images of a three-run home run to make it a one-run game. Fortunately, those visions proved false as Betances struck out Morrison. He got Adeiny Hechavarria to fly out, with Aaron Judge running to the wall, for the final out. Whew! That was a hard inning to sit through...

Aroldis Chapman took over in the 9th. After a brief pause on my part hoping that Chapman has truly righted the ship, he proceeded to retire the side on ten pitches. It wasn't a save opportunity but the result was the same.  The Yankees win!

The Yankees (78-65) picked up a 1/2 game on the idle Boston Red Sox so they now trail by 3 games. The Baltimore Orioles fell to the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3, so the gap between the Yanks and the third-place O's is now 7 1/2 games. The win also increased the Yankees lead in the Wild Card Standings to 4 games.  

David Robertson (8-2) picked up the vulture win with Sabathia's inability to make it through five full innings. The Yankees were outhit by the Rays, 8 to 4, but they obviously made the most of their hits with Todd Frazier's home run leading the way.

Credit:  Tony Gutierrez-Associated Press

Odds & Ends...

The Yankees activated OF Clint Frazier off of the disabled list on Monday. Red Thunder was somewhat underwhelming in his rehab stint with the Trenton Thunder. In 17 at-bats, he had only 2 hits and 10 strikeouts. Here's hoping that his return to the Pinstripes is little more successful. He should slot back into the fourth outfielder role that has been lacking since Aaron Hicks went on the DL.

When Aaron Judge hit his 40th home run, he joined some lofty company. Prior to Judge's home run, the only Yankees to hit 40 home runs at 25 years or younger were Babe Ruth (54, 1920), Lou Gehrig (47, 1927), Joe DiMaggio (46, 1937), and Mickey Mantle (52, 1956). That's a nice group of names to rub shoulders with...

Have a great Tuesday! Seems like a great day for another win! Go Yankees!

Yankees Sign Ronny Rojas… What it Means for Shohei Otani

The New York Yankees are once again flashing some financial muscle on the international market but this time the team is being creative about it. In years past the Yankees have simply thrown money at their problems and for a long time it worked. Since the league has finally caught up financially the team can no longer do that due to financial and draft pick restrictions thrown down by a new set of collective bargaining agreements so New York has found a new way to get who they want on the IFA market. All large market teams get $4.75 million in IFA cap money to spend but the team can trade for an additional 75% of that $4.75 million from other teams, something the Yankees did many times this summer already. Now New York is using that new-found money to sign young players like the 16-year old shortstop Ronny Rojas they signed over the weekend but what does that mean for Shohei Otani?

First things first, Rojas. Rojas was signed to a $1 million contract and the 16-year old becomes the fourth international prospect to join the Yankees since the 2017-2018 signing period opened on July 2^nd joining Robert Chirinos, Everson Pereira and Anthony Garcia. Rojas was considered to be the 11^th best international prospect in this year’s signing period not including Otani who has yet to enter the fold as a prospect officially. The Yankees announced they would sign Rojas back in July but the team could not officially sign him until recently because Rojas was just 15-years old. The league will not allow an international prospect to sign until his 16^th birthday. What does this mean for the Yankees ability to make a run at Otani though?

In all honestly this has no bearing on the Yankees ability to make a serious run at Otani. The Yankees traded for a ton of international spending money this summer in three different trades including the Yefrey Ramirez trade to the Baltimore Orioles and the Sonny Gray trade with the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees still have somewhere in the neighborhood of $3-4 million left to make a run at Otani without going over their allotted pool of money. The problem for New York is teams like the Boston Red Sox have also traded for close to their 75% allotment as well giving the Yankees some stiff competition for the latest Japanese import.

Having Chirinos, Pereira, Garcia and Rojas is great and it gives the Yankees another wave of future reinforcements to develop and look forward to. Having those four and a shot at Otani though almost seems unfair for the rest of the league so here’s to getting greedy, officially signing Rojas and also getting Japan’s Babe Ruth. 

So it Seems…. We Survived the Storm & Bryan Van Dusen is MARRIED!!

Good morning everyone. I hope everyone reading this on this beautiful morning after the storm is okay. I hope your friends, families and loved ones are okay as well. Houses, cars, outside lawn furniture etc. can all be replaced but the people you love and the people that own your heart cannot be replaced so be thankful that we made it. Things may be slow, I am actually writing this in advance a little because I am not sure how much longer I will have power and internet, here on the blog this week but I will be around when I can be. Stay well and here’s to the Yankees as they continue to keep kicking ass all the way to the postseason.

Also I want to take a second to wish my very good friend and co-owner of the blog Bryan Van Dusen a huge congratulations. Bryan married his lovely fiancé, Heather, over the weekend and I couldn’t be happier for the couple. Bryan, you lucked out man. Don’t screw this up, haha. Stay well and I love you guys. I wish you man years of happiness.

And a special good morning to you. Hey you! I loves you. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/12: Bernie Williams Has a Week of a Game

Not much has happened on this day in New York Yankees history surprisingly but Bernie Williams did have a week of it on this day in 1996. Bernie had two home runs and a single as he went on to knock in eight RBI helping the Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers by the score of 12-3.

Other notable happenings on this day in Major League Baseball history was on this day in 1979 the Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski collected his 3,000th hit of his career in a victory over the Yankees in Fenway Park. Also Sammy Sosa became the fourth player in major league history to hit 60 home runs in a single season on this day in 1998 as he joined Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Mark McGwire as McGwire and Sosa attacked Maris' single season home run record.

Dueling Dingers by All Rise & The Kraken...

Credit:  Larry W Smith-EPA

Yankees 16, Rangers 7...

Given it was the opening weekend for the NFL, I guess it was appropriate for the Yankees to win using a football score. Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez both homered twice to power the Yankees to the series-clinching win over the Texas Rangers.  

The Yankees didn't waste any time getting on the board. With two outs in the bottom of the 1st inning, Gary Sanchez hit a long home run to left center, a solo shot that traveled 412 feet, off Rangers starter A.J. Griffin for the early 1-0 lead.  It was El Gary's 29th homer of the year.  

Credit:  Larry W Smith-EPA

The Rangers got the run back in the bottom of the 2nd when catcher Robinson Chirinos took Jordan Montgomery deep with a solo shot of his own to the right field bleachers.

Brett Gardner led off the top of the 3rd with a single to left past a diving Joey Gallo. After Chase Headley flied out to center for the first out, Gary Sanchez was hit by a pitch on the back of his shoulder to put runners at first and second. A double to the wall in right by Didi Gregorius scored Gardner with the go-ahead run, while Sanchez moved to third.  Starlin Castro reached base when he hit into a fielder's choice at third. Third baseman Joey Gallo made the decision to try and tag Sanchez who started toward home but turned back. Sanchez beat Gallo back to third so all runners were safe. Aaron Judge followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Sanchez. It was 3-1 Yankees.

With A.J. Griffin still on the mound for the Rangers, Jacoby Ellsbury was hit by a pitch leading off the top of the 4th.  Austin Romine lined a single to left, moving Ellsbury to second. That was all for Griffin as the Rangers brought in reliever Nick Martinez.  Brett Gardner greeted Martinez with a triple to the center field wall which scored Ellsbury and Romine. Chase Headley's single to center through the drawn-in infield scored Gardy. Gary Sanchez doubled down the left field line, advancing Headley to third. Didi Gregorius singled to right, scoring Headley.  Sanchez moved to third. Starlin Castro hit into a double play at short, with the Rangers recording the outs at second and first but Sanchez scored.  Aaron Judge was next up to take swings against the Yankees-friendly Martinez.  He blasted a solo home run to center, his 40th of the year.  It was 9-1 Yankees and the end of Martinez's enjoyable stay. Texas brought in reliever Yohander Mendez to replace Martinez and he retired Greg Bird on a pop out in foul territory to end the inning.  

In the bottom of the 4th, Jordan Montgomery walked the first two batters he faced (Robinson Chirinos and Joey Gallo). After striking out Rougned Odor, Montgomery gave up a run-scoring double to left over the head of Brett Gardner by Ryan Rua. Gallo moved to third.  Monty was removed at that point, failing to get the additional two outs he needed to qualify for the win.  Chad Green came in and surrendered a sacrifice fly to center by Delino DeShields which scored Gallo to make it 9-3. Green then struck out Shin-Soo Choo to end the inning, leaving Rua stranded at third.  

The Yankees added to their lead in the 5th. Doubles to right by both Jacoby Ellsbury and Austin Romine had runners at second and third. After Brett Gardner grounded out to first, Chase Headley hit a grounder to third but the ball bounced off Joey Gallo's glove. Shortstop Elvis Andrus got to the ball but he became distracted with Jacoby Ellsbury at third and had no play. The bases were loaded. Gary Sanchez flied out to right field in foul territory for the second out.  Didi Gregorius singled to right, scoring both Ellsbury and Romine, but he was caught off first base by the throw from the outfield for the final out. The Yankees had increased their lead to 11-3.

Credit the Texas Rangers for refusing to roll over.  They led off the bottom of the 5th with a double to center by Elvis Andrus.  Mike Napoli's single to left scored Andrus to make it 11-4. Green retired the next three batters to move the game to the top of the 6th.

After Starlin Castro grounded out to start the 6th, Aaron Judge blasted a long home run to left center that traveled 463 feet for his second HR of the game and 41st of the year.  12-4, Yankees.

Credit:  Larry W Smith-EPA

Gary Sanchez led off the top of the 8th with his second long home run of the game. The shot to center off Rangers pitcher Tyson Ross, which fell two feet short of Judge's last blast, was El Gary's 30th of the year and it increased the Yankee lead to 13-4.

Dellin Betances took over for Tommy Kahnle to start the bottom of the 8th.  Kahnle had relieved Green with two outs in the bottom of the 6th and had kept the Rangers off the board. Betances was not so lucky.  He started off right by striking out Drew Robinson but then proceeded to walk Ryan Rua and Delino Deshields.  Shin-Soo Choo took advantage of Dellin's control problems by hitting a two-run double to right center to make it 13-6. It must have served as a wakeup call for Betances as he struck out the next two batters to end the inning.  

On to the 9th. Tyson Ross was still on the mound for the Rangers and he walked Jacoby Ellsbury to get things started. Austin Romine singled to left, with Ellsbury moving to second.  Tyler Wade singled to center to score Ellsbury.  14-6, Yankees, with Romine moving to third.  Up to the plate strolled Erik Kratz, pinch-hitting for Gary Sanchez and making his first official at-bat for the Yankees. His double to deep left center scored both Romine and Wade to make it a 16-6 game. Welcome to the Pinstripes, Mr Kratz!  That hit may have earned you a free, all-expenses paid trip to New York City.  

The bottom the 9th brought out Caleb Smith to relieve Betances. Smith retired the first two hitters on pop outs, but then he walked Brett Nicholas, who had the only Rangers hit in Saturday's game against Luis Severino. Drew Robinson hit a long fly ball to deep left that fell in against the wall to score Nicholas to make it 16-7. Smith recovered and struck out Ryan Rua to end the game.  The Yankees win!

Credit:  Richard Rodriguez-Getty Images

The Yankees (77-65) pulled back to 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox with the win. Boston lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1. The Baltimore Orioles trail the Yankees by 6 1/2 games after falling to the Cleveland Indians, 3-2.  It was Cleveland's 18th consecutive win. The Rays trail the Yankees by 7 games. The Yankees also increased their Wild Card lead over the Minnesota Twins to 3 1/2 games. The Twins were defeated 11-3 by the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. The Los Angeles Angels are a game behind the Twins following their 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.  

Chad Green (4-0) picked up the win in relief of Jordan Montgomery.

Aaron Judge is only the second rookie in MLB history with at least 40 home runs. Mark McGwire holds the record with 49 in 1987. Judge also set the MLB record for most walks by a rookie when he walked for the 107th time in the 2nd inning. Didi Gregorius tied a career high with four hits, and same with Gary Sanchez in scoring four runs. The Yankees had 18 hits in total, ten of which were for extra bases.  

Next Up:  Tampa Bay Rays at Citi Field, Flushing Meadow (Queens), New York...

First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with all affected by Hurricane Irma. It must be very tough for the Rays to be on the road while friends and family are dealing with the impact of the hurricane in Florida. It's unfortunate that the Rays are unable to play this series on their home turf and we wish them  and their families the very best as they deal with the aftermath of the disaster.  

For the games on the field, here are the scheduled pitching match-ups:

TODAY

Yankees:  CC Sabathia (11-5, 3.91 ERA)

Rays:  Jake Odorizzi (8-7, 4.58 ERA)

TUESDAY

Yankees:  Sonny Gray (9-9, 3.22 ERA)

Rays:  Blake Snell (3-6, 4.36 ERA)

WEDNESDAY

Yankees:  Jaime Garcia (1-2, 4.88 ERA)

Rays:  Chris Archer (9-9, 4.00 ERA)

Wednesday's game looks to be a bit of a mismatch so hopefully the Yankees can take at least the first two games.  

Odds & Ends...

Congratulations to the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders! They won their best-of-five International League Division Series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) with a 1-0 victory on Sunday.  Nestor Cortes got the win with seven strong innings. He held the IronPigs to five hits and no runs. He walked a batter and struck out eight. Nick Rumbelow worked out of trouble in the 9th after two singles to record the save. He struck out Dylan Cozens to end the game and preserve the shutout win.  The RailRiders scored their only run in the 7th inning on a home run by Mike Ford.

The RailRiders will advance to the best-of-five Governor's Cup Finals to play the Durham Bulls (Rays). The series begins Tuesday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC.  

The Yankees activated 1B Garrett Cooper from the DL and optioned him to the RailRiders. He had been on a rehab assignment with the Trenton Thunder. The Yankees are also expected to activate OF Clint Frazier sometime this week. He has also been on a rehab assignment with Trenton.  The Thunder will begin play in the Eastern League Championship Series on Tuesday.

Have a great Monday! The Yanks may still be on the road but they are back in NYC!  Go Yankees!  

This Day In New York Yankees History: September 11th

On this day in 2009 Derek Jeter became the Yankees all-time hits king passing Lou Gehrig with an opposite field single in the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles. Derek would pass the former Yankee captain and Iron Horse with his 2,722 hit of his Yankees career after Gehrig held the franchise record for more than 70 years.

Also on this day in 2001 as we all know and will forever remember terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York, Pentagon in Washington D.C., and got overtaken above Pennsylvania resulting in a plane crash. Major League Baseball cancelled all games on this day for security reasons and to allow everyone to reflect, mourn, and catch up with what was going on around the country.


Today we once again honor those who have fallen, those who protect us and pray for our country. Never forget.

No Hits For You -- Well, Maybe One!...

Credit:  Richard Rodriguez-Getty Images

Yankees 3, Rangers 1...

Luis Severino was spectacular on Saturday as he combined with two relievers to one-hit the Texas Rangers. Sevy didn't get the win, but he was masterful a day after Masahiro Tanaka's implosion. Manager Joe Girardi went with the "A" team for the bullpen, using David Robertson (the winner) and Aroldis Chapman (the save).  

Brett Gardner kicked off the game with a single to left.  However, the Yankees came up empty when Chase Headley hit a sharp fly to center that Gardy thought was going to drop in.  He took off for second and thinking the ball would fall, he accelerated for third. Unfortunately, Rangers center fielder Carlos Gomez made a great catch. There was no chance for Gardy to get back to first so the Rangers were able to complete the easy double play.  Gary Sanchez popped out to short so it was time to start the Luis Severino Show.

The Yankees came up with a great defensive play of their own in the bottom of the first when Jacoby Ellsbury, echoing shades of his younger self, recorded the final out with a diving catch to rob Elvis Andrus of a hit.  The play received an ovation from Severino on the mound.

In the bottom of the 2nd, the Rangers' Carlos Gomez had to be helped off the field during an at-bat when he rolled his right ankle after hitting a grounder to second and suffered a high ankle sprain.

Through the early innings, Severino was cruising but unfortunately so was Rangers starter Andrew Cashner.    The Yankees threatened again in the top of the 3rd when Brett Gardner hit a two-out single to left.  Chase Headley singled to right to put the runners at the corners, but Gary Sanchez went down swinging to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 5th, with the Rangers still searching for their first hit against Severino, Joey Gallo walked to start the inning for the Rangers.  Will Middlebrooks hit into a fielder's choice at third and the Yankees erased Gallo at second but they were unable to turn the double play.  Rangers backup catcher Brett Nicholas, starting in place of Robinson Chirinos who had the day off, doubled to the right field corner to score Middlebrooks.  It was the only hit the Rangers would get off Severino and the Yankees bullpen for the duration of the game.  

Luis Severino pitched through the 7th inning but the Yankees still trailed 1-0.

In the top of the 8th with Andrew Cashner still on the mound for the Rangers, Todd Frazier was hit by a pitch.  That would be all for Cashner, who did a magnificent job.  The Rangers brought in Alex Claudio to replace Cashner.  The Yankees sent up Matt Holliday to pinch hit for Greg Bird.  Holliday singled to right and Frazier moved to third.  Tyler Wade replaced Holliday at first.  After Brett Gardner fouled out to the catcher, Chase Headley hit a sacrifice fly deep to center to score Frazier. The game was tied.  Gary Sanchez singled to left past shortstop Elvis Andrus, moving Wade to second.  However, the Yankees were unable to capitalize when Didi Gregorius grounded out to the defensive shift at short/second to end the inning.

David Robertson pitched a clean bottom of the 8th to send the game to the 9th.

With Alex Claudio still pitching for the Rangers, Starlin Castro led off the 9th with a single to right. Aaron Judge hit a grounder to third and the throw erased Castro at second.  The Rangers were unable to turn the double play when the relay to first pulled Joey Gallo off the bag so Judge was safe.  Jacoby Ellsbury lined a single to right which advanced Judge to third.  The Rangers replaced Claudio with Ricky Rodriguez.  Todd Frazier was hit by pitch, again, so he took first and Ellsbury moved to second.  The bases were loaded.  Tyler Austin, who had entered the game in the bottom of the 8th to replace Bird, singled to left on a hard hit ball which brought Judge home with the go-ahead run.  

Credit:  Larry W Smith-EPA

Brett Gardner was unable to advance the runners when he popped out to short.  It brought Chase Headley to the plate with the bases still packed.  He patiently took a walk which brought Ellsbury home with the second run of the inning.  The Yankees led 3-1. The Rangers made another pitching change to bring in Nick Gardewine. Gardewine ended the Yankees rally by getting Gary Sanchez to hit into a fielder's choice which forced Headley at second.  

Bottom the 9th and the heart of the Rangers order due up.  It was time for the return of Aroldis Chapman to his endeared role as the Yankees closer.  He did not disappoint.  After Elvis Andrus grounded out to second (Starlin Castro's brilliant throw to first just beat the runner as confirmed by the challenge replay), Chapman struck out both Nomar Mazara and pinch-hitter Mike Napoli to end the game.  The Yankees win!

Credit:  Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees (76-65) were unable to make up any ground on the Boston Red Sox.  The Red Sox, behind Chris Sale, dismantled the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-0, and maintained their 4 1/2 game lead over the Yankees.  The Cleveland Indians won their 17th game in a row.  Their 4-2 victory over Baltimore pushed the O's 5 1/2 games behind the Yankees.  

It was an incredible effort by Luis Severino.  He pitched seven innings, allowing only the single hit and run.  He walked three and struck out ten.  The outing lowered his season ERA to 2.96.  David Robertson (7-2) picked up the win and Aroldis Chapman captured his 17th save.  

For the Yankees offense, they had nine hits but all were singles.  Brett Gardner (2-for-5) was the only hitter with multiple hits.  Chase Headley had 2 RBI's and Tyler Austin had the crucial game-winning RBI in the 9th.  

Odds & Ends...

The Yankees have a change in the pitching match-up for today's game.  Jordan Montgomery (7-7, 4.14 ERA) will start in place of CC Sabathia, who was moved to Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citi Field in Queens.  A.J. Griffin (6-5, 5.09 ERA), who had originally been scheduled to pitch on Saturday until Andrew Cashner was moved up, will start for the Rangers.  The Minnesota Twins lost so they are 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the Wild Card Standings (holding the 2nd spot).  The Los Angeles Angeles and Texas Rangers are 2 and 2 1/2 games behind the Twins, respectively.

The Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders won Game 3 of their Governor's Cup best-of-five first round series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies).  The 6-1 win, behind the arm of Brady Lail, gives the RailRiders the 2-1 series advantage. Donovan Solano was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI's and 2 runs scored. Mason Williams was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Billy McKinney homered for the second time in the series with a two-run shot in the 6th inning.

Credit:  Fred Adams-for Times Leader

Game 4 is scheduled for today at 1:05 pm at PNC Field in Moosic, PA.  Nestor Cortes (2-4, 1.49 ERA) takes the mound in the potential series-clinching game.  he'll face Jacob Waguespack (9-7, 3.42 ERA in A-Adv and AA this year).

The Double A Trenton Thunder crushed the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets), 9-1, in Game 4 of their Eastern League Division Series to win the series and advance to the Eastern League Championship Series.  They'll face the Altoona Curve (Pirates) with Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday night at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, NJ.  

As expected, the Yankees signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop prospect Ronny Rojas.  The Yankees have long been tied to the youngster but he didn't turn 16 until August 23rd.  Rojas was rated as the eleventh best unsigned international prospect earlier this summer by MLB.com.  He is the highest rated Yankees signing behind OF Everson Pereira, who was rated fourth.

Have a great Sunday!  Let's take this series and head for NYC!  Go Yankees!

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/10: Griffith Stadium & Home Runs

There has not been much in the way of good history on this day in New York Yankees history unfortunately so this was a tough post to type out. I considered talking about the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim clinching the AL West earlier than any other team in the history of the division with a 4-2 victory over the Yankees in 2008 but decided against it later. I also considered talking about Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox pitching a one hit complete game victory against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium while striking out 18 batters. In the contest on this day in 1999 Pedro extended his own record to 40 consecutive innings with at least one strikeout per inning. Finally I remembered this day in 1919 the Cleveland Indians Ray Caldwell no hit the Yankees after being released by the Boston Red Sox a mere two months previously.

Instead I decided to keep my Wednesday morning positive and I instead focused on this day in 1950 when Joe DiMaggio became the first major league hitter to hit three home runs in Washington's Griffith Stadium. The Yankees would beat the Senators 8-1 while DiMaggio hit a trio of home runs for the third time in his career. Whether it be a coincidence or whether the dimensions at Yankee Stadium played into it but DiMaggio had three separate road games with three home runs and never had such a game at Yankee Stadium.