Phelps Goes 7 Innings in Finale Win Over Blue Jays

I guess David Phelps is pretty good after all.

After shocking the A's with a scoreless 6.2 innings Friday, the struggling right-hander tossed another dominant start tonight, giving up just 2 earned runs over 7 frames as the Yankees completed a sweep over the Blue Jays, 6-4.

Aided offensively by a trio of sac flies from Jacoby Ellsbury, Kelly Johnson, and Carlos Beltran, Phelps made just one mistake in the outing, a game-tying two-run home run to Melky Cabrera in the top of the third.

Besides that, the now 3-4 hurler was nearly unhittable on the night, picking off a runner from second in the first that killed most of Toronto's momentum.

Overall, #41 struck out 7 in his 115-pitch performance, lowering his ERA to 4.13 and bringing the Yanks to within 1.5 games of first place.

In the fifth, sixth, and seventh, the bats, making sure they wouldn't blow the lead, tacked on three insurance runs, as Beltran doubled home Ellsbury, Derek Jeter grounded out, and Yangervis Solarte (hitting in place of Johnson, who left with a hand injury and is currently day-to-day) walked with the bases loaded.

On that grounder, which occurred with men on the corners and one out, a double play probably should've been turned, but due to Brett Gardner's attempting to steal he ended up reaching second, allowing Brian Roberts to jog home.

After that and the Solarte RBI, the Pinstripes had a commanding 6-2 advantage, something that wouldn't last long.

With a runner on in the top of the eighth, the struggling Shawn Kelley was taken deep to left by Edwin Encarnacion, making the contest a lot closer.

Fortunetaly for the Bombers, Matt Thornton and Adam Warren were able to record the last four outs, completing the victory.

For Warren, the save was his second of the season, completing a perfect, 2.2-inning performance in the series. 

Kelly John Hit On Hand, Exits Game

Kelly Johnson has left tonight's game in the bottom of the sixth inning after being hit on the hand with a pitch on a bunt attempt. Johnson tried to stay in the game but couldn't, stay tuned. Terrible timing for a guy that was finally starting to show signs of life with the bat.

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Blue Jays 6/19

Welcome to tonight's open game thread for the evening as the New York Yankees will host the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of their three game set at Yankee Stadium this week. The Yankees will send David Phelps to the mound to face off with Drew Hutchison for the Jays. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Get your Yankees tickets right HERE on the blog for tonight's game or the weekend set with the Baltimore Orioles before they are gone. Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, or find us on Facebook to talk during the game. You can always leave us a line in the comments section of the site as well and talk Yankees baseball all day long.

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

Taylor Dugas & Aaron Judge Promoted

The New York Yankees have announced that Charleston RiverDogs outfielder Aaron Judge has been promoted to the Single-A Tampa Yankees. Judge is the current South Atlantic League leader in batting average and walks.

Charleston receives right-handed pitcher Cale Coshow from the Staten Island Yankees. Also, outfielder Mikeson Oliberto has been activated from the disabled list. The RiverDogs are back to their maximum of 25 active players.

Judge, a top-ten Yankees prospect according to Baseball America, MLB.com, and Baseball Prospectus, made the most of his professional debut in the Lowcountry. His .333 average and 39 walks top all players in the Sally League. Judge is also third in the SAL in on-base percentage (.428) and fourth in slugging percentage (.530). He hit nine home runs and was the starting right fielder for the Southern Division in the 2014 South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

Coshow is a 6’5”, 260 pound righty from Edmond, Okla. who was drafted by the Yankees in the 13^th round of the 2013 draft out of Oklahoma Christian University. He appeared in 15 games last season with Staten Island, and had made one scoreless outing with Staten Island this year.

In other news Taylor Dugas has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton and will be available tonight for the RailRiders. 

HOPE Week: Musicians On Call

The New York Yankees celebrated Musicians on Call today in their latest edition of HOPE Week at Yankee Stadium. Musicians on Call performs concerts for hospital patients and were helped out by Carlos Beltran, Brett Gardner, Vidal Nuno, Adam Warren, Chase Whitley, and the legend Bernie Williams. The players and performers then performed a room by room visits to the patients who were unable to attend the concert. AWESOME gesture by the Yankees, as usual.

Here's the Yankees.com write up for Musicians on Call:

It’s hardly common to associate an upbeat mood, laughter or a friendly face with a hospital stay, but that’s exactly what Musicians on Call hopes to provide for the patients it visits.

In 1999, Michael Solomon and Vivek Tiwary sponsored a concert for patients at a Manhattan hospital. Upon witnessing the joy that the event brought patients, Musicians on Call was born. Since its inception 15 years ago, the organization has seen hundreds of volunteer musicians perform for over 400,000 individuals, with a focus on reaching patients who are confined to their rooms and afforded very little interaction with others due to their illnesses. Based in New York City, the organization has grown greatly over the last 15 years, expanding to include locations in Philadelphia, Nashville, Miami, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

One of Musicians on Call’s volunteers is Jeremy Bar-Illan, who joined the organization in January 2011, and has since volunteered on a weekly basis.

“Music is the bridge to a moment of tranquility for patients and their families,” Bar-Illan said. “There is very little in a hospital that brings peace and comfort to patients. Most of the time it comes in the form of pharmaceutical painkillers. Music creates a moment for everyone to step out of the reality of illness. After I complete a hospital program, or support a non-profit, I feel like the richest man in the world on so many levels. To me, my experience with music as a bridge — a source of healing — is priceless.”

Pete Griffin, President of Musicians on Call, echoes Bar-Illan’s sentiment.

“Whether it’s to reduce anxiety or stress before a big game, or to elevate our moods and ease recovery while in a hospital, music is the universal language of healing,” says Griffin. “It’s an honor to work with the wonderful caregivers at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian, the New York Yankees and our amazing volunteers to deliver the healing power of music to the bedsides of patients.”

Just Me Or Does David Phelps Look Like Mike Mussina?

Is it just me or does David Phelps, tonight's starter, sort of look like another Yankee legend Mike Mussina. There are some pictures I look at, like the one above, when filling out these game threads and previews and I can't figure out who is who. Freaky...

What say you? Drop us a line in the comments section!

6/19 Yankees Game Preview vs. Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays will play in the finale of their three game set this week at Yankee Stadium tonight. In tonight's game the Yankees will send David Phelps to the mound to face off with Drew Hutchison for the Blue Jays. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Phelps is coming off what may have been his best start of his career in the major leagues when he held the Oakland Athletics to two hits over 6.2 innings in a 7-0 victory in Oakland County Coliseum. Phelps walked three and struck out four batters in the Yankees win. This was encouraging for Phelps who had come off four straight bad starts.

Hutchison has been strong in June and has a 2.65 ERA this month. Hutchison did have one bad start this month where he failed to get through three innings but has overall been solid. Hutchison shut down the Baltimore Orioles for seven innings last time out so hopefully the Yankees can reverse this trend tonight in the Bronx.

Get your tickets for tonight's game RIGHT HERE on the blog through our friends at Ticket Monster. If you can't make it tonight we have tickets for all 162 games, home and away, so be sure to keep us in mind for your next ticket purchase. We can offer actual tickets with no fees and free shipping, can't beat that. 

Go Yankees!!

Yankees May Be Interested in Phillies OF Mayberry

So far this season, it's been obvious to us all that the Yankees need a good backup First Basemen.

With Mark Teixeira going down twice, the team has been stuck with the trio of Kelly Johnson, Brian McCann, and Brendan Ryan, guys with almost no experience at the position.

Because of that, the Yanks might now be showing interest in the Phillies' John Mayberry Jr., a career outfielder/infielder.

According to a recent report from CSN Philly's John Salisbury, the Pinstripes had a scout at the Phils' recent series in Atlanta, where Mayberry went 2-for-8.

As of now, it's unknown who exactly they were looking at, although Mayberry seems to be the most likely candidate, as he is a man capable of playing first successfully. 

At the plate in 2013, though, the 30-year-old has struggled, hitting just .256/.363/.526 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI.

Despite those lackluster numbers, this deal could still happen due to Mayberry's defensive abilities, the thing the Yanks are probably looking at. 

This season, the Pinstripes have often been forced to start the before-mentioned Johnson at Teixeira's usual spot, where the unreliable veteran has committed 5 errors, tied for the second most on the team.

My Plan To Expand MLB To 32 Teams: Part Two

What lucky cities would be presented with the new franchises you ask? I'm glad you asked! Again, as I said yesterday this is all extremely hypothetical and for fun so bare with me. I was personally upset when the Montreal Expos were owned by Major League Baseball, disbanded, and became the Washington Nationals. For nostalgia reasons mostly, and because I think the economy around Major League Baseball is a whole lot stronger nowadays and I think the city could support it, let's bring back the Montreal Expos. Canada needs another team and frankly could support one. It was Montreal or another New York team (homer), maybe around the Buffalo or Syracuse area in a dome so I wen't with Montreal to keep from flooding the New York market.

When thinking of the second team I had to do a little research, I didn't really have past performances or nostalgia to go on this time around. I considered Oklahoma City, Norfolk, Austin, Salt Lake City, and Orlando and finally decided on the biggest metropolitan area that does not have a major sports team, Vegas baby. Just for fun let's call them the Las Vegas Gamblers, a National League expansion team. I don't worry as much about the gambling and the Las Vegas city life that many do, players can gamble anywhere, players can get into things they shouldn't be getting into anywhere. Players are going to do what they are going to do whether they play in North Dakota or Las Vegas, bottom line.

It's been nearly 20 years since Major League Baseball expanded and the economy around the sport is better than ever, why not now? We're two years away from a new collective bargaining agreement and this would give both sides even more incentive then they already have to keep the players on the field at all costs. It technically makes less contending teams but it makes things more interesting in my opinion. Sure five or six playoff spots might not be up for grabs on the last week of the season but everything else would be far more interesting.

The biggest hurdle would be the obvious realignment in the divisions and who would go to this newly created division, a division I will call the North Division.

To be continued....

Can't Predict Baseball: DiMaggio Strikes Out Three Times

For all the fans growing up in my generation to have a three strikeout game for a batter is something that happens once or twice a week, but it didn't happen all that much by Joe DiMaggio. On this day in 1942 DiMaggio struck out three times in a game for the first and only time in his 1,787 game career. The Indians Mel Harder is the pitcher that will forever go down in history in a 5-4 victory for Cleveland at Cleveland Stadium.

Also on this day in 1977 the Boston Red Sox entered the history books for Major League Baseball by hitting five home runs in an 11-1 win over the New York Yankees. The Red Sox would set a major league mark by hitting 16 home runs in a three game span en route to a three game sweep of the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.

Speaking of home runs on this day in 1994 the Detroit Tigers tied the Yankees major league record by hitting a home run in their 25th consecutive game. The record was 53 years old before being tied by a Mickey Tettleton home run in a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Quick Hit: The Switch Pitcher vs. The Switch Hitter

It seems like it was so long ago but it was a mere six years ago that Pat Venditte forced the hand of Major League Baseball to change their rules regarding switch pitchers. For the first time ever the switch pitcher, Pat Venditte, faced off with the switch hitter, Ralph Henriquez. It was Venditte's, then 22 years old, first minor league appearance with the Staten Island Yankees and faced off with the Brooklyn Cyclones very frustrated Henriquez.

This was a bit comical as every time Henriquez adjusted his shin guard and switched sides of the plate to bat from Venditte simply switched his glove and threw from the other side. Long story short the game was delayed for quite some time and Venditte ended up throwing a scoreless ninth inning and struck out Henriquez.

Henriquez was ultimately told he had to make one choice on which side of the plate he was going to bat from before Venditte had to make his decision.

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/19

On this day in 1903 Heinrich and Christina Gehrig gave birth to a nearly 14 pound healthy baby boy in Manhattan's East Harlem. They named their baby Lou, their only surviving child.

On this day in 1941 Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 32 games with a 3-3 game against the Chicago White Sox. DiMaggio would hit two singles and a home run in the Yankees 7-2 win in Yankee Stadium.

On this day in 1995 the Yankees sign Darryl Strawberry to a contract even though he is serving a 60 game suspension for his drug use. Strawberry would spend five seasons in the Bronx and was a huge part of three World Series titles and the dynasty.