Sunday, June 5, 2016

Bullpen Blows Sabathia's Shut Out, Lose Game and Series, 3-1

   
    Trying to beat the rain in Baltimore, the Yankees and O's squared off in the rubber game of the three-game set. Coming off of his best start of the season and possibly the last three years, C.C. Sabathia took the ball for New York in hopes of taking the series against the division rivals. For Baltimore, Kevin Gausman and his 3.75 ERA took the mound in attempts of quieting the Yankee offense. The Bonber bats have really come to life at Camden Yards. recording 16 hits in the first two games of the series. But, a rain delay would wash away the Yankee lead and hopes of taking the series.
     New York got the scoring going first, coming in the top of the third. Jacoby Ellsbury singled with one out, advancing to second on a wild pitch to the next batter. With two outs, Alex Rodriguez dumped a single into centerfield that scored Ellsbury and gave the Yankees a one run lead. The Orioles would try to respond in the bottom of the frame, only to see Major League Baseball's leading homerun hitter Mark Trumbo end the inning when he struck out with the bases-loaded.
     In the bottom of the fifth inning, Sabathia, who was at 99 pitches, got himself and the Yankees out of trouble yet again. A single, a hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases for Baltimore with two outs. For the second time in the ball game, C.C. Sabathia fanned slugger Mark Trumbo with the bags full of Orioles to end the frame. Even though the big left-hander had only allowed two hits, he was bitten by the pitch count monster (111) and was pulled in the bottom of the sixth inning. Two major factors contributing to Sabathia's elevated pitch count were his six walks and Joey Ricard. The Oriole outfielder accounted for a quarter of C.C.'s 111 pitches, seeing a total of 27 pitches in three at-bats.
      After a lengthy rain delay, the game resumed and boy do the Yankees wish that the rain delay would've ended the game at 1-0. In the bottom of the eighth, a combination of Delin Betances and Aroldis Chapman saw the lead and the series slip away. Betances loaded the bases and was pulled for Chapman with one out. After striking out Jonathan Schoop, Chapman served up a single up the middle to the pinch-hitter Matt Weiters that scored Trumbo, Chris Davis and Fransisco Pena and put the Yankees away for good.
     Let's hope they can turn it around in time for tomorrow night's match up against the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM ET.

Three Tampa Yankees selected for 2016 FSL All-Star Team

Three Tampa Yankees selected for 2016 FSL All-Star Team
TAMPA, FL- The Florida State League announced today their selection for the 2016 North and South All-Star Teams and three Tampa Yankees were selected. The 54th All-Star Game will be played at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 7:05 p.m.

Tampa Yankees Infielders Miguel Andujar, Jorge Mateo and Outfielder Mark Payton were selected to represent the Tampa Yankees for the North Division Team.

3B Miguel Andujar has a .943 fielding percentage over 43 games. He's hit eight doubles, one triple and nine homeruns with 37 RBI. He was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 7/2/11. Andujar was selected to the 2015 FSL North Division All-Star team and won the home run derby.

SS Jorge Mateo is batting .296 (59-199) with five doubles, eight triples and five homeruns with 32 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 8/6/10 and is currently the Yankees No.1 prospect per Baseball America.

OF Mark Payton was batting .309 in 24 games with the T-Yanks before being promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder on 5/18/16. He was selected by the Yankees in the 7th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.

The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information on the Tampa Yankees visit www.tybaseball.com or call (813) 673-3055. For more information regarding the 2015 Florida State League All-Star Game please visit www.fslbaseball.com.

Weekly Check In: Tyler Austin


Don't look now ladies and gentleman but Christopher Tyler Austin has made his way all the way back to Triple-A and as you're reading this he is wearing a Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders uniform. Congratulations to him and his family.

With the pleasantries out of the way let's expand on what Austin has done to get here and why he's here. Austin has played all over for the Yankees since being drafted including third base, the outfield and first base. First base, there's that position of need again for the Yankees and with the promotion of Chris Parmelee that's why he is here.

Here's to hoping he makes the most of his call up. We're rooting for you here at TGP!

YearAgeLevGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
201624AA5021022461042913046.260.367.395.762
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/4/2016.

Live Game Updates: Yankees at Orioles - 6/5

2:00 p.m., End 1st: Both teams go scoreless in the first. Yankees will look to get something going with Brian McCann leading off the second.

2:30 p.m., Mid 3rd: Yankees strike first in the third. A-Rod bloops a two-out RBI single to center and the Yanks have an early 1-0 lead.

2:52 p.m., End 3rd: It took CC Sabathia 37 pitches to get through the bottom of the third, but to his credit, the veteran kept the Orioles off the board. Sabathia's pitch count has already reached 71, so expect the bullpen to throw a nice 4+ innings today.

3:10 p.m., Mid 4th: Yankees load the bases with one out in the fourth, but can't get anyone in. Still 1-0 New York through three and a half.

3:17 p.m., End 4th: Sabathia puts up another zero in the fourth. His pitch count's now at 83.

3:42 p.m., End 5th: For the second time in three innings, Sabathia fans Mark Trumbo on three pitches to end a bases-loaded threat. It'll be interesting to see who the Yankees bring in for the sixth now that CC's likely done, but the big man has no doubt done his part. 

4:06 p.m., End 6th: After CC walks Chris Davis to begin the sixth, Kirby Yates retires all three guys he faces to escape trouble. Looks like No-Run DMC will get a chance to shine today.

4:32 p.m., End 7th: Dellin Betances strands the tying run at the third with a strikeout of Manny Machado. Yankees still clinging to a 1-0 lead heading into the eighth.

4:48 p.m., During the Bottom of the 8th: The tarp is coming on the field with two on and one out. For some reason, Joe Girardi had Betances pitch the eighth rather than Andrew Miller, who threw 28 pitches yesterday. Not sure what's about. Miller should be rested enough to work another inning.

6:17 p.m., Rain Update: Tarp's coming off the field. Looks like this one will resume at approximately 6:25 p.m. ET.

6:33 p.m., End 8th: All that wait for nothing. Chapman comes in and allows two hits, allowing three runs to score. His first blown save of the year will likely cost the Yankees the win, barring any miracle comeback from their 9-1-2 hitters in the ninth.

6:42 p.m., Mid 9th: Yankees go down 1-2-3 in the ninth, finishing off a 3-1 loss. Hopefully Joe Girardi will know next time to use all of No-Run DMC in tight games like this, lest he wants a tired Betances (who has also been struggling lately) to put Chapman in a difficult-to-escape jam that should probably have never happened.

Also, let's not forget the offense was really, REALLY bad again. You don't deserve to win when you go 1-for-11 with RISP and leave 10 on base.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 6/5


We are about to kick off the finale of the three game set this weekend between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles with another intense pitching matchup. We've seen good pitching matchups on paper this weekend but the offense and Oriole Park and Camden Yards have also lived up to the hype this weekend making these three games entertaining for the fans. In the finale of the three game set the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off against the Orioles starter Kevin Gausman. The game will be played at 1:35 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

One more game before the Yankees return home giving you one more day to click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and one more day to snag your pair of Yankees tickets for this series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Also be sure to head over to Twitter while you're there and give us a follow by giving following @GreedyStripes.

Sabathia is ready and hopefully the Yankees offense is as well. Go Yankees!

Available First Base Options for the Yankees


The New York Yankees have seemingly lost Mark Teixeira for a bulk of the 2016 season, best case scenario, or for all of the 2016 season, the likeliest scenario, and have found themselves exposed on their roster. The team did very little to address their first base depth problem after losing Greg Bird to a shoulder injury and now find themselves trying to patch together the first base position once again. Dustin Ackley is gone, Robert Refsnyder is learning the position and Chris Parmelee, not Nick Swisher, has been called up from Triple-A to serve as a warm body but what if the Yankees aren't happy with this combination of players? Are there any presumably available players that can fill the void either by trade or free agent signing to help fill the position for New York?

The first place I went to when looking to do some research for this blog post was MLB Trade Rumors list of free agents for the 2016-2017 season and the pickings were slim to say the least. Most options are either on teams that aren't looking to sell, Justin Smoak (TOR), Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli (CLE), James Loney (NYM), and Edwin Encarnacion to name a few, so I went a little above and beyond and scoured the Independent League to find a familiar face and a face we may see before the end of the season.

I have to admit I didn't scour the entire Independent League and instead stuck to the Lancaster Barnstormers, the former team for Phil Coke. While looking at their roster I saw a pair of players who on their own aren't game changers but may both be better options than Parmelee and Swisher. The reason behind my thinking that the Yankees may need a new minor league deal is that Swisher owns a June 15th opt out date in his minor league contract and may choose to try and latch on with another club here in less than two weeks. The two members of the Barnstormers who could potentially replace Swisher and/or Parmelee down in Triple-A are former Yankees prospect Josh Bell and Kevin Ahrens.

RkNameAgeGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
1Kevin Ahrens27401712047842941627.307.374.451.825
2Josh Bell#293716120371142402026.266.360.446.806
Like I said neither of them are going to propel the team back to the top of the division but both may be better options than Parmelee or a vacant Swisher. What say you?


Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 6/5


The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles played into the night last night and with a day game today I expect to see a lot of the Yankees regulars on the bench this afternoon. The Yankees are in the middle of a 40 games in 41 days stretch and manager Joe Girardi is all about giving his players "a day." One man who will not get a day today is CC Sabathia who the Yankees send to the mound to face off against Kevin Gausman in the contest.

Sabathia has pitched well enough to take the home the victory in each of his last two starts yet the Yankees offense has not been able to pick up the big lefty. Sabathia has posted a 1.04 ERA in his last two starts while allowing just three earned runs in his last four appearances yet the veteran is just 3-4 with a 2.85 ERA this season.


Gausman has been giving up too many damn home runs in his last couple starts, he gave up three in each of his last two starts, which is a great sign for a team that hits a lot of home runs historically. The Yankees need a shot in the arm offensively and Gausman may give it to them although he has been traditionally tough against them throughout his career.

The game will be played at 1:35 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. The Yankees have to be looking forward to sleeping in their own beds and traveling back to the Bronx after this contest but hopefully it doesn't translate into their on the field play today. Get a win and go home. Go Yankees!

Weekly Prospects Check In: Chris Parmelee


Chris Parmelee is basically the Yankees last hope t a true first base option this season which goes to show you how much New York's lack of depth at the position is being exposed. Mark Teixeira may be gone for the season, Dustin Ackley is gone for the season, none of Chase Headley, Brian McCann, Austin Romine or Robert Refsnyder are true first base options and the Yankees aren't going to call up Nick Swisher it seems leaving Parmelee as the anointed one.

What did Parmelee do in Triple-A to earn this spot? Well not enough but injuries happen so here we are. Let's check in:

Year Age Lg G PA R H 2B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2016 28 AAA 43 172 20 38 8 7 21 0 21 31 .252 .343 .444 .787

Recap: Yankees 8, Orioles 6

Ugly wins are still wins.

At least that's what the Yankees will tell themselves Saturday night, having done everything in their power to blow a big lead for the third straight game.

Up 7-0 on the Orioles, the Yankees were cruising through six and a half innings, but that was about the same time their pitching decided home runs were fun to give up. Indeed, the Orioles went deep three times in the seventh to pull to within a run, before the Yanks ultimately held on for an 8-6 victory.

Things began swimmingly for the Yankees against the Orioles' Tyler Wilson. New York's struggling offense, which has experienced a renaissance this week, tagged the right-hander for five earned runs over four innings, including a four-spot in the fourth.

Starlin Castro and Rob Refsnyder each logged an RBI double. Austin Romine plated two more with a single and a sac fly. Didi Gregorius got another man in with a grounder to second.

And following Wilson's early removal, the Yankees kept pouring it on. Castro drove in his second run of the evening with a single off Dylan Bundy, and Jacoby Ellsbury seemingly put the nail in the coffin with a steal of home in the sixth.

But the blowout wasn't real.

Mark Trumbo kicked off Baltimore's unexpected post-stretch rally with a solo blast off Ivan Nova, Pedro Alvarez lined a two-run shot of his own two batters later and after Nova's exit, Adam Jones crushed a Nick Goody offering for a three-run bomb to left.

Just like that, Nova had been charged with five earned runs and the Yankees found themselves having to squeeze nine outs from their bullpen without the help of Dellin Betances.

Fortunately for them, Andrew Miller was up for the challenge.

Miller retired all six hitters he faced in the seventh and eighth, retaining the Yankees' advantage long enough to calm everyone down. Miller fanned two while needing just 28 pitches, perhaps keeping him available for Sunday.

Alex Rodriguez provided some insurance with a run-scoring single in the ninth, and with a solid cushion to work with, Aroldis Chapman was able to complete the save. 

It could've been a lot smoother, but ugly wins are still wins. 

WHAT IT MEANS: The Yankees improve to 26-29 on the season, five games behind the Mariners for the second wild-card spot.

NEXT UP: The Yankees look to take this series in Sunday's finale. CC Sabathia (3-4, 2.85 ERA) and Kevin Gausman (0-3, 3.78 ERA) are slated to be your starters, with first pitch set for 1:35 p.m. ET.

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/5: Manny Ramirez ties Roger Maris


On this day in 2001 the Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez is intentionally walked four times in one game to tie a major league record. The game lasted 18 innings and 5 hours and 52 minutes as Ramirez tied the Yankees Roger Maris in the history books.


Also on this day in 1992 the Mets first baseman Eddie Murray knocks in two RBI's to pass Yankees legend Mickey Mantle for most RBI's all time by a switch hitter. Murray's 1,509th RBI was knocked in at the old Three Rivers Stadium.


Finally on this day in 1939 the Yankees were shut out for the first and only time of the season when Tommy Bridges of the Tigers shut down the Yankees offense.