Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Winning Ugly...

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Brad Penner)
Yanks overcome mistakes and Astros…

There have been a few games the Yankees have lost this year that they should have won, but Tuesday’s game probably should have been a loss. Sure, the Yankees got fourteen hits, but they struck out seventeen freakin’ times and committed an incredulous five errors. Charlie Morton, Clark Kent in Pittsburgh but Superman in Houston, struck out ten Yankees in six innings of work. He did allow three runs to inflate his season ERA to 2.26 but he was in line for the victory with a 5-3 lead when he departed.

CC Sabathia did not look great but credit to him for holding the Astros to only five runs (three earned) on eight hits before departing after five innings and turning the game over to the bullpen. If Sabathia would have given up any more runs, there most likely would have been no dramatic comebacks on this night. ‘Keep it close and get the game into the hands of the bullpen’ is something I’ve been saying from the start of this series. There’s no doubt I’d prefer to take my chances with the Yankees pen over the Astros’ mess. Houston may have the best five starters in the game right now, but their bullpen is about as bad as Roseanne Barr on Twitter. 

Every game, I am amazed about the play of Gleyber Torres. Considering he had two of the five errors, he had every reason to clunk this game. But there he was in the bottom of the tenth inning with the winning run on second. A ball that was generously called a strike by the home plate umpire aggravated Torres, but perhaps with an assist from third base coach Phil Nevin, Torres was able to shake it off and wait for his pitch. On a 2-2 count, he drove Brad Peacock’s two-seam fastball into right field, easily allowing Miguel Andujar to race home well ahead of the off-line throw from the outfield, scoring the walk-off winning run. 9 home runs, 26 RBI’s, .321 batting average. The guy has only had 117 plates appearances in the Major Leagues.  The dude is only 21 years old. When Charlie Hayes caught the pop-up to end the 1996 World Series, Gleyber was still marinating in his mother’s stomach. How is this possible? Amazing, simply amazing and something quite special.

The heroics by Torres were made possible by none other than the ancient Brett Gardner. I know, 34 is not old but on a team of twenty-somethings, he’d be the gray-haired man (if he had hair). Not one but two home runs by Gardy put the Yankees in position to win. The second home run, a two-run bomb off Houston’s Chris Devenski in the bottom of the ninth, tied the game to send it into extra innings. 

Photo Credit: Associated Press (Frank Franklin II)
It figures that Miguel Andujar played a key role in both the tying and winning moments. His walk to open the ninth set the stage for Gardy’s home run to tie it, and his double in the tenth, laced into left with the fury like ABC used to cancel Roseanne’s show, put him in position to score the walk-off run. 

Also, mention must go to the spectacular play by Gary Sanchez to end the top of the tenth inning. With Houston’s Tony Kemp on second base and two outs, closer Aroldis Chapman’s 100 mph fastball sailed above El Gary’s head to the backstop. The sheer force and velocity of the pitch ricocheted the ball back to Gary who, in turn, fired a strike to third base to nail the sliding Tony Kemp. There was the pesky Miguel Andujar again, applying the tag for the final out. 

The Yankees (34-17) won the game 6-5 and remain two games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. The Sox, winners of eight of their last ten and two in a row, thumped the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-3. The Yankees and Red Sox have the equal number of losses (17), but Boston has four more wins. 

On a side note about the seventeen strikeouts, every batter in the Yankees lineup struck out at least once and three guys (Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez, and Aaron Hicks) struck out three times. I am getting a little tired of watching Hicks take meatballs down the center of the plate with his bat on his shoulder. Count me among those who’d prefer to see what Red Thunder could do in center.

Despite two strikeouts of his own and the previously mentioned couple of errors, I am so proud to have Gleyber Torres on this team. He has given me a sense of confidence about second base that I haven’t felt since Robinson Cano patrolled these parts (I’d like to think drug-free, but who knows). Nothing against Giancarlo Stanton, but I feel Torres has been the most valuable new addition to the team this year. Maybe when Stanton starts crushing massive home runs every day with one of his typical monster tears I’ll feel differently but for now, I’ll just sit back and enjoy watching young Gleyber play…and win. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Al Bello)
Yesterday, I mentioned Josh Rogers as a potential callup for the Yankees. The 23-year-old lefty delivered a dominating performance on the road Tuesday for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders against the Louisville Bats. Rogers, who went to the University of Louisville and grew up nearby, pitched a five-hit shutout for seven innings. He walked two and struck out three while lowering his season ERA from 2.80 to 2.48 in the RailRiders’ 4-0 win. Rogers, unlike Chance Adams, is pitching like he wants a free ride to the Bronx. If he keeps this up, he’ll get it.

Photo Credit: Todd Hiller
The Yankees conclude their season series with the Astros tonight. Noted Yankee killer Dallas Keuchel is on the mound but he’ll be going against our best, Luis Severino. I am sure we’ll see Keuchel again in October. Nothing better than sending him away with a loss to think about for the next few months. I gotta admit I have wondered what Keuchel would look like without that beard if he decides to try on pinstripes over the upcoming winter. 

Go Yankees!