Live Game Updates: Rockies at Yankees - 6/22

1:20 p.m., Mid 1st: The Rockies nearly score in the first, but a great throw by Gardner cuts down Charlie Blackmon at the plate. Let's see what the Yankees can do against Jon Gray.

1:51 p.m., End 2nd: Yankees get on the board in a big way. After two walks and a single load the bases, Chase Headley clubs a grand slam to center -- the team's first of the season. It's 4-0 New York after two innings of play.

2:07 p.m., Mid 3rd: An errant throw on a sac bunt by CC helps the Rockies score a pair. They're right back in it.

2:40 p.m., End 4th: Rockies take the lead in the fourth on a Nick Hundley three-run home run. Just like that, it's 5-4 Colorado.

3:02 p.m., End 5th: Rockies score three more in the fifth off CC and Anthony Swarzak. This game's gotten out of hand very quickly.

4:00 p.m., End 7th: Yankees rally to tie it. After Beltran lifts a three-run shot to right, Didi evens the score with a two-out RBI single, and we've got a brand new ballgame.

4:36 p.m., End 9th: That's your ballgame. Castro leads off the ninth with a walk-off home run off Jason Motte, and the Yankees prevail 9-8.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies 6/22

Here we go Yankees family, afternoon baseball in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies. These two teams were slated to face off head-to-head four times this season and this will be the finale of that four game schedule for 2016. In the finale the Yankees will send their 2009 version of CC Sabathia to the mound looking for another strong start while the Rockies will counter with Jon Gray who needs a strong start of his own. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees have seven more games left of this home stand after this afternoon’s game including another set with the Minnesota Twins so if you want to see those games live or any games live this week in the Bronx just click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and secure your premium seats now. Also be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) to follow along and interact with us during each and every game. FYI we are also in the T-shirt selling business now as well so click the TGP T-shirts link at the top of the blog to check that out as well.

Will CC Sabathia even give up a run, that’s the question that’s asked more times than not when the big left-hander is on the mound anymore and there is only one way to find out. Watch. Go Yankees!

Meet a Prospect: Tim Lynch Edition

The New York Yankees, at the time of this writing anyway, had signed eight of their first ten rounds picks with only their top pick, Blake Rutherford, and their 3^rd round pick, Nolan Martinez, yet to sign. It’s not uncommon for top picks to wait a while before deciding to sign and it’s even more common for High School players like Rutherford and Martinez to take their time before deciding to sign or not but when you draft a college player like Tim Lynch you expect them to sign rather quickly. The Yankees, and Lynch, did just that when the Florida product and first baseman signed for well below his slow value to begin his professional career. Let’s meet him.

This is Meet a Prospect: The Tim Lynch Edition. Lynch was a first baseman at Southern Mississippi at the time of his drafting and Baseball American had him ranked as the 22^nd best player in the state of Mississippi at the time of the 2016 draft. Lynch stands at 6’2” and hits left-handed which both fit the prototypical mold for a first baseman in the Major Leagues. Lynch’s big frame and left-handed swing are considered to both be disciplined with good power and solid contact making him a viable option in the future to stick at first base in the majors.

In 2016 Lynch hit .365/.470/.545 with ten home runs and 59 RBI during his senior season while striking out only 13 times to his 39 walks he drew all year long. For these reasons the Baseball Draft Report had Lynch ranked as the fifth best hitter in Conference USA in the draft. Lynch isn’t likely to play anywhere else because of his size but his bat can carry him at a position where the Yankees are seemingly very thin at the moment in the minor leagues. His bat may carry him all the way to the Major Leagues and very quickly if he plays his cards right.

We’re rooting for you Tim. Welcome to the organization and welcome to the family. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies 6/22

The New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies were slated to play a pair of short two-game series this season in Interleague Play and that final game comes this afternoon in the Bronx. The Yankees were swept away in Colorado during the two games played under the National League’s rules and New York will look to extract some revenge and get out of this series with a win this afternoon inside Yankee Stadium. That will be no easy task against this solid offense the Rockies possess and it will be no easy task with Jon Gray on the mound for Colorado. Thankfully for the Yankees they are sending CC Sabathia to the mound this afternoon to oppose him.

Sabathia has been vintage Sabathia since coming off the disabled list in the beginning of May and no pitcher has a better ERA in that time period than Sabathia. Since coming off the DL Sabathia is sporting a 0.82 ERA lowering his overall ERA to 2.20. Sabathia will look to make that even lower in his eighth start since coming off the DL tonight against the Rockies.

Gray struggled in his last start against the Miami Marlins and will look to do better tonight in the Bronx against the Yankees. In that start Gray allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in six innings of work but he struggled to find command of his fastball and his slider for much of the start, especially in the early innings.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. Yet another game played while I’m at work or while I should be asleep. Sigh. Oh well as long as the Yankees come away with another victory I’m okay with missing a game here or there. Go Yankees!

Weekly Prospects Check In: Where the Hell is Gary Sanchez?

I was asked many times, in not so many words, where the hell James Kaprielian has been since going down on the disabled list in Tampa and I did my best to answer that question yesterday with a big “I don’t know.” Today I will look to provide a better answer to another burning question I have been hearing a lot about recently, where the hell is Gary Sanchez?

Sanchez was placed on the minor league DL with a crack in his thumb on --- and that’s where he has been ever since. A crack in the thumb of a catcher sounds like a big deal to me but either Sanchez is an iron man or the injury is not as bad as it was made out to be. I come to this conclusion because it was announced that Sanchez was taking ground balls at first base and working out there since the end of April by many publications.

Sanchez has been back over a week now and apparently I missed it, that's where the hell he's been. Where the hell have I been?

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	23	AAA	42	182	21	47	16	7	30	3	9	27	.278	.324	.509	.833
2016	23	MLB	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/22: #TooManyDamnHomeRuns

On this day in 1941 the Yankees hit a home run for the 18th consecutive game setting a new major league record. Joe DiMaggio hit the historic home run in a 5-4 Yankees victory over the Detroit Tigers and extended his own hitting streak to 35 games.

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!