Baby Bomber to Watch: Jose Mesa Jr.

The future is now in the Bronx as the Yankees are using the “out with the old and in with the new” method of rebuilding. Gone are old mainstays like Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira and in their places are Miguel Andujar, Todd Frazier temporarily and Greg Bird. The future is now in New York but the good news for the Bronx bombers it that future can be the future as well as the team has a deep and still has a great farm system after multiple trades before the July 31^st trading deadline. One of those players that could be part of the next wave of Baby Bombers to take over the league is the son of a former MLB player and his name is Jose Mesa Jr.

Mesa was drafted as a relief pitcher by the Yankees back in 2014 after drafting him in the 24^th round of the MLB Draft. Mesa has since switched to the starting pitching role after a down season in 2016 and has posted a 4-0 record with a 0.79 ERA with the Double-A Trenton Thunder after conquering High-A with the Tampa Yankees. Mesa has succeeded as a start due in large part to his control and command of his pitches. Mesa is striking out 10.8 batters per nine innings while walking just 3.4 batters per nine innings, both are drastic improvements from his numbers as a reliever.

Mesa has not garnered some of the attention that other pitchers have in the Yankees minor league system like Chance Adams but with numbers like the above it is hard to merely blink an eye or miss what Mesa has done in a short stint this season. If the Yankees can strike gold with Mesa like they have with many other pitchers who have gone from relief pitcher to starting pitcher the team will have a great problem on their hands, too many good arms and not enough innings to throw them all.

The Greedy Pinstripes did a “Meet a Prospect” on Jose Mesa back in 2014 when he was drafted and you can read that below. Maybe one day soon I can say I interviewed the son of a MLB pitcher who himself became a MLB pitcher of the same name. Jose Mesa. Look out for this one.

http://www.thegreedypinstripes.com/2012/07/meet-prospect-jose-mesa-jr.html

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 9/6

The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles will finish off their three-game set tonight inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards with a matchup of two potential aces for each ball club. The Yankees will send Sonny Gray to the mound who will be looking for a little bit of run support behind him for once while the Orioles will counter with Kevin Gausman who hasn’t needed much run support lately to win. The calendar is now in September and the regular season games are running out making each decision, each run and each contest all the more important.

Gray hasn’t received much run support since joining the Yankees as we alluded to earlier which may have contributed to his 2-4 start in six starts for the Bombers. Gray hasn’t been his dominant self either though and especially wasn’t in his last start against the Red Sox where he gave up four runs in seven innings of work including three home runs.

Gausman has posted a 2.55 ERA with 16 strikeouts in his last 17.2 innings and has been especially solid for Baltimore down the stretch. Gausman did not factor in the decision in his last start, a 13-inning affair the Orioles finally won on Friday night, but pitched well overall for Baltimore in the contest.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network, MASN 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. Enjoy the game, need a win so get a win, and go Yankees!!!

Betances Fails The Late Night Show...

Credit:  Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Orioles 7, Yankees 6...

I've never been a big fan of Dellin Betances as closer and Tuesday night was Exhibit A.  I do not feel that he has the closer's mentality and his arm plays best in a prime setup role. His inability to throw strikes to Tim Beckham with two outs set up Manny Machado for the late night heroics with a dramatic two-run walk-off home run. I've felt all along that David Robertson should have been the interim closer but at this point, an argument could be made for the return of Aroldis Chapman.

In a game delayed by rain (game time was 9:15 pm Eastern), the Orioles scored first in the bottom of the first inning. Jonathan Schoop worked a two-out walk off Yankees starter CC Sabathia.  Adam Jones reached base on an infield single to third (a slow roller that hit the bag). During Trey Mancini's at-bat, a wild pitch by Sabathia that got away from Austin Romine allowed the runners to move up to second and third.  Mancini proceeded to hit a short dribbler to short. Didi Gregorius charged in to retrieve the ball but in the words of Michael Kay, he had to "eat it" when there was no play at either first or home. Schoop scored and the O's led 1-0.  

The Yankees erupted in the third inning against Orioles starter Jeremy Hellickson. Austin Romine led off with a single to left through the hole.  After Brett Gardner lined out to right, Aaron Judge walked and Starlin Castro was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Didi Gregorius lined a single to right which scored both Romine and Judge.  Judge slid in safely under the throw.  Matt Holliday walked to re-load the bases. The O's then pulled Hellickson and replaced him with former Yankee Richard Bleier. Greg Bird hit a sacrifice fly to center which scored Castro. An error by center fielder Adam Jones, he dropped the ball, allowed Bird to safely reach base and the bases were still loaded.  Todd Frazier grounded out softly to short with the only play the throw to first. Gregorius came home with the fourth run.  Jacoby Ellsbury was next and he singled up the middle to center to score Holliday and Bird. The Yankees were seemingly in control at 6-1.

Credit:  Patrick Semansky-Associated Press

Leading off the bottom of the 3rd, Manny Machado, the American League Player of the Month in August, gave a preview of coming attractions with his line drive home run to center.  The Yankees still led, 6-2, but it was statement by Machado that the game was not over.  

While the Yankees were struggling to get runners past second base, the O's added another run in the bottom of the 5th inning when Jonathan Schoop took Sabathia deep to left center for a solo homer.  

Sabathia pitched into the 6th inning but overstayed his welcome. Trey Mancini led off with a looper just over Todd Frazier's outreached glove for a single.  Mark Trumbo took advantage and blasted a two-run shot to left. It was a one-run game. After Chris Davis grounded out for the first out of the inning, the Yankees finally pulled Sabathia.  Tommy Kahnle took over and got the final two outs.

Girardi's formula was then to use David Robertson for the 7th and Aroldis Chapman for the 8th. Both men did their jobs. Each retiring the three batters they faced.  Unfortunately, after the big 3rd inning, the Yankees offense stalled. Their last chance came in the 8th when they had two men on base with only one out, but Aaron Judge struck out and Starlin Castro popped out to third in foul territory to strand the runners.

Fast-forward to the bottom of the 9th, Dellin Betances took over for Chapman and retired the first two batters. He needed just one more out which never came.  He couldn't throw strikes to Tim Beckham, walking him on a 3-1 count.  Manny Machado, swinging at a poorly placed high pitch from Betances, sent the ball over the wall in center field for the walk-off two-run home run.  

Credit:  Associated Press

The Yankees (74-64) lost ground to the Boston Red Sox. The Sox were trailing the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th before tying the game and sending it into extra innings. They finally scored the walk-off run in the 19th inning to win the game and push the Yankees 3 1/2 games back. The Orioles moved back to 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees with the win.  The Los Angeles Angels leap-frogged the Minnesota Twins and trail the Yankees by 2 1/2 games in the Wild Card Standings. The Angels beat the Oakland A's, 8-7, in 10 innings, while the Twins fell to the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1.

This is another game that the Yankees should have won. It would have been huge to win the first two games in Baltimore.  But it was not meant to be so hopefully the Yankees can rebound today. Rain is in the forecast throughout the evening so there's a strong possibility the game is called and pushed to Thursday. When the teams take the field, the Yankees must play like a team fighting for the post-season and avoid the mistakes that allow the opponent to capitalize. Moving Betances back to set up would be a start.

Odds & Ends...

Every time the Yankees add a player from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, I can't help but feel bad for RailRiders Manager Al Pedrique as his team prepares for its International League playoff series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. But then again, the RailRiders can raid from the Double A Trenton Thunder as 2B Billy Fleming will attest. I guess talent rolls up hill. The latest RailRider to exit the team is 1B/OF Tyler Austin who was promoted to the big league club prior to yesterday's game.  It makes more sense for Austin to provide outfield corner support than either Tyler Wade or Ronald Torreyes. Austin had two home runs the other day in the RailRiders' regular season finale.

Luis Severino's post on The Player's Tribune website entitled My Journey to the Bronx is a great read. It makes you feel proud and excited to be a Yankees fan. I didn't realize how close he came to being a Colorado Rockie. I am glad it didn't happen and that the opportunity to play for his favorite childhood team came to fruition.

Have a great Wednesday! Let's grab a win today at Camden Yards before the team jumps on a plane bound for the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex! Go Yankees!

Checking in w/ the Traded Yankees Prospects in 2017

The New York Yankees made quite a few traded this past July 31^st trading deadline that included some highly touted prospects inside their farm system. Let’s check back in with those prospects one last time and maybe gauge how these trades are going to work out for both teams going forward. Obviously it is way too early to tell on these trades involving prospects but this look can give us all hopefully a detailed first impression of the deals.

The Yankees acquire David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Todd Frazier.

The White Sox acquire Blake Rutherford, Ian Clarkin, Tito Polo and Tyler Clippard.

In the weeks leading up to the deal there were many scouts that had their doubts about Rutherford’s ability to hit for hard contact and power. Many wondered if the Yankees would be patient with Rutherford or trade him while his value was still high and we all obviously got the answer to that question with this deal. Rutherford has hit .228/.302/.272 with a 72 wRC+ since the trade as of the time of this writing and has still yet to hit for power or hard contact. He’s still young and was technically drafted out of High School, although he was a 19-year old player drafted out of High School, so the sky is still the limit on this kid but it seems as though the Yankees may have gotten the better end of that deal as of right now. Three years from now we could be talking about the worst trade in the Brian Cashman era. You can’t predict baseball.

Clarkin made two whole starts for his new team before a strained oblique landed the lefty in a familiar place, on the disabled list. Clarkin pitched a whole eight innings for the White Sox and pitched to a 6.04 FIP in an extremely small sample size. Different name, same story for Polo who has only managed 79 plate appearances for the White Sox before landing on the disabled list. Polo will represent the White Sox in the Arizona Fall League though because when he was healthy he did produce a .278/.342/.389 and 113 wRC+ batting line.

Finally the curious case of Tyler Clippard. Clippard was terrible in the Bronx, he rebuilt some of his stock with the White Sox and was ultimately flipped to the Houston Astros in a second trade this season. Since joining Houston, again at the time of this writing, Clippard has been back to his old ways posting a 7.71 ERA and 4.85 FIP with Houston but he may ultimately get a World Series ring out of it regardless so I doubt he’s too bothered by it. Clippard looks a lot like the pitcher we saw in New York and a lot less like the guy who had a 1.80 ERA with the Chicago White Sox.

The New York Yankees acquire Jaime Garcia and cash considerations.

The Minnesota Twins acquire Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns.

The Yankees basically got Garcia for free in terms of dollars and cents but not in terms of prospects as the team had to part with a pair of minor league pitchers in the deal. Neither pitcher really fit in with the Yankees long term plans to be completely honest although Enns could have been a bullpen piece for the team going forward. Enns did make his MLB debut this season pitching 2.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits. Shortly after the rough outing in which he labored heavily through his two-plus innings Enns was placed on the disabled list with a should injury. Enns is currently pitching in minor league rehab games and could be a September call up for Minnesota.

Littell has pitched well for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts pitching to a 2.81 ERA and 3.51 FIP in seven starts. Littell does not fit the mold that the Yankees have seemingly fallen in love with since he is a soft-tossing left-hander but Littell has pitched well in every stop he has made throughout his minor league career so this one may be a hard loss to look back on in three-to-four years.

The New York Yankees acquire Sonny Gray.

The Oakland Athletics acquire Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler and James Kaprielian.

The big one, the trade that made the Yankees the Yankees again. The trade that sent three big prospects to the Athletics for right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray. Mateo was obviously the centerpiece of the deal and has hit .283/.328/.480 with two home runs for the Midland Rockhounds. Mateo is striking out at nearly a 23% clip but has played nice defense and has been a nice pickup for Oakland overall.

Both Fowler, knee, and Kaprielian, Tommy John surgery, have suffered season-ending injuries and will not play for Oakland this season. The A’s had their eyes on the future though when they made this deal while New York had their eyes on the present, 2018 and 2019. This deal could be one of those deals that ultimately work out equally as well for both teams given time. 

So it Seems… The Yankees Are Built for a Wild Card

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. After a long weekend I did not want to get going this week but work had other plans for me unfortunately. Work is getting overwhelming and it is almost to the point where a change needs to be made not only for my happiness but for my health as well, but that’s another blog post for another day.

The Yankees made a bit of a statement this weekend and into this week taking three-of-four games against the Boston Red Sox and then coming out strong against another Wild Card contender in the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees are still a longshot at being the American League East Division champions but after this strong play of late there is still a chance. I personally won’t be disappointed though if the Yankees ultimately have to settle for a Wild Card game and neither should you and I am prepared to tell you why.

The Yankees may be the best team built for a Wild Card type do-or-die game when you look at things on paper. The Yankees starting pitching has been fantastic overall and the team has the choice between Masahiro Tanaka or Luis Severino in their Wild-Card Game playoff while the bullpen has been equally is good, if not better. With everyone ready and rested the Yankees could easily get 5-6 innings out of their bullpen on any given night and those tend to be shutout innings as well.

The offense is good and can be explosive and the talent on this team tends to outweigh Joe Girardi’s bad decision making more times than not. The Yankees can put up 10 runs on any given night and in a one-game scenario that’s just hard to beat no matter who you are.

The Yankees are built for the long haul in my opinion and so are you and I my love. HEY YOU. I love you. Have a great day everyone. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/6: George Fires Gene Michael & Releases The Alou Brothers

George Steinbrenner bought the struggling New York Yankees franchise in 1973 for a meager $10 million and eventually turned the team into a perennial winner. Along the way George went through a lot of players, a ton of personnel, and more than his fair share of managers. On this day in 1981 The Boss made the "most agonizing" decision he ever made during his tenure as the Yankees owner when he fired manager Gene Michael and replaced him with Bob Lemon.

Michael announced in a press conference that he could no longer tolerate Steinbrenner's constant threats of dismissal which angered Steinbrenner. George demanded an apology and when Michael refused he was let go as the manager of the New York Yankees.

Also on this day in 1973 both of the Alou Brothers were released from the Yankees squad. Felipe Alou was sold to the Montreal Expos while Matty Alou was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Aaron Judge -- Walking to History...

Yankees 7, Orioles 4...

I'd prefer to see Aaron Judge, the Monster Home Run Hitter, but there's no mistaking that the young slugger knows how to take his walks.  By walking four more times yesterday, Judge now has 103 walks on the season. The great Ted Williams holds the modern record for most walks by a rookie with 107 in 1939.  Granted, he's far off the pace set by all-time record holder Barry Bonds (232 in 2004) and well down the overall list (tied for 432nd place) but his rookie year has been a record-setter. He is the first rookie with 100 walks since Jim Gilliam did it for the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1953.

Oh, there was a game played too as the Yankees took down the Baltimore Orioles hours after their arrival in Maryland following Sunday night's win over the Boston Red Sox. I think I heard the team got in at 3 am on Monday morning and they were back at it by 2:05 pm.  Apparently no sleep is needed this time of year. The Yankees spotted the O's a 3-0 lead and then mounted their comeback.

Jordan Montgomery got the start over Jaime Garcia, but he was rudely welcomed by O's lead-off hitter, Tim Beckham, who homered to right in the bottom of the first. With Dylan Bundy, arguably the O's best pitcher this year, on the mound, it looked like it might be a long afternoon.

Credit:  Nick Wass-Associated Press

While Bundy was easily dispatching the Yankees (he held the Yanks hitless for the first three innings), the O's scored more runs in the bottom of the 2nd.  Mark Trumbo opened the inning by reaching base on a fielding error by Didi Gregorius when he couldn't make a backhanded stop. Chris Davis may not hit for average but when he gets a hold of a pitch with the barrel of his bat, it's gone. His shot to left center put the O's up, 3-0. To Brett Gardner's defense, he almost came up with a spectacular catch but the ball was just over his glove.

The Yankees finally got to Bundy in the 4th. Starlin Castro led off with a single to left.  Didi Gregorius followed with a line drive home run to right, bouncing off the railing, and it was a one-run game. Walks to Aaron Judge and Todd Frazier set the table for Jacoby Ellsbury. His chopper through the hole into right field scored Judge and the game was tied at 3.

Baltimore came right back in the bottom of the 4th when the first two batters reached on singles, but Chris Davis grounded into a double play and Wellington Castillo struck out to end the threat without scoring.

The Yankees didn't miss their chance in the top of the 5th inning. Chase Headley looped a single to center and scored when Starlin Castro jumped on Bundy's first pitch with a two-run shot to left. It was the end of the day for Bundy and a 5-3 lead for the Yankees.

Credit:  Associated Press

Two insurance runs were added in the top of the 6th. Todd Frazier and Jacoby Ellsbury walked against O's reliever Miguel Castro to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt rolling down the first base line by Austin Romine moved the runners to second and third. O's Manager Buck Showalter pulled Castro and replaced him with Donnie Hart. Brett Gardner hit a grounder to short and was thrown out at first but Frazier scored on the play. After Chase Headley walked, Showalter made another pitching change and brought in Richard Rodriguez. Starlin Castro greeted Rodriguez with a single lined to center, scoring Ellsbury. The Yankees had increased their lead to 7-3.

The Yankees had a couple of hits in the top of the 7th, including a double by Todd Frazier, but were unable to capitalize, thanks to a double play on Greg Bird and a ground out by Austin Romine. Meanwhile, Yankees reliever Chad Green was mowing the Orioles down. He had taken over for Jordan Montgomery with two outs in the 5th inning, and pitched through the 7th (striking out the final three batters he faced).  

Credit:  Ron Sachs

Manager Joe Girardi turned the game over to David Robertson to start the 8th.  It didn't start well when D-Rob walked the first two batters. But he responded by striking out Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones for the first two outs.  Trey Mancini came up with a chance to make it a close game but his grounder to second ended the inning.  'Bend but not break' continues to be the theme lately with D-Rob.

For the 9th, it was time to turn the game over to the arm of Dellin Betances.  Betances got the first two hitters out, but Wellington Castillo, in the midst of a career year with Baltimore, punched his 19th home run over the center field wall. The O's had closed the gap to 7-4. Seth Smith was then inserted as a pinch-hitter for Joey Rickard but he went down swinging for the final out.  Game over. Yankees win!

The Yankees (74-63) find themselves a mere 2 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East Standings this morning. The Red Sox fell to the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-4. The win pushed the Orioles 4 1/2 games behind the Yankees.  The Yankees also gained ground in the Wild Card Standings, moving 3 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.  The Twins lost, 11-4, to the Tampa Bay Rays.  

The pitching star, no doubt, was Chad Green (3-0).  He pitched 2 1/3 innings and didn't give up any hits or runs. He struck out a total of four batters in picking up the win.  It wasn't a great effort by Jordan Montgomery but credit to him for not letting the dam burst when the Orioles scored their early runs.  

Credit:  Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

The hitting star was Starlin Castro who was 3-for-5 with the two-run homer.  Didi Gregorius deserves honorable mention for his two-run shot.  

Orioles manager Buck Showalter sounded a little bitter about the expanded September rosters after the game. “There’s so many things that happen this time of the year,’’ said Showalter in his post-game comments. “They don’t make the moves they made in July and June. They’ve got all those bullets down there. They’ve got 12 people down there if you count Garcia. You’re able to do that. We couldn’t today because I had like three or four guys I wasn’t going use today. We had to do that to win the previous game. Everything is effect-counter-effect.” That's fine, I'll take the counter-effect...the Judge walks and the Castro/Gregorius homers...for the win.  

Odds & Ends...

It's tough when you are playing a team nipping at your heels, but Gary Sanchez began serving his three-game suspension (reduced from four games). So, El Gary will miss the Baltimore series and will resume play on Friday night in Arlington, Texas. Austin Romine becomes the starting catcher against the Orioles, backed by Erik Kratz. Romine's suspension was reduced from three games to two, and he'll begin serving his time when Sanchez returns. Then, sadly, the storied Yankees career of Erik Kratz will come to an end.

Prior to Monday's game, Sanchez posted the following message on his FaceBook page:

The Yankees have recalled 2B/SS Tyler Wade. Wade could potentially see some time in the outfield with Aaron Hicks on the DL, but he also brings speed to the basepaths with 26 steals at Triple A. Wade won the International League batting title (.310) with the conclusion of the IL regular season yesterday.

Congratulations to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders for their 86-55 finish in the International League!  They begin the play-offs against the Wild Card Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) tomorrow. The RailRiders finished 6 1/2 games better than the IronPigs in the IL North Division.  

Have a great Tuesday! It's back to work for many of us who enjoyed the long Labor Day Weekend but hopefully the Yankees keep putting in the hours for another victory. Go Yankees!

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/5: Bob Sheppard Works His Final Game

Unknown to the Yankees, their fans, and Bob Sheppard at the time the "Voice of God" worked his last game as the team's P.A. announcer at Yankee Stadium in 2007. This was Sheppard's 4,500th time since taking over the job in 1951. Jim Hall and Paul Olden would replace Sheppard when the team moves to the new Yankee Stadium in 2009.

During the game Alex Rodriguez became only the fourth player in Yankees history to hit a home run twice in the same inning. What made this 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners even more spectacular was the fact that A Rod had gone to the hospital to have his sore right ankle examined and had to talk his way into the lineup before the game.

Also on this day in 1989 Deion Sanders, the Yankees rookie, hit a home run as the Yankees routed the Seattle Mariners 12-2. Five days later the rookie Atlanta Falcons player would make his NFL debut and would return a punt 68 yards for a touchdown. #Athlete.

On Second Thought, He's Safe!...

Credit:  Corey Sipkin-NY Post

Yankees 9, Red Sox 2...

The most critical play of the game might have been when the Yankees challenged the call in the bottom of the 6th.  The bases were loaded and two outs for Gary Sanchez.  He hit a hard smash to third.  Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers dove to stop the ball and got up, throwing the ball to first.  The ref signaled out and it appeared the inning was over.  But hold on, the Yankees challenged the play and replay showed that Sanchez had reached first just ahead of the ball.  The call was overturned and the inning continued.  Six runs later and the Yankees had placed a dagger in Boston's heart.

The Yankees had runners at third in the first two innings but nothing to show for it.  Luis Severino was dominating the Red Sox but the Yankees were getting their chances against Boston starter Chris Sale.  Finally, to open the bottom of the 3rd, Chase Headley sent a Sale pitch into the left field stands (just over the wall).  

In the bottom of the 4th, the long ball continued to be the only weapon.  Matt Holliday, after battling off a few pitches, blasted a solo shot to the deepest part of the park in center and was followed by Todd Frazier's homer to left (a few rows back).  The Yankees had taken a 3-0 lead.  

When Chris Sale was pulled with one out and runner at first in the top of the 5th inning, he was laboring and had thrown 109 pitches.  It's amazing that as dominant as Sale has been this year against the Yankees, he failed to win a game in four tries.  

Credit:  Rich Schultz-Getty Images

The Sox finally got on the board in the top of the 6th.  Eduardo Nunez made it to first with one out when Todd Frazier failed to handle a grounder to third and the ball rolled into left field.  Following the second out by Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts hit a grounder to third but Frazier's low throw bounced past first baseman Chase Headley.  Frazier's second error of the inning. The runners moved up to second and third.  Nunez came home to score when a low Sevy pitch got past Gary Sanchez to the backstop.  3-1, Yankees.  Boston was unable to bring Betts home from third when Mitch Moreland struck out swinging.  It would be Luis Severino's final pitch but what a game for the young right-hander!  Two hits, one run (but none earned), no walks and nine strikeouts.  Chris Sale may very well win the AL Cy Young Award (I know, Corey Kluber will have something to say about that) but on this day, Luis Severino was better.

Credit:  Corey Sipkin-NY Post

With Boston's Joe Kelly on the mound, Matt Holliday opened the bottom of the 6th by working a walk.  Kelly struck out Todd Frazier and was replaced by Robby Scott.  Jacoby Ellsbury greeted Scott with a single lined to right.  Brett Gardner walked and the bases were full of Yanks.  The Sox made another pitching move and brought in former New York Met Addison Reed.  Reed struck out Chase Headley for the second out.  Gary Sanchez was next.  During the at-bat, Red Sox pitching coach Carl Willis was barking about balls and strikes from the Boston dugout when he felt several calls were missed.  He got an early departure from the game for his troubles.  Sanchez hit the ball to third and it appeared that he was out at first for the final out.  The play was incredibly close but I was uncertain.  While Yankee players were signaling safe in the dugout, the Yankees challenged the play and the call was overturned when it showed El Gary's foot touching first base just ahead of the throw.  The safe call validated Holliday's run.  It was 4-1 Yankees.

Starlin Castro kept the inning going with a hard liner to right.  The ball went to the wall for a double and all three baserunners scored.  Minutes earlier, the game had been a tight pitching duel and now the Yankees had a six-run lead.  It brought Aaron Judge to the plate.  Boom!  No doubt about it as the ball sailed 469 feet into the left field seats at an exit velocity of 115.1 mph.  

Credit:  Bill Kostroun-Associated Press

From there, it was about riding the bullpen to victory.  Despite the eight-run lead, it was a slightly bumpy ride.  Tommy Kahnle was first.  He pitched the top of the 7th in relief of Severino after Manager Joe Girardi decided against bringing Sevy back out after the long bottom of the 6th.  Kahnle looked rusty as he walked the first batter, Dustin Pedroia.  Deven Marrero was brought in to pinch-run for Pedroia.  Rafael Devers singled to left which moved Marrero to second and no outs. Fortunately, Kahnle struck out the next two batters and got the final out when Jackie Bradley, Jr popped out to third in foul territory.  

Chasen Shreve took over in the 8th.  Given his recent struggles, I felt far from secure.  But he proved me wrong by retiring the three batters he faced (two by strikeout).  For the 9th, Girardi brought in Giovanny Gallegos.  I know that the Yankees had a big lead, but I probably would have gone with Aroldis Chapman for no other reason than to get him some work.  Oh well, they pay Girardi to make the decisions.  Sam Travis was up first and he singled to left, just past Todd Frazier at third. A wild pitch (high throw from Gallegos) moved Travis to second.  Gallegos was looking a bit like a rookie but then he struck out Deven Marrero.  A groundout by Rafael Devers moved Travis to third. Blake Swihart came in, pinch-hitting for Hanley Ramirez, and drew a walk.  Sandy Leon's single to left scored Travis.  Swihart moved to second.  Gallegos, with Aroldis Chapman warming up, finally got Jackie Bradley, Jr to swing at the third strike to end the game.  The Yankees win!

Credit:  Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees (73-63) moved to within 3 1/2 games of the Red Sox with the win in the final head-to-head match-up between the two teams.  The Yankees took the season series, 11 games to 8.  This was a huge series.  If the results had been in reverse, the Yankees could have potentially been looking up in the Wild Card Standings and holding a distant view of the top of the AL East.  Instead, they are still within striking distance for the division crown and continue to hold the edge in the Wild Card.  The Yankees maintained their 3 1/2 game advantage over the Baltimore Orioles.  The O's fought back against the Toronto Blue Jays to win 5-4 in 12 innings.  The Minnesota Twins lost (5-4 to the Kansas City Royals) so the Yankees increased their Wild Card lead to two games.

Luis Severino (12-6) was outstanding.  The guy welcomes the challenge of continually facing the top aces in the game.  Sevy became the youngest Yankees pitcher to record 200 strikeouts in a season by age 23 since Al Downing did it back in 1964 with 217 strikeouts.  

Credit:  Rich Schultz-Getty Images

It was good to see Aaron Judge hit his 38th home run.  Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers had hit his 36th earlier in the day.  The rookies might not reach Mark McGwire's rookie record of 49 (set in 1987) but they're certainly giving it a try.  

Credit to Gary Sanchez for his effort to get to first base in the 6th inning.  I was listening to sports announcers earlier in the day who were complaining about Robinson Cano's "60% effort", at times, when running to first base.  Sanchez showed that hustle can make a difference.

Next Up:  Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland...

After playing a Sunday night game in New York, the Yankees turn right around and play an afternoon game in Baltimore.  It probably feels like a night-day double-header.  No rest for the wicked...or in this case, no rest for the good guys.  

Here are the scheduled pitching match-ups:

MONDAY

Yankees:  Jordan Montgomery (7-7, 4.15 ERA)

Orioles:  Dylan Bundy (13-8, 3.94 ERA)

TUESDAY

Yankees:  CC Sabathia (11-5, 3.71 ERA)

Orioles:  Ubaldo Jimenez (5-9, 6.85 ERA)

WEDNESDAY

Yankees:  Sonny Gray (8-9, 3.36 ERA)

Orioles:  Jeremy Hellickson (2-3, 6.55 ERA)

I was glad to see the Yankees replace Jaime Garcia with Jordan Montgomery.  Not that Monty pitched much better than Garcia last time out (the actual line was worse) but I trust Monty more with the chips on the line. Hopefully the Yankees can take this series to hold off the recent charge by the Orioles.

Odds & Ends...

The Yankees have placed OF Aaron Hicks on the 10-day DL with a left oblique strain.  After missing time earlier this summer with a right oblique strain, maybe Hicks should invest in a new personal trainer.  Hopefully this is not the end for Hicks' 2017 season. LHP Caleb Smith was recalled from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take A-A-Ron's roster spot.

Have a great Monday!  It's Labor Day but let's hope it is not too much labor to carve out the O's.  Go Yankees!

This Day in New York Yankees History 9/4: ‘98 Yankees Quickest to 100 Victories

The 1998 New York Yankees squad was deemed by many as the greatest team ever assembled in this great sport of Major League Baseball. On this day in 1998 the Yankees entered the record books when they became the quickest team ever to reach the 100 win plateau. The Yankees 11-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox bested the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 1954 Cleveland Indians by five days. Although the Cubs in 1906 started the season 100-32 which was far better than the Yankees record.

Also on this day in 1993 Jim Abbott, the Yankees starting pitcher that was born with only one hand, throws a no hitter to beat the California Angels by the score of 4-0. Abbott was the first Yankees pitcher to throw a no hitter in the decade even though he was born without a right hand. Indians leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton was loudly booed by the Yankee Stadium crowd for fouling off a bunt attempt in his last at bat.

Also on this day in 1991 Major League Baseball votes to eliminate the distinction between the number of games played in a league's schedule when it comes to the all-time single season home run mark. The vote takes away the asterisk that kept Roger Maris from the top spot and bumped Babe Ruth to the second hole with 60 home runs in a season.


Finally on this day in 1906 the New York Highlanders, formerly the Baltimore Orioles and soon to be the New York Yankees, beat the Boston Americans 1-0 to finally earn a day off. The Highlanders completed a grueling five consecutive double headers in six days trip and swept them all going 10-0 during the streak.