Can't Predict Baseball: Picking On A Pitcher

On this day in 1939 George Selkirk, over two successive games, hits four home runs in four at bats against the same pitcher. The Yankee outfielder hit the home runs off the A's starting pitcher Robert Joyce with two home runs yesterday and hit two more on this day when he came in as a reliever. Can't predict baseball.

On this day in 1941 before the first night game played in Washington D.C. and in Griffith Stadium the Senators Walter Johnson throws a strike through a beam of light triggering a switch that lights up the stadium. While that was a pretty awesome gesture and show the Senators would lose the game to the Yankees 6-5 for their tenth consecutive loss.

Yankees Starting Pitching Could Always Be Worse

The New York Yankees pitching has quietly been really good this season, it could get a lot worse. The Yankees come into player yesterday with a team ERA of 3.88 including a 27.00 ERA from Cesar Cabral, 22.50 ERA from Chris Leroux, and a 18.00 ERA from Dean Anna. What got me thinking of the Yankees pitching staff was what happened on this day in 2005.

On this day in 2005 the Boston Red Sox beat the crap out of the Yankees, there is not other way to put it, by the score of 17-1. The Red Sox beat us so bad the scoreboard went blank for a few minutes because the operator could not keep up with the Red Sox barrage. Boston had 27 hits, one shy of the Yankees record for hits allowed, which were the most collected by the Red Sox since tying the team record of 28 in Hune of 2003.

The ironic part about it all is that Carl Pavano was on the mound on this day in 2005 and on the mound in June of 2003 when the Red Sox beat the crap out of the Florida Marlins.

I said all that to say this. We got the crap beat out of us by our division and most hated rival and we still won the division that season. So what if the Yankees give up a run or two or twelve, we will be there when it matters. Patience Yankees family.

Quick Hit: Eight Consecutive Days w/ Home Runs

Today marks the day that the Pittsburgh Pirates first basemen Dale Long made history way back in 1956. Long would hit his eight home run in eight games establishing a new major league record. While this record would later be tied by New York Yankees first basemen Don Mattingly in 1987 and the Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr in 1993 the record has still yet to be broken.

Not that the two should matter or necessarily collate but two of the three men never got a World Series ring. Was this the Baseball Gods saying they could have their cake but not eat it too? The world may never know. Long got a World Series ring finally as a member of the New York Yankees in 1962 but was a part time player and only played in two games and had five at bats in the series against the San Francisco Giants.

Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/27

Long's Two-Hitter Caps Doubleheader Sweep

Jaron Long strikes out nine in game two, extends scoreless streak to 22.2 innings in complete game

CHARLESTON, SC - Jaron Long pitched a two-hitter with a career-high nine strikeouts to lead the Charleston RiverDogs to a 3-0 shutout win against the Greenville Drive to sweep a Tuesday doubleheader in front of 3,327 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action. Caleb Smith and Tyler Wade led the RiverDogs to a 4-2 triumph in game one.

The RiverDogs are now 27-24 and leap over the 25-25 Drive to take third place in the Southern Division. Charleston also leads this four-game series by a 2-1 margin. Long has not allowed a run in four total starts and has been scoreless in his last 22.2 consecutive innings pitched overall. This is the eight-best streak by a RiverDog in the past decade.

In game two, Charleston's offense worked quickly to give Long a 3-0 lead in the nightcap. Michael O'Neill and Wade reached on first-inning walks from Myles Smith and scored on a double from Mike Ford. In the second inning, Jose Rosario received a leadoff walk and would score later in the frame during a groundout by O'Neill.

Long allowed just two singles in a seven-inning complete game with a personal-best nine strikeouts. He even picked up four strikeouts during the fifth inning when he escaped a situation with runners on the corners to keep the shutout intact.

In his first win as a starting pitcher, Long is now 3-1 overall this season. Smith fell to 1-3 as he was charged with the loss.

Caleb Smith started the opener and received a four-run cushion. In the bottom of the third inning, Wade's two-run single against Daniel McGrath provided Charleston with a 2-0 lead. Aaron Judge increased the lead to 3-0 on a groundout that scored O'Neill. During the fifth, Brandon Thomas was hit by a pitch, stole second base, and scored after another single by Wade.

Greenville only managed a pair of runs off Smith in the sixth inning. Jantzen Witte and Carlos Asuaje each drove in a run with back-to-back doubles, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Smith finished his 5.1 innings pitched with only those two runs allowed before Cesar Vargas relieved him and retired all five batters he faced to close game one.

By earning the victory, Smith improves to 4-3. McGrath took the loss and is 1-2. Vargas picked up his third save of the season.

BALLPARK FUN: The RiverDogs celebrated Re-Opening Night with a grand pregame parade with player arrivals on horse-drawn carriages. Charlie T. RiverDog joined the fun when a helicopter dropped him off in the middle of center field prior to the twin bill. Also as a part of Re-Opening Night, the night ended with a rare Tuesday fireworks display to make up for the rainout on the original Opening Night that was scheduled for Monday, April 7.

COMING UP: The fourth and final game of this series will be at 7:05pm on Wednesday, featuring RiverDogs RHP Brady Lail (7-1, 3.14 ERA) and Drive RHP Joe Gunkel (1-0, 1.29 ERA). Firefighters Night, presented by ServiceMaster, will be celebrated as firefighters look to raise money for the MUSC Children's Hospital Burned Children's Fund. MeTV sponsors HealthSouth Senior Wednesday, and it will also be Guaranteed Wins-Day as Charleston and Greenville continue The Battle of the Palmetto State Rivalry Series, presented by Spinx. Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away worldwide onwww.riverdogs.com and locally on 1250 WTMA, the new radio home for RiverDogs baseball.

Box Score - Game One: http://atmilb.com/1hvHWV5

Box Score - Game Two: http://atmilb.com/1hvI3zT

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs, the original post can be seen HERE. 

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/27

Austin Homer the Difference in 3-1 Win over Reading

READING, PA - Tyler Austin's two-run homer in the top of the seventh gave the Thunder a more comfortable 3-0 lead in a 3-1 win over the Reading Fightin Phils Tuesday night.

In a ballgame that was delayed 59 minutes, the Thunder jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off Reading starting pitcher Severino Gonzalez. Mason Williams stroked a double to left field and Ben Gamel followed with an infield single to set-up first and third with no outs. Rob Segedin, who would later leave the ballgame in the bottom of the fourth inning, grounded into a run-scoring double play to plate Williams.

Austin finished the ballgame 2-for-3 with a walk , but his biggest contribution came in the seventh inning following a Slade Heathcott two-out single. Austin's first home run of the season cleared the wall in left-center field to extend what was a 1-0 lead at the time, but proved to be the winning two runs Tuesday night.

Thunder starting pitcher Matt Tracy made his first start for the Thunder since May 11th vs. Reading, and went 6.2 IP with one run allowed. The St. Louis, Mo. native claimed his fifth Double-A victory of the season after his two most recent outings came in Triple-A with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Tracy has now allowed one run in 13.2 innings against the Fightins this season.

On in relief of Tracy was lefty Tyler Webb who allowed one hit in 2.1 IP and struck out the first four batters he faced. Webb scoreless innings earned him his second save of the season.

The Thunder have won 4-of-5 to begin their road trip and continue their three-game series against the Fightin Phils Wednesday with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch and 6:20 p.m. pre-game show on 91.3 FM and www.trentonthunder.com.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder, the original post can be seen HERE. 

Yankees Shutout By Cardinals in Game 2, 6-0

For the Yankees, the last three games have been a roller coaster.

On Saturday, they rallied late to beat the White Sox. On Sunday, behind a dominant Masahiro Tanaka, they topped Chicago easily. Yesterday, they bounced back after blowing two leads to emerge victorious over the Cardinals in 12 innings.

But tonight, well, they just didn't do any of those things, falling behind early and being shutout by Lance Lynn, 6-0.

The game wasn't always a blowout, as Yankees Starter David Phelps did escape multiple jams in the first two St. Louis at-bats to keep it tied after two, but from then on things just fell apart.

With men on first and third and one out in the bottom of the third, Matt Adams hit a ground-rule double to put the Cards on the board, followed by back-to-back errors from Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts that quickly made it 4-0.

Of those 4 runs, just two were earned off Phelps, who gave up a total of 5 (3 earned) over his 6 frames of work. 

Technically, the performance he put up was quality, but since it took him 109 pitches to get those eighteen outs it's unlikely he sees that way.

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/28

On this day in 1946 the first night game is played in New York at Yankee Stadium when General Electric president Charles E. Wilson throws out the first pitch. The Yankees drew 49,917 fans as the Washington Senators beat the Yankees 2-1. Dutch Leonard would have a complete game for the Senators and allowed only six hits to improve his record to 5-0 on the season.

On this day in 2004 Mariano Rivera converted his 300th save of his career in a 7-5 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Rivera would become the 17th reliever in major league history to reach the historic milestone.

Yankees Sign Ramon Benjamin To Minor League Deal

The New York Yankees have a ton of depth at starting pitcher in the minor leagues and have added another piece to the puzzle with the signing of Ramon Benjamin to a minor league deal. Benjamin, according to his MiLB.com page, has not pitched since the 2011 season either in the majors or the minor leagues.

Benjamin is 26 years old, will be 27 years old next month, and is listed at 6'1" and throws from the left side. No word on where his Yankees career will start but he will bring a career 3.76 ERA and 18-14 record to wherever he starts. Benjamin has never been above Double-A in the Miami Marlins organization but if I had to take a guess the Yankees will be stashing him in Tampa or Charleston.

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Cardinals 5/27

The New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals will play the second of their three game set tonight at Busch Stadium. The Yankees will send David Phelps to the mound to face off with Lance Lynn for the Cardinals. The game will be played at 8:15 pm ET and can be seen on MY9, MLB TV, and WFAN.

Get your Yankees tickets HERE for this historic series or for any of Derek Jeter's final games of his career. Follow us on twitter by following @GreedyStripes to chat during this game and every game and be sure to also drop us a line in the comments section of the site.

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

Carlos Beltran Passes Test Swinging A Real Bat

Carlos Beltran took dry swings with a fungo bat yesterday for the first time since receiving two cortisone shots in his elbow and took the next step today swinging with a real bat. Beltran took 15 swings from each side of the plate and came through this test without any pain or problems as well, which is great news for Beltran and the Yankees. If Beltran felt any sort of pain yesterday or today the Yankees were going to put Beltran under the knife in a mid-season surgery that would require up to 12 weeks of rehab before returning.

Beltran is far from out of the woods and will still need the surgery eventually, if not this season, but so far so good for Carlos.