Thursday, September 17, 2015

Bird, Severino Salvage Tampa Bay Finale

The Yankees needed to get out of Tampa Bay with a win over the Rays last night. The first sign was a good one: Jacoby Ellsbury broke out of an 0-for-25 slump by singling to left to lead off the game. Alas, he was stranded.

But Carlos Beltran led off the 2nd by drawing a walk off the Rays' alleged ace Chris Archer, and Greg Bird doubled him home to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Luis Severino kept it that way, bouncing back from his terrible last start, showing strong character.

A Chase Headley single in the 6th made it 2-0, but the Rays immediately pulled one back. Justin Wilson put a stop to that, and Bird iced the game with a home run in the 9th, his 7th of the season.

Yankees 3, Rays 1. WP: Severino (4-3). SV: Andrew Miller (34). LP: Archer (12-12). Attendance: 13,299. That means the entire series drew 38,778 fans -- not enough to fill that stupid stadium even once. Oh, move to Montreal already, you stupid franchise.

The Yankees have 17 games to go, and they're 3 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division -- 3 in the loss column.

The Yankees come back home, sort of, to play 3 with the resurgent Mets at Citi Field. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tomorrow night, first pitch scheduled for 7:10: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Steven Matz.
* Saturday afternoon, 1:05: Michael Pineda vs. Noah Syndergaard.
* Sunday night, 8:08: CC Sabathia vs. Matt Harvey.

At the rate both teams are going, if Pineda has his good stuff, we could sweep this thing, and show those blue & orange bastards they're not taking over nothin'. Who knows, if the Washington Nationals wake up, we could even help them make the National League East a race again.

*

Days until Arsenal play again: 2, this Saturday, 7:45 AM our time, against the reeling defending champions, West London club Chelsea. Hopefully, the egg Arsenal laid in their Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia yesterday will lead to a determined effort that puts more pressure on the West London club, their gangster owner, their repulsive manager, their cheating thug players, and their Nazi fans.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 2, this Saturday night at 8:00, away to Penn State, a.k.a. The Scum. With head coach Kyle Flood suspended for 3 games after he violated an NCAA rule by contact a player's professor, maybe we'll only lose by 3 touchdowns instead of 5.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 3, this Sunday afternoon, away to the Portland Timbers. The Red Bulls also lost last night, to the team that should be their arch-rivals, the New England Revolution. 

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 6, this coming Wednesday, a League Cup match at White Hart Lane. 

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 8, a week from tomorrow night, home to North Brunswick. Last Friday night was the season opener, and Piscataway scored 42 before we managed to sneak in 7. A very ugly game.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 23, on Saturday night, October 10, in a World Cup qualifying match against arch-rival Mexico, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, outside Los Angeles.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 31, on Sunday, October 18, away to the Rangers. Just over a month.

Days until the Red Bulls play another "derby": 31, on Sunday, October 18, home to the Philadelphia Union. The Red Bulls could play D.C. United, or the New England Revolution in the MLS Cup Playoffs, but it's unlikely they will play New York City FC or the Union again before next March.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 70on Thursday morning, November 26, at 11:00 AM, at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick. Just 10 weeks.

Days until Euro 2016 begins in France: 267, on Friday, June 10. Under 9 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 323, on Friday, August 5, 2016. Under 11 months.

Days until the next World Cup, in Russia: 1,001, on Thursday, June 14, 2018. About 33 months, or under 3 years.

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