At first, it looked like the Yankees were not starting their long roadtrip off on the right foot, because Nestor Cortes was placed on the 15-Day Injured List. So, 3 turns in the rotation in which "Nasty Nestor," our best starting pitcher over the 1st half of the season, won't be starting.
The more cynical among us suggested that Yankee management was simply lying, saying that Cortes isn't actually hurt, and this is a method of what the NBA calls "load management," to limit his innings pitched.
Nestor Cortes is a man. He is not a child. Limiting his innings is not protecting his arm. It is preventing him from participating in the winning of baseball games, and forcing the Yankees to use a starting pitcher of lesser quality in those games.
But this may have been balanced out by the return from the Injured List, finally, of Giancarlo Stanton. He was out from July 24 to August 24, and his absence was a big reason why the Yankees went just 11-17 over that stretch.
Anyway... (And by the way: Notice that there is no S on the end. People saying, "Anyways" instead of "Anyway" is one of my pet peeves.)
Last night, the roadtrip began at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, or whatever they're currently calling Major League Baseball's least-maintained stadium. Jameson Taillon started, and he went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 2 of my favorite words in the baseball lexicon: No walks. The only run he allowed was a solo home run in the 6th, by Shea Langeliers, which sounds like the name of the villain in a horror film in which the Yankees are targeted.
I guess I can now issue a Cliché Alert, given that I've now used this saying often enough: That kind of pitching deserves run support. In the top of the 2nd, the Yankees got 4 hits, including 2-run singles from both Stanton and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and 2 walks, giving them a 4-0 lead.
In the 3rd, the Yankees got 3 hits, including an RBI double from Josh Donaldson, and 4 walks, including Stanton drawing one with the bases loaded. That made it 8-0. There were 2 more in the 4th, including an RBI double by Jose Trevino. 10-0. The homer made it 10-1, but in the 7th, the Yankees got singles from Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres, and RBI doubles from Donaldson and Oswaldo Cabrera, and it was 13-1.
Greg Weissert made his major league debut in the bottom of the 7th. There's a reason this righthanded pitcher from Bay Shore, Long Island, New York didn't make it to the majors until he was 27 years old: He can't pitch. Here comes the Bride: The 1st batter he ever faced was Jonah Bride, and he hit Bride with a pitch. Next up was Skye Bolt, which sounds like a superhero name. I hope one of his powers is invulnerability, because Weissert hit him with a pitch, too. He got Nick Allen to fly out, but he walked Tony Kemp to load the bases, and walked Vimael Machine to force in a run.
Aaron Boone finally realized that letting Weissert on the mound was a big mistake. He brought in Lucas Luetge, and he wasn't much better. He got Sean Murphy to pop up, but hit Seth Brown with a pitch to force in another run, and gave up a single to Langeliers that let in another run, before getting David MacKinnon to ground out.
Luetge did pitch a 1-2-3 8th, and a scoreless 9th. Yankees 13, A's 4. WP: Taillon (12-4). No save. LP: James Kaprelian (3-8).
So, a good start to the roadtrip. The Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays both won last night, so the Yankees' Magic Number is 31.
The series continues tonight. The alleged ace Gerrit Cole starts against JP Sears, whom the Yankees sent to Oakland in the Frankie Montas trade.
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