Except the games counted just the same. Having "Senioritis" doesn't work in July when you've still got games through the end of September.
Manager Aaron Boone gave his All-Stars the day off. For Masahiro Tanaka, this didn't matter, as he wasn't going to be pitching today, anyway. For Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu, it mattered, as they were replaced by Austin Romine and Breyvic Valera (pictured), with Sanchez DHing and Edwin Encarnacion put at 1st base.
I know what you're thinking: "What the hell is a Breyvic Valera?" He's a Venezuelan infielder who didn't crack the major leagues until he was 25. That was 2 years ago, with the St. Louis Cardinals. He divided last season between the National League Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the worst team in the majors, the Baltimore Orioles. Total major league plate appearances coming into this game? 86.
How did the Yankees get this scrub? The Yankees claimed him off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, who'd bought him from the Orioles. That makes 4 different major league organizations in less than 2 full years. As I called him a moment ago, he's a scrub.
James Paxton started the series, and official 1st half, finale for the Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. He gave up 2 runs in the 1st inning, and the YES Network put up a graphic that showed that his 1st inning ERA this season is 10.20, but after that, it drops to 2.72. Throw in the fact that he's a lefthander, and he's the new Greg Cadaret. As Dick Smothers would say, That was not a compliment.
Overall, Paxton pitched well, going 6 innings, not allowing any runs over the last 5, allowing 7 hits and no walks, and striking out 11. Tommy Kahnle, Adam Ottavino, and the previous game's goat, Chad Green, each pitched 2/3rds of a scoreless inning. So the Yankees got the pitching they needed.
But Charlie Morton started for the Rays. He drove the Yankees crazy for the Houston Astros in the 2017 American League Championship Series. He didn't get out of the 6th inning this time, but that's because he'd hit the 100-pitch mark, and Rays manager Kevin Cash is as much of a coward about pitch counts as Brian Cashman. Still, he struck out 10 Yankees.
Brett Gardner hit a solo home run in the 2nd inning. Valera and Romine singled to start the 3rd, but were stranded. Gardner doubled in the 4th. Aaron Hicks drew a walk in the 5th. Sanchez singled in the 6th. That's all the Yankees got in the game: 6 baserunners.
Encarnacion, Brian Cashman's latest "Chris Carter," is now batting .216. Which happens to be Valera's lifetime batting average.
Rays 2, Yankees 1. WP: Morton (10-2). SV: Emilio Pagan (5). LP: Paxton (5-4).
*
So, as we head into the All-Star Break, here's how things stand:
* American League Eastern Division: The Yankees lead the Rays by 6 1/2 games, the Boston Red Sox by 9, the Toronto Blue Jays by 24 1/2, and the Baltimore Orioles by 30 1/2.
* AL Central: The Minnesota Twins lead the Cleveland Indians by 5 1/2, the Chicago White Sox by 12 1/2, the Detroit Tigers by 26, and the Kansas City Royals by 27.
* AL West: The Houston Astros lead the Oakland Athletics by 7 1/2, the Texas Rangers by 9, the Los Angeles Angels by 12 1/2, and the Seattle Mariners by 20.
* National League East: The Atlanta Braves lead the Washington Nationals by 6, the Philadelphia Phillies by 6 1/2, the Mets by 13 1/2, and the Miami Marlins by 19 1/2.
* NL Central: The only Division with a real race at the moment, and what a race, with all 5 teams within 5 games. The Chicago Cubs lead the Milwaukee Brewers by half a game, the St. Louis Cardinals by 2, the Pittsburgh Pirates by 2 1/2, and the Cincinnati Reds by 4 1/2.
* NL West: The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the Arizona Diamondbacks by 13 1/2, the San Diego Padres by 14, the Colorado Rockies by 14 1/2, and the San Francisco Giants by 17 1/2.
* If the current standings end up being the final standings, the Yankees would have home-field advantage against any team in the postseason, except for the Dodgers.
* The AL Playoffs would be (the lesser-seeded team listed first) Cleveland vs. Tampa Bay, winner to face the Yankees, and Minnesota vs. Houston. The NL Playoffs would be Philadelphia vs. Washington, winner to face Los Angeles; and Chicago vs. Atlanta.
The All-Star Game will be tomorrow night, in Cleveland. The Yankees resume on Friday night, home to Toronto.
One piece of good news: Except for 2 more games in late September, the Yankees won't have to play in that stupid St. Petersburg dome again this season.
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