Unfortunately, over the 1st 12 innings last night, the Yankees only got 1 run on 5 hits. That sounds like a recipe for, at least briefly, disaster. Of course, it also implies that the Yankees got great pitching themselves. After all, if they only got 1 run over 12 innings, it means the opposition did as well -- at least, over the 1st 11.
Luis Severino started, and was really good: 6 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts. But the Cubs' "opener" strategy also worked: Wade Miley went just 3 innings, then the next 5 Cub pitchers each went just 1 inning.
Playing his 1st game against the Cubs since they traded him to the Yankees, Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch in the 1st inning. I don't think it was intentional. Josh Donaldson led off the 2nd with a double. In the 3rd, the Yankees loaded the bases with singles by DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge and a walk by Giancarlo Stanton. But all were stranded.
Gleyber Torres, formerly of the Cubs' organization, led off the bottom of the 4th with a home run, but the Yankees couldn't follow it. And when Jason Heyward led off the top of the 5th with a home run, that tied the game.
And it remained tied. Rizzo walked with 1 out in the 5th. That would be the Yankees' last baserunner until Stanton drew a walk in the 8th, followed by Joey Gallo being sent in as a pinch-runner. Aaron Boone was gambling on winning the game in regulation, a gamble which did not pay off: Although Donaldson singled, Torres and Aaron Hicks subsequently struck out. And the Yankees got no baserunners in the bottom of the 9th.
Miguel Castro pitched a scoreless 7th, Michael King a scoreless 8th, and Clay Holmes a scoreless 9th. Clarke Schmidt stranded the ghost runners in the 10th and the 11th, Wandy Peralta pitched a perfect 12th, and Ron Marinaccio pitched a scoreless 13th.
Cubs manager David Ross -- a backup catcher on the Boston Red Sox team that won * the 2013 World Series -- had Judge intentionally walked to start the bottom of the 10th, to set up the double play. It ended up not being necessary. Same thing with Gleyber Torres in the 11th: Ross ordered him walked, and the Cubs got out of it without a double play. He did it again with Judge in the 12th, and, again, no double play required.
But he miscalculated in the bottom of the 13th. With Gallo starting on 2nd, Ross did not order an intentional walk of leadoff hitter Donaldson. For the moment, it worked: He flew out to left. Nor did he order a pass to Torres. For the moment, it worked: He flew out to center, although Gallo tagged up and went to 3rd.
But then, Ross did order an intentional walk to Hicks, he of the .230 batting average. Hicks stole 2nd, in a vain attempt to draw a throw and give Gallo a chance to score on the delayed double steal. The Cubs didn't fall for it.
The batter was Jose Trevino, and he singled to left to bring Gallo home. Ross failed to accept the cliché that walks can kill you. Ironically, he tried a leadoff walk 3 times in a row, and it worked; but when he didn't try it to start the inning, it failed.
Maybe extra innings is part of some baseball "mirror universe," where Cal Ripken Jr. used steroids, Barry Bonds didn't, and Derek Jeter wears a goatee and played for the Mets.
At any rate: Yankees 2, Cubs 1. WP: Marinaccio (1-0, the 1st major league win for the graduate of Toms River High School North in Ocean County, New Jersey). No save. LP: Alec Mills (0-1).
The series continues tonight, with Jordan Montgomery starting for the Pinstripes, against Matt Swarmer for the Cubbies. Hopefully, the Yankees can win it in 9 innings this time.
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