Yanks Follow Loss With Big Trade for Montas

Why is this man smiling? Because he's about to wear Pinstripes.

When I found out that the finale of the yankees 4 game home series with the Kansas City Royals was going to be started by the ill-supported Jordan Montgomery and the possible future Hall-of-Famer Zack Greinke, I had a sinking feeling that a sweep of the series was not in the offing. 

Sure enough, the game was scoreless going into the top of the 5th inning, when Montgomery had a bad inning, allowing 4 runs, and needing to be bailed out by Albert Abreu.

As it turned out, though, neither starting pitcher ended up as a pitcher of record. The Yankees came back with 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th, including a home run by DJ LeMahieu. 

Anthony Rizzo homered in the 7th to give the Yankees a 6-3 lead. Montgomery couldn't get the win, but he was off the hook for the loss.

But Ron Marinaccio gave up a solo homer to start the top of the 8th, and Clay Holmes blew it with a 3-run homer to Salvador Perez in the top of the 9th. The Yankees got the tying runs on in the bottom of the 9th, but couldn't get them home.

Royals 8, Yankees 6. WP: Taylor Clarke (2-1). No save. LP: Holmes (5-2).

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We leave July and enter August with a record of 69-34. In the American League Eastern Division, the closest team is, for the moment, the Toronto Blue Jays, 11 1/2 games back. The Magic Number to clinch the Division is 45. The Yankees are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Houston Astros for the best record in the AL.

And now, general manager Brian Cashman has pulled the trigger on a trade. With the Seattle Mariners, who come into Yankee Stadium for a 3-game series, having traded for Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds, the man considered the best remaining available pitcher was Frankie Montas of the Oakland Athletics.

So the Yankees send pitchers JP Sears, Ken Waldichuk and Luis Medina, and 2nd baseman Cooper Bowman, to the A's for Montas and relief pitcher Lou Trivino, both righthanded. Since the Yankees need help for both the starting rotation and the bullpen, and they didn't give up one of their bigger prospects like Anthony Volpe or Jasson Dominguez, this is, at least at first glance, a good trade.

Neither pitcher has yet been assigned a uniform number. In Oakland, Montas wore 47, worn here by Montgomery; and Trivino wore 62, which is currently available. Montas wore 60 when he first came to the majors, with the Chicago White Sox. On the Yankees, that number is currently worn by bullpen coach Mike Harkey, and making a coach give up a uniform number is easier than making an active player give his up.

This season is 18 out of 27 weeks, or 2/3rds, done. Time to get serious.