In their home Interleague series with the Atlanta Braves this weekend, the Yankees' 3 starting pitchers combined to go 20 1/3rd innings, allowing 3 runs on 11 hits and 2 walks, striking out 27.
Unfortunately, in the 1st 6 innings of each game, the Yankees themselves only got 3 runs on 12 hits and 6 walks. That's not enough.
Max Fried was terrific on Friday night: 6 1/3 innings, no runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts. But the Braves' Tyler Mahle pitched 6 shutout innings. And because Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill each allowed a run, the Yankees went into the bottom of the 9th trailing, 2-0.
But with 1 out, rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. hit an infield single. After Ryan McMahon struck out, Austin Wells, who needed a big hit as much as any Yankee has in recent memory, doubled him home. Amed Rosario worked a walk, and Ben Rice singled Wells home. Heliot Ramos was hit by a pitch, and Luis García Jr. grounded out. The game went to extra innings.
David Bednar got the Braves out 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th. With 1 out in the bottom of the 10th, rookie center fielder Spencer Jones was walked intentionally, to set up the inning-ending double play. But Tyler Kinley then walked Lombard unintentionally to load the bases with 1 out. McMahon flew out to right field, a position at which the Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. probably has the best arm since prime Ichiro Suzuki. But even he couldn't throw Jones out, and the Yankees won, 3-2.
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Saturday afternoon was Old-Timers Day. From my childhood, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, Mickey Rivers, Willie Randolph and Bucky Dent appeared. From the 1996-2003 dynasty, Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada, Joe Girardi and David Cone were on hand -- but not Derek Jeter. It's depressing to think of the 2009 Yankees as "old-timers," but there were Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher.
New Hall-of-Famer CC Sabathia didn't come, but he lives in California, and will be back for his Monument Park dedication in September. Alex Rodriguez also did not come, although, as a broadcaster, he may have been working. Same with Don Mattingly, now managing the Philadelphia Phillies.
Also introduced were Diana Munson, widow of Thurman; Kay Murcer, widow of Bobby; and Jill Martin, widow of Billy. Helen Hunter, widow of Catfish, did not attend this time.
It now appears to be too far back for even the last survivors of the 1950s and 1960s Yankees to come, as there was no sign of Bobby Richardson or Al Downing, and Tony Kubek has only come once, and that was when he had a book to promote. And Tommy John, who has been battling cancer, sent a message that suggests that, next year, he'll be among those names read off at the end, as "members of the Yankee family who have passed away within the last year."
When it's Old-Timers Day, or the day of a dedication for Monument Park, I'm concerned that the current Yankees won't live up to the standard that the legends set. Thankfully, my fears were not realized this time.
It was supposed to be a duel of aces, of potential future Hall-of-Famers. Gerrit Cole went 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and no walks, striking out 9. For his career, he is now 159-85, with a 3.18 ERA, a 1.088 WHIP, and 2,338 strikeouts. In contrast, Chris Sale, now 157-95, 2.96, 1.044 and 2,730, was nearly as good, but not quite.
(Justin Verlander, with 266, is the active leader in wins. Max Scherzer is 2nd, with 222. Cole is 3rd, and Sale is 4th. No other active pitcher even has 140 wins. Let that sink in. In strikeouts, Verlander has 3,554, Scherzer has 3,516, Sale is 3rd, Cole is 4th, and only 4 other guys have 2,000, although Jacob deGrom is now 5 short of that milestone.)
Ben Rice hit his 32nd home run of the season. Lombardi hit his 2nd, the 2nd of his career. He hit it to the opposite field, to right field, over the head of Mike Yastrzemski, grandson of Carl. Broadcaster Michael Kay invoked Bill White in the Bucky Dent Game in 1978: "Hit deep to right field, Yastrzemski will not get it, it's a home run!" The Yankees won, 5-4.
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But Sunday afternoon would be frustrating. Cam Schlittler was brilliant: Over the 1st 6 innings, he allowed just 1 hit, and no walks, striking out 9. But in the top of the 7th, it was still 0-0, and he gave up a home run to Mat Olson. He finished the inning, having allowed 1 run on 3 hits, no walks, and 11 K's. Most days, that would have been enough to win.
But the Yankees couldn't do much against Grant Holmes. They went down 1-2-3 in the 1st, the 4th,
They wasted a 1-out single by Jazz Chisholm in the 2nd, wasted a leadoff walk by McMahon in the 3rd, wasted a 1-out walk by Jones in the 5th, had Wells on 3rd and Trent Grisham on 2nd with 1 out in the 6th and blew it, and wasted a 1-out walk by Chisholm in the 7th.
With 2 out in the 8th, Grisham hit a home run to take Cam off the hook. But the Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th. Extra innings again. The damn ghost runner again. Paul Blackburn gave up a run in the top of the 10th, and the Yankees went down quietly in the bottom half. Braves 2, Yankees 1. The Yankees took the series against the Braves, who lead the National League Eastern Division. But the series ended up being rather unsatisfying.
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The Yankees come into today at 66-52, a winning percentage of .559, and thus a pace to go 90-72. That's usually good enough to make the Playoffs, but not to win the American League Eastern Division.
The Yankees trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 6 games. The Boston Red Sox trail them by 8, the Baltimore Orioles by 15 1/2, and the Toronto Blue Jays by 16. The Yankees have 44 games to play, roughly the last one-quarter of the regular season.
Cliché Alert: Connie Mack, who managed and owned the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, is credited with the saying, "Pitching is 75 percent of baseball." Billy Martin definitely said, "Connie Mack lied."
Well, in spite of all the injuries, the Yankees have, for the most part, gotten superb starting pitching this season. And closer David Bednar has been very good. But the rest of the bullpen has been shaky. (That's almost worth a Cliché Alert right there.) And, except for Ben Rice, the big hitters have gotten hurt, and nobody has really stepped up in a noticeable way.
As to the injuries:
* Carlos Rodón is pitching in minor-league rehab assignments, and the results have been encouraging. He is expected to make one more minors start, and then rejoin the team for the roadtrip starting this weekend.
* Cody Bellinger started taking on-field batting practice last Tuesday. He might also be back this weekend, which would be a big boost.
* Giancarlo Stanton is also taking live batting practice and doing his outfield running. He could be back sometime before August runs out.
* Clarke Schmidt "is expected to resume throwing from a mound in the next several days." It sounds like he might be back by the start of September.
* Aaron Judge has been "cleared for light exercises, including outdoor running and upper-body resistance training." We can be hopeful for a September return for the man who was on pace to be the AL's Most Valuable Player again.
The Yankees close this homestand with 3 games against the Seattle Mariners: Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:05, and Thursday afternoon at 1:35. Come on you Pinstripes!
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