Fourteen to One

Last night, the Yankees closed a 4-game home series with the Baltimore Orioles. And it was ugly.

How ugly was it? It was so ugly, were he still alive, Muhammad Ali would have wanted to fight it, just for being ugly.

Luis Severino started. Let's not mince words: The guy had nothing. He didn't make it out of the 3rd inning, allowing 7 runs on 10 hits and a walk. He wasn't wild, he just kept putting the ball in the Birds' wheelhouse. Albert Abreu was worse, allowing 6 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, in just 2/3rds of an inning. It was 13-0 Baltimore after just 4 innings. That's a football score!

The Orioles' linescore: 1 run in the 1st inning, none in the 2nd, 7 runs in the 3rd, 5 in the 4th, none in the 5th. 10750. That ZIP Code is not in use. If it were, it would be in Yonkers.

The rest of the way, the Yankees' bullpen was fine. (And other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?) Deivi Garcia finished the 4th inning, and pitched the 5th and the 6th, without allowing a run. Ron Marinaccio pitched the 7th, without allowing a run. Wandy Peralta pitched the 8th, and, no surprise, he did allow a run, although only 1. And Isiah Kiner-Falefa moved from left field to the mound, and pitched the 9th, allowing just 1 baserunner, a single.

The Yankees, again, did not hit. Anthony Rizzo singled in the 1st inning. Harrison Bader and Josh Donaldson drew walks in the 4th. Gleyber Torres and Bader singled in the 6th. DJ LeMahieu singled in the 7th. Jose Trevino singled to lead off the 8th, and was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. That's it: 8 innings, 7 baserunners.

Oswaldo Cabrera led off the bottom of the 9th with a double. Bader grounded out, and Cabrera could not advance. Donaldson flew out, and Cabrera did advance. Billy McKinney reached on an error that allowed Cabrera to score. Finally, a run. Yankee Fans, who had been booing hard all night, gave what Johnny Carson, after getting it following one joke that worked after several in a row that bombed, called "sympathy applause." And LeMahieu grounded out to put the Pinstripes out of their misery.

Orioles 14, Yankees 1. WP: Kyle Bradish (5-4). No save. LP: Severino (1-4).

Yankee ERAs this season, bold = has made at least 9 starts, red = not a pitcher:

Tommy Kahnle 0.00 (13 2/3rds innings)

Josh Donaldson 0.00 (1 inning)

Randy Vásquez 1.17 (15 1/3rd innings)

Deivi García 1.59 (5 2/3rds innings)

Ian Hamilton 2.08

Isiah Kiner-Falefa 2.25 (4 innings)

Clay Holmes 2.36

Wandy Peralta 2.62 (I was surprised, too)

Jonathan Loáisiga 2.70 (3 1/3rd innings, injured)

Gerrit Cole 2.79

Michael King 2.87

Nick Ramirez 2.91

Ron Marinaccio 3.00

Ryan Weber 3.14 (14 1/3rd innings)

Jimmy Cordero 3.86 (now suspended for the season)

Clarke Schmidt 4.43

Albert Abreu 4.46

Domingo Germán 4.52

Jhony Brito 4.70

Nestor Cortés 5.16

Luis Severino 7.38

Matt Krook 21.00 (3 innings)

The collective won-lost record of the Yankees' top 6 starters is 27-23. The overall record is 48-40. Not good enough.

Tonight, the Yankees start a 3-game home Interleague series with the Chicago Cubs. Carlos Rodón, who has been hurt all season until now, finally makes his Yankee debut. The Cubs will start former Yankee Jameson Taillon. Uh-oh, I see where this is going...

Does Anybody Want to Win This Game?

In true Mets fashion, the Mets went a long way towards giving last night's game to the Yankees.

In true Brian Cashman Team fashion, the Yankees ended up not letting them.

The starting pitchers were each team's putative aces: Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander. Each man allowed only 1 run over 6 innings: Cole, a double by Tommy Pham following one by Francisco Lindor in the bottom of the 5th; Verlander, a single by Jake Bauers following a double by Jose Trevino in the top of the 6th.

The Mets seemed determined to blow the game in the top of the 7th. Their manager, former Yankee manager Buck Showalter, brought Jeff Brigham in to pitch. He ignored my frequent warning about leadoff walks, and walked Josh Donaldson. It wouldn't be fair to say that nobody walks Josh Donaldson, but from the start of the 2021 season onward, he has 278 strikeouts to just 133 walks.

Then Brigham hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch. He struck DJ Lemahieu out, then got Isiah Kiner-Falefa to ground to short. Lindor stepped on 2nd base to force Rizzo out, but threw the ball away, allowing Donaldson to score, giving the Yankees the lead.

Showalter replaced Brigham with Brooks Raley. (Sounds like the name of a law firm.) With 2 outs, IKF showed a lot of guts in trying to steal 2nd. Met catcher Francisco Alvarez threw the ball away getting IKF to 3rd. Now, I've seen steals of home plate as the back end of a double steal. But I had never seen a Yankee attempt a straight steal of home before. IKF tried it. A good throw by Raley would have gotten him. But Raley threw the ball away. It was 3-1 Yankees.

Aaron Boone could have left Cole in the game. He'd only thrown 95 pitches. The decision to take him out could have been justified by the length of the top of the 7th. But then, why bring in Jimmy Cordero? He allowed single, flyout, single, groundout, bases-loading walk. Boone brought Ron Marinaccio in, which is what he should have done to start the inning. Or... should he? Marinaccio hit Brandon Nimmo with a pitch, forcing a run home. Then he gave up a single to Starling Marte, scoring the tying run.

But Marte, having gotten to 2nd on the throw, showed the Mets' occasional willingness to throw a game away, getting hung up between 2nd and 3rd. He tried to dive back to 2nd, where LeMahieu tagged him out. The Mets challenged the call, and it looked on the replay like they had a point. But the umpires upheld the call, and the inning was over, with the game tied, and both teams looking like they wanted to throw it away.

The Yankees wasted a leadoff double by Anthony Volpe in the 8th. With 1 out in the 9th, against former Yankee reliever David Robertson, LeMahieu doubled, and was replaced with pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera. Gleyber Torres, the usual 2nd baseman, was sent up to pinch-hit for IKF, meaning that Cabrera would replace IKF in center field. And you thought, with the National League finally getting the designated hitter last year, these kinds of "chess matches" would be no more.

Torres drew a walk. The Yankees had 2 runners on, and only 1 out. Billy McKinney grounded to 1st, moving the runners over, but also providing the 2nd out. And Boone made his 3rd change of the inning, sending Willie Calhoun up to pinch-hit for Trevino. This made a little sense, since Calhoun is a lefty against the righty Robertson, and has been hitting well lately. But he grounded to 3rd, and the Yankees had disgracefully wasted a chance. Nor could they do anything with the "ghost runner" in the top of the 10th.

Albert Abreu had gotten the Mets out 1-2-3 in the 9th, so Boone left him in for the 10th. He made the right decision with the bullpen, which is a toss-up with him, but it didn't work: He got the 1st out, then gave up a double to Nimmo, allowing Eduardo Escobar to score the winning run.

Mets 4, Yankees 3. WP: Dominic Leone (1-2). No save. LP: Abreu (2-2).

The Yankees had the chance to win both games against The Other Team. They also had the chance to blow both games. They managed to win the 1st, and blow the 2nd. Typical Cashman Team behavior, until I see proof of otherwise. And that can only come in October.

The Yankees have today off, to prepare for a visit to Scumway Park to face The Scum, after losing 2 of 3 to them at home last weekend.

Yankees Ride Severino Return to Sweep In Cincinnati

The Yankees went for the sweep against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park yesterday. But priorities are in order: More important than the result was seeing if Luis Severino, coming off the Injured List to make his 1st start of the season, was going to be 1st) okay and 2nd) effective. If both of those turned out to be true, then that would have been good signs for the long term, and a loss would have been acceptable.

He was on a strict 75-pitch limit, which he reached in the 5th inning, 1 out short of qualifying as the winning pitcher. He allowed a run in the 1st inning, but settled down, and allowed no more, allowing 4 hits and a walk.

It was, by necessity, a short performance, but a very encouraging one. If he's truly back, then we're down to just one hole in the starting rotation, Carlos Rodón's. Well, two holes: Neither of the starts of Domingo Germán's suspension have happened yet. But, long-term, only one.

Albert Abreu finished the 5th and pitched the 6th, Jimmy Cordero the 7th, Wandy Peralta the 8th, and Clay Holmes the 9th. Bullpen totals: 4 1/3 innings, no runs, 2 hits, 1 walk. Also encouraging.

It was still 1-0 Reds going into the top of the 5th, when Harrison Bader hit a home run with Willie Calhoun aboard, to give the Yankees the lead. Gleyber Torres added a hone run in the 6th. Anthony Volpe added a run with an RBI double in the 7th.

Yankees 4, Reds 1. WP: Abreu (2-1). SV: Holmes (5). LP: Hunter Greene (0-4).

So the Yankees finish the roadtrip 6-1. Just 1 more run in the 1st 9 innings in Toronto on Wednesday, and it would have been a 7-game sweep. They closed to within 5 1/2 games of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division -- 6 in the all-important loss column.

Also, Aaron Hicks, once one of Brian Cashman's precious "prospects," but long since flamed out, was designated for assignment. He has, almost certainly, played his last game for this team.

The Yankees come home, and have today as a well-deserved day off. Then, the Baltimore Orioles come in to start a series on Tuesday night.

Collapse of Cole Leads to No Merry Old Souls

Three games, away to the league leaders. All decided by one run. Won only one of them. Not good enough.

Yesterday, in the series finale away to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees couldn't even trust their alleged ace, Gerrit Cole. He authored a collapse that left no Yankee Fan feeling like a merry old soul.

The Yankees got home runs from Anthony Rizzo and Harrison Bader in the top of the 3rd inning. They got RBI doubles from Aaron Hicks (believe it) and Gleyber Torres in the 4th. They got a sacrifice fly from Oswaldo Cabrera in the 5th. And, to that point, Cole had allowed just 2 hits and a walk. It was 6-0 Yankees, and things were looking up.

But, as they would say in English soccer, "Six-nil, and you fucked it up!" The main problem with Cole is that he gives up home runs. He gave one up in the bottom of the 5th, and an error by Torres led to another Rays run, making it 6-2.

Then came the bottom of the 6th. Here's how it began for Cole: Double, double, walk, home run. Tie ballgame. Jimmy Cordero, the losing pitcher in Friday night's game, was brought in: Walk, wild pitch, and then a grounder to 1st on which Jose Siri, the player who had walked (and previously homered) never stopped running, until he bowled over the home-plate umpire. Which was ruled accidental, and the go-ahead run allowed to stand. It was 7-6 Rays.

I will not be asking this Siri what's wrong with the Yankees.

A Bader single, a ground-rule double by Cabrera, and a groundout by Jose Trevino tied the game in the 7th. But despite Cabrera getting to 2nd with 1 out in the 9th, the game went to extra innings. Hicks got caught in a rundown in the top of the 10th, and that was that. Albert Abreu allowed a single in the bottom of the 10th that allowed the winning run to score.

Rays 8, Yankees 7. WP: Jalen Beeks (1-2). No save. LP: Abreu (1-1), although the loss really should be charged to Cole. To his credit, he took responsibility, telling the media, "That's awful. I've got to find a way to do a better job to get us out of there and get us a little bit deeper and prevent the runs. The lack of command really burned us, and balls over the plate were touched."

The Rays are now 28-7, with easily the best record in Major League Baseball. The Yankees are 18-17, 10 games behind -- with a winning record, but still in last place in the American League Eastern Division. And, with their injuries, they don't look like they'll be getting going soon. Taking 2 out of 3 in Tropicana Field would have sent a message. Instead, the Rays sent the message: We're great, you stink.

This is the team that Brian Cashman has built. The Rays are the team that Cashman should have built.

The Yankees return home tonight, to face the woeful Oakland, possibly-moving-to-Las Vegas, Athletics. Let's see if they can mess this series up. Nestor Cortés starts tonight's opener, against JP Sears.

Yanks Take Walkoff Win Into Big Series With Rays

Clarke Schmidt as the starting pitcher? Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton still hurt? Oswald Peraza and the newly-reactivated Harrison Bader both injured during the game? The offense still weak? The Cleveland Guardians being a Playoff team from last season? It all seemed to add up to another Yankee defeat.

It didn't. Schmidt got into the 5th inning, allowing only 2 runs, neither of them earned, both in the 1st inning, and he calmed down from there. With a day off today, Aaron Boone knew he could use whoever he wanted out of the bullpen, and they'd get rest today. Ian Hamilton finished the 5th, and pitched the 6th. Jimmy Cordero pitched the 7th. Ron Marinaccio pitched the 8th. No further runs scored.

The Yankees tied the game in the 5th. Willie Calhoun hit a home run for the 2nd game in a row. He's now batting .250, after batting only half that a week ago. And the newly-called-up Jake Bauers homered as well.

Marinaccio got the 1st 2 outs in the 9th inning. But Boone took him out after that, and brought in Clay Holmes. This was an incredibly stupid thing to do: Holmes allowed a double and a single, giving the Guardians a 3-2 lead. To make matters worse, the single was a looper, and 3 Yankees came together to try to catch it, and none did. It was a Mets-type play.

To make matters worse still, 2 of those Yankees, center fielder Bader and left fielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa collided. Bader was hurt, and had to leave the game. IKF was able to stay in, and moved to center field. Oswaldo Cabrera moved in to left field.

Guardians manager Terry Francona, our old nemesis from the Boston Red Sox, brought in his closer, Emmanuel Clase. But the Yankees didn't give up. Anthony Rizzo led off with a single, and Boone pinch-ran Peraza for him. Peraza stole 2nd, but he hurt his ankle in the attempt. Aaron Hicks was sent in to pinch-run for him. After DJ LeMahieu grounded out, Calhoun singled Hicks home to tie the game. But Cabrera grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Albert Abreu, who has been less than reliable, was brought in to pitch the 10th inning. He struck out the leadoff batter, then intentionally walked the next one, to set up an inning-ending double play. It worked, and that stranded the "ghost runner."

So, with the walk being intentional, perhaps we can avoid the Cliché Alert. No, we can't: Bauers was the leadoff hitter for the Yanks in the bottom of the 10th, and Guardians reliever Trevor Stephan walked him. IKF bunted him and ghost runner Cabrera over. And Jose Trevino singled Cabrera home with the winning run. Commissioner Rob Manfred's stupid rule worked in the Yankees' favor this time.

Yankees 4, Guardians 3. WP: Abreu (1-0). No save. LP: Stephan (1-1).

After the game, Boone said that Bader would undergo some tests on his head and neck area but appeared to be in "good spirits, laughing in the training room." He also said that Peraza would undergo X-rays, and did not know if the rookie would need a stint on the Injured List.

As I said, the Yankees have today off. Tomorrow night, they start their first big series of the year, away to the Tampa Bay Rays. Here's the schedule, and the projected starting pitchers:

* Friday, first pitch at 6:40 PM: Jhony Brito vs. Yonny Chirinos.

* Saturday, 4:10: Domingo Germán vs. Drew Rasmussen.

* Sunday, 1:40: Gerrit Cole vs. Josh Fleming.

Mayday

Today is May 1, also known as May Day. May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of Summer, due to it being around halfway between the Vernal Equinox (these days, usually on March 21) and the Summer Solstice (usually on June 21). Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen (and sometimes also a May King), and setting up a Maypole, around which people dance.

In 1889, May 1 was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the Second International, to commemorate the Haymarket Affair in Chicago and the struggle for an 8-hour working day. As a result, International Workers' Day is also called "May Day," but the two are otherwise unrelated.

"Mayday" is also an emergency procedure word, used as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency, primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organizations such as firefighters, police forces, and transportation organizations also use the term. Convention requires the word be repeated three times in a row during the initial emergency declaration ("Mayday mayday mayday"), to prevent it being mistaken for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual mayday call from a message about a mayday call.

Should the Yankees be issuing a distress signal on this May Day? Because, while they are still above .500, at 15-14, they are in last place in the American League Eastern Division, they are not hitting, they are going through their annual injury crisis, and they are coming off their worst game of the season.

Nestor Cortés started for the Yankees against the Texas Rangers, in the finale of a 4-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington. He got out of the 1st inning. Maybe he shouldn't have. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. After getting a flyout, he allowed walk, walk, single, grand slam home run. "Nasty Nestor" gave up 2 more home runs in the 5th, got replaced by Albert Abreu, and he also gave up a home run in that inning. Abreu walked 4 batters in the 6th. When that inning was over, it was 14-1.

The Yankees, again, didn't hit. Neither of their runs came on a hit: Their 1st run, in the 3rd inning, came on a groundout. Their 2nd run, in the 9th, came on a bases-loaded walk. Aaron Hicks got 2 hits, raising his batting average to .159. Isiah Kiner-Falefa got 2 hits, raising his to .200. Other than that, the Yankees got just 4 hits.

Rangers 15, Yankees 2. WP: Martín Pérez (4-1). No save. LP: Cortés (3-2).

The Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are now both 15-14, 8 games behind the Division-leading Tampa Bay Rays. An optimist would say they've gotten through their usual bad start and their usual injury crisis reasonably well. A realist would say, "What the hell is wrong with you, optimist?"

The team batting average is .226. This is the team that Brian Cashman has built.

The Yankees return home, to begin a series with the Cleveland Guardians. Domingo Germán starts against Cal Quantrill.

Yankees Bounce Back vs. Guardians

Last night, at Progressive Field, after a weak effort at the plate the night before, the Yankees needed a bounce-back win over the Cleveland Guardians. The bats obliged. They picked up a run in the 2nd inning, then scored 5 in the 3rd, including on a home run by Franchy Cordero. They got 2 more runs in the 4th, 2 more in the 5th, and 1 more in the 9th.

And the Yankees had the right pitcher on the mound to take advantage of such an output, Gerrit Cole. He struck out an uncharacteristically low 3 batters, and had a shaky 1st inning in which he allowed 2 runs. But after that, he cruised through the 7th, allowing no runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. Albert Abreu shut the Guardians out over the last 2 innings. Between them, Cole and Abreu saved the rest of the bullpen for today.

Yankees 11, Guardians 2. WP: Cole (3-0). No save: As strong as Abreu was, the Yankees had a big lead, so he would have had to pitch 3 innings to qualify for a save. LP: Hunter Gaddis (0-1).

The series concludes today. But don't get your hopes up: It's an afternoon game started by a pitcher other than Cole. And not just any pitcher other than Cole: It's going to be Clarke Schmidt. And the Yankees will be facing not just an unfamiliar pitcher, which is never a good sign, but one making his major league debut, Peyton Battenfield. Pitch clock or no, this could be a long afternoon for the Bronx outfit.

Will the real New York Yankees please stand up? Can they?

Since the Seattle Mariners came into Major League Baseball in 1977, they've had good teams and bad ones, but they always seem to give the Yankees trouble, especially in Seattle. Such was the case again this week.

The series finale yesterday afternoon should have been a Yankee win. (Aw hell, I think ever game should be a Yankee win.) Nestor Cortes started, and pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 10. Pitching like that should be fully supported.

It wasn't. The Yankees wasted men on 1st & 2nd in the 2nd inning. They wasted a man on 1st in the 3rd. They wasted a man on 2nd in the 4th. They wasted men on 1st & 2nd in the 5th.

Finally, with 1 out in the top of the 7th, down 1-0, Isiah Kiner-Falefa drew a walk, and the light-hitting backup catcher Kyle Higashioka hit a home run. After a flyout by DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge hit a home run, his 45th of the season. Current pace: 65, enough to break the real record (Roger Maris, 61, 1961), but not enough to break the cheated-for official record (Barry Bonds, 73, 2001).

At that point, the Yankees led, 3-1. But they never got another man on base in the game. And then, Aaron Boone made the opposite of his usual mistake: He left his starter in too long. Cortes allowed back-to-back singles to start the 7th. Boone brought Albert Abreu in to relieve, and that was game over. Abreu struck out the 1st batter he faced, but the 2nd, Carlos Santana (not the rock guitar legend who broke out at Woodstock), hit a home run that produced the final score.

Mariners 4, Yankees 3. WP: Penn Murfee (3-0). SV: Paul Sewald (15). LP: Abreu (2-2, both losses coming on this roadtrip).

The Yankees are now 71-41. but, since beating the Boston Red Sox on July 8, they are 10-18. They remain 10 games up in the American League East, but have fallen behind the Houston Astros for best record in the American League, and even behind the Mets for best record in the City.

At home and on the road, Yankee Fans can be heard chanting, "MVP!" when Judge is at the plate. But maybe the real most valuable player in the AL is Giancarlo Stanton. He got hurt early in the game on July 23, and, including the loss in that game, the Yankees have been 6-11 since.

According to Meredith Marakovits of YES, he has "has resumed baseball activities, but a timeline for his return remains undetermined." But, after yesterday's game, Boone said Stanton could be activated for tomorrow night's game. At this point, I'm more inclined to believe Marakovits than Boone, and that's got little to do with her.

Anthony Rizzo has been battling a back issue. Matt Carpenter won't need surgery, and is now said to be out for 8 weeks. Luis Severino and Zack Britton might also be back in September. Michael King is out for the season.

And now, with all that in mind, we have to go back to Boston to face The Scum. True, they're in last place in the American League Eastern Division, 54-58. But it's Fenway Park. We know what can happen there: Anything. And "anything" has, so often, meant something bad.

The Yankees started the season looking like a .500 team. For the last month, being a .500 team would have been a huge improvement. In between, they looked like the greatest team of all time.

Will the real New York Yankees please stand up?

Can they? Or will they need a day off afterward? 

For Yankees, Concern Is Mounting

The Yankees waited until the finale of their road series with the St. Louis Cardinals to score some runs. This time, it was the pitching that failed.

The newly-acquired Frankie Montas made his Yankee debut, and stunk up the joint, allowing 6 runs in 3 innings.  But the Yankees tagged the possible future Hall-of-Famer Adam Wainwright for 6 innings over 4. It didn't matter, since Albert Abreu again proved that he is not a major league quality pitcher, and Scott Effross was lousy as well.

The only Yankee home run of the series came in the 9th inning of this last game, when it no longer mattered, by DJ LeMahieu. Aaron Judge had 2 hits and 4 RBIs yesterday, but is stuck on 43 home runs.

Cardinals 12, Yankees 9. WP: Chris Stratton (6-4). SV: Ryan Helsley (11). LP: Abreu (2-1). The Yankees have lost 5 straight for the 1st time this season, and 16 out of 25 since July 8.

With 8 weeks to go in the regular season, the Yankees' lead in the American League Eastern Division, once as high as 16 games, is down to 9 1/2. They remain half a game, one in the loss column, ahead of the Houston Astros for home-field advantage through the American League Playoffs.

Now, they have to go to Seattle to play the AL Western Division-leading Mariners, after dropping 2 of 3 to them at home.

Concern is mounting.

Yankees Rebound to Beat A's

You would think that, with the cheating Houston Astros walking out of Yankee Stadium II, and the seriously struggling Oakland Athletics walked in, the Yankees would have an easier time of things.

You would think, but you would be wrong. At least, at first.

Jordan Montgomery got roughed up, allowing 5 runs in the 3rd inning. Aaron Boone left him in as long as he could, to preserve the bullpen. He brought Albert Abreu in during the 7th, and he pitched hitless ball the rest of the way.

Anthony Rizzo hit a home run in the 1st inning, and Giancarlo Stanton hit one in the 4th. But they were only solo homers. In the 5th, DJ LeMahieu drew a walk, stole 2nd, and came home on an Aaron Judge single, to close the Yankees to within 5-3.

The bottom of the 7th told the tale. In it, the Yankees had pretty much everything but a home run. With 1 out (made by Joey Gallo, as you might have guessed), LeMahieu drew another walk. Judge reached on catcher's interference. Rizzo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. And then Stanton... was also awarded 1st base on catcher's interference. Remember when Jacoby Ellsbury seemed to specialize in that? Better question: To paraphrase the broadcaster in Bull Durham, What was A's catcher Sean Murphy thinkin' about? 'Cause it sho' wasn't baseball!

The fun continued. Josh Donaldson doubled home Judge and Rizzo. Aaron Hicks lined out to right, too short to score Stanton. But Jose Trevino took care of that, and Donaldson, with a double. And Marwin González singled Trevino home.

That produced the final score: Yankees 9, Athletics 5. WP: Abreu (1-0). No save. LP: A.J. Puk (1-1 -- and, yes, that is his real name).

The series continues tonight. JP Sears starts for the Yankees, Frankie Montas for the A's.

Happiness Is Sweeping the Red Sox

Happiness is sweeping a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox.

And that happened at Yankee Stadium II yesterday. And here's how it happened. Keep in mind that, again this season, when there's 2 games in 1 day, they are limited to 7 innings, extended only if tied at that point.

The afternoon saw the playing of a game that had been rained out earlier in the season. Jordan Montgomery started for the Yankees, and cruised through the 1st 2 innings. With 1 out in the bottom of the 2nd, Luke Voit was hit with a pitch, Rougned Odor singled, Gary Sanchez lined out, and then Tyler Wade and Bronx native and new pickup Andrew Velazquez singled. This game the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Montgomery faltered in the 3rd inning, and only a baserunning blunder by the Sox kept it at 2-2. Monty sent the Sox down 1-2-3 in the 4th, but to start the 5th, he gave up a home run by Christian Vazquez. He couldn't finish the inning, and Aaron Boone brought in Albert Abreu, who did.

And it was Abreu who got the benefit of the bottom of the 5th. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you. With 1 out, the Yankees drew 3 straight walks to load the bases: Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Joey Gallo. Voit singled home Gardner and Judge. Giancarlo Stanton pinch-hit for Odor, after the Red Sox made a pitching change, and singled home Gallo.

Jonathan Loaisiga got the Sox out 1-2-3 in the 6th. In the 7th, he ran into trouble, allowing 3 straight singles, to Kyle Schwarber, Vazquez and Alex Verdugo, to load the bases with nobody out. Knowing that he had to face the Sox over at least 16 more innings in the next 31 hours, and needed to conserve his bullpen, Boone left Loaisiga in.

He got Travis Shaw to line to left, and Gallo's throw forced Schwarber to hold up instead of scoring. Then Enrique Hernandez worked Loaisiga to a 3-and-0 count, and there was no place to put him. Loaisiga then bore down, and gave me a major Goose Gossage vibe: He struck Hernandez out, and then he struck Hunter Renfroe out to end it.

The Stadium erupted in cheers. God help us, but we do love beating The Scum.

Yankees 5, Red Sox 3. WP: Abreu, even though he threw only 1 pitch (2-0). SV: Loaisiga (5). LP: Garrett Whitlock (4-2).

*

The nightcap was started by rookie Luis Gil, against Nathan Eovaldi, whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman stupidly let get away. But Voit took Eovaldi deep in the bottom of the 2nd inning, and Stanton did the same in the 4th.

A 2-0 lead isn't much against the Red Sox -- more so at Fenway Park than in The Bronx -- but Gil made it stand up. The 23-year-old Dominican has now pitched 15 2/3rds innings in the major leagues, all for the Yankees since August 3, and he has not allowed a run, earned or otherwise. His ERA is 0.00. His ERA+ is infinite. His WHIP is 1.021. What a find for a team that has seen 4 of its 5 intended starters go down with either injury or COVID this season.

He ran into trouble in the 5th inning, and Boone brought Wandy Peralta in to pitch. Not that long ago, the Yankees traded Mike Tauchman to the San Francisco Giants to get Peralta, and Tauchman was hitting very well, and the Yankees really could have used him in the outfield, and Peralta was an inconsistent pitcher, and it looked like Cashman had blown it again. Since then Peralta has gotten his act together, and Tauchman has dropped off. The Giants just sent him down to Triple-A, after designating him for assignment and no team claimed him off waivers.

Peralta ended the Boston threat in the 5th. In the 6th, he got into trouble. Gil, though righthanded instead of lefthanded, reminds me of Ron Guidry, because he's thin but strong, and doesn't seem to care about pressure. Peralta, though fat, reminded me of Guidry last night, because, also a lefty, he faced a comebacker by Bobby Dalbec, ran to his right, spun, and threw him out to end the inning, a play I saw Guidry make a few times.

Chad Green made his 2nd appearance since blowing the Field of Dreams game last Thursday night, and for the 2nd time in a row, he was masterful, getting a popup, a strikeout and a groundout in the 7th, to end the game and complete the sweep.

Yankees 2, Red Sox 0. WP: Peralta (4-2, even though Gil got 14 of the 21 outs). SV: Green (5). LP: Eovaldi (10-8).

At one point, the Yankees were 10 1/2 games behind the Red Sox, and out of the Playoff hunt. Now, the Yankees are tied with the Red Sox, ahead of them on percentage points due to having 2 games in hand. If the current standings hold to the end of the season, the Yankees will travel to Oakland to face the Athletics in the American League Wild Card Game, and the Red Sox will miss the Playoffs. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the pathetic Baltimore Orioles last night, so the Yankees remain 5 games behind them in the AL Eastern Division.

The Yankees gained 9 games on the Red Sox in 23 days, going 17-5 to The Scum's 8-14. So it's another Red Sox choke, combined with another Yankee surge. If the Yankees can complete the sweep of the 3-game series today, it won't quite be as effective as the 4-game "Boston Massacre" sweep in September 1978, or the 5-game sweep in August 2006 -- especially since both of those were at Fenway -- but it will sure feel good.

Getting that sweep won't be easy: Andrew Heaney is scheduled to start, and he has been shaky for the Yankees, including pitching poorly in his last start, the Field of Dreams game. Nick Pivetta starts for the Sox.

But sweeping the Sox 3 straight? That would be happiness.

Gallo Sweeter Than Wine, Yankees Beat ChiSox

After the Field of Disasters game on Thursday night, the Yankees really needed a win against the American League Central Division-leading Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field (formerly U.S. Cellular Field, formerly the new Comiskey Park) last night.

Jameson Taillon started, and did not have his best stuff. He went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, but only 1 walk. He did get support: In the 1st inning, an Aaron Judge sacrifice fly scored a run, and Joey Gallo hit a home run to make it 2-0.

The White Sox scored a run in the 1st and another in the 2nd to tie it. In the 3rd, the Yankees got a triple from Brett Gardner and a double from Judge, to make it 3-2. But the South Siders tied it again in the bottom of the 3rd. Lucas Luetge worked into trouble in the 6th inning. Jonathan Loaisiga got out of it, but ran into trouble in the 7th, and needed Wandy Peralta to get out of it.

Judge led off the top of the 8th with a home run, to make it 4-3 Yanks. Peralta got the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th... and Aaron Boone took him out, and brought in Chad Green for a 4-out save. What the hell? I heard the voice of Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone: "Boone-asera, Boone-asera, what have I don't to make you treat me so disrespectfully?" 

Green allowed a single, and then got the last out in the 8th. Then he got the 1st 2 outs in the 9th. He got to the last strike with Jose Abreu, and then gave up a game-tying home run.

It was the Yankees' 11th blown save just since the All-Star Break, their 22nd overall this season. The count: Green 4, Aroldis Chapman 4, Loaisiga 3, Zack Britton 3, Luetge 2, and 1 each by Peralta, Clay Holmes, Joely Rodriguez, Justin Wilson, Nick Nelson and Brooks Kriske.

The top of the 10th started with Gardner as the ghost runner, and Liam Hendriks, the White Sox' Australian All-Star closer, on the mound. He threw a wild pitch to get Gardner to 3rd. Judge singled him home. Gallo hit another home run. I've heard of Ernest & Julio Gallo, but Joey Gallo is sweeter than wine. Then came 3 straight groundouts, and suddenly a 3-run lead didn't feel safe. 

It felt less safe when Boone sent Britton out to pitch the bottom of the 10th. Britton had blown the Field of Dreams Game, and admitted that he had told Boone that he didn't deserve to be the closer. Kudos to him for his honesty. But Boone didn't listen. Result: Flyout, walk, RBI single, walk.

Boone finally realized his mistake, and brought Albert Abreu in. There was a line shot to DJ LeMahieu at 1st, and it could have been a game-ending double play had one of the runners made a mistake. The batter was Tim Anderson, who hit the walkoff home run into the cornfield on Thursday night. But Abreu got him to ground to 3rd for a force play at 2nd.

Whew. Yankees 7, White Sox 5. WP: Green (undeserved, except through the letter of the rule, 7-5). SV: Abreu (1). LP: Hendriks (7-3).

Some good news: Gerrit Cole will be activated from the COVID Injured List tomorrow night, and start the 1st game of the homestand, against the Los Angeles Angels. Jordan Montgomery threw a bullpen session on Friday, along with Cole, and will also be activated this coming week. Chapman has begun throwing from 75 feet. And Gary Sanchez starts his rehab assignment today, with the Class AA Somerset Patriots. 

Some unsure news: Luis Severino was scratched from his rehab start Friday night, with the Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and will have an MRI on his shoulder. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever see him pitch in the major leagues again.

The series concludes this afternoon. Nestor Cortes starts for the Bronx Bombers, Lucas Giolito for the Pale Hose.

Yankees Get Their Gioia di Vivere Back, Only to Lose It in 3 Hours

There's a French term that most English-speaking Americans know: "Joie de vivre." It means "joy of living."

With their new Italian-American acquisitions, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo, the Yankees seemed to have found it again. In Italian, the phrase becomes "gioia di vivere."

On Thursday night, the Yankees began a 4-game home series with the Seattle Mariners, knowing that, due to injuries to Corey Kluber and Luis Severino, COVID protocols preventing the appearances of Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery, and Jameson Taillon having pitched the finale of the previous series, none of the 4 games would be started by any of the 5 men they expected to make up their starting rotation this season.

Nestor Cortes started the opening game, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings. He left with the game tied. Chad Green pitched a scoreless 6th, but allowed a run on the 7th, and many fans thought the game was over.

It wasn't. Gallo hit a 3-run homer, and, despite the all-too-frequent unnecessary drama from Aroldis Chapman, the final score was Yankees 5, Mariners 3. WP: Green (5-5, not wholly deserved). SV: Chapman (23). LP: Paul Sewald (6-3).

*

The Yankees entered the series not knowing who would be the starting pitcher on Friday night. They went with the "opener" or "bullpen game" strategy, and it actually worked. Of the 27 outs they needed to get in the 1st (and hopefully only) 9 innings, Wandy Peralta got the 1st 5, Stephen Ridings the next 4, Joely Rodriguez 3, Clay Holmes 4, Lucas Luetge 4, Jonathan Loáisiga 4 and Zack Britton 3. Between them, they allowed 1 run (Holmes in the 5th inning) on 7 hits and 1 walk, striking out 8.

But the Yankees didn't hit, either, getting only 1 run, in the 8th, and that without the benefit of a hit. The game went to extra innings and ghost runners. Both teams scored 1 run in the 10th, as Green continued to be ineffective. 

Albert Abreu held the Mariners off with a 1-2-3 top of the 11th. The Yankees started the bottom of the inning with Joey Gallo on 2nd. Gleyber Torres popped up. Then the Mariners walked Rougned Odor to set up the double play. It didn't work: Kyle Higashioka struck out, but Brett Gardner had a heck of an at-bat, Paul O'Neill-style fouling several pitches before singling Gallo home. 

Yankees 3, Mariners 2. WP: Abreu (1-0). No save. LP: Keynan Middleton (0-2).

*

Newly-acquired Andrew Heaney started the Saturday afternoon game. He was shaky, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings. He did, however, give the bullpen, used so much the nhght before, a little rest, and, between them, Holmes, Rodriguez and Loáisiga allowed just 1 baserunner over the last 3 innings.

Aaron Judge hit a home run in the 1st, but the Yankees went into the bottom of the 6th trailing 4-1. Giancarlo Stanton led off with a single. Odor hit the shortest of "short porch" home runs to make it 4-3. Online Yankee Haters started with the "little league ballpark" talk -- as if Fenway Park doesn't have closer foul poles, and Kyle Seager hadn't already hit a cheap home run for the Mariners in the game.

Gardner flew out, but Torres reached on an error. The Mariners really did themselves in with bad defense. Higashioka hit a ground-rule double to tie the game. DJ LeMahieu singled, and Rizzo grounded to 1st, and nobody seemed to know what to do: A double play resulted, but not before Higashioka scored the go-ahead run.

Which held up. Yankees 5, Mariners 4. WP: Heaney (7-8, 1-0 as a Yankee). SV: Loáisiga (4). LP: Anthony Misiewicz (3-4).

The Yankees had now won 5 straight -- all since that cat ran into thebfield during their most recent loss -- 10 out of their last 12, and 15 of their last 20, getting themselves legitimately back into the thought-lost race for the American League Eastern Division title.

*

And then came yesterday. There were two big pieces of bad news. Aroldis Chapman was placed on the 10-day injured list, with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. That throws the bullpen out of whack. 

Possibly worse, Rizzo, who mentioned that he hadn't been vaccinated, was placed on the COVID list. Neither one of these guys will be available for a week and a half, at least. As a result, for yesterday's game, the Yankees 1st baseman would be Luke Voit, and he turned out to be a terrible option. 

About the vaccine situation: General manager Brian Cashman got the Yankees the Johnson & Johnson "one-time only" vaccine. For too many players, it hasn't worked. And now, he can no longer say, "I still deserve to have my job because I got Anthony Rizzo."

Luis Gil started the game, and pitched 5 shutout innings. He jas now pitched 11 innings in the major leagues without allowing a run. Unfortunately, he is not 2-0, because the Yankees just didn't hit. Torres, who has now broken out of a terrible slump, got three hits, but the rest of the team combined only got three. Yankees left 11 men on base.

Luetge blew it in the 8th inning, but can I really fault him for losing the game, when the Yankees didn't offset the 2 runs he allowed with at least 3 of their own?

Mariners 2, Yankees 0. WP: Sewald (7-3). SV: Drew Steckenrider (4). LP: Luetge (4-2).

The Yankees took 3 out of 4 in the series, but that 1 loss felt like it canceled out the other 3. It reminded Yankee fans of what life is like without Rizzo, and we don't like it. We just don't hit. The gioia di vivere is gone.

With 51 games, over 8 weeks, to go, the Yankees are now 6 1/2 games, 6 in the loss column, behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, and 2 1/2 games, just 1 in the loss column, behind the Boston Red Sox for the second AL Wild Card slot.

They now start a road trip, first to Kansas City, and then to face the Chicago White Sox, including a game at the Field of Dreams site in Dyersville, the 1st Major League Baseball game ever played in the State of Iowa. (Early in its history, the NBA had a team in Iowa, the Waterloo Hawks, but they didn't last long.) The Field of Dreams Game was supposed to be played last year, but was called off because of the COVID shutdown.

UPDATE: Gio Urshela has had an injury setback, and didn't make the roadtrip.