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...

One-Nil to the Pinstripe Boys

Yesterday, my Summertime blues led me to raise a fuss and raise a holler over the Yankees being unable to win games when they score two runs, or one: Their record in such games this season was 1-24.

It's almost as if they actually read that post.

Luis Severino started against the Texas Rangers. He has been shaky since coming off the Injured List. This time, he went 6 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks, but no runs. He walked 2 batters in the 1st, and a single nearly scored Nathaniel Lowe, but right fielder Jake Bauers threw him out at home plate. He kept the shutout through 6 innings, and Tommy Kahnle pitched a perfect 7th. 

But it doesn't matter how good your pitching is if you don't score. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 1st inning, Giancarlo Stanton singled with 1 out in the 2nd, but was stranded. With 1 out in the 3rd, Anthony Volpe drew a walk. Jake Bauers grounded out, advancing Volpe to 2nd. Gleyber Torres drew a walk. And Harrison Bader singled, but Volpe had to hold up. The bases were loaded for Anthony Rizzo, and he struck out.

Billy McKinney, doing his best Aaron Judge impersonation, hit a home run with 1 out in the 4th. It wasn't "One-nil to The Arsenal," it was "One-nil to the Pinstripe Boys." I don't think anyone in the crowd of 46,018 expected that score to hold up. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 5th inning. Rizzo singled with 1 out in the 6th, but was stranded. They went down 1-2-3 in the 7th.

Aaron Boone sent Wandy Peralta out to pitch the 8th. He allowed back-to-back singles, and the new rule, designed to avoid what used to be known as LOOGys (Lefty One Out Guys), forced Peralta to face a 3rd batter, but he struck him out. Then Boone sent Clay Holmes in, and he got out of the jam. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 8th.

A 1-0 lead is nerve-wracking enough in the closing minutes of a soccer game. In a baseball game, especially in the new Yankee Stadium, which, for all our protestations of "Death Valley" in left and center field, does favor hitters, a 1-0 lead will, as our old friend Phil Rizzuto used to save, give us agita.

Boone sent Ron Marinaccio out to finish the job. He gave up a single to Jonah Helm. He walked Mitch Garver. Oh no, this is it, isn't it?

No, it wasn't: Marinaccio struck Ezequiel Duran out, he struck Leody Taveras out, and he got Marcus Semien to pop up to 2nd, where a very nervous-looking Torres caught it. Done and dusted. One-nil to the Pinstripe Boys.

Yankees 1, Rangers 0. WP: Severino (1-2). SV: Marinaccio (2). LP: Jon Gray (6-3). Yankees' record when scoring fewer than 3 runs this season: 2-24.

The series concludes this afternoon. The good news: Gerrit Cole starts for the Yankees. The bad news: Nathan Eovaldi starts for the Rangers. No player more symbolizes the failure of Brian Cashman than Eovaldi, whose Yankee tenure was messed up by how his injury was handled, and then he was released, and then he was picked up by the Boston Red Sox, and he went on to be the winning pitcher in 2 postseason elimination games against us. This game could end up being typical of the season -- depending on how we follow it up.

Brito, Homers Get Yankee Job Done vs. Mariners

Last night was another injury-forced "hole in the rotation" game for the Yankees, the middle game of a 3-game home series with the Seattle Mariners.

Into this hole stepped Jhony Brito. He has been inconsistent, looking like the next great hope of the Yankee rotation one game, and looking like just another feeble attempt to fill that hole the next.

This time, he got the job done, going 5 2/3rds shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits and a walk. He only threw 81 pitches, and was taken out immediately after that walk, with 2 outs and no other baserunners.

There was absolutely no reason to take him out, but Aaron Boone did it anyway. Fortunately, Jimmy Cordero got the last out in the 6th inning, and pitched a scoreless 7th.

Anthony Volpe led off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk, and Jake Bauers hit a home run. Homers were added by Billy McKinney in the 4th and Volpe in the 7th. It was 4-0, and the Yankees were cruising.

Then Boone's musical chairs with the bullpen, no doubt ordered by Brian Cashman, nearly cost the Yankees the game. The unreliable Wandy Peralta was brought in for the 8th, and he allowed a home run. 

Michael King had to be brought in to finish the inning. He got in trouble in the 9th, and a run was allowed before Tommy Kahnle finished it off.

Yankees 4, Mariners 2. WP: Brito (4-3). SV: Kahnle (1). LP: Luis Castillo (no, not that one;  fortunately, this one was bad enough, 4-6).

The series concludes tonight. Domingo Germán starts against Bryan Woo. He won't also be hitting, so we can't say, "Woo's on first."

Yankee Bats Give Cole Enough

The Yankees began a homestand last night, against the Seattle Mariners, sending Gerrit Cole to the mound. And Harrison Bader returned to the lineup after an injury, playing center field. All that was encouraging. But they still needed to give Cole enough offense, and I was not encouraged about that.

And the game seemed to be typical of recent Yankee efforts: Scoring early, but not often, and then going cold. With 1 out in the bottom of the 1st inning, Gleyber Torres singled. After Giancarlo Stanton struck out, Anthony Rizzo doubled Torres home. Bader led off the bottom of the 2nd with a single, and Billy McKinney hit a home run. So it was 3-0 Yankees.

But for the rest of the game, the Yankees only got 4 hits, plus another runner reached on an error. No walks. That's 2/3rds of the game with unproductive offense. So Cole was going to have to be on his game.

He was. He got into the 8th inning, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 8. Clay Holmes was perfect the rest of the way. And using only those 2 pitchers, plus a day off the day before, helped ease the strain on the bullpen.

Yankees 3, Mariners 1. WP: Cole (8-1). SV: Holmes (9). LP: George Kirby (6-6). It's a small step forward, and we should take any we can get.

The series continues tonight. Jhony Brito is scheduled to pitch against Luis Castillo. No, not that one. Too bad.

Yankees Gain Split of "Smoggleheader"

If you're going to split a doubleheader, it's better to lose the 1st game. You only need half an hour to come back and win. If you win the opener, but lose the nightcap, you've got another day to think about it and try again.

After losing the 1st game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, the makeup of their 1st-ever postponement due to poor air quality, the Yankees needed a win. Unfortunately, their long injury list made this another "hole in the rotation" game. The starting pitcher was rookie Randy Vásquez, who'd struggled in Triple-A ball.

Surprise: He took a shutout into the 6th inning, allowing only 2 hits and a walk. And seemed upset when he was removed after getting into a little trouble, having thrown only 86 pitches. Ron Marinaccio ended the threat, and pitched the 7th and the 8th, allowing only a walk.

Without Aaron Judge in the lineup, to make all the Yankee hitters better, they struggle. This time, there was enough. Willie Calhoun led off the 4th with a double, and Gleyber Torres, who really needed it (lately, he's been shaky with both bat and glove), hit a home run. Billy McKinney led off the 5th with a home run, his 1st as a Yankee.

Clay Holmes closed out the 2-hit shutout, and the "smoggleheader." Yankees 3, White Sox 0. WP: Vásquez (1-1), his 1st major league win. SV: Holmes (7). LP: Mike Clevinger (3-4).

Now, the Auld Enemy comes in: The Boston Red Sox. After that, we go to Flushing to play the Mets. There's going to be a bit of hostility over the next few days.

Injury Issues & Betances Halt Yankees

You didn't think the Yankees were going to go 162-0, did you?

You may have thought, as I did, that general manager Brian Cashman's apparent strategy of having an all-outfield team was foolish.

Doesn't look so foolish now, does it?

In the bottom of the 1st inning at the Rogers Centre last night, left fielder Billy McKinney, who got his 1st major league hit and RBi yesterday, chased a Josh Donaldson line drive, and crashed into the outfield wall -- one of the last few in the major leagues that isn't padded. He didn't get the ball, and Donaldson reached 2nd on a double.

At first, it looked like McKinney had hit his head, meaning that he should be taken out of the game as a concussion precaution. He insisted that his head was fine, and manager Aaron Boone left him in the game. Then Justin Smoak hit one into the left field corner, and McKinney retrieved it, and threw it back to the infield, and it became clear that the problem wasn't with his head, but with his arm. Boone took him out of the game.

This is on top of Greg Bird, Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier already being on the Disabled List. McKinney was started to give Brett Gardner a day off, but Gardner had to be sent out there.

Boone let CC Sabathia pitch only 5 innings, in which he allowed 2 runs, only 1 of which was earned, 5 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts. He had thrown 84 pitches, 54 for strikes. This is CC we're talking about: He could have gone longer. But, apparently, Boone cares more about the pitch count than actual results. If you're still going to have a pitch count, then what the hell was the point of firing Joe Girardi?

Boone brought in Adam Warren, who shouldn't be on the Yankees' roster, or any other major league team's roster, because he stinks. He allowed another run and got hurt. So that's another injury, albeit one that will prevent him from wrecking any more Yankee games for a while. Jonathan Holder finished the 6th inning without further damage.

Tyler Austin hit 2 long home runs, a 432-foot 2-run shot in the 5th inning, and a 412-foot solo drive in the 7th. That made it 3-3.

But instead of letting Holder keep pitching in the bottom of the 7th, Boone put Dellin Betances in. Betances got through the 7th without much trouble. Him, Boone left in. And the 8th turned out to be the worst inning of the Yankees' young season thus far.

Yangervis Solarte -- who, you'll recall, Cashman traded away for Chase Headley -- led off the inning with a tremendous blast to center field, 455 feet. Betances struck Randal Grichuk out, but allowed a single to Kevin Pillar -- not to be confused with Kevin Millar, our former foe in Boston, who was so slow (How slow was he?), he certainly couldn't have done what I'm about to describe.

Betances struck Aledmys Diaz out. But Pillar stole 2nd. Betances walked Luke Maile. Then a double steal: Pillar stole 3rd and Maile stole 2nd. And then, Pillar stole home plate. He stole 2nd, 3rd and home in the same inning. All because Betances wasn't paying enough attention, and wasn't throwing enough strikes.

That made it 5-3 Blue Jays, and that's how it ended. WP: Ryan Tepera (1-0). SV: Roberto Osuna (1). LP: Betances (0-1).

It's not just that the Yankees lost, it's how. It could have been avoided, had Boone just let either Sabathia or Holder pitch longer. Instead, he Girardi-ed the game. His 1st screwup as a major league manager. Well, his 1st 2.

The series concludes this afternoon, Easter Sunday, with a scheduled first pitch of 1:07 PM. Sonny Gray will start for the Yankees, Marcus Stroman for the Jays. Then, tomorrow afternoon is the home opener, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yankees Improvise to 2-0 Start

Somebody said that this is what it must have been like for Yankee Fans in 1998.

It wasn't. We didn't start that season out 2-0. We started it 0-3, and 1-4.

Then came the good stuff.

*

Last night, the Yankees tried to follow their fantastic season opener in Toronto against those pesky Blue Jays with another win. Masahiro Tanaka started, and pitched like an ace. Well, for 2/3rds of the game, anyway: 6 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, no walks, 8 strikeouts.

He has a habit of giving up gopher balls, and Randal Grichuk hit a home run off him in the 2nd inning. How the Grinch Stole a Shutout.

But it didn't matter. Nor did the fact that, between them, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez went 0-for-12. Nor did the fact that 1st baseman Greg Bird began the season on the Disabled List, forcing new manager Aaron Boone to move newly-acquired 2nd baseman Neil Walker to 1st base, and put "prospect" Tyler Wade at 2nd.

Nor did the fact that, just 1 game in, Aaron Hicks went on the Disabled List, and Billy McKinney, a 23-year-old outfielder from the Dallas suburbs, was called up to make his major league debut. (That's McKinney in the picture above. The Yankees now have a player who was born during the Strike of '94. God, I'm old.)

What mattered was the bottom of the order coming through. In the top of the 2nd, in his 1st major league at-bat, McKinney singled to right. New 3rd baseman Brandon Drury doubled him home, and it was one-nil to the Bronx Bombers.

Grichuk's homer tied the game, but Didi Gregorius led off the top of the 4th with a double. After a Sanchez pop-up, Walker lived up to his name and drew a base on balls. McKinney moved the runners over with a fielder's choice. And Drury singled Sir Didi home.

Didi also led off the top of the 6th by getting on base, this time with a walk. After Sanchez flew out, Walker singled. After McKinney popped up, Drury walked to load the bases. And Wade doubled home Gregorius and Walker. 4-1 Yankees.

That would remain the score into the bottom of the 9th, as Tommy Kahnle pitched the 7th and into the 8th, allowing just 1 baserunner, a walk. David Robertson had to finish the 8th.

Aroldis Chapman came on for the 9th, and, well, Aroldis gotta Aroldis: He looked great, but almost blew it. He struck Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak out, and was 1 strike away from striking out the side. But he allowed back-to-back doubles to Steve Pearce and former Yankee Yangervis Solarte. (You remember: The guy who got off to a great start as Yankee 3rd baseman, before Cashman sent him to the San Diego Padres for Chase Headley.) But Chapman fanned Grichuk to end it.

Yankees 4, Blue Jays 2. WP: Tanaka (1-0). SV: Chapman (1 -- remember, the previous night was not a save situation). LP: Anibal Sanchez (0-1).

Yankee pitchers got a total of 12 strikeouts. Somebody online said that this was the 1st time in the Yankees' 116-season history that their pitchers got 12 or more strikeouts in the season's 1st 2 games. Personally, I don't care how the outs come, as long as they come.

Starting the season 2-0 is good. As for the other American League Eastern Division teams, the Baltimore Orioles are 1-0, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are 1-1, and, of course, the Jays are 0-2.

The series continues this afternoon at 4:00 (well, 4:07). CC Sabathia makes his season debut for the Yankees, and Marco Estrada takes the hill for the Jays. Come on you Bombers!