Yanks Hit, Then Stop Hitting, In Tampa Bay

So after taking 3 of 4 at home against the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees headed down to St. Petersburg to take on the dessicated, Joe Maddon-less husk of the Tampa Bay Rays.

CC Sabathia hadn't won a game yet, his 0-5 record reflecting a little bit of poor pitching, and a little bit of good pitching not backed up by much hitting. The Big Fella did his job: 7 innings, 4 runs (3 earned), 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts.

This time, he got the run support. Alex Rodriguez hit his 8th home run of the season, the 662nd of his career. Chase Headley hit a home run, his 4th of the season. Carlos Beltran hit a home run, his 2nd of the season (and in as many games). Brett Gardner hit a home run, his 3rd of the season. And Mark Teixeira hit a home run, his 11th Teix Message of the season.

So that's 5 homers, 3 by guys who were "old" and "washed-up" according to Met fans, Red Sox fans, the national media, and other Yankee Haters. Headley also had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Yankees 11, Rays 5. WP: Sabathia (1-5). No save. LP: Alex Colome (2-1). Attendance: 10,619. Pathetic. I've been to high school football games with bigger crowds than that -- and I don't live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, or the South.

*

For the Tuesday night game, the Yankees sent out Nathan Eovaldi, who had won his 1st 3 decisions. He looked good again, cruising through the 1st 6 innings, with a 2-0 lead thanks to back-to-back 1st inning singles by Brian McCann and Beltran.

But, this time, Joe Girardi's fealty to pitch counts worked the other way. He saw that Eovaldi hadn't thrown too many pitches, so he left him in. Big mistake: He allowed 2 runs in the 7th, and 2 more in the 8th to lose it.

It's worth noting that the Yankees had a man on 2nd with nobody out in the 1st, men on 1st and 3rd with 2 out in the 2nd, a man on 1st with 2 out in the 4th, a man on 1st with 1 out in the 8th, and a man on 1st with 1 out in the 9th. None of those men were brought around to score.

Rays 4, Yankees 2. WP: Kevin Jepsen (1-2). SV: Brad Boxberger (9). LP: Eovaldi (3-1). Attendance: 10,417. What, did they only open 11,000 seats, because they thought that was all they could sell? Can they no longer even get ex-New Yorkers to show up and watch the Yankees play the Rays?

*

The Wednesday night game was even more frustrating. Another one of those games where you wish the Yankees hadn't wasted all those runs in a recent game.

Adam Warren pitched much better than his last outing, going 7 full, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and just 1 walk, striking out 7. That should have been enough to win, if the lineup had done its job.

It didn't. Back-to-back 1st inning singles by Teixeira and McCann gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead before the Strays even got to bat. But that was it. Lots of missed opportunities.

None worse than the top of the 5th. With 2 out, Teix beat out an infield single. McCann singled into the hole. And Beltran singled to center. But Teix was thrown out at the plate. Girardi challenged the call, but it was upheld.

Rays 3, Yankees 2. WP: Nate Karns (3-1). SV: Boxberger (10). LP: Warren (2-2). Attendance: 11,924.

*

Then came the Thursday night game. Chase Whitley got hurt, and had to come out in the 2nd inning, and went on the Disabled List. Girardi brought  Esmil Rogers in to relieve him, and this Mr. Rogers once again proved he can only pitch well in the Neighborhood of Make Believe.

A-Rod hit his 9th home run of the season, and he, Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury (twice) added singles. That was it for the Yankee offense.

Rays 6, Yankees 1. Attendance: 11,977.

Think about that: The 4 games combined had an attendance of 44,927 -- barely enough to fill Tropicana Field, not enough to fill the new, smaller version of Yankee Stadium. Jeez, move to Montreal already!

We now know that Whitley is going to need Tommy John surgery, and he'll be out until the middle of the 2016 season.

2016. Man, I can remember when 1990 sounded like "the future." You know, cities filled with skyscrapers taller than the World Trade Center, connected by monorails, flying cars, robots that would do anything, TV-phones... Okay, we have TV-phones, and there are a few skyscrapers on this planet that are taller than even the new World Trade Center....

UPDATE: Sure enough, Whitley didn't appear in a major league game again until September 11, 2016 -- with the Tampa Bay Rays, who picked him up when the Yankees waived him on November 20, 2015. That was cold. He deserved better.

Yanks Take 3 of 4 vs. O's

On Thursday night, Joe Girardi sent Nathan Eovaldi out to face the Baltimore Orioles at The Stadium (Mark II). He was a bit shaky, allowing 3 runs in less than 6 innings. Fortunately, the bullpen, of Justin Wilson, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, pitched 3 1/3rd scoreless innings, allowing just 1 baserunner (a walk by Miller in the 9th inning).

Eovaldi did leave with the lead. In the 1st, an Alex Rodriguez sacrifice fly and a Mark Teixeira single each brought home a run. In the 3rd, A-Rod hit a home run, his 7th of the season, and the 661st of his career, passing Willie Mays for 4th on the all-time list. In the 5th, a Teix double made it 4-3 Yankees.

That was the final score. WP: Eovaldi (3-0). SV: Miller (12). LP: Chris Tillman (2-4).

*

The Friday night game was a little shakier. Adam Warren started against the Birds, and he didn't make it to 5 full innings. Wilson wasn't all that neat in relief of him, either. But after him, the bullpen was solid: Chris Martin, Betances and Miller pitched 3 1/3rd scoreless innings.

Again, A-Rod got the Yankees on the board with a sacrifice fly. Brian McCann hit one out, his 3rd of the season. Carlos Beltran, who's turned it on lately, doubled home another run, and that provided the difference.

Yankees 5, Orioles 4. WP: Betances (4-0). SV: Miller (13). LP: Miguel Gonzalez (3-2).

*

The Saturday afternoon game didn't go so well. Chase Whitley didn't make it through the 6th inning. This time, the offense and the bullpen couldn't bail the starter out. It was another "Yankee RISPfail," going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. John Ryan Murphy got a run home with a sacrifice fly, and Beltran singled home a run, but that was it.

Orioles 6, Yankees 2. WP: Wei-Yin Chen (1-1). SV: Zach Britton (6). LP: Whitley (1-1).

*

So on Sunday, the Yankees really needed a good start. They got it from Big Mike. No, not me: Michael Pineda.

By the way, all you people who said trading Jesus Montero for Pineda was a bad idea, and felt vindicated by Pineda's injury struggles? Thought you might like to know: Montero has spent most of last season and all of this season in the minor leagues. He hasn't gotten a hit in a major league game since June 21, 2014. That's almost 11 months. He's gotten just 25 major league hits in 2013, '14 and '15 combined. He's also had problems with weight and discipline.

So Pineda took the mound, and set a Yankee record for most strikeouts in a game without a walk: 16.

Naturally, Girardi, being a slave to the pitch count, took Pineda out after 7 innings, because he'd thrown 111 pitches. Pineda did allow a single to start the 7th, but got a forceout and 2 strikeouts to get out of the jam. Clearly, he was not tiring.

The Yankee record for strikeouts in a game is 18, set by Ron Guidry on June 17, 1978, and Pineda needed to strike 2 of the last 6 batters out to at least tie it. The major league record for strikeouts in a game is 20, and Pineda needed 4 of the last 6 to at least tie it. But Girardi thinks the number of pitches a pitcher has thrown is more important than actual performance.

The Yankees backed him up as follows: Beltran hit his 1st home run of the season, McCann hit his 4th, Didi Gregorious had an RBI single and an RBI double (about time), and Jacoby Ellsbury had an RBI double.

Yankees 6, Orioles 2. WP: Pineda (5-0). No save. LP: Bud Norris (1-4).

Chase Headley -- That's Who!

Yesterday, I ripped Brian Cashman for bringing in trading the promising Yangervis Solarte to the San Diego Padres for Chase Headley, a one-year wonder (2012) who strikes out too much -- essentially, a younger but slower version of Alfonso Soriano.

I titled last night's post, "Cashman Throws Away Solarte for WHO?!?"

So it took 14 innings for Headley to make me look like a fool last night.

I'll take it, if it means winning.

*

The Chase we already had, Chase Whitley, gave us 6 shutout innings against the Texas Rangers. He allowed 7 hits, but no walks, and no runs.

Matt Thornton and Adam Warren -- neither a welcome sight lately -- got us through the 7th inning, Dellin Betances through the 8th, David Robertson through the 9th.

But the Yankees didn't hit. In the 1st 20 innings of this series, the Yankees scored 2 runs. That's not good enough. The hits last night included a double by Derek Jeter with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th -- the 535th double of his career, surpassing Lou Gehrig to become the Yankees' all-time leader. It was also the 3,413th hit of his career, bringing him within 6 hits of Carl Yastrzemski for 8th on the all-time list, 7 of Honus Wagner for 7th, and 22 of Cap Anson for 6th.

Man on 2nd with 1 out. But after Jacoby Ellsbury was intentionally walked to set up the inning-ending double play, Carlos Beltran, regrettably, obliged, and we went to extra innings, scoreless.

Robertson pitched a perfect 10th. The Yankees went 1-2-3.

Shawn Kelley pitched a perfect 11th. Brett Gardner and then Jeter walked, but got stranded when Ellsbury grounded out.

David Huff pitched a perfect 12th. Beltran beat out an infield single to lead off, and got to 2nd on a wild pitch. Brian McCann singled him hom--

Not so fast -- literally. Beltran couldn't score, and would have been out if he'd tried.

Ichiro Suzuki tried a squeeze bunt, but Beltran couldn't score. McCann did get to 2nd. Brian Roberts was intentionally walked to set up the double play. Francisco Cervelli lined out to 3rd.

Headley came up. Somebody on Twitter said he would win the game, because he hadn't been "infected" yet. Well, not this time: He grounded into a force play to end the threat.

And then Huff, who'd been so strong in the 12th, began the 13th by giving up a home run to J.P. Arencibia. And he allowed 2 more hits.

Huff got out of it, but the Yankees still went to the bottom of the 13th losing. But Gardner led off with a double. Jeter bunted him over to 3rd. Tying run at 3rd, winning run at the plate, 1 out. Ellsbury singled Gardner home. Beltran singled. Winning run at 3rd, runner on 1st, 1 out.

McCann, who's so slow he makes molasses look like Nestlé's Quik (I think they call that stuff "NesQuik" now), grounded into a double play. We went to the 14th.

Girardi went to Jeff Francis, who'd already been released by 2 teams this season, making (like Headley) his 1st Yankee appearance. There were no relievers left: Only starting pitchers. It was Francis or nobody.

Francis allowed a 2-out single, but that was it. Bottom of the 14th.

Ichiro grounded out. But Brian Roberts hit a ground-rule double down the right field line. Man on 2nd, 1 out. Cervelli singled... but Roberts, of whose good speed John Sterling had just been talking, couldn't score.

Up came Headley. Base hit to left-center. Roberts scores. Ballgame finally over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeee Yankees win!

Yankees 2, Rangers 1: WP: Francis (1-1). No save. LP: Nick Tepesch (3-6).

"When I found out (about the trade), obviously you have mixed emotions when you've been at a place for as long as I've been in San Diego," Headley said. "But I couldn't be happier to be a Yankee. It's unbelievable. I can't even believe I'm saying that. Long day, but great way to finish."

*

Within minutes, the jokes began. Headley is "a true Yankee." Tomorrow (meaning today) this game would be on YES' Yankees Classics, and Headley's Yankeeography couldn't be far behind.

As my fellow Arsenal fans would say, If he'd done this for Tottenham, the DVD of last night's game would already be in stores.

The Yankees have now won 4 out of 5 since the All-Star Break. Optimism.

The series continues tonight. David Phelps starts for the Yankees, Yu Darvish for the Rangers.

So much for optimism.

But, hey, you never know. Obviously, since, 14 innings ago, I was ready to bail on Hedy Lamarr.

"That's Headley!"

You Are What Your Record Says You Are

So here we are at the All-Star Break, with 11 weeks left in a 26-week season, and the Yankees are at .500, 47-47.

Bill Parcells, who coached in New York (well, New Jersey) with the Giants and Jets, likes to say, "You are what your record says you are." And the Yankees' record says they're a .500 team.

This includes the Yankees' loss in their series finale in Baltimore last night, a game shortened by rain to the minimum amount to count, 5 innings.

Really, that sums up the Yankees' season: Like the game, the season has effectively been cut short by things beyond their control.

Brett Gardner led off the game with a home run, his 9th of the season. Think how much money you could have made betting that, at the All-Star Break, Brett Gardner would have more home runs than Robinson Cano.

But that was it. Chase Whitley, who started off so well for us, allowed 3 runs in the 4th inning, and had to be relieved. David Huff cut off the Oriole attack, but it was too late. The umpires called the game after 4 1/2 innings with the home team ahead. If the visiting team is ahead, or it's tied, the "official game" cutoff is 5 full innings.

Orioles 3, Yankees 1. WP: Kevin Gausman (4-2). No save (nor would there be in a game where the starter went the distance and the distance turned out to be only 5 innings). LP: Whitley (3-2).

*

Here's the American League Eastern Division standings:

Baltimore Orioles 52-42
Toronto Blue Jays 49-47, 4 back, 5 in the loss column
New York Yankees 47-47, 5 back
Tampa Bay Rays, 44-53, 9 1/2 back, 11 in the loss column
Boston Red Sox, 43-52, 9 1/2 back, 10 in the loss column

Elimination numbers: Rays 57, Sox 59, Jays 63, Yanks 64. In other words, any number of O's wins and Yanks losses the rest of the way, adding up to 64, and the Yanks can't win the Division.

The Yankees trail the Seattle Mariners -- Cano's new team -- by 3 1/2 games, 3 in the loss column, for the 2nd AL Wild Card berth.

If the current MLB standings hold to the end of the season, this is how the Playoffs will go down:

Seattle Mariners in one-game Playoff at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, winner faces Oakland Athletics, with A's having home-field advantage in Games 1, 2 & 5 of the Division Series.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers, with Tigers having HFA.

Atlanta Braves in one-game Playoff at San Francisco Giants, winner faces Los Angeles Dodgers, with Dodgers having HFA. (This would be the 3rd genuine Giant-Dodger Playoff, following 1951 in New York and 1962 in California, although there have been season-ending series where either team had to win to advance, and had to face the other in the process.)

Washington Nationals vs. Milwaukee Brewers, with Brewers having HFA.

*

"You are what your record says you are." What the Yankees' record says is, "I'm not going to lie to you, it doesn't look good."

I will watch the All-Star Game opening ceremonies. I may even watch the game, after Derek Jeter takes his leadoff at-bat in his 14th and final ASG.

However, I will not watch the Home Run Derby tonight. A one-dimensional, made-for-TV thing that advances baseball not at all. It's a bigger joke than the NBA All-Star Weekend Slam-Dunk Contest has ever been.

Teix's 2 Messages, Ellsbury in 14th, Win McCarthy's Debut

With Masahiro Tanaka going on the Disabled List -- joining CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda from the Yankees' original intended starting rotation, leaving only Hiroki Kuroda -- and with Vidal Nuno pitching 7 shutout innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the stage was set for the guy we got for Nuno, Brandon McCarthy, to have a bad outing in his Yankee debut, away to the Cleveland Indians last night.

Sure enough, in his 1st Yankee inning, he allowed 3 runs to a sub-.500 team -- which the Yankees have been this season, and will be again if this keeps up.

He settled down after that. In the top of the 4th, Mark Teixeira hit a home run. In the 5th, Jacoby Ellsbury doubled with one out. Derek Jeter singled him over to 3rd. Brian McCann got Ellsbury home with a sacrifice fly. And then Teix hit another one out, his 17th of the season, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead. At the very least, Teix is hitting like he used to.

But then McCarthy allowed another run in the bottom of the 5th, and it was 4-4. Was it going to be one of those nights?

He got into the 7th, and got the 1st 2 outs. Then Joe Girardi took him out. Yet again, Girardi removed a pitcher who was, if not cruising, then at least getting outs. The pitch-count alarm in his binder must have gone off.

He used Matt Thornton to get the last out of the inning, then let Dellin Betances pitch only the 8th, then let Adam Warren pitch only the 9th. The game went to extra innings, and he let Adam Warren pitch only the 10th, then let Shawn Kelley pitch only the 11th.

Then he messed up the current starting rotation by putting new starter Chase Whitley on the mound for the 12th. He probably figured, "I don't know how long this game is going to go. It might go another 9 innings. So I might as well put a guy who can pitch 9 innings on the mound. Of course, my binder says never to pitch anyone for more than 7 innings, because I'm a wuss of a manager and I don't want to be blamed for a pitcher's arm going bad. Look at Tanaka: I let him pitch a couple of complete games, and now he's ruined. I'm an idiot. I'm a slave to this binder. I can't think for myself, so I let this binder to it for me."

Whitley pitched to 7 batters and got 6 of them out, so who's to say Girardi was wrong? Well, we'll find out how right he was when Whitley's spot in the rotation next comes up. Or maybe he'll get away with it, since Whitley's spot in the rotation next comes up during the All-Star Break.

With 2 out in the top of the 14th, it was, indeed, beginning to feel like one of those games. As in, "If we don't win this game now, we'll lose it." It's always worse to lose in extra innings than in regulation. A regulation loss is a waste of only 9 innings, not more.

Ellsbury hit a home run, his 6th of the season, to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. This time, Girardi's binder said, "Bring in your closer." And David Robertson got the job done.

WP: Whitley (4-2). SV: Robertson (22). LP: Vinny Pestano (0-1).

The series concludes tonight, with David Phelps starting against T.J. House. Then 3 games in Baltimore, then the All-Star Break, and then the Yankees come home.

Yankees Survive Late Fireworks

A win on the 4th of July is good. Then again, a win anytime is good.

The Yankees started Chase Whitley yesterday afternoon, against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. He had nothing: In just 3 innings, he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits and a walk. From that point onward, however, the bullpen was quite strong: David Huff went 3 innings, followed by Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and David Robertson. They combined for 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and no walks.

But the Yankees needed runs. This time, they got them. Leading off the game, Brett Gardner tripled, Brian Roberts doubled him home, Jacoby Ellsbury grounded him over to 3rd base, and Mark Teixeira doubled him home. A passed ball got Teix to 3rd, and Carlos Beltran got him home on a sacrifice fly. 3-0 Yankees before the Twins even got to bat.

But Brian Dozier homered as the 1st batter to face Whitley. 3-1 Yankees.

Francisco Cervelli led off the 2nd with a double. Kelly Johnson grounded him to 3rd, and Brendan Ryan got him home with a sac fly. Gardner walked, Roberts hit a ground-rule double, and Ellsbury singled them home. 6-1 Yankees, and it was only the bottom of the 2nd.

But the Twins chipped away, and chipped away, and with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, the Twins closed to within 6-5. D-Rob slammed the door, though.

WP: Huff (3-0). SV: Robertson (20). LP: Kyle Gibson (7-7).

The series continues this afternoon, with David Phelps starting against Yohan Pino.

*

Good news on 2 fronts for the Oakland Athletics. They made a deal to bring Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel in to pitch for them, in exchange for 4 players they won't miss, as they try to win their 3rd straight American League Western Division title. And they signed an extension that will keep them in the Oakland Coliseum through the 2024.

This doesn't mean the A's absolutely won't move before then. It does mean that the likelihood that they will is now significantly reduced. In the meantime, they can work out a deal to build a new ballpark in the East Bay, or perhaps one with the San Francisco Giants to get permission to do so in San Jose. But leave Northern California? That no longer looks likely at any time in the next 10 years.

Yesterday, the New York Red Bulls and the Houston Dynamo played to a 2-2 tie. Germany beat France to advance to the World Cup Semifinals. Brazil beat Colombia, but Brazil's biggest current star, Neymar, got hurt, and will miss the Semi and, if they win that, the Final. (Shades of Pele in 1962 -- but Brazil won the World Cup anyway.) Today, Argentina have eliminated Belgium, while the Netherlands will attempt to do the same to Costa Rica.

Three weeks exactly until the Red Bulls host Arsenal at Red Bull Arena. Just 21 days.

On the 4th, the Yankees Aren't THAT Far Out of 1st

I have nearly a week of game reports to make up for. So I'll post only the facts that I think are relevant: Scores, pitchers of record, home runs, controversies.

*

Last Saturday: The Yankees got only 5 hits off Jon Lester (9-7), and made Masahiro Tanaka (11-3) an undeserved loser because they got him only 1 run.

Knowing that Yanks-Sox games burn relievers like crazy, Joe Girardi left Tanaka in for the full 9 innings, and, in the 9th, having already gotten Mike Napoli out with breaking stuff, he shook catcher Brian McCann off and wanted to throw him a fastball. Napoli hit a game-winning home run. Red Sox 2, Yankees 1.

When Napoli got back to the Sox dugout, he could be heard saying, "What an idiot!"

No. Napoli is the idiot. Every bit as much as Pedro Martinez was when he said, "I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy." Before that night, Yankee Fans only disliked Napoli because he was Red Scum. Now, they'll hate him for having the typical Sox classlessness.

Of course, if the Yankees had managed to score 3 runs -- hardly an unreasonable insistence, even without considering how much money they're making -- Napoli's homer would have been meaningless.

Anyway, Koji Uehara got his 17th save.

*

On Sunday, David Ortiz hit his 450th career home run, his 41st against the Yankees. (Believe it or not, he has more homers against Toronto, 50, and Tampa Bay, 43.) Counting postseason play, it was his 46th against us. And still, no Yankee pitcher will brush him back, let alone hit him. (Except CC Sabathia, who seems to have had another injury setback.)

Mark Teixeira hit his 15th home run, Carlos Beltran his 8th -- not bad totals for half a season, for either one, considering their ages and their injuries. But Chase Whitley didn't get out of the 5th inning (3-2), and John Lackey (9-5) and Uehara (18th save) got the job done for The Scum. Red Sox 8, Yankees 5.

*

The Tampa Bay Rays have finally collapsed, and should have been just what Dr. Uncle Mike ordered. Instead, we clowned our way through a 3-game home series, and Monday's opener was really not what I needed in terms of comfort in my time of need.

David Phelps pitched pretty well, but the Yankees still trailed 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th. But Brian Roberts, not exactly a home run hitter, hit one to tie the game.

But the Yankees couldn't get a winner across in the 9th, wasted a leadoff single from Derek Jeter in the 10th, went 1-2-3 in the 11th, and Jose Ramirez allowed a 2-out walk/stolen base/RBI single in the 12th, followed by a weak 1-2-3 bottom of the inning.

Rays 4, Yankees 3. WP: Brad Boxberger (1-1). LP: Ramirez (0-2).

*

I wasn't happy about the Tuesday night game, either. Mere hours after the U.S. soccer team withstood a Belgium barrage to reach extra time scoreless, then fell behind 2-0, then got to 2-1, and had their chances until the end, as New Jersey's own Tim Howard made a World Cup game record 16 saves, the Yankees also scored only once.

They got only 4 hits: A single and a double by Jeter, a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, and a single by Yangervis Solarte -- who's now been sent down to the minors due to a slump. Hopefully, he'll be back up soon, because he's a big reason why we're not much worse off.

Hiroki Kuroda pitched well (5-6). But David Price pitched better (7-7, and I'm guessing he hasn't had a lot of run support this season, either). Grant Balfour (11th save) finished it off. Rays 2, Yankees 1.

*

The Yankees didn't snap out of it on Wednesday, either, falling below .500. McCann hit his 10th homer, and Brett Gardner his 8th. (To put that in perspective, Robinson Cano has only 6 -- but he's batting .323 with 51 RBIs, and the Seattle Mariners are very much in the Playoff hunt.)

Vidal Nuno (2-5) wasn't terrible, but neither was he especially good. Jake Odorizzi (4-7) had the good fortune to face a Yankee team that was hitting a little better, but just not good enough. Boxberger got his first save. Rays 6, Yankees 3.

*

So the Yankees headed out to Minnesota for a 4-game series against the Twins. Finally, after 5 straight losses, they got back on track.

Tanaka was not brilliant, but then he'd pitched well 2 games in a row without getting the run support he needed. This time, he went 7 innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits -- but no walks (12-3). Dellin Betances pitched a perfect 8th, and David Robertson a scoreless 9th for his 19 saves -- not bad for a 1st half for a .500-or-thereabouts team.

So often, the Yankees have faced a former pitcher of theirs, and he showed them why they shouldn't have gotten rid of him. This time, it was Phil Hughes, who's actually having a decent season, certainly the Yankees could use what he's done for the Twins.

But he didn't have good stuff (8-5). For the first time in ages, the Yanks got 7 runs, all off Hughes before he could finish the 7th. Beltran hit his 9th homer, and Zelous Wheeler got his first as a Yankee. The 27-year-old righthanded-hitting 3rd baseman from Alabama was making his major league debut.

Yankees 7, Twins 4.

*

In the old days of the 8-team, single-division Leagues, there was an aphorism (what would be called an "old wives' tale," if old wives paid attention to baseball back then) that the team in 1st place on the 4th of July would win the Pennant. How often was it true? Usually -- but there were enough exceptions to make the rule far from ironclad.

The Baltimore Orioles lead the American League Eastern Division. The Toronto Blue Jays are technically tied for first, but, having played 2 more games, they are a game behind the O's in the loss column.

The Yankees are a flat (very flat) .500, 42-42, but only 3 1/2 games out of 1st, 3 in the loss column. The Red Sox are 8 back, the Rays 9 1/2 back (10 in the loss column).

In the Wild Card race, the Yankees trail the Jays by 3 1/2, 2 in the loss column. So, as bad as things have been, they're not out of the race.

There are 78 games left in the regular season. Anything can happen.

Whitley, Bats Chase Those Pesky Blue Jays

This season, and last, when the Yankees have allowed 3 or more runs, it has been cause for worry.

Not last night, it wasn't. The Yankees backed up their pitcher with enough runs.

Chase Whitley continued his nice start to a major league career. He went 5 innings against those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk. He may be a real find.

As for those runs. Brett Gardner singled to lead off the bottom of the 1st, and Derek Jeter reached on an error. Jacoby Ellsbury's fly ball advanced Gardner to 3rd. Mark Teixeira probably thought he'd singled Gardner home, but our old friend Melky Cabrera caught his line drive. So much for having a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs. But Alfonso Soriano, miraculously, did not strike out, instead singling Gardner home. 1-0 Yankees.

The Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 4th, but the Yankees answered right back. Carlos Beltran led off the bottom of the 4th with a single, and Brian McCann hit his 8th home run of the year. 3-2 Yankees.

The Yankees added more runs, and, between them, Adam Warren, Jose Ramirez, Dellin Betances and David Robertson allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk over the last 4 innings.

Yankees 7, Blue Jays 3. WP: Whitley (3-0). No save. LP: Mark Buehrle (10-4). Buehrle's turnaround from a rough 2013 is the biggest reason the Jays have been in 1st place most of the season.

However, now having taken the 1st 2 games of this series, the Yankees have closed to within 2 1/2 games of the Jays -- only 1 in the loss column. The race is on.

The series concludes tonight, with David Phelps -- yeah, I know, but his last outing was all right -- pitching against Drew Hutchison. Then the Yankees begin a 3-game series against the other team threatening for the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles, before hitting the road for 3 games in Toronto. Then, it's back home, to face the Boston Red Scum.

*

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 2, this Saturday afternoon, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time, at Arena da Amazônia in Manaus, vs. Portugal. The USMNT beat Ghana 2-1 in a thrilling match this week. With a game against among-the-favorites Germany also coming up, this makes the Portugal match critical -- but we may only need a draw to advance to the knockout stage, regardless of how we do against Germany.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 8, a week from this Friday night, at 7:00 PM, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 8, next Friday night, at 8:00 PM, vs. Toronto FC.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 27, on Wednesday, July 16, at 7:00 PM, away to the Philadelphia Union, at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Days until Arsenal play again: Officially, not until the new season starts in August. Unofficially, it's this, and I'm just busting about it:

Days until the Arsenal-Red Bulls match at Red Bull Arena: 37, on Saturday, July 26. A little over 5 weeks.

Days until the 2014-15 Premier League season begins: 58, on Saturday, August 16, with Arsenal at home to Southeast London club Crystal Palace. Under 2 months. The fixture list has been released.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 70, on Thursday, August 28, away to Washington State, at CenturyLink Field, home of the NFL Champion Seattle Seahawks. (It had been listed as August 30, but was moved up.) Just 10 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 77, on Thursday, September 4, home to Woodbridge. Just 11 weeks. It's on a Thursday night, rather than a Friday night, because of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Days until Rutgers makes its Big Ten Conference debut: 86 days, on Saturday, September 13, at 8:00 PM, against old enemy Penn State.

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season home game (barring injury): 97, on Thursday, September 25, against the Baltimore Orioles. A little over 3 months.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 100, on Saturday, September 27, at the Emirates Stadium. Yes, that is a little early in the season. although not as early as the season that just ended, when it was on September 1.

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season game (barring injury): 101, on Sunday, September 28, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Days until the Devils play again: Unknown. I previously thought that the 2014-15 NHL schedule had been released, but I was wrong: It still hasn't. Most likely, the Devils will open the season on the 1st Friday in October, which would be October 3. That's 106 days.

Days until the Devils next play a local rival: Unknown. Most likely, it won't be the first game of the season, but it could be the second. So, at least 107 days.

Days until Game 7 of the 2014 World Series -- the absolute latest you can ever again see Derek Jeter in a competitive game: 132, on Wednesday, October 29. A little over 4 months, and no more Jeter -- not as an active player, anyway.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 173, on Thursday morning, November 27, 10:00 AM. A little over 5 months.

Days until New York City FC make their Major League Soccer debut: Unknown, but a new MLS season usually begins on the 2nd Saturday in March, which would be March 14, 2015. That's 268 days. Under 9 months. Whether it will be a home game, and thus at the new Yankee Stadium, is yet to be determined.

Days until the New York Islanders' last game at the Nassau Coliseum: 293, on April 8, 2015, at 7:00 PM, against the Ottawa Senators. Under 10 months.

Days until the Islanders' first home game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn: Unknown, but an NHL regular season usually begins on the 1st Friday in October, which would be October 2, 2015. That's 470 days. That's under 16 months. Or, to put it another way, "481 Sleeps Till Brooklyn." Until then, even with their 4 straight long-ago Stanley Cups, they're just a Small Club In Hempstead.

Days until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 778, on Friday, August 5, 2016. Under 26 months.

Whitley a Fine Complement to Tanaka

With Masahiro Tanaka and Chase Whitley starting games, the Yankees are now 16-3. Everybody else, 18-28.

11-2 of that is Tanaka. 5-1 of it is Whitley. This kid could be a keeper.

(UPDATE: Alas, he got hurt on May 14, 2015, had Tommy John surgery, and never pitched for the Yankees again. And he's barely pitched for anyone else.)

Last night, the Yankees were attempting a sweep away to the Seattle Mariners, to whom they lost their best player, Robinson Cano.

They got off to a good start. With 1 out in the top of the 1st Derek Jeter (you might have heard of him) got a hit, and Jacoby Ellsbury hit a home run. 2-0 Yankees.

The Mariners pulled a run back in the bottom of the 2nd, but in the very next inning, Jeter led off with a single, Ellsbury walked, Mark Teixeira flew out, and Alfonso Soriano nearly hit one out, Jeter and Ellsbury scoring on the double. 4-1 Yankees.

Brian Roberts led off the 4th with a walk, followed by a single by J.R. Murphy, a sacrifice bunt by Brett Gardner, and a single by Jeter, scoring both runners. 6-1 Yankees.

The Mariners scored again in the bottom of the 5th, but that was it off Whitley: 7 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, no walks. Matt Thornton got the last out in the 8th. Shawn Kelley returned from the Disable List and started the 9th, but was shaky and allowed a run, before David Robertson slammed the door.

Yankees 6, Mariners 3. WP: Whitley (2-0). SV: Robertson (16). LP: Roenis Elias (5-5).

The sweep completed, the Yankees headed down to the Pacific Coast today, to begin a 3-game series against the Oakland Athletics, who still have the best record in the American League.

The Yankees, however, have closed to within 3 1/2 games of the 1st-place Toronto Blue Jays -- just 2 in the all-important loss column. For all their troubles, they are very much in the Playoff hunt.

Here are the matchups for this series with the A's, about to begin:

Tonight, 10:05 PM Eastern (7:05 Pacific/local): David Phelps vs. Sonny Gray. Phelps? Ulp. Remember that stat I showed you at the beginning, showing the Yankees with Tanaka and Whitley, as compared to what they'd done with all other starters? Well, check this out: With Phelps starting, they're 1-6; with anybody else, 33-25, not bad at all.

Tomorrow, 10:05 PM Eastern: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Scott Kazmir.

Sunday, 4:05 PM Eastern: Vidal Nuno vs. Jesse Chavez.

When the series concludes, the Yankees will have a travel day on Monday, and then begin a 6-game homestand against the Jays, and then the Baltimore Orioles. The Yanks are tied with the O's, and the Jays are the only team in the AL East ahead of them.

Big series coming up.

Whitley Chases Down 1st Major League Win

So with another Masahiro Tanaka start in the books as a win, the Yankees went into full "Here comes a sub for an injured starter, there are no atheists in this dugout, let us pray" mode.

There's an old saying: "God answers every prayer, but, sometimes, the answer is 'No.'"

Last night, the answer was "Yes." Chase Whitley is looking like a good prospect, a smack in the face to all those people talking about how the Yankee farm system is "barren." (I wrote a piece on that subject as my first contribution to Last Word On Sports.)

In the opener of a 3-game series away to the Kansas City Royals -- thankfully, not the Royals of 1977, or 1980, or 1985 -- Whitley went 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits and, thankfully -- say these beautiful words with me -- no walks. A very nice performance that should earn him a spot in the rotation for the rest of the season, given that Ivan Nova is out for the year, and David Phelps hasn't exactly been an answer.

But would it be enough? The way the Yankees have been hitting this season, it could very well have not been. Even Tanaka got only 2 runs of support on Thursday afternoon.

Mark Teixeira led off the top of the 2nd inning with a single. After Brian McCann grounded out, Yangervis Solarte drew a walk. Ichiro Suzuki hit a line drive that was caught, but Brian Roberts singled Teix home.

The Royals tied the game in the bottom of the 2nd, but the Yanks struck right back in the top of the 3rd. The inning began with back-to-back singles by Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner. Carlos Beltran returned to the lineup after an injury, and to Kansas City where he played his 1st 7 major league seasons, becoming the closest thing they've had to a Hall-of-Famer since George Brett retired. He grounded out to move the runners over.

Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie may have been rattled, because he hit Teix with a pitch. I'm presuming it wasn't intentional, because no pitcher wants to load the bases with 1 out, even with a slowpoke like McCann coming up next. McCann doubled down the left-field line, clearing the bases.

That was all the Yankees needed: Whitley allowed a run in the 5th, but otherwise cruised. Dellin Betances pitched a strong 8th, and David Robertson allowed a double and a walk with 2 out in the 9th, but got a force-play grounder to end it.

Yankees 4, Royals 2. WP: Whitley (1-0). SV: Robertson (14). LP: Guthrie (2-6).

It was Whitley's 1st major league win in 5 starts -- although it didn't help that Joe Girardi was reluctant to let him go more than 5 innings until last night. The Yankees have now won 4 of his 5 starts, and the one loss (June 1 vs. Minnesota) was hardly Whitley's fault, as he allowed just 1 run in 5 innings. Well done to the righthander from Alabama, who turns 25 next Saturday.

The series continues tonight, with a 7:15 PM (Eastern Time, 6:15 Central/local) start. Danny Duffy starts for the Royals, and for the Yankees... Phelps. Oy vey.

Let us pray:

Our Babe, who art in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom demolished to make way for the new one, but thy will be done, on the road as it is in The Bronx. Give us this day our daily win, and forgive us our losses, as we forgive those who defeat us. And lead us not into the temptations that befell thee, and deliver us from Red Sox, for thine is the kingdom, and the power hitting, and the glory forever. Amen.

Hey, they call 'em "the baseball gods" sometimes, don't they?

Bullpen Meltdown Aids Minnesota Comeback

The finale of the Yankees' home series with the Minnesota Twins looked to be in the bag. After all, weren't the Twins starting Yankee castoff Phil Hughes?

Hughes pitched 8 innings, allowing only 2 runs. Why couldn't he do that 3 times out of every 4 for the Yankees?

But it looked to be enough, as, between them, rookie starter Chase Whitley, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren pitched 8 very strong innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits.

So we went to the 9th, leading 2-1. Enter Sandm--

Oh, that's right.

No problem: David Robertson has been great this year, notching 12 saves in 13 opportunities.

No problem... right?

Josh Willingham led off the top of the 9th for the Twins. Boom: Long drive to left field, game-tying home run.

Okay, that might not have been too bad, if D-Rob could prevent any more runs, and the Yanks could win it in the bottom of the 9th. Or in extra innings. And he did strike Jason Kubel out right after than.

But then he walked Kurt Suzuki. Uh-oh... But then he struck out Eduardo Escobar. One out to go.

But then he walked Aaron Hicks. And then he allowed a double to Brian Dozier. 3-2 Twins.

He was ordered to walk Joe Mauer to set up the force play. And then...

And then Joe Girardi looked in his Binder, and pulled Robertson, for Matt Daley.

On his 1st pitch, Daley allowed a double. To the Twins' shortstop.

EDUARDO NUNEZ!

Losing a game because of Phil Hughes and Eduardo Nunez coming through for the other team. For Pete Sheehy's sake...

5-2 Twins. That was the only pitch Daley threw. Girardi looked in his Binder under, "Fuckups, Your Own." Rather than read, "See, you never should have consulted me in the first place, you dope!" he saw, "Bring in Matt Thornton."

Thornton allowed a single to Oswalda Garcia. 7-2 Twins.

Thornton got Josh Willingham to fly out to end the carnage. But the Yanks went quietly in the bottom of the 9th.

WP: Hughes (6-1 -- that's right, six wins, one loss). No save. LP: Robertson (0-2).

It's not worth pointing out the day's "Yankee RISPfails," since this was a total bullpen meltdown in the 9th, not the 10th or later.

If Whitley and his replacements had allowed 7 runs over the first 8, I would have understood. Not this.

In about half an hour from now, the Yankees will host the Seattle Mariners in the makeup of a rainout from about a month ago. Tomorrow night, the Oakland Athletics come in for 3 games, before the Yankees had out on a long Western roadtrip to Kansas City, Seattle and Oakland.

David Phelps starts tonight, against Felix Hernandez. Oy vey: Not only is Phelps starting against one of the better pitchers in baseball, but we have to hear a lot of crap about how this guy who's never seen a postseason MLB game except on television, let alone pitched in one, is a "king."

It's worse than hearing about Henrik Lundqvist being a "king."

This is going to be a long next 2 weeks.

Yankees Take Opener In St. Louis In 12 Innings

If the Yankee bats can just give David Phelps, Vidal Nuno, Chase Whitley and whoever else starts in place of the injured Michael Pineda until June, CC Sabathia until July, and Ivan Nova for the rest of the season, enough runs to win, or at least enough runs to get to the bullpen, we'll be in the thick of the fight for the American League Playoffs.

Yesterday, the Yankees opened at 3-game series away to the St. Louis Cardinals. The rookie Whitley started, and went 5 innings, and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits -- but no walks. His command needs work, but he has good control.

To lead off the game, Brett Gardner drew a walk, followed by singles by Derek Jeter and Jacoby Ellsbury. The same pattern was followed in the top of the 5th, as Ichiro Suzuki walked, while Brian Roberts and Kelly Johnson singled, to make it 2-1. This was followed by Whitley grounding out (It was an Interleague game in a National League park, so the pitcher has to bat), and Gardner hitting a sacrifice fly to score Roberts. 3-1 Yankees.

But Whitley loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 6th, and Joe Girardi brought in Preston Claiborne, who usually doesn't come in that early. He allowed a forceout and a sac fly, and that tied it. I can't really fault Claiborne, and, as I said, Whitley is a rookie. And being tied after 6 innings is hardly a bad thing.

The game remained tied, and went to extra innings. You know how I get when the Yankees go to extra innings: Every inning from the 8th onward, I think, "We had these chances to win, and we blew it, we're not gonna win this one."

The Yankees didn't listen to me. Fortunately, they did listen to me when they got rid of lefthanded reliever Randy Choate, a.k.a. Randy Choke. He pitched for the Cards in the top of the 12th. Ellsbury walked to lead the inning off. Then Choate hit Brian McCann with a pitch -- a big mistake if it was an accident, really dumb if it was on purpose. Yangervis Solarte bunted the runners over. Cards manager Mike Matheny ordered Ichiro walked to load the bases and set up the force at any base.

It didn't work: Roberts dunked a single into left. It only moved the runners up 1 base each, but it was enough to give the Yankees the lead. Alfonso Soriano pinch-hit for Alfredo Aceves -- scary that Girardi's Binder told him to bring Aceves in, but he now stood to be the winning pitcher. Soriano hit a sac fly to score McCann. Brendan Ryan singled home Ichiro to make it 6-3.

As Yankee Hall-of-Famer -- although I think he was still with Oakland when he said this -- Reggie Jackson said of a home run he blasted out of Fenway Park (metaphorically speaking), "We needed an insurance run, so I hit it to the Prudential Building."

You never know when those insurance runs will come in handy. David Robertson came in to close it out, but Jhonny Peralta -- all this time, and he still can't spell "Johnny" -- reached on an error by, of all people, Jeter. Robertson struck out Daniel Descalso for the 1st out, but allowed an RBI double to Jon Jay.

Okay, D-Rob: Enough fooling around, let's get these guys out. He did: He got Matt Carpenter to ground out, and struck Kolten Wong out singing. (Name sounds like it came out of the old Flash Gordon serials.)

Yankees 6, Cardinals 4. WP: Aceves (1-2). SV: Robertson (11). LP: Choate (0-2).

The series continues tonight: Phelps starts against Lance Lynn. Phelps grew up near St. Louis, in Florissant, Missouri.

"You grow up thinking about playing on this field," he said. "Obviously, you don't think about doing it in a Yankees uniform, but it's really cool. You walk out and you see the Arch. There's small things like that that do make it fun."

Actually, the current Busch Stadium didn't open until 2006. Phelps was already 19. He grew up thinking about playing on the field at the preceding Busch Stadium, just to the south of the new one. That wasn't possible, as he didn't reach the majors until 2012.

In his last outing, he pitched well, but ran into that near-perfect game by Chris Sale of the White Sox. Let's hope he does as well, and gets the runs he needs.

Like I said at the start: If guys like Phelps pitch well for the injured starters, and we get the runs, we'll be just fine.

*

Hours until the Red Bulls play again: 2, tonight, at 9:00 PM Eastern Time, away to Sporting Kansas City. This past Saturday, Metro played a lousy game in losing at home to 2-1 to the Portland Timbers.

Hours until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 3, tonight, at 10:00 PM Eastern Time, against former Soviet "republic" Azerbaijan, in one of the last events that will be held at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Under 2 weeks. This will be the 1st of 3 warmup matches for the World Cup, also facing Turkey at Red Bull Arena and Nigeria in Jacksonville.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 11, a week from this Saturday, June 7, 7:30 PM, vs. the New England Revolution, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Days until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil: 16, on Thursday, June 12. A little over 2 weeks. In other words, the tournament could be underway before I do this list again.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 31, on Friday night, June 27, at 7:00, at Yankee Stadium II. Just 1 month.

Days until Arsenal play again: Officially, not until the new season starts in August. Unofficially, it's this, and I'm just busting about it:

Days until the Arsenal-Red Bulls match at Red Bull Arena: 60, on Saturday, July 26. Just 2 months.

Days until the 2014-15 Premier League season begins: 81, on Saturday, August 16. Under 12 weeks. (I previously had this erroneously listed as being on August 9.) The fixture list is usually released on the first Friday in June.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: Unknown. The next season's schedule, or "fixture list," usually comes out on the 2nd Friday in June. Derbies are rarely held that early in the season -- the 2013-14 season's September 1 match was unusually early.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 93, on Thursday, August 28, away to Washington State, at CenturyLink Field, home of the NFL Champion Seattle Seahawks. (It had been listed as August 30, but was moved up.) A little over 3 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 100, on Thursday, September 4, home to Woodbridge. It's on a Thursday night, rather than a Friday night, because of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Days until Rutgers makes its Big Ten Conference debut: 109 days, on Saturday, September 13, time to be determined, against old enemy Penn State.

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season home game (barring injury): 120, on Thursday, September 25, against the Baltimore Orioles. Under 4 months.

Days until Derek Jeter's last regular-season game (barring injury): 123, on Sunday, September 28, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Days until the Devils play again: 129. The 2014-15 NHL schedule has been released, and the Devils will open the season away to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, October 3, at 7:00 PM.

Days until the Devils next play a local rival: 130. Their home opener will be against the Islanders on Saturday night, October 4, at 7:00 PM.

Days until Game 7 of the 2014 World Series -- the absolute latest you can ever again see Derek Jeter in a competitive game: 155, on Wednesday, October 29. Just 5 months, and no more Jeter -- not as an active player, anyway.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 196, on Thursday morning, November 27, 10:00 AM. Just 6 months.

Days until New York City FC make their Major League Soccer debut: Unknown, but a new MLS season usually begins on the 2nd Saturday in March, which would be March 14, 2015. That's 291 days. A little over 9 months. Whether it will be a home game, and thus at the new Yankee Stadium, is yet to be determined.

Days until the New York Islanders' last game at the Nassau Coliseum: 316, on April 8, 2015, at 7:00 PM, against the Ottawa Senators. A little over 10 months.

Days until the Islanders' first home game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn: Unknown, but an NHL regular season usually begins on the 1st Friday in October, which would be October 2, 2015. That's 493 days. That's a little over 16 months. Or, to put it another way, "493 Sleeps Till Brooklyn." Until then, even with their 4 straight long-ago Stanley Cups, they're just a Small Club In Hempstead.

Days until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 801, on Friday, August 5, 2016. A little over 26 months. (I had previously undercounted this by nearly 200 days, but the months figure was right.)

Two Weird Games at Wrigley

So the Yankees played 22 innings at Wrigley Field this week.

In the 1st 17 innings, against a very weak Chicago Cubs team, they scored exactly 1 run.

That was unacceptable.

Fortunately, they did something about it.

*

On Tuesday night, we found out that Masahiro Tanaka is human. He gave up 4 runs in 6 innings, and lost for the 1st time in the North American major leagues. He'd pitched pretty well until the bottom of the 6th, but the 2 runs he allowed then doomed him.

But it wouldn't have made a difference if the Yankees had hit the ball. Derek Jeter and Brett Gardner each got 2 hits, Mark Teixeira and Yangervis Solarte 1 each. That was it. The only Yankee run came in the top of the 6th, when Gardner led off with a double, Jeter grounded out, Jacoby Ellsbury popped up, and Teixeira singled him home.

That made it 2-1, but Tanaka proved mortal in the bottom half of the inning, and the Cubs scored 2 more off the bullpen in the 7th. That made the final score: Cubs 6, Yankees 1.

WP: Jason Hammel (5-2). No save. LP: Tanaka (6-1).

*

So yesterday, it was, as it was in the old days (before 1988), day baseball at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field.

Between them, Chase Whitley, Dellin Betances, Adam Warren and even Alfredo Aceves pitched decently for 8 innings. And still, the Yankees didn't hit, making Cub starter Jeff Samardzija look good.

There was "Yankees RISPfail" in the 2nd, 4th and 7th innings, but nobody could be brought around to score. So it was 2-0 Cubs.

Then came the top of the 9th, and the Cubs did what the Cubs so frequently do: They blew it.

Teix led off with a single. Brian McCann drew a walk, with Brendan Ryan pinch-running for him. Due to this being an Interleague game in a National League park, NL rules were in play, and with pitchers having to bat -- or be pinch-hit for -- substitutions were at a premium, and so Joe Girardi, himself a former Cub player who'd grown up in Illinois as a Cub fan, couldn't pinch-run for both of those slowpokes.

Solarte singled to load the bases with nobody out. If the Yankees couldn't get 2 runs out of this, to at least tie the game, they might as well have packed up the season.

The batter was Ichiro Suzuki. He hit a grounder to short, a perfect double-play ball, which would, at least, have gotten a run home. Except when Darwin Barney, the Cub 2nd baseman, threw over to 1st, he made a bad throw, and Ichiro was safe. That also allowed Ryan to score. Tie game, extra innings.

Matt Daley pitched the 9th and into the 10th for the Yankees. Matt Thornton finished the 10th and got into the 11th. Preston Claiborne finished the 11th and the 12th.

The Yankees stranded runners in the 10th and 11th, and when they stranded 2 in the 12th, I figured that was it, we weren't going to win this one.

Then came the top of the 13th, and 13 was an unlucky number for the Cubs -- who've had more than their share of bad luck in the last 100 or so years.

Or maybe it wasn't bad luck. Maybe it was bad management. Jose Veras was a Yankee for 3 seasons and part of a 4th. We got rid of him in 2009, and then won the World Series. He's never been especially useful. What is he still doing in the major leagues, let alone on the Cubs' roster? But Cub manager Rick Renteria brought him in to pitch the top of the 13th.

Ryan led off the inning with a single. Veras walked Solarte. That brought Claiborne to the plate. He had never come to bat in the major leagues before. With Girardi having no idea how much longer this game could go on, putting a pinch-hitter up and thus having to replace the pitcher was a bad idea. But with men on 1st & 2nd and nobody out, it was the perfect situation to lay down a bunt.

Claiborne laid down a beauty, moving both men over. Now it was 2nd & 3rd with 1 out. The potential winning run could score without needing a hit.

And no hit was needed. There are two things that get "uncorked": Bottles of wine, and wild pitches. John Ryan Murphy (I really hope they start calling him "J.R." instead) was batting, and Veras uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Ryan. 3-2 Yankees.

Murphy got the RBI hit anyway, scoring Solarte. 4-2 Yankees.

David Robertson allowed a 1-out single in the bottom of the 13th, but that would be it.

WP: Claiborne (2-0). SV: Robertson (9). LP: Veras (0-1).

*

So the Yankees split their 2 games at Wrigley, and now head down to the South Side of Chicago -- and the way the Cubs and the White Sox are playing these days, that is definitely the baddest part of town (but not the worst, baseball-wise). Here are the projected pitching matchups:

Tonight, 8:10 PM Eastern Time (7:10 Central), about an hour from this writing: David Phelps vs. Chris Sale. (I am not optimistic.)

Tomorrow night, 8:10 PM: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Hector Noesi. (I am much more optimistic about this one.)

Saturday afternoon, 2:10 PM: Vidal Nuno vs. John Danks. (This one could be ugly -- for both sides.)

Sunday afternoon, 2:10 PM: Tanaka vs. Andre Rienzo. (Probably a Yankee win.)

Then it's off to St. Louis for 3, before beginning a 6-game homestand vs. Minnesota and Oakland.

Come on you Bombers!

Back-to-Back Shutouts for Yanks at Pity Field

The Yankees' series opener, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates was postponed by rain tonight. The bad news is, this cuts off their momentum from 2 stunning pitching performances. The good news is, I'm no longer late in reporting the events of the last game.

In each of the 2 games at Yankee Stadium II, the Yankees scored 7 runs -- and lost them both. But they won both games at Citi Field.

In the 2 games at Yankee Stadium II, the Mets scored 21 runs. In the 2 games at Citi Field, they scored a grand total of zero. "Pity Field," indeed.

This is where John Sterling would turn to Suzyn Waldman and say, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball."

Chase Whitley started for the Yankees last night, and Jacob deGrom did so for the Mets. Each was making his major league debut.

Give deGrom credit: He pitched well enough to win. He went 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and  walks. He can hold his head high, and he has certainly earned another start.

Whitley was terrific for the 1st 4 innings. He didn't allow a baserunner until Ruben Tejada singled to lead off the bottom of the 3rd, then allowed deGrom himself a single. These bracketed a Juan Centeno groundout that got Tejada to 2nd, but deGrom's hit only got Tejada to 3rd. Key plays don't always show up in the box score: If Tejada had been able to score, it would have been a very different game. Whitley then got Eric Young Jr. to fly out and struck Daniel Murphy out looking. He also got the Mets out 1-2-3 in the 4th.

He ran into trouble in the 5th. With one out, he walked Tejada and Centeno. Met manager Terry Collins did not give deGrom permission to push his luck, ordering him to bunt. It worked: He moved the runners over to 2nd & 3rd.

Yankee manager Joe Girardi made a triple-switch: He pulled Whitley -- who still hadn't allowed a run, and only 2 hits -- for Dellin Betances. He pulled Brian Roberts from 2nd base, moved Yangervis Solarte there, and put Kelly Johnson in Solarte's place at 3rd. Now Johnson was batting 9th, in the former pitcher's spot, and Betances would be batting in Johnson's spot, 8th.

Betances was brilliant: Not only did he get Young to ground out to end the threat, but he pitched the 6th and the 7th, and didn't allow a single baserunner.

With 1 out in the top of the 7th, Mark Teixeira drew a walk. Brian McCann grounded into a force play, eliminating Teix but getting himself to 1st.

Alfonso Soriano was up. At this point, John Sterling, predicting baseball wouldn't be that hard: Sori had a 10 percent chance of hitting a home run, and a 50 percent chance of striking out to end the chance.

He fell into the remaining 40 percent: He stroked a double to center field, and even McCann, not particularly fleet of foot, was able to score.

That was all Betances needed in the bottom of the 7th. In the 8th, Adam Warren came in, but allowed a walk and a single. Girardi had to bring in David Robertson for a 4-out save. (Where have you gone, Sparky Lyle? A fanbase turns its lonely eyes to you, woo-woo-woo!) But Mr. High Socks for Hope got the job done.

Yankees 1, Mets 0. Or, as they would sing in soccer, "One-nil to the Bronx Bombers!"

WP: Betances (2-0 -- he was declared the winning pitcher because starting pitcher Whitley didn't go 5 full innings, falling 1 out short of winning his major league debut). SV: Robertson (7). LP: A hard-luck deGrom (0-1).

So the Citi Series is split, and the Yankees don't have to play The Other Team again until next May -- at least.

The Yanks and Pirates will play a Fox Saturday Game of the Week tomorrow afternoon at 4:00, while tonight's game will be played as the back end of a doubleheader on Sunday. Whether that's in a day-night, separate-admissions format, or in the tradition Sunday doubleheader format of 2 for the price of 1, the nightcap starting 20 minutes or so after the conclusion of the opener, has yet to be announced. (This is the 21st Century, so expect separate admissions.)

Here are the projected starting pitchers:

Saturday: David Phelps vs. Edinson Volquez.

Sunday opener: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Charlie Morton.

Sunday nightcap: Vidal Nuno vs. Gerrit Cole.