Yanks Edge Angels, and Are Getting Healthier

Having taken 3 out of 4 from the Red Sox at home, the Yankees went out to the West Coast, to play the Los Angeles Angels and the San Diego Padres.

On Sunday afternoon, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees played their best game of the season, beating the Sox, 16-1. On Monday night, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, they followed it with their worst game of the season. Starting pitcher Elmer Rodríguez didn't get out of the 4th inning, and the Yankees committed 3 errors -- officially. Unofficially, there might have been an additional 3 plays that were scored hits for the Angels but could have been called errors. Aside from Spencer Jones' solo home run in the 5th, it was an awful night, with the Angels winning, 10-1.

On Tuesday night, the Yankees got back-to-back home runs from Jones and Jazz Chisholm in the 1st, giving Gerrit Cole a 3-0 lead before he even took the mound. But he wasn't a whole lot better than Rodríguez, not making it through the 6th inning. Fortunately, the bullpen held. The Yankees added some late runs, and won, 7-3.

The Wednesday night game was a pitcher's duel. Amed Rosario's ground-rule double scored Cody Bellinger in the top of the 4th, and that was the only run that Reid Detmers gave up through 7 innings. Cam Schlittler allowed only 1 baserunner, a single by Vaughn Grissom in the 2nd, until there were 2 outs in the 7th, when Grissom got a 2nd hit, a home run.

I don't like games on the West Coast, starting at 10:00 PM Eastern Time. And I don't like games going to extra innings: If you're gonna lose, do it in the regulation 9. I really hate when a late start goes to extra innings. But, after 9, this one was 1-1. It was "ghost runner" time.

Rosario was the Yankee runner. Jones struck out. José Caballero singled, but it wasn't deep enough to score Rosario. Chisholm drew a walk. Luis García Jr. popped up, and I was sure it was going to be a 2-1 Angels win.

Then came 4 straight singles, by Austin Wells, Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice. It was 6-1 Yankees, and it seemed like the win was in the bag.

It wasn't. Michael Fulmer, signed as a free agent the preceding Saturday, had pitched 3 games for the Angels this season. He got Grissom out, then gave up a home run to Moisés Ballesteros. The game was once again in doubt. But he got Christian Moore to ground out, and struck out Jose Siri.

Siri, what was the final score? "Yankees 6, Angels 3." The Yankees took the series.

*

The Yankees trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 3 games in the American League Eastern Division. They have 22 games left: Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, away to the San Diego Padres; September 8, 9 and 10, home to the Colorado Rockies; September 11, 12 and 13, home to the Mets; September 14, 15 and 16, away to the Minnesota Twins; September 18, 19 and 20, away to the Arizona Diamondbacks; a doubleheader on September 22, and single games on September 23 and 24, home to the Rays; and September 25, 26 and 27, home to the Baltimore Orioles.

If the Yankees take 2 out of each 3-game series, and split the 4 against the Rays, that will give them a record of 94-68. To top that, the Rays would have to evenly split their other 18 remaining games.

There is talk that Aaron Judge might be back for the Colorado series. I would love to see him tee off on the Mets. George Lombard Jr. and Clarke Schmidt also might return soon. Ryan Weathers and Angel Chivilli might be back before the end of the regular season; Giancarlo Stanton and Fernando Cruz almost certainly will not.

You Know How It Is

This week, the Yankees began a stretch of 7 games in 6 days that could end up defining their regular season, all against the 2 teams that have cheated their way into the Yankees' heads, the former since 2015, the latter since 2003: First, 3 against the Houston Astros; then, 4 in 3 days against the Boston Red Sox.

You know how it is: Get enough runs, get bad pitching, and vice versa. Will Warren had a good start on Tuesday night, but Fernando Cruz allowed 6 runs in the 6th inning, and was later found to be injured, possibly needing Tommy John surgery. We probably won't see him for the rest of the season. And Brett Headrick allowed 3 runs in the 8th. So it didn't matter that Luis García Jr. went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs, or that Cody Bellinger hit a 3-run homer. Astros 9, Yankees 7.

The Yankees needed at least 9 runs in the 1st 9 innings on Tuesday. They got them on Wednesday. García homered again. So did Ben Rice. García and Jazz Chisholm each had 3 hits. It didn't help Elmer Rodríguez, who pitched 6 strong innings as an emergency starter, because Paul Blackburn blew a 3-2 lead in the top of the 7th. But the Yankees' 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th, including RBI doubles by Bellinger and Chisholm, made Blackburn the winning pitcher. Again: I don't think a pitcher who blows a lead should be credited with the win, even if he is the "pitcher of record" when his team takes a lead it holds for the rest of the game. Anyway, Yankees 9, Astros 3.

There was a nasty storm predicted for yesterday, and it came, resulting in flooding all down the New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia corridor. But either the Yankees got lucky, or the new Yankee Stadium has a great tarp, or it has a great drainage system. Given how much money was spent on it, it better have both. Anyway, the game was played, as scheduled, on time, and to a conclusion.

Did I say the Yankees got lucky? They did not. Certainly, Gerrit Cole deserved a better fate: He went 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5. But Yerry de los Santos, who'd been pitching pretty well up until this point, gave up a home run in the 7th.

Justin Topa, a 35-year-old native of Binghamton, New York, and a former mop-up man in Milwaukee, Seattle and Minnesota, made his Yankee debut in the 8th, and was betrayed by his defense: For a Yankee record 6th game in a row, George Lombard Jr. made an error at shortstop. And he was doing so well before that. And he is still hitting. But now, he's fielding like Anthony Volpe was. His error allowed the Astros another run.

Bellinger got a run home on a sacrifice fly in the 6th. Other than that, the Yankee bats were pretty much useless. Astros 5, Yankees 1.

*

There are 29 games to go in the regular season. The Tampa Bay Rays lead the Yankees by 4 games in the American League Eastern Division, and the surging Red Sox by 6. If the current standing hold until the end, the Yankees would have the 4th seed in the AL Playoffs, and the Sox the 5th -- meaning they would face each other in the 1st Round, as they did last year, when the Yankees beat The Scum in the postseason for the 1st time in 22 years.

You know how it is: The Yankees frequently go into a series with the Red Sox -- especially at Fenway, although this series is at home -- scoring a lot of runs, and giving us hope, only to "run out of runs," and come up small. This time, the last game of the Astro series makes it look like we were saving runs up. But the 1st 2 games of the series, which we were only able to split, makes it look like we ran out of runs already.

Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight, 7:15 PM, on Apple TV: Cam Schlittler vs. Patrick Sandoval.

* Saturday, 1:05, on YES: Carlos Rodón vs. Jake Bennett.

* Saturday, 7:15, on Fox, the makeup of an earlier rainout: Both teams are currently undecided. For the Yankees, the current rumor is that Max Fried will be activated to make this start.

* Sunday, 1:35, on YES: Will Warren vs. Ranger Suarez. Say it with me, Devils fans: Rangers suck!

Come on you Pinstripes! Beat The Scum!

Cincinnati Makes Both New York Teams See Red

Last week, the Cincinnati Reds came to New York, first to play the Mets, then an Interleague series with the Yankees. They embarrassed the Mets (who usually don't need help in embarrassing themselves), 12-0, before getting a more conventional 5-3 win, and then the Mets salvaged the finale, 9-1.

Off to The Bronx. Cam Schlittler took the mound for the Yanks on Friday night, and the only way he could have been much better is if Brian Cashman had let him. In 6 innings, he allowed no runs, 4 hits, no walks, and struck out 13 batters. But he threw 96 pitches (66 of them for strikes), and Aaron Boone is under orders.

On the other hand, the Yankees already had a 4-0 lead, thanks to 2nd-inning home runs by Jazz Chisholm and Ben Rice. So why risk their phenom any more than is necessary? Anthony Volpe added an RBI single in the 8th inning; and Jake Bird, Brent Headrick and David Bednar each pitched a hitless inning to complete the 4-hit shutout. Yankees 5, Reds 0.

Will Warren started on Saturday afternoon. He struck out the side in the top of the 1st inning. Paul Goldschmidt hit a home run in the bottom of the 1st. Things were looking good for the Yankees. 

But Warren allowed a 2-run double in the 3rd, and then came the 5th, starting with an error by the man who has been the Yankees' best player this season, Ben Rice; followed by a groundout, a double, a sacrifice fly, a walk, and a 3-run homer. Ryan Yarbrough had a rotten 8th inning, and the Reds got 4 more, looking like the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. The Yankees pulled a run back in the bottom of the 8th, but never got close. The Reds won, 10-2.

For Goldschmidt, it was his 12th home run of the year, and the 384th of his career. This meant that, on the all-time home run list, he passed Larry Walker, and tied Harold Baines. Next up, at 385, are Dwight Evans and... his own teammate, Aaron Judge, injured and stuck on 385.

Elmer Rodríguez was called back up to start the Sunday game. He got through the 1st 3 innings okay, and was given a 1-0 lead on a Rice home run. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. He walked the leadoff man in the top of the 4th, then got 2 strikeouts, and then allowed a single and a homer. He walked the leadoff man in the 5th, and Boone pulled him, and Tim Hill got out of the inning without more damage.

Rodríguez has made 4 major league appearances, all starts, all this season, all for the Yankees. He is 0-2, is averaging 4 1/3rd innings per start, and has a 4.76 ERA and a 1.765 ERA. He turns 23 in August. He is not ready for the major leagues. Maybe he will be, next season. But not yet.

At any rate, the Yankees left 8 men on base, the Reds tacked on another run in the 9th, and they won, 4-1. They came into New York, took 2 out of 3 from the Mets, and then did the same to the Yankees.

*

Despite the bad series, the Yankees are 46-30, which is the best record in the American League, with the regular season about 47 percent complete. They lead the AL Eastern Division by 2 games, over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Toronto Blue Jays are 8 1/2 back, the Baltimore Orioles are 10 1/2 back, and the Boston Red Sox are 14 1/2 back. Cliché Alert: In the all-important loss column, the Rays trail by 1, the Jays 9, the O's 12, and the Sox 14.

Rodríguez has, rightly, been sent back down. So have Bird and backup catcher J.C. Escarra. Catcher Austin Wells has been reinstated from the Injured List. As for other notable injuries:

* Trent Grisham: Boone says he's "performing light on-field agility exercises," and, "We're really encouraged by how well he's doing." He could be back by July 1.

* Giancarlo Stanton: An MRI on June 15 showed an injury setback. He might return sometime in July, but don't expect him back before the All-Star Break.

* Max Fried: Had a bullpen session on June 19. Boone said he might resume facing hitters by the end of June, or early in July. Presumably, that means a minor-league rehab appearance. Two weeks, plus 4 minor-league starts, would put his return at around the early-to-mid-20s in July.

* Clarke Schmidt: Had a bullpen session on June 17. Boone said he is "a couple of weeks out" from facing hitters. This sounds like the same schedule as Fried.

* Aaron Judge: Will be reevaluated on July 17, which is the 1st day back after the All-Star Break. That doesn't mean he'll be reinstated that day, only that they'll check his recovery process. If he's back before August 1, I will be surprised.

* Luis Gil: Resumed throwing on June 14. Expected back in August.

The Yankees have hit the road, and begin a series against the Tigers in Detroit tonight.

Yankees Blow Citi Series; Happy 80th, Reggie

The Yankees should have swept this Citi Series at Citi Field. At the very least, taken 2 out of 3. After all, the Mets are the worst team in baseball.

That's right: "Citi Series." It's not a "Subway Series" unless it's a World Series. If you had been around in 1957, and had called a regular-season series between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers a "Subway Series," they would have agreed on 3 things: New York is the greatest city in the world, they hate the Yankees, and you're nuts.

The Yankees got off to the right start on Friday night, as Cam Schlittler allowed just 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks through 6 2/3rds innings, striking out 9. He was backed by a home run from Ben Rice. Rice and Jazz Chisholm each got 3 hits, and Chisholm had 2 RBIs.

There was kind of a worrying moment in the 9th, when the Yankees' alleged closer, David Bednar, allowed a run. But it was still Yankees 5, Mets 2, about what we expected.

But the Saturday night game did not go well. Carlos Rodón was clearly taken off the Injured List too soon, as he didn't get out of the 4th inning. And each of the next 3 Yankee pitchers -- Jake Bird, Brent Headrick and Tim Hill -- allowed a run.

Getting hits wasn't the problem: The Yankees got 9 of them, plus 3 walks. The problem was getting hits with runners on base. Trent Grisham singled Chisholm home in the 2nd inning, and Anthony Volpe walked to put 2 men on. But Austin Wells, who is really struggling, struck out to end the inning. Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt singled in the 3rd, but were stranded when Chisholm struck out.

Goldschmidt singled Rice home in the 5th, moving Cody Bellinger to 2nd base, but, again, Chisholm struck out to end it. Amed Rosario led off the 6th with a double, and Volpe walked again to put a 2nd man on with 1 out, but they couldn't be brought around.

Judge led off the 7th with a double, and Bellinger brought him home with a long fly that Met right fielder Carson Benge botched. Goldschmidt was hit with a pitch, and Chisholm bunted his way on, loading the bases with nobody out. This should have been a humiliating inning for the Mets.

Instead, it was a humiliating inning for the Yankees. Met manager Carlos Mendoza brought in Luke Weaver, a reliever who had washed out with the Yankees. He struck Rosario out. He struck Grisham out. He got Volpe to ground into a force play. Bases loaded, nobody out, and the Yankee were held scoreless -- by Luke Weaver.

Wells led off the 8th with a single, but Rice grounded into a double play. And another reliever not good enough for the Yankees, Devin Williams, sent them down 1-2-3 in the 9th. Mets 6, Yankees 3. A disgraceful last 3 innings.

Yesterday afternoon was looking pretty good for a while. Rice hit another homer. Elmer Rodriguez had allowed just 1 run over the 1st 4 innings. But he started the bottom of the 5th by hitting Benge with a pitch. He then got Bo Bichette out. He had only thrown 64 pitches. So the right thing to do would have been to let him keep pitching.

Aaron Boone did not do the right thing. He brought in Ryan Yarbrough, who finished the inning with no runs. The Yankees scored 4 runs in the top of the 6th, with the Mets helping them with 2 walks, a hit-by-pitch and an error. But Yarbrough gave 2 runs back in the bottom of the 6th. Volpe walked with the bases loaded in the 7th, making it 6-3 Yankees.

Bednar took the mound for the bottom of the 9th. All he had to do was get 3 outs while allowing 2 or fewer runs. But he gave up singles to Benge and Bichette. When Juan Soto and his $800 million (or whatever the amount turns out to be) grounded into a fielder's choice, and Mark Vientos struck out, it looked like we were worrying for nothing.

But Bednar served one up to Tyrone Taylor. It screamed down the left field line, just fair, a game-tying home run. For the rest of their lives, Met fans will talk about The Tyrone Taylor Game, a rare highlight in a miserable season. It will be on SNY's Mets Classics before long.

Even with the "ghost runner," the Yankees couldn't score in the top of the 10th, with Wells grounding into a double play. And then Boone brought Tim Hill in. Hill allowed a bunt single to A.J. Ewing, and hit Luis Torrens with a pitch. The bases were loaded with nobody out. Boone brought the infield in, to get the play at the plate. Benge grounded deep to short. Volpe was able to get to it, but he was now too far back to make the play anywhere. Ghost runner Marcus Semien scored the winning run.

Don't tell me Derek Jeter would have gotten the job done: He would have gotten to the ball, and he might have gotten a throw off, but, at best, he would have gotten the force at 2nd, and the winning run still would have scored.

Mets 7, Yankees 6. The Other Team took the series. Sure, they were at home, and the Yankees have injury issues, so the Mets should have taken the series. On the other hand, the Mets also have injury issues, and they're the Mets, and we're the Yankees, so the Yankees should have taken the series.

*

The Yankees lost 7 of 9 on the roadtrip. Save your Star Trek jokes. They are now 28-19, a pace for 96-66. They are 3 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, 4 in (Cliché Alert) the All-Important Loss Column.

Rodón is not ready. Luis Gil is not ready, and is back in the minor leagues. Max Fried is now on the Injured List. Gerrit Cole is still not back. Giancarlo Stanton is on the Injured List, and we don't know when he's coming back.

Ryan McMahon has an on-base percentage of .258; Wells, .292; Grisham, .293; Rosario, .310; Chisholm, .312. Remember, those are on-base percentages, not batting averages.

Bullpen WHIPs: Paul Blackburn 1.554, Bednar 1.550, Fernando Cruz 1.368, Bird 1.364, Headrick 1.286, Yarbrough 1.140, Doval 1.038, Hill 0.857. Those last 3 look pretty good, but I don't trust any of them.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a home series with those pesky Toronto Blue Jays. They had better do some winning.

If not for me, then for Reggie Jackson. It is the Yankee Legend's 80th Birthday.

A recent photo of Reggie, with Giants quarterback

Russell Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara

I want him to see one more Yankee World Series win. Hell, I want every Yankee Fan to see one more. This isn't about me: I've seen 7, but there's a whole generation of Yankee Fans who aren't old enough to remember one.

Yankees Overcome Replacements to Mess With Texas

The Yankees played a 3-game midweek series at home against the Texas Rangers. Once again, they messed with Texas.

On Tuesday night, Elmer Rodríguez made his 2nd major league start. He didn't get out of the 5th inning, showing that he's not ready. Brent Headrick had to finish the 5th, and pitch the 6th. He ended up as the winning pitcher.

Starting out down 3-0, the Yankees got a run in the 1st inning, and Ryan McMahon tied it with a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning. Jazz Chisholm hit a home run in the 6th, and Cody Bellinger hit a 2-run double in the 7th. Paul Goldschmidt homered in the 8th, his 374th career home run. The Yankees won, 7-4.

Will Warren had been pitching surprisingly well, going 4-0, before Wednesday night. He simply didn't have it, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings. In contrast, the Rangers started Nathan Eovaldi, the starting pitcher that Brian Cashman gave up on after the 2016 season. Since returning to the majors in 2018, he has always driven the Yankees crazy. This time, he went 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, the run coming on a home run by Aaron Judge.

It was the 383rd of his career, passing Frank Howard, Jim Rice and Ryan Howard on the all-time list. Next up is Harold Baines with 384. But it wasn't enough: Rangers 6, Yankees 1.

The Wednesday afternoon game started out badly. Ben Rice missed another game with a bruised hand. Then, David Weathers had to be scratched as the starting pitcher due to illness. So Paul Blackburn, usually a reliever, started the game.

Then on the 1st play of the game, Jasson Domínguez made a great catch of a drive hit by former Met Brandon Nimmo. But he crashed into the left field wall, and will be on the Injured List for "at least a few weeks" after an MRI revealed a low-grade sprain of his left AC joint.

So Cody Bellinger was moved from right field to left field, Amed Rosario was moved from 3rd base to right field, and Ryan McMahon was put at 3rd base, replacing Domínguez in the 6th slot in the batting order. Judge was the DH, and the Yankees didn't want to give up the DH, so Judge didn't go to right field. And, since Rosario was playing 3rd instead of shortstop, Max Schuemann was playing shortstop instead of Anthony Volpe.

So now, the only Yankees in their preferred positions were Paul Goldschmidt at 1st base, Jazz Chisholm at 2nd base, and Trent Grisham in center field.

 And here's what Blackburn gave up: The aforementioned long fly ball, a walk to Ezequiel Duran, who was then caught stealing 2nd, a walk to Corey Seager, he hit Josh Jung with a pitch, and got Joc Pederson to ground out. He did not go back out for the 2nd inning: It was determined that he, too, was injured. So, without warning, this became a "bullpen game."

The new pitcher was Brendan Beck, making his major league debut. At the age of 27. And a half. Not a good sign: Most pitchers who are going to make it do so younger than that. He was born during the Yankees' 1998 American League Division Series win -- over the Rangers. He's a righthander from the San Diego area, and a Stanford graduate.

Wearing Number 89, he pitched 3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks, with 1 strikeout. Not a good performance. Basically, all he did was eat innings.

I can hear the late, great John Sterling now: "You know, Suzyn (Waldman), you just can't predict baseball." And I can also hear the late, great Phil Rizzuto: "I tell ya, Bill White, this is unbelievable, this is givin' me agita. Holy cow."

Fortunately, the Yankee bullpen did the job the rest of the way: Tim Hill, Headrick, Jake Bird and Camilo Doval pitched 5 scoreless innings.

And the Yankees unloaded the lumber. Goldschmidt and Bellinger both hit triples in the 1st inning, to make it 1-0 Yankees. Duran tied it with a home run in the 3rd, and gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with an RBI groundout in the 4th.

Then came the bottom of the 6th. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Bellinger led off with a walk. Then came a single by Rosario, a popup by Chisholm, a walk by McMahon, a double by Grisham, a strikeout by Schuemann, a single by J.C. Escarra, a walk by Goldschmidt, a single by Judge, and a single by Bellinger. 7-2 Yankees.

Schuemann, a 28-year-old utility infielder from Derek Jeter's hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, played with the Athletics the last 2 seasons. He doubled home a run in the 7th. McMahon singled home a run in the 8th. Headrick was named the winning pitcher.

Despite a rough start, the Yankees won, 9-2, taking the series from the Rangers, and going 6-1 on the homestand. They are 26-12, half a game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, and tied with the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs for the best record in baseball.

Today, the Yankees called up Spencer Jones, their 6-foot-7 slugging prospect, to replace Domínguez on the roster. And they have gone on a roadtrip, starting with a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Come on you Bombers!

Yankees Mess With Texas, Enter May In 1st Place

The Yankees had to go to Boston to play the Red Sox? Then to Houston to play the Astros? Then to the suburbs of Dallas to play the Texas Rangers? Tough roadtrip.

Well, we took Seven of Nine. For those teams, resistance was futile.

Yes, that was a Star Trek joke in a blog post about the Yankees. It might not have been the logical thing to do, but it was the human thing to do.

On Monday night, the Yankees began that series at Globe Life Field (not to be confused with the Rangers' previous stadium, now named Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, Rangers Ballpark, Ameriquest Field and simply The Ballpark), and turned it, like the do any stadium, into "a little league field." Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm hit home runs, to support 6 shutout innings by Max Fried. The Yankees ended up winning, 4-2.

Tuesday night was a battle between young Yankee sensation Cam Schlittler and former Met "legend" Jacob deGrom, recipient of the two least-earned Cy Young Awards of all time. Cody Bellinger doubled Aaron Judge home in the 1st inning. That would be the only run either man allowed.

In the top of the 7th, with deGrom relieved by Jalen Beeks, Austin Wells hit a home run. Brent Headrick worked in and out of trouble for the Yankees. Fernando Cruz did the same in the 8th. Judge hit a home run in the 9th, the 380th of his career, to surpass Orlando Cepeda and Tony Pérez with 379 on the all-time list. Next up: Albert Belle at 381.

And that "insurance run" turned out to be crucial: David Bednar did his best Aroldis Chapman -- or Boone Logan, or Scott Proctor, or Kyle Farnsworth -- impression in the bottom of the 9th, letting the Rangers get to within 3-2, before he finally slammed the door.

On Wednesday afternoon, Elmer Rodríguez, a 22-year-old righthanded pitcher from Puerto Rico, made his major league debut. Wearing Number 71, he went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 3. Presuming neither Gerrit Cole, nor Carlos Rodón, nor Clarke Schmidt comes off the Injured List in the next week (as seems likely), Rodríguez will probably get at least one more start before he gets sent back to Class AAA Scranton. The bullpen did well, allowing just 1 run over the last 5 innings.

But what may well be Brian Cashman's dumbest transaction as Yankee general manager came back to bite him, and us, again: Releasing Nathan Eovaldi after the 2016 season. Eovaldi allowed just 4 hits, and the Yankees never got going, losing to the Rangers, 3-0.

In spite of this last game, not only did the Yankees go 7-2 on the roadtrip, but they took 2 out of 3 in both Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex." They messed with Texas.

They leave April and enter May 20-11, with the best record in the American League. In the AL Eastern Division, they are a game and a half ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 5 ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, 6 ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, and 8 ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

They had yesterday off, and tonight, they open a homestand with a weekend 3-gamer against the Orioles. Their manager, Craig Albernaz -- a former catcher who never reached the majors, and previously coached for Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Cleveland -- has not yet selected his starters for any of the games. Aaron Boone has selected Will Warren for tonight, first pitch 7:05 PM; Ryan Weathers for tomorrow, at 1:35; and Max Fried for Sunday, at 1:35, with all games to be broadcast on the YES Network.

Meanwhile, on this May 1, with the worst record in baseball, the Mets might want to shout, "Mayday!"

This photo, from their 14-2 loss to the Washington Nationals

on Wednesday night, sums up their season so far.