Cashman's Pitching Philosophy Costs Yanks Another Win

Why?

The Yankees began a roadtrip last night, taking on the Chicago White Sox at the new Comisk-- I mean, U.S. Cellu-- I mean, Guaranteed Rate Field.

J.A. Happ started for the Yankees, and our old friend Ivan Nova for the South Siders. Didi Gregorius led off the top of the 2nd with a single, and Gleyber Torres added another. Brett Gardner moved the runners over on a fielder's choice. With Clint Frazier up, Nova threw a wild pitch, scoring Gregorius. Frazier then singled to score Gardner.

With 2 out in the top of the 4th, Torres singled, and Gardner hit a home run. For a guy who's supposedly washed up, he is hitting pretty well.

Happ took that 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 5th, and then fell apart. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Happ walked Yolmer Sanchez. Ryan Cordell singled. Leury Garcia doubled Sanchez home. And then he served up a home run to Tim Anderson. Tie ballgame. As they would say in English soccer, "Four-nil, and we fucked it up!"

Tommy Kahnle pitched a scoreless 6th. The right thing to do would have been to leave him in for the 7th. Instead, Aaron Boone once again followed the orders of Brian Cashman -- who, clearly, is the real manager of the New York Yankees -- and took the pitcher who was pitching well out, and brought in another pitcher. This was Adam Ottavino. The 1st batter he faced was Leury Garcia. Home run.

That was ballgame: White Sox 5, Yankees 4. WP: Evan Marshall (2-0). SV: Aaron Bummer (1). LP: Ottavino (2-2).

The ChiSox reliever may have the name, but I think we all know who the "bummer" is: Cashman, whose pitching philosophy has cost the Yankees so much over the last 10 years.

The series continues tonight. CC Sabathia makes his 4th attempt at his 250th career win, while the Pale Hose start Lucas Giolito.

Yankees Win With "Small Ball" -- Which Cashman Forgot Works

Yesterday's game at Yankee Stadium II, between the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox, had a little something for everybody.

For general manager Brian Cashman, it had a home run by Aaron Judge.

For every actual Yankee Fan on the planet, it had what brought the Yankees so many wins in the late 1990s and early 2000s: Great pitching (both starting and relief) and "small ball." Cashman has forgotten that, but, last night, the Yankees really did "party like it's 1999."

CC Sabathia returned from injury (and suspension), and made his 1st start of the season. He sure didn't pitch like a man closing in on his 39th birthday: In the 1st 5 innings, he allowed just 1 baserunner, a single by Jose Rondon in the 3rd. No other hits, no walks, no hit batters, no runs. He was brilliant.

Naturally, manager Aaron Boone was under orders to only pitch him 5 innings. I sort-of understand it, but when a pitcher is cruising, you should let him cruise. Overusing the bullpen has doomed the Yankees ever since Joe Torre used Mariano Rivera for too many 2-inning saves in the 2001 postseason.

But the brilliance didn't stop with CC. Domingo German, fantastic in his 1st 2 starts of the season, effectively took CC's place in the rotation again, throwing 2 perfect innings. Zack Britton threw a perfect 8th. Aroldis Chapman threw a perfect 9th. 28 men up, 27 men down. Aside from that single in the 3rd, it was a perfect game.

And yet, there was another notable Yankee pitcher, pitching nearly equally well. Ivan Nova, stupidly traded away by Cashman in 2016, started for the White Sox, and went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5. If CC had given us that, or if Nova was still with us and had given us that, I would have gladly taken it.

The Yankees stranded 2 runners in the 1st, had a leadoff runner erased on a double play in the 4th, and stranded another runner in the 5th. But the 7th was the breakout inning. Gleyber Torres led off with a single. White Sox manager Rick Renteria panicked, and replaced Nova with Jace Fry. Big mistake: Greg Bird grounded to 2nd, where Yolmer Sanchez botched what should have been a double play. Clint Frazier singled to short right, loading the bases with nobody out.

Luke Voit followed with another infield single, which scored Torres. Kyle Higashioka flew to right, which scored Bird. Tyler Wade laid down a sacrifice bunt, and that got Frazier home. 3-0 Yankees.

Judge added a home run in the 8th. It wasn't a typical Judge blast: It was a short-porcher, just sneaking over the right field wall. According to Statcast and the YES Network, it went 335 feet, and wouldn't have been out of any of the other 29 current MLB parks. But it counts the same, and it finished off the Yankees' best game of the season, ending a 4-game losing streak.

Final score: Yankees 4, White Sox 0. WP: German (3-0), because CC left before the Yankees took the lead. No save. LP: Nova (0-2).

But CC was the story. If the Big Fella, in what he says is his last season, can be a solid pitcher one more time, it will be a huge lift to the Bronx Bombers.

The series concludes this afternoon. Masahiro Tanaka starts against Carlos Rodon. Come on you Pinstripes!

Pirates Party Like It's 1960

Despite the Pittsburgh Pirates wearing pillbox caps, gold jerseys and black pants like their 1979 World Series-winning edition, this weekend's series between them and the Yankees was reminiscent of the 1960 World Series between the same teams: The Yankees won a game in a blowout, but the Pirates won the close games to claim the overall advantage.

1960? The President of the United States was an old Republican -- but Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower was an honest one, who had not only served in the military, but had been the leading general in a war we had to win, and did. He knew how the world worked. Also, cars were better. So was music. Civil rights, not so much.

Rookie Jordan Montgomery started the series finale yesterday, and pitched well again: 6 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits and 2 walks. He deserved a better fate.

But all that hitting the Yankees have done lately abandoned them against the Pirates' starter, former Yankee Ivan Nova. In the 3rd, Montgomery drew a walk. There's no DH in Interleague games in a National League park, and it was literally his 1st major league plate appearance. But he was stranded there.

In the 4th, with 1 out, Jacoby Ellsbury and Starlin Castro singled, but couldn't get home, because Aaron Judge picked a fine time to ground into a double play rather than hit one over 400 feet. Ellsbury led off the top of the 7th with a home run.

In the 8th, after Nova was relieved with Daniel Hudson, Chris Carter singled with 1 out. Brett Gardner's walk got him to 2nd. Pete Kozma was put in to pinch-run for Carter -- after Gardner's walk, which makes no sense, but it didn't make a difference. Chase Headley popped up. Hudson threw a wild pitch to advance Kozma, the tying run, to 3rd base. But Castro struck out.

The Yankees did threaten in the 9th. With 1 out, Judge singled, Matt Holliday walked, and Ronald Torreyes grounded to 2nd, where Josh Harrison made an error, loading the bases. But Tony Watson struck Aaron Hicks out, and got Kozma to ground into a force play to end the game.

Pirates 2, Yankees 1. WP: Nova (2-2). SV: Watson (6). LP: Montgomery (1-1).

*

So, 3 weeks into the 26-week regular season, the American League Eastern Division standings are as follows: The Baltimore Orioles lead the Yankees by a game and a half (2 in the loss column), the Boston Red Sox by 2 (3), the Tampa Bay Rays by 3 1/2 (5), and the Toronto Blue Jays by 7 1/2 (8).

The Yankees have today off, and then, tomorrow night, start yet another series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, all 7:00 PM or thereabout starts. Counting the postseason, these will be the 2,078th, 2,079th and 2,080th meetings between the teams. The Yankees have won 1,081 games, the Red Sox 982, and 14 have officially gone into the record books as ties.

Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tuesday: Luis Severino vs. Rick Porcello.

* Wednesday: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Chris Sale.

* Thursday: CC Sabathia vs. Drew Pomeranz.

Come on you Bombers! Beat The Scum!

*

Hours until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 29, tomorrow night, at 7:00 PM, at Fenway Park.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 2, Wednesday afternoon, at 2:45 (7:45 in the evening, their time), home to Midlands club Leicester City. The defending Premier League Champions have fallen far from their 5,000-to-1 achievement last season. Arsenal beat Manchester City yesterday, to advance to the FA Cup Final for a record 20th time. They will face Chelsea on Saturday, May 27, hoping to win a record 13th Cup.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 5, this Saturday night at 7:30, home to the Chicago Fire. On Saturday, they beat the Columbus Crew 2-0.

Days until the next North London Derby: 6, this Sunday, at 11:30 AM (4:30 PM, their time), at White Hart Lane, for the last time, before Spurs' old stadium us mercifully demolished to make way for the new one.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 12, against the Philadelphia Union, on Saturday, May 6, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. They will next play the New England Revolution on Saturday, May 27, at Red Bull Arena. They will next play a Hudson River Derby against New York City FC on Saturday, June 24, at Red Bull Arena. And they will next play the D.C. Scum on Saturday, September 27, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 45, on Thursday night, June 8, in a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburbs, against Trinidad & Tobago. his game is a must-win.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 130, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. A little over 4 months. This game had been set for the following day, but has been moved back.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, as the 2017 schedule hasn't been released yet. I now know that high school football games have been scheduled in Middlesex County, New Jersey on Friday night, September 8. That's 137 days from now.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: We don't know, as the 2017-18 NHL schedule has yet to be released. The NHL season usually begins on the 2nd Friday in October, which, in 2017, would be... ugh... Friday the 13th. That's 172 days. Under 6 months.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: See the previous answer, although the 1st game isn't likely to be against either the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers.

Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 190, on October 31.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 197, on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. Under 7 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 201, on Saturday, November 11, 2017, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 213, on Thursday morning, November 23, 2017, at 10:00. About 7 months, and thank God it's at home at Jay Doyle's grove, rather than at the purple shit pit on Route 9.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 416, on June 14, 2018. A bit over a year, or a little under 14 months. Has Bruce Arena turned our chances around? Or will Trump ruin them? Maybe, with the tournament on his soil, Putin will tell Trump to tell Bruce Arena to tank the games. Maybe not. Or maybe just if we end up playing Russia. I don't think Arena will listen. I hope his life insurance is paid up, because Putin kills people.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing some of those wonderful "prospects" for whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman threw away a chance at the 2016 Playoffs: 495. Of course, we could end up seeing one or more of them sooner than that, but since most of them are at Double-A Trenton now, if that, who's kidding who?

Days until the next Congressional election: 561, on November 6, 2018. Under 2 years, or a little under 19 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 625, on January 9, 2019. Under 2 years, or 21 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 990, on January 8, 2020. Under 3 years, or 33 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,184, on July 24, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or exactly 39 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,286, on November 3, 2020. Under 4 years, or under 43 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,364, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 4 years, or a little under 45 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not Donald Trump. Mike Pence wouldn't be better, just differently bad.

Bullpen-Decimated Yanks Swept In Tampa Bay

"I don't know what I'm doing, but I work for Hal Steinbrenner,

not George, so I can never be fired!"

As Brian Cashman was busy trading Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, 2 of the 5 best relief pitchers in baseball, for the pathetic failure Adam Warren and 7 guys who may never see the major leagues, the Yankees went down to St. Petersburg for a 3-game weekend series with the last-place Tampa Bay Rays, a team from whom even a weak-hitting, bullpen-decimated Yankee squad should have taken at least 1 game.

Friday night: Ivan Nova falls behind 2-0 in the 1st inning, and 3-0 in the 3rd, and it feels like the game is lost. The Yankees got 10 hits, but only 1 run. Unacceptable.

Rays 5, Yankees 1. WP: Jake Odorizzi (5-5). SV: Alex Colome (23). LP: Nova (7-6).

Saturday night: Nathan Eovaldi didn't pitch badly, but he threw 104 pitches in 6 innings, and Joe Girardi didn't trust him to pitch the 7th. And because of Cashman's idiotic trades, Girardi no longer had Dellin Betances to pitch the 7th and set up for Miller in the 8th and Chapman in the 9th, so he put in Anthony Swarzak, and the game was put out of reach.

Rays 6, Yankees 3. WP: Drew Smyly (3-11 -- that's right, the Yankees lost to a pitcher who came into the game 2-11). SV: Colome (24). LP: Eovaldi (9-7).

Sunday afternoon: Michael Pineda was fine for 3 innings. Then he fell apart. Carlos Beltran hit his 22nd home run of the season -- and maybe his last as a Yankee -- but it wasn't enough.

Rays 5, Yankees 3. WP: Blake Snell (3-4). SV: Colome (25). LP: Pineda (5-10).

*

The Yankees are 52-52. There are 58 games left. They have no more bullpen. They may be about to trade their only 2 reliable hitters (Beltran and Brian McCann).

Tonight, we're gonna party like it's 1966. Except Alex Rodriguez is no Mickey Mantle, and CC Sabathia is no Whitey Ford. (Not anymore, at least.)

And now... we have to play 4 games against the Mets! Who just got proactive instead of radioactive, and traded for National League RBIs leader Jay Bruce. True, he could turn out to be the next Jason Bay. He could also turn out to be the next Mike Piazza, minus the steroids and the stupid mustache!

This could be the longest week of our baseball lives.

Cold Bats, Girardi Blow It For Yanks Again

I'm going to have to retitle this blog "A Song of Ice and Fire Joe Girardi."

When you hold your opponents to 2 runs over the 1st 20 innings of a series, you should at least win the 1st 2 games, right?

The Yankees have done that in this series. And it hasn't worked out that way.

Ivan Nova started for the Yankees against the San Francisco Giants yesterday, and was fantastic. He went 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 7. He should have been allowed to stay in the game.

But Girardi looked in his binder, and saw that the still-cruising Nova had thrown 96 pitches, and removed him.

At first, it looked like a good decision: Andrew Miller pitched a perfect 8th, Aroldis Chapman kept the Giants from scoring in the 9th and the 10th, and Dellin Betances -- despite a near-wild pitch on an intentional walk that only failed to lose the game because Angel Pagan, on 3rd base, didn't take enough of a lead and couldn't score -- pitched a scoreless 11th. At which point, it was still 1-1.

But when you're the Yankees, in Yankee Stadium with that short porch in right field, you should score more than 1 run in 11 innings. (That they scored only 3 runs in 21 innings in these 2 games is atrocious, even if they did win the 1st game.)

But aside from a Mark Teixeira single and a Mark Williamson error in right field that got Didi Gregorius home in the 4th inning, the Yankees got nothing. They loaded the bases with 1 out in the 11th, and got nothing. Credit the Giants' pitching, sure, but the Yankees should still do better than that.

Girardi brought Anthony Swarzak in to pitch the top of the 12th, and he allowed a leadoff double by Trevor Brown. After getting a groundout, he allowed a game-winning single to Mac Williamson (whose home run off Nova scored the Giants' 1st run).

The Yankees, of course, went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 12th. Giants 2, Yankees 1. WP: Santiago Casilla (2-3). SV: Hunter Strickland (2). LP: Swarzak (1-1).

I don't blame Swarzak. The Yankees should have gotten more than 1 run, more than 9 hits, in 11 innings, to prevent a 12th inning loss.

Blame this one on the cold bats, and blame it on Giardi and his damn binder. They combined to blow it, again.

The series concludes this afternoon. Nathan Eovaldi starts against Johnny Cueto. Girardi has already said he won't use Betances, Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman today, due to his recent bullpen fuckups. Of course, once Eovaldi reaches 95 pitches, Girardi will panic, and go to the bullpen. Who will it be? Chasen Shreve? Nick Goody? Thank God it won't be Boone Logan, but don't be surprised if the Yankees are close through 6 innings and get blown out thereafter.

Also, rumors are running rampant that Aroldis Chapman is going to be traded. Don't believe them: There is no one the Yankees could get that would equal the value of a lockdown closer. Brian Cashman is short-sighted, but he's not that stupid.

Mike Piazza is inducted into the Hall of Fame today. First time a known steroid user goes in. So I guess it's safe to let David Ortiz in? Fine, but what about Alex Rodriguez? Or Andy Pettitte, whose offense was trivial by comparison? Or Mike Mussina, who was totally clean?

Ken Griffey Jr. also goes in. As far as we know, he was clean.

Yanks Take 1st Game of Big Series with O's

Last night, the Yankees began their biggest series of the season thus far, a 4-game home series with the 1st place Baltimore Orioles. It was time to find out: Can the Yankees get back into the American League Playoff race, or is this when we finally get proven to be not good enough?

In the 2nd inning, Alex Rodriguez, who's been so quiet for so long as he approaches his 41st birthday, hit a home run off Oriole starter Kevin Gausman. It was his 9th of the season, and the 696th of his career. That's 4 more to 700, 18 to catch Babe Ruth, 59 to catch Hank Aaron, and 66 to catch Barry Bonds. (Yeah, those last 2 are not gonna happen. Even catching the Babe is by no means certain.)

(UPDATE: Little did we know that Number 696 would be the last home run of A-Rod's career.)

The Orioles got a run back in the top of the 3rd, but Brett Gardner led off the bottom of the inning with a single. After Jacoby Ellsbury popped up, Carlos Beltran singled Gardner over to 3rd. Brian McCann flew to center, and that brought Gardner home.

The Yankee pitching went according to plan. Ivan Nova gave us 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks. Dellin Betances pitched a scoreless 7th. Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 8th. And Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless 9th.

If you had told me before the game that the Yankees would get just 2 runs on 7 hits, with Ivan Nova starting, I would have guessed that we would lose. We did not. Yankees 2, Orioles 1. WP: Nova (7-5). SV: Chapman (19). LP: Gausman (1-7).

The Yankees are back to .500, 46-46. They are 7 1/2 games behind the O's, 8 in the loss column. They are 5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, 4 in the loss column, for the 2nd AL Wild Card spot.

The series continues tonight. Nathan Eovaldi starts against Vance Worley. Come on you Bombers!

After Further Review, Maybe the Yankees Have a Chance

The Yankees started a 4-game series against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field last night, and they badly needed a win.

Ivan Nova fell 2-0 behind in the bottom of the 3rd inning, but settled down after that, allowing a total of 4 runs on 5 hits, but no walks, in 5 1/3rd innings. After that, No Runs DMC took over: Dellin Betances got the last 2 outs in the 6th and all 3 in the 7th, Andrew Miller pitched a perfect 8th, and Aroldis Chapman took the mound for the 9th.

But you gotta score. Didi Gregorius hit a home run in the top of the 5th. This was followed by singles by Chase Headley and Rob Refsnyder, a popup by Jacoby Ellsbury, and a game-tying single by Brett Gardner.

In the top of the 6th, Starlin Castro and Gregorius singled, and then Headley did so, and Castro tried to score. He was called out. But Joe Girardi challenged the call, and, after further review, the video replay showed that both Castro's foot and hand touched the plate before the tag was put on him. 3-2 Yankees.

Refsnyder then hit a sacrifice fly to score Gregorius, and Ellsbury singled home Headley. 5-2 Yankees.

But in the bottom of the inning, Nova faltered, and it was 5-4 before Girardi brought Betances in an inning earlier than he'd hoped.

In the 9th, Chapman came on for the save, but he did the one thing you never want to do in that situation: He walked the leadoff man, former Red Sox pain in the ass Mike Napoli. He got a strikeout, but allowed a single to Juan Uribe.

Now, the tying and winning runs were on. He got a lineout, but Tyler Naquin grounded to Mark Teixeira at 1st base, and Teix mishandled it. It went to Castro, who threw to Chapman for the last out, but Naquin was ruled safe. Bases loaded, 2 out.

Girardi challenged again. Again, the replay shows that the initial call was wrong: Chapman's foot was on the bag when he got the ball.

Ballgame over. Yankees win. 5-4. WP: Nova (6-5). SV: Chapman (17). LP: Trevor Bauer (7-3).

As bad as they looked in the 1st half of this season, maybe the Yankees have a chance at the Playoffs after all.

The series continues tonight. Chad Green starts for the Bronx Bombers, Corey Kluber for the Tribe.

Green's Light, Teix's 400th & 401st Salvage Finale In San Diego

The Yankees flew out to San Diego for a weekend Interleague series with the San Diego Padres. The Friday night game did not go their way. For the 4th straight game, Nathan Eovaldi, who'd been so good the last year and a half, was terrible. He allowed 4 runs in the 1st 2 innings, 6 in less than 5, and the Yankees never recovered.

Brian McCann hit his 13th home run of the season, and Didi Gregorius had 2 hits including an RBI double, and Conor Mullee and Anthony Swarzak both pitched well in relief. (Although Richard Bleier did not.) It wasn't enough: Padres 7, Yankees 6. WP: Colin Rea (5-3). SV: Brandon Maurer (1). LP: Eovaldi (6-6).

The Saturday game was an old-fashioned pitching duel -- or it would have been, if Joe Girardi and Andy Green weren't such scaredy-cats when it comes to pitch counts. Ivan Nova and Drew Pomeranz should have taken it deep into the game, but neither really did. Pomeranz left after 7, but Green, just 38 and the youngest manager in the majors (and not to be confused with New Jersey Devils captain Andy Greene) took him out after 7 innings and 92 pitches. Girardi took Nova out in the 6th, having thrown only 77, and having allowed just 1 run on 4 hits and a walk, striking out 7.

Girardi brought in Dellin Betances, who got out of a jam, and pitched a scoreless 7th. A leadoff double by Jacoby Ellsbury in the top of the 6th, 1 of only 6 hits the Yankees got, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Brett Gardner and a Starlin Castro groundout, kept it 1-1 into the 8th.

Had Girardi stuck with Nova, Betances might have been able to pitch the 8th. Instead, he sent Andrew Miller out there, and kept him there for the 9th, instead of bringing on Aroldis Chapman, who hadn't pitched the night before. Miller pitched to 1 batter in the 9th: Melvin Upton Jr. Home run. Yankees lose. Another game thrown away by Girardi's idiotic bullpen moves.

Padres 2, Yankees 1. WP: Brad Hand (2-2). No save. LP: Miller (5-1).

*

So the Yankees really needed to win the Sunday game. Rookie Chad Green started for the Yankees, and he got the job done: 6 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, no walks, 8 strikeouts. Talk about a "Green Light."

The run he allowed was a home run by brief Yankee sensation Yangervis Solarte. Oh well.

Gregorius hit a home run, his 9th of the season. Mark Teixeira hit 2 home runs, his 6th and 7th of the season, and the 400th and 401st home runs of his career.

Betances pitched a scoreless 7th. Miller redeemed himself with a scoreless 8th. But Girardi looked in his damn binder, and it said, "Don't put your closer in with a 5-run lead." Well, he put Swarzak in, and soon the lead was down to 3 runs. He brought Chapman in, and that ended it.

Yankees 6, Padres 3. WP: Green (1-1). SV: Chapman (16). LP: Andrew Cashner (3-6).

*

So, at the numerical halfway mark of the season, the Yankees are 40-41, 7 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the lead in the American League Eastern Division, and 3 1/2 behind the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd AL Wild Card.

Things have to get better. Today, the Yankees begin a series away to the similarly (42-40) struggling Chicago White Sox.

Come on you Bombers! Let's see some fireworks -- and not from U.S. Cellular Field's exploding scoreboard, but from you, the visitors!

Yanx Split With Rox Thanx to Castro Walx Off

As they did last week in Denver, the Yankees had a brief 2-game series with the Colorado Rockies, this time in New York. As they did last week, they split the series.

Ivan Nova started on Tuesday night, and was ineffective, allowing 6 runs (5 of them earned) in only 4 innings. Nick Goody tacked on 2 more runs to put the game out of reach. Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, Didi Gregorius and Rob Refsnyder each had 2 hits, to no avail.

Rockies 8, Yankees 4. WP: Chad Bettis (6-5). No save. LP: Nova (5-5).

*

The situation did not call for the dreaded D-GANG, Day Game After Night Game. But that's what the Yankees had on Wednesday afternoon. CC Sabathia started, and the Yankees gave him a 4-0 cushion in the 2nd inning, thanks to a grand slam by the much-maligned Chase Headley, his 4th home run of the season.

But the Big Fella couldn't hold it. Over the next 3 innings, he and Anthony Swarzak allowed 8 runs. No Runs DMC pitched perfect ball after that -- Dellin Betances in the 7th, Andrew Miller in the 8th, and Aroldis Chapman in the 9th -- just as it was planned. But no one planned on trailing 8-4 going into the bottom of the 7th.

Except Refsnyder led off the inning by reaching base on that rare baseball play, catcher's interference. The Rockies' catcher was Nick Hundley, no relation to former Met Todd and his father, former Cub Randy, although they were also catchers.

After Jacoby Ellsbury flew out, Gardner singled, and Beltran hit a home run, his 19th of the season. 8-7 Rockies. Alex Rodriguez was robbed on a fine defensive play, but Brian McCann hit a ground-rule double down the right-field line. Starlin Castro singled, but since McCann, to borrow Reggie Jackson's line about Lou Piniella, runs like a dump truck, he had to stop at 3rd base. Didi singled McCann home.

Castro was the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 9th, and he assured there would be no others. For the 1st time this season, the Yankees had a walkoff home run. It was Castro's 10th homer of the season.

Yankees 9, Rockies 8. WP: Chapman (1-0). No save. LP: Jason Motte (0-1).

*

The Yankees are now 35-36, 6 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Eastern Division. They are not gaining ground, but the Orioles aren't pulling away, either. As inconsistent as the Yankees have been, they are still in it. With 3 months to go, 6 games is not a big deal.

As they did last week, for 4 games in Minneapolis, the Yankees start a weekend series with the seriously struggling Minnesota Twins, this time for 3 games in The Bronx. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight, 7:05 PM: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Tommy Milone.

* Tomorrow, 1:05 PM: Michael Pineda vs. Ervin Santana.

* Sunday, 1:05 PM: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Tyler Duffy.

*

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 1, tomorrow night at 7:30, away to the Columbus Crew. This comes after a shocking late loss away to Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 1, tomorrow night, at 8:00 PM Eastern Time, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, against Colombia in the 3rd place game of the Copa America Centenario. The Final will be the next day, at the Meadowlands, between Argentina and Chile. After this, the next game for the U.S. team will be on September 2, as part of CONCACAF's qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 21, on Friday, July 15, the 1st series after the All-Star Break, at Yankee Stadium II. Just 3 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 23, on Sunday night, July 17, against the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium (formerly PPL Park) in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City F.C. (a.k.a. Man City NYC, Man City III, Small Club In Da Bronx and The Homeless) is on Sunday afternoon, July 3, at Yankee Stadium II -- although after the greatest humiliation any MLS team has ever endured, that 7-0 defeat in The Bronx last weekend, I wonder if NYCFC (now 0-4 all-time against RBNY) will even want to show up. The next game against D.C. United (a.k.a. The DC Scum) is on Sunday night, August 21, at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. The next game against the New England Revolution is on Sunday night, August 28, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Days until The Arsenal play at the opponents in the 2016 Major League Soccer All-Star Game: 34, on Thursday night, July 28, at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California, home of the San Jose Earthquakes. Just 5 weeks.  Three days later, The Arsenal will play C.D. Guadalajara (a.k.a. Chivas), one of the biggest clubs in Mexico, at the StubHub Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, in Carson, California. This will be just 2 years after The Arsenal came to America to play the Red Bulls in New Jersey. I was lucky enough to get a ticket and attend that match. I won't be going to either of these: Even if I could get a game ticket, paying for a plane ticket would be tough. And, because of the timing of these games, The Arsenal will not host the no preseason Emirates Cup this year. (They'd held it every year since 2007, except for 2012, canceling it due to the Olympics causing havoc with London's infrastructure.)

Days until the 2016 Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 42, on Friday, August 5. Just 6 weeks.

Days until The Arsenal play another competitive match: 50, on Saturday, August 13, at home to Liverpool. Just 7 weeks. This game could be delayed to Sunday the 14th, or Monday the 15th, depending on the whims of British television executives trying to get big ratings.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 71, on Saturday, September 3, away to the University of Washington, in Seattle. Just 10 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 77, on Friday, September 9, probably away, since, while the 2016 schedule hasn't been released yet, the Big Green opened last season at home.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 111, on Thursday night, October 13, away to the Florida Panthers. Under 4 months. The home opener is 5 days later, on Tuesday night, October 18, against the Anaheim Ducks.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 153, on Thursday morning, November 24, at the purple shit pit on Route 9. Exactly 5 months.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another local rival: 170. Their 1st game this season with the New York Rangers will be on Sunday night, December 11, at Madison Square Garden. Their 1st game this season with the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Thursday night, December 22, at the Prudential Center. By a quirk in the schedule, the New York Islanders, a team they usually play several times a season, don't show up on the slate until Saturday night, February 18, 2017, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the Contract From Hell runs out, and Alex Rodriguez' alleged retirement becomes official: 494, on October 31, 2017, or at the conclusion of the 2017 World Series, if the Yankees make it, whichever comes last. A little over 16 months.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 720, on June 14, 2018. A little under 2 years. The U.S. team will probably qualify for it, but with Jurgen Klinsmann as manager, particularly in competitive matches rather than in friendlies, you never know.

Yankees Have Rocky Mountain Low

If I told you that the Yankees scored 13 runs in 2 games, you'd guess that they won at least 1 of them, right?

Yeah, about that...

On Tuesday night, the Yankees began a brief 2-game series at Coors Field in Denver, against the Colorado Rockies. They scored 10 runs. And lost.

Nathan Eovaldi didn't have it, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings in the thin mountain air. Kirby Yates and Richard Bleier each allowed an additional 3, and Andrew Miller 1 more. That's 13 runs, on 15 hits and 5 walks (1 of them intentional), plus an error and 2 wild pitches. What a mess.

A good pitching performance, or even a half-decent one, and the Yankees would have won it, but they didn't get it. They closed to within 6-3 in the 6th, and hung 7 on the Rox in the 8th to make it 12-10. Didi Gregorious had 2 hits, including a home run, and 3 RBIs. Jacoby Ellsbury, Starlin Castro, Chase Headley and Aaron Hicks also had 2 hits each, and Rob Refsnyder had 3. But the run that Miller allowed in the bottom of the 8th let the air out of the balloon.

Rockies 13, Yankees 10. WP: Jorge De La Rosa (3-4). SV: Carlos Estevez (2). LP: Eovaldi (6-3).

*

So yesterday afternoon, it was a day game after a night game, and that's never a good sign for the Yankees: They nearly always lose those, or so it seems.

Ivan Nova started, and he wasn't much better than Eovaldi, allowing 5 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks in just 5 innings.

The Yankees actually led 2-1 as late as the bottom of the 5th, but Nova fell apart. They got to within 5-3 in the 6th. Again, Gregorius and Hicks had 2 hits apiece. But, once again, one of the Yankees' supposedly solid relievers allowed an 8th inning run that killed the momentum. This time, it was Aroldis Chapman.

Rockies 6, Yankees 3. WP: Chad Bettis (5-5). SV: Estevez (3). LP: Nova (5-4).

*

The Yankees are now 31-34, 6 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox (who are tied with each other) in the American League Eastern Division -- 7 in the loss column. On the other hand, nobody seems to be running away with the Division, either: The Sox and O's are going .578, a 94-win pace. Neither has a "team of destiny" aura about them.

Theoretically, the Yankees are about to catch a break: They're now in Minneapolis to start a 4-game series against the Minnesota Twins, who are only 20-45. In all of MLB, only the Atlanta Braves have a worse record (20-46).

Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tonight, 8:10 PM (7:10 local time): CC Sabathia vs. Kyle Gibson.

* Tomorrow, 8:10 PM: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Pat Dean.

* Saturday, 2:10 PM: Michael Pineda vs. Ricky Nolasco.

* Sunday,  2:10 PM: Eovaldi vs. Ervin Santana.

Come on you Bombers!

Yankees Sweep Angels 4 Straight -- Have They Turned the Corner?

I'll have a memorial post for Gordie Howe later tonight. My trip guide for next weekend's Yankee visit to Minnesota may have to wait until tomorrow.

Have the Yankees snapped out of it yet? They're currently playing better than they have in 4 years -- since the Summer of 2012, before they stopped hitting, and basically didn't start again until a couple of weeks ago.

Ivan Nova started last night, and over the 1st 6 innings, allowed just 1 run, unearned, on 4 hits, a walk, a hit batsman and an error (hence the unearned run). If he's your Number 1 starting pitcher, you've got problems. But if he's your Number 5 starter, you're fine.

The Yankees trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the 5th, but took care of that. Didi Gregorius led off the inning with a walk, and advanced to 2nd base on a Chase Headley groundout. Chris Parmelee, the previous night's hero -- who later had to leave last night's game with an injury -- singled Didi home to tie the score.

Jacoby Ellsbury singled. Brett Gardner walked. Carlos Beltran continued his hot streak by sending a drive to right field, and it bounced into the stands, scoring Parmelee and Ellsbury to give the Yankees the lead. Alex Rodriguez got Gardner home on a sacrifice fly. And Brian McCann doubled home Beltran. 5-1 Yankees.

Joe Girardi once again let the pitch count make his decision for him, and left Nova in to begin the top of the 7th. At first glance, this appeared to be the right thing to do, as Nova was pitching very well. But he allowed a double and a home run, allowing the Angels to close within 2 runs.

So Girardi went to the bullpen, to the combination that some Yankee Fans were calling "The Three-Headed Monster." But Modell's is already printing up T-shirts with their other nickname, based on the Queens rap trio of the 1980s: "NO RUNS DMC." D, Dellin Betances; M, Andrew Miller; C, Aroldis Chapman. (I think calling them "DMC" is a bit of a stretch, but if it excited the fans and doesn't hurt anybody, who am I, a white guy who grew up in the suburbs when Run-DMC were "Tougher Than Leather," to judge?)

Betances got the last 2 outs in the 7th. A Gardner single, a wild pitch, a balk, and an A-Rod double got the Yankees an insurance run. Miller allowed a leadoff single in the 8th, but got the next 3 batters to end that minor threat. Chapman got the 1st 2 outs in the 9th, allowed a double, and then got a strikeout to end the game.

Yankees 6, Angels 3. A 4-game sweep. WP: Nova (5-3). SV: Chapman (11). LP: Jhoulys Chacin (2-4).

*

The Yankees are now back to .500, at 30-30. They are 6 1/2 games behind the American League Eastern Division-leading Baltimore Orioles, 7 in the loss column. My research going back to the start of Divisional Play in 1969 shows that the teams that finish 2nd in the AL East average 92 wins. That means that, more often than not, 93 wins is enough to win the AL East. Therefore, to get to 93 wins, the Yankees will have to go at least 63-42 the rest of the way -- a winning percentage of .618, a 162-game pace for 100 wins.

I'm not going to doubt it at this point. The Yankees look like they really have turned the corner.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 3-game home series with the Detroit Tigers. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight, 7:05 PM: CC Sabathia vs. former Met Mike Pelfrey.

* Tomorrow, 7:15 PM: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Justin Verlander.

* Sunday, 2:05 PM: Michael Pineda vs. Michael Fulmer. This will be Old-Timers' Day, and the ceremonies will begin at 11:30 AM. There has been no announcement of a new Plaque for Monument Park. Then again, on last year's Old-Timers' Day, they announced they were giving one to Willie Randolph, and surprised that other Number 30, Mel Stottlemyre, with one. So if anything is planned, the Yankee brass isn't telling.

Weekend Series In Baltimore a Wet Blanket

The Yankees played a 3-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore this weekend, and a good time was not had by all.

On Friday night, the Yankees hit 3 home runs: Carlos Beltran (his 13th of the season), Alex Rodriguez (his 7th) and Austin Romine (his 2nd).

It wasn't enough: Nathan Eovaldi did not pitch well, Kirby Yates didn't, either, and Dellin Betances finished the bad pitching job in the 7th.

Orioles 6, Yankees 5. WP: Mychal Givens (5-0). SV: Zach Britton (16). LP: Betances (2-3).

*

On Saturday night, they still didn't get good pitching, but, at first, it looked like they would get enough hitting to cover it. There were no home runs in the Baltimore Bandox (not by the Yankees, anyway), but A-Rod and Starlin Castro each got 3 hits, while Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner each got 2. A 4-run 5th inning was the key to victory, or so it seemed. It was 7-0 Yankees going into the bottom of the 7th.

For once, though, Joe Girardi made the opposite of his usual mistake: He left the starting pitcher in too long. Ivan Nova began to fall apart in the 7th, and Nick Goody, brought in to face one batter, didn't get him out. When is Girardi going to realize that this tactic is stupid?

Andrew Miller got all 3 outs in the 7th (since Girardi didn't want to use Betances again), and all 3 in the 8th. Aroldis Chapman finished the win off.

Yankees 8, Orioles 6. WP: Nova (4-3). SV: Chapman (now a perfect 9-for-9 in save opportunities). LP: Tyler Wilson (2-5).

*

Sunday afternoon featured a tense pitching duel between CC Sabathia and Kevin Gausman. With 1 out in the top of the 3rd, Ellsbury singled, advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, and was singled home by A-Rod.

CC kept that 1-0 lead through the 5th. Goody, surprisingly, pitched a perfect 6th. In the top of the 7th, the Yankees had men on 1st & 2nd with 1 out, 2nd & 3rd with 2 out, but didn't score. That would prove to be big.

Girardi brought Betances on to pitch the bottom of the 7th. Why he didn't let CC pitch the 6th, I'll never know, but he blew this one, too. Betances ran into trouble, but got out of it. Still 1-0 Yankees, a most unlikely score at Camden Yards.

Then, in the bottom of the 8th, Girardi left Betances in. Why not bring in Miller? Because he'd pitched Miller for 2 innings 19 hours before. Betances gave up a walk to Mark Trumbo, then a single to Chris Davis. He struck out Nolan Reimold...

And then the rains came. The tarp was put on the field. Those of us old enough to remember 1978 remember Earl Weaver,then managing the Orioles, leaving a waterlogged tarp on long enough to ruin the field and give the Orioles a win over the Yankees.

The delay lasted over an hour and a half. That was no tarp: It was a wet blanket. There was no way Girardi was going to let Betances back out there. But he wasn't going to let Miller take the mound, either. So he sent out his closer, Chapman, to get a 5-out save.

Chapman struck out Jonathan Schoop. But he gave up a single to Francisco Pena, loading the bases. And then Matt Wieters singled to center. And Ellsbury bobbled it. All the runners scored.

Of course, the Yankees went out meekly in the 9th. Orioles 3, Yankees 1. WP: T.J. McFarland (1-1). SV: Britton (17). LP: Betances (2-4), although this is yet another one on Girardi.

*

You can complain all you want about hitters, runners, fielders, starters or relievers not getting the job done. But if Joe Girardi had a clue about handling pitchers (which, as an ex-catcher, he should have), the Yankees would be right up there with the American League leaders.

Instead, 9 weeks into a 26-week MLB season -- more than 1/3rd of the way through -- the Yankees are 26-30, 6 1/2 games behind the 1st-place Orioles, 7 in the loss column.

The Yankees have come home, and begin a series with the Whatever They're Calling Themselves This Season Angels of Anaheim. Here are the projected starting pitching matchups:

* Tonight: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Matt Shoemaker.

* Tomorrow: Michael Pineda vs. former Yankee lefthander David Huff.

* Wednesday: Eovaldi vs. Jered Weaver.

All games are listed as 7:05 PM starts.

Come on you Pinstripes! Snap out of it! And, while you're at it...

GIRARDI OUT!

Yanks Still Can't Beat Pesky Blue Jays; Rick MacLeish, 1950-2016

The Yankees went into a 3-game series away to the Toronto Blue Jays last night, needing to show the defending American League Eastern Division Champions that they were ready to take back what is rightfully theirs, starting with the Division title.

It didn't happen. Ivan Nova fell behind 1-0 in the 1st inning, 3-0 after 3, and 4-0 after 5. Overall, he wasn't terrible, allowing 4 runs in 8 hits and just 1 walk over 6 innings. And, between them, Nick Goody and rookie reliever Richard Bleier pitched 2 perfect innings.

Maybe if the Yankees had backed Nova up with some runs, it would have made the difference. But they didn't. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a single, and drew a walk in the 3rd. Carlos Beltran led off the 4th with a single. Starlin Castro led off the 5th with a walk. But none of them scored.

The Yankees didn't even seriously threaten until the 8th. Again, Castro led off with a walk. After Jays starter Marco Estrada, still in the game, struck out both Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks doubled, but Castro could only get to 3rd base. Not the slightest bit rattled, Estrada got Ellsbury to pop up, ending the threat.

Aaron Loup came on to finish the game off. He hit Beltran with a pitch, and Brian McCann gave the Yankees some home with a home run, his 7th of the season. Drew Storen was brought in to relieve, and he allowed a double to Mark Teixeira -- a rare hit for him lately. Suddenly, with only 1 out, Castro was the tying run.

But Storen got Castro to fly to right, and struck out the now-useless Headley to end it. Jays 4, Yankees 2. WP: Estrada (3-2). SV: Storen (3). LP: Nova (3-3).

The series continues tonight. CC Sabathia starts against J.A. Happ.

Can we have some early runs, Yankees? Please? Before we fall behind 4-0?

*

You can only win the Stanley Cup for the 1st time once. And only 1 man in your team's history can score your 1st-ever Stanley Cup-winning goal.

For the Philadelphia Flyers, that man was Rick MacLeish.

Richard George MacLeish was born on January 3, 1950 in Cannington, Ontario. A center, he played for the Flyers from 1971 to 1981. He scored 50 goals in the 1972-73 season, the 1st Flyer to reach the mark. He nearly did it again, scoring 49 in 1976-77. He scored 349 in his career.

He was a member of their Stanley Cup-winning teams of 1973-74 and 1974-75, and led the team in scoring in the Playoffs both times. On May 19, 1974, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals at The Spectrum, Andre "Moose" Dupont fired a shot at Boston Bruins goalie Gilles Gilbert, and MacLeish redirected it and put it in the net. It was the only goal of the game, as the Flyers won 1-0, taking the series 4 games to 2, and becoming the 1st of the 1967 expansion teams to win the Cup.

He had the hair, he had the mustache, he had the garish clothes.

All that's missing in this otherwise-perfect 1970s photo

is a mirror ball. A lava lamp would suffice.

The Flyers won the Cup again in 1975, beating the Buffalo Sabres in the 1st all-expansion Finals. Injuries kept MacLeish from playing in the next season's Playoffs, and the Flyers reached the Finals for the 3rd straight year, but the "Hat Trick in '76" was not to be, as they got swept by the Montreal Canadiens. They reached the Finals with MacLeish again in 1980, but lost to the New York Islanders.

He was traded to the Hartford Whalers in 1981, and to the Pittsburgh Penguins the next year. He briefly returned to the Flyers for the 1983-84 season, before being traded again, to the Detroit Red Wings, and he closed his career.

He owned and trained racehorses, and continued to play in old-timers' games, before suffering a heart attack in one. He developed diabetes, and died in a Philadelphia hospital yesterday, as meningitis led to kidney and liver failure. He was 66 years old.

UPDATE: His final resting place is not publicly known.

Yanks Drop 2 of 3 to Jays, Face Rays

Just when you thought it was safe to be optimistic about the Yankees again...

They reached .500 by beating those pesky Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, extending their winning streak to 6.

But it would end there. The Wednesday night game was unusual in that the Yankees scored 4 runs and still lost. Chase Headley hit his 3rd home run of the season, and Austin Romine his 1st. But Russell Martin hit 2. This is not a good thing, because he doesn't play for the Yankees anymore. Headley got 1 other hit, and Didi Gregorius got 3. That was all the Yankees got.

Ivan Nova had pitched well lately, but not this time. His strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8-2 was good, but he gave up 4 runs in less than 7 innings. The bullpen was worse: Chasen Shreve and Nick Goody are simply not good enough to pitch in the major leagues.

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 4. WP: Marco Estrada (2-2). No save. LP: Nova (3-2).

*

Yesterday's game was a rare 4:05 PM home start. (A game starting at 4:05 Eastern Time is not surprising if it's on the West Coat, making it 1:05 Pacific.) CC Sabathia pitched very well, going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs, neither of them earned (thanks to an error by Gregorius), on 2 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7.

The Yankees simply didn't back him up. And, again, he fell victim to 1 bad inning, although it wasn't that bad: 2 runs in the 3rd.

The Yankees actually took a 1-0 lead in the 1st, on Starlin Castro's 6th home run of the season. But the Yankees wasted a 1-out walk by Brian McCann in the 2nd, Romine grounded into a double play to wipe out 1-out singles by Headley and Gregorius in the 5th, wasted a 1-out walk by Aaron Hicks in the 6th, wasted a 2-out walk by Headley in he 7th, wasted a leadoff single by Jacoby Ellsbury in the 8th, and went out weakly in the 9th.

This time, Joe Girardi used Dellin Betances in the 8th and Aroldis Chapman in the 9th, going against his type (i.e. "Do whatever the hell the Binder tells me to do"), and using good relievers when behind. Chapman allowed a run.

Blue Jays 3, Yankees 1. WP: Happ (6-2). SV: Antonio Osuna (10). LP: Sabathia (3-3).

*

So now, the Yankees fly down to face the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight, 7:05: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Jeremy Archer.

* Tomorrow, 4:10: Michael Pineda vs. Matt Moore.

* Sunday, 1:10: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Jake Odorizzi.

Come on you Bombers!

Niece Born With a 5-Game Winning Streak

New Yankee Fan! My 3rd niece was born this morning! Mother and child both resting comfortably at a New Jersey hospital.

I've already succeeding in convincing the 1st 2 to become Yankee Fans.

From the "You can't make this stuff up" department: The Babe was born at 7:14.

*

Anyway... As Blake Lively probably shouldn't say, this past weekend, the Yankees kicked some Oakland booty.

On Thursday night, the Yankees began a 4-game series with the Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum. They got 6 innings of strong start from Ivan Nova, and a scoreless inning each from Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman.

They got enough runs to back it up. Carlos Beltran hit his 9th home run of the season. He, Brett Gardner and, yes, Chase Headley each got 2 hits.

Yankees 4, A's 1. WP: Nova (3-1). SV: Chapman (5). LP: Kendall Graveman (1-6).

*

On Friday night, East Bay native CC Sabathia pitched against his childhood team, and pitched like the CC of 2001 to 2012, going 6 strong innings, striking out 8 and walking only 1. Beltran and Didi Gregorius each had 3 hits, Jacoby Ellsbury and Ronald Torreyes each had 2. A 5-run 4th inning put the game away.

Yankees 8, A's 3. WP: Sabathia (3-2). No save. LP: Sonny Gray (but we were sweeping the... A's away; 3-5).

*

Saturday afternoon, it was Tanaka Time. Masahiro Tanaka was allowed to go 7 innings by Joe Girardi. And with a cushion, Girardi gave most of the bullpen the night off, letting Nick Goody pitch the last 2 innings.

Starlin Castro had 3 hits, Beltran 2, and Rob Refsnyder, who's really gotten a raw deal (first last year, getting stuck behind Stephen Drew, and now with Castro getting signed and blocking his path at 2nd base), hit a 2-RBI double. Again, it was the 4th inning that made the difference, with the Yankees tallying 4 times.

Yankees 5, A's 1. WP: Tanaka (2-0). No save. LP: Sean Manaea (1-2).

*

On Sunday afternoon, Michael Pineda got the start, and fell behind 1-0 in the 1st inning. But home runs by Brian McCann in the 2nd (his 6th of the season) and Ellsbury in the 3rd (his 2nd) gave the Yankees the lead. The A's tied it in the 5th, but the Yankees got 2 runs in the 6th and 1 in the 7th.

Betances was fine in the 7th, but Miller fell victim to an error and an unearned run in the 8th. But Chapman did what we acquired him to do, which was slam the door in the 9th.

Yankees 5, A's 4. WP: Pineda (2-5). SV: Chapman (6). LP: Jesse Hahn (1-2).

*

So, 7 weeks into the 26-week season, this is how the American League Eastern Division stands:

Baltimore Orioles, 26-16
Boston Red Sox, 27-17, behind on percentage points
New York Yankees, 21-22, 5 1/2 games behind, 6 in the loss column
Tampa Bay Rays, 20-21, 5 1/2 back, 5 in the loss column
Toronto Blue Jays, 22-24, 6 back, 8 in the loss column

Despite a horrendous start, the Yankees are by no means out of the race, are only 1 game under .500, and are on a 5-game winning streak.

Today is a travel day, and then the Yankees start a home series against those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, who are not looking like defending Division Champions, or like a team that reached the AL Championship Series last season.

Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tomorrow, 7:05 PM: Nathan Eovaldi against former Met R.A. Dickey.

* Wednesday, 7:05 PM: Nova vs. Marco Estrada.

* Thursday, 4:05 PM: Sabathia vs. Aaron Sanchez.

Come on you Pinstripes! Do it for Mackenzie Rose, your newest fan!

Some Good News as Yanks Take 2 of 3 From Pale Hose

The Yankees came into this home weekend series against the American League Central Division-leading Chicago White Sox needing wins. Beating such a team would send a solid message -- to themselves, as well as to the rest of baseball.

But the pitching matchup for the Friday night game was not encouraging: Luis Severino was 0-5, and Chris Sale was 7-0. And Severino got hurt, and didn't get out of the 3rd inning, allowing 7 runs. He goes on the Disabled List.

Chase Headley hit a home run off Sale (there's an upset), his 2nd homer of the season, but that was it: Sale went the distance in a 7-1 ChiSox victory.

WP: Sale (8-0). No save. LP: Severino (0-6).

Hopefully, the care he gets for his injury will allow Sevy to return, and be as good as he was late late season. If he isn't, then the Yankees are in trouble.

*

The Yankees really needed a good pitching performance in the Saturday afternoon game, and Ivan Nova did his part, getting into the 6th inning, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and a walk. The rest of the way, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman allowed just 1 baserunner.

But Jose Quintana also pitched well for the Southsiders. Indeed, he had only 1 bad inning. But it was enough. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 2nd inning, he walked Headley. Cliche alert: Those walks'll kill you. Aaron Hicks nearly hit one out, and Headley scored on the double. Didi Gregorius singled, scoring Hicks.

That was it: Yankees 2, White Sox 1. WP: Nova (2-1). SV: Chapman (2). LP: Quintana (5-2). For the 1st time this season, the Yankees had scored fewer than 3 runs, and still won. Up to then, they had been 0-15.

This concerned me: So many times since late in the 2012 season, the bats have gone cold. This time, the pitching was just good enough to make what little the bats could do hold up. This is a very good sign.

*

Yesterday, it wasn't great pitching the Yankees needed, it was great hitting. Masahiro Tanaka did not get the job done, allowing 4 runs in only 5 innings, throwing 102 pitches. Not surprisingly, and justifiably this time, for reason that went beyond the pitch count, Joe Girardi went to the bullpen for the 6th inning, and Kirby Yates pitched a scoreless 6th.

But this time, the Yankee bats gave the arms something to worth with. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a single, Brett Gardner singled him over to 3rd base, and Carlos Beltran got him home with a sacrifice fly. In the 3rd, Gardner singled, Beltran and Mark Teixeira drew walks (neither of them intentional), Brian McCann popped up, Starling Castro singled to score Gardner and keep the bases loaded, and Dustin Ackley drew another walk to force home a run. Cliche alert: Those walks'll kill you. 3-2 Yankees.

The Pale Hose made it 4-3 in the 4th, but the Yankees struck again in the 6th. With 1 out, Ellsbury reached 1st on a throwing error by his former Boston teammate Brett Lawrie. Gardner's groundout got him to 2nd. And then Beltran hit a home run, his 8th of the season, and the 400th home run of his career, making it 5-4 Yankees.

Babe Ruth (659 of his 714), Mickey Mantle (all 536) and Lou Gehrig (all 493) are the only players to hit 400 home runs with the Yankees. Other players to have hit 400 home runs and played for the Yankees include Alex Rodriguez (the only one besides Ruth with 600 in his career, currently on the DL, but has resumed running), Reggie Jackson, Gary Sheffield (all with at least 500), Dave Winfield, Jose Canseco (wasn't a Yankee for long, thankfully), Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, and now Beltran. Mark Teixeira has 397 and should join them before the end of the month.

Girardi sent Betances out for the 7th, and he blew the save, allowing a game-tying double to our old friend Melky Cabrera. But the Yankees got the run back when Gregorius drew a 2-out walk (cliche alert: Those'll kill you), and Headley, who seems have gone from 0 to 60 in a matter of days, doubled him home.

Andrew Miller pitched a perfect 8th, and McCann added an insurance run, his 5th homer of the season. Chapman pitched a perfect 9th.

Yankees 7, White Sox 5. WP: Betances (1-2: While he was the current Yankee pitcher when they took a lead they never relinquished, it doesn't seem right for the win to go to a pitcher who's already blown a save.). SV: Chapman (3). LP: Matt Albers (1-2).

*

The Yankees took 2 out of 3 from a potential Playoff team. This is good news. They got pitching good enough to compensate for weak hitting on Saturday, and hitting good enough to compensate for weak starting pitching on Sunday. Also good news. Cliche alert: Great teams do what they have to do to win.

Headley has woken up. So has Beltran. A-Rod is coming back soon. Nova has been a pleasant surprise. Chapman has performed as advertised thus far. And we may have an explanation for Severino's struggles. All good news.

But Tanaka's struggles worry me: He's either brilliant or just not quite good enough.

So, 6 weeks into the 26-week MLB season, the Yankees are 16-20, still in last place in the AL Eastern Division, 7 games behind the Division-leading Baltimore Orioles. But we've won the last 2, and 7 of the last 10.

As Susan Sarandon used to say, before she went senile and started preferring Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton, "It's a long season, and you've got to trust it."

Also, the Mets have dropped 6 of their last 10.

The Yankees now head out on a Western roadtrip, visiting Phoenix for an Interleague series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the San Francisco Bay Area for a regular AL series with the Oakland Athletics.

Yanks Score 7 But Lose, Swept at Fenway

Going into this series with The Scum, I was concerned that we might lose on an aggregate score of 30-5, because we weren't hitting and we were going into the little green pinball machine in the Back Bay.

It was 20-9. That was bad enough.

Last night at Fenway Park, neither starter had his good stuff. Nathan Eovaldi pitched 5 innings, David Price 7, and each allowed 6 runs.

The Yankees fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the 1st inning, but took a 3-1 lead in the top of the 3rd, thanks to Alex Rodriguez hitting his 5th home run of the year. Then we gave it right back, to trail 4-3.

With 1 out in the top of the 5th, Jacoby Ellsbury was hit by a pitch. The Red Sox fans loved that. But not for long: Price walked Brett Gardner. At the rate that Ellsbury and Gardner are getting on base, putting them on without the benefit of a hit is bad news. A-Rod doubled them home, and Mark Teixeira doubled him home. 6-4 Yankees.

But in the bottom of the 5th, Eovaldi gave the cushion right back, surrendering a leadoff single to the big fat lying cheating bastard, David Ortiz, and a home run to Travis Shaw. 6-6.

Eovaldi walked Jackie Bradley to start the 6th, and Joe Girardi removed him for Ivan Nova. Unlike a lot of Girardi's bullpen moves, this one was totally understandable, and I can't fault him for it: If Eovaldi had pitched as well as he had in his last start, taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning, the Yankees would have won this game easily.

Nova deepened the jam, then got out of it, then let Shaw single in the 7th. Now, Girardi blew it: He brought in Dellin Betances, who really has disappointed. Maybe we shouldn't have expected him to be the new 1997-2013 version of Mariano Rivera, but we thought he could become the 1996 version, the unbeatable 7th & 8th inning guy. Instead, he blew it again, giving up a home run to Christian Vazquez that made the final score.

Red Sox 8, Yankees 7. The one game in this series that looked like a 2003-13 Yanks-Sox game at Fenway. For the 1st time this season, the Yankees had scored at least 4 runs in a game and lost. WP: Price (4-0). SV: Craig Kimbrel (8). LP: Nova (1-1).

Games Girardi has blown for the Yankees this season with bad bullpen management: 3.

*

So, 4 weeks into the 26-week MLB season, here's what the American League Eastern Division looks like:

Boston Red Sox - 15-10
Baltimore Orioles - 14-10, 1/2 game back
Tampa Bay Rays - 11-13, 3 1/2 back
Toronto Blue Jays - 12-14, 3 1/2 back
New York Yankees - 8-15, 6 back

Not good.

The Yankees have today off. Then they have 3 in Baltimore. Luis Severino starts against Chris Tillman tomorrow night, but the projected starting pitchers for both sides have yet to be decided for Wednesday and Thursday.

They couldn't use Fenway as a bandbox to work their hitting woes out. Maybe Camden Yards is just what the doctor ordered.