Ghosts of Cashman Screw-ups Past Haunt Yanks In Minnesota

The Yankees' week-long road trip to Minnesota and Texas did not get off to an auspicious start last night. Especially since they were faced by 2 of the ghosts of Brian Cashman screw-ups past.

Sonny Gray started for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Not surprisingly, given that their lineup included Aaron Hicks, but not Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees couldn't hit him. DJ LeMahieu got 2 hits, but the rest of the lineup combined for only 4. Even the 1 run the Yankees scored, at the very end, came on a fielder's choice by Oswaldo Cabrera.

Jhony Brito started for the Yankees, and while the rookie has been a nice surprise thus far, he didn't have it last night, being taken out in the 3rd inning.

And in the 4th, reliever Greg Weissert gave up a home run -- to Joey Gallo, another ghost of Cashman screw-ups past.

Twins 6, Yankees 1. WP: Gray (3-0). No save. LP: Brito (2-2).

Right now, Gallo is batting .243. That's not good, but compare it to these names in last night's Yanker lineup: Aaron Judge, .244 (remember, he was threatening for the batting title, and thus the Triple Crown, last September); Cabrera, .211; Jose Tevino, .208; Anthony Volpe, .194; Isiah Kiner-Falefa, .176; Franchy Cordero, .174; and Hicks, .107. Nope, that's not a typo: 3 hits in 28 at-bats equals one-oh-seven.

And that doesn't include these guys, who didn't get into last night's game: Oswald Peraza, .200; Kyle Higashioka, .194; Willie Calhoun, .136; and Josh Donaldson, who was at .125 when he went on the Injured List, presumably long-term.

The series continues tonight. Nestor Cortés starts against Joe Ryan.

Yankees Make Balls Go, Domingo A-Go-Go, and Goodbye Joey Gallo

The Seattle Mariners had been the best team in baseball over the last few weeks, and have always given the Yankees trouble since they entered the American League in 1977. And with Domingo Germán as last night's starter, I was not optimistic.

Germán was fine, if not more than that: He went 5 innings, threw 90 pitches, and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. Ron Marinaccio, Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Loáisiga and Wandy Peralta each pitched a scoreless inning, with the only baserunner being a single allowed by Chapman in the 7th, immediately turned into a double play.

As for the Yankee bats, they went to work right away. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a single, followed by Aaron Judge with a double, and Anthony Rizzo with a home run. 3-0 New York. The Mariners hit a home run in the 2nd, but so did Judge, his 43rd of the season. Pace: 67. The Mariners scored again in the 4th, but so did the Yankees, on a home run by Jose Trevino. Trevino hit another homer in the 8th, to finish off the scoring.

Yankees 7, Mariners 2. WP: Germán (1-1). No save. LP: Marco Gonzales (6-11). The Yankees are the 1st team to 70 wins this season, and are 3 full games ahead of the Houston Astros for home-field advantage through the AL portion of the postseason.

Also, with today being the trading deadline, on top of the acquisitions of Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino and Scott Effross yesterday, the Yankees actually found a taker for Joey Gallo. And it's the team vying with them and the Astros for best record in baseball and thus home-field advantage all the way through the World Series: The Los Angeles Baseball Team.

(I've taken to calling them that, in "homage" to the NFL team formerly known as the Washington Football Team. As far as I'm concerned, the Dodgers died in Brooklyn in 1957. Cause of death: Greed, a case of domestic violence, murdered by their owner.)

The Yankees sent Gallo and his slash line of .159/.282/.339, and his OPS+ of 76, to L.A. for Clayton Beeter, a righthanded pitcher currently struggling in Double-A ball with the Tulsa Drillers. He'll be 24 in October. He may never throw a pitch in the major leagues. This sounds like a "my headache for your headache" trade. Or, for each team, "addition by subtraction." Or, as Hank Williams would have put it, "Goodbye, Joe, you gotta go, me-oh-my-oh."

The series with the Mariners continues tonight. Jameson Taillon starts against Logan Gilbert.

UPDATE: Right after I posted this, it was made public that the Yankees had traded starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Harrison Bader. I don't know about this one...

I Could Care Less

In 2013, Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. (Clifford Harris Jr.) came out with a song titled "Blurred Lines." To put it politely, it was controversial.

In 2014, parody master "Weird Al" Yankovic came out with "Word Crimes," using the preceding as his base song, and took on various forms of bad grammar, including one in particular that I can't stand, saying, "I could care less," when what you really mean is that you couldn't care less:

I hate these word crimes!

Like, "I could care less."

That means you do care.

At least a little.

Given the Yankees' difficulties with beating the Houston Astros, tarnishing what has otherwise been a spectacular season, every victory between now and what seems to be an inevitable postseason showdown, resulting in a sure Texas Cheatsaw Massacre, seems to hold little meaning.

In other words, I still want to win, because I always want to win. That's the nature of sports. But any such regular-season win isn't going to help much, even if we end up with home-field advantage all the way through the postseason. Because, even if we get Game 7 at home, we still have to win our home games in that series with the Astros.

So, last night, the Yankees won. And I could care less.

It was the start of a weekend series away to the Baltimore Orioles. In recent history, the Yankees have dominated the O's. But they started this season having moved the left-field fence at Camden Yards back a bit, a move seemingly designed to specifically stop the Yankees from hitting so many home runs against them. Never mind that the Yankees have still hit a few there this season, and that the right-field fence remains rather close. Nevertheless, they have gotten to the .500 mark, and should not be overlooked.

Jameson Taillon, who has struggled lately, started, and was granted a 3-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning, when Aaron Judge hit a 436-foot home run. Nice job moving the fence back, Orioles.

But he ran into trouble in the bottom of the 3rd, allowing single, RBI double, RBI single, strikeout, flyout, single, walk. Aaron Boone didn't take any chances, and got him out of there. Lucas Luetge got a popup to end the inning, and he pitched a scoreless 4th and 5th.

The Yankees added a run on a Jose Trevino double in the 4th, and Judge hit another homer in the 5th, this one 465 feet. He now has 36 on the season, putting him on pace to tie the Yankees' single-season record, Roger Maris' legendary 61 in '61.

Jonathan Loáisiga allowed a run in the 6th, but that was canceled out by a home run by Joey Gallo in the 7th. Gallo's batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage "slash line" is now .164/.291/.351. Still terrible, I know, but the OBP is only slightly lower than the .293 of Trevino, and he's an All-Star. As another Yankee All-Star catcher, Yogi Berra, would have put it, "In baseball, you don't know nothin'."

Aroldis Chapman was brought on to protect a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the 7th. He was awful: Single, wild pitch, strikeout, wild pitch, walk, home run. Boone brought Michael King on, and he got the last 2 outs of the inning. But after getting the 1st out in the bottom of the 8th, King left the game in obvious pain. The initial diagnosis is a fractured elbow, and he's probably out for the season. That's a big loss.

Clay Holmes came on and kept the O's off the board for the last 5 outs. Yankees 7, Orioles 6. WP: Luetge (3-3). SV: Holmes (17). LP: Tyler Wells (7-6).

The series continues tonight. Gerrit Cole is set to start against Jordan Lyles.

Yanks Head Into Break by Pounding Sox Again

If only the Yankees could have taken a run from Saturday and a run from Sunday, and given it to themselves for Friday...

But it doesn't work that way. Nevertheless, they clobbered the Boston Red Sox again yesterday, and that's what I like to see.

Gerrit Cole started, and pitched like an All-Star, although, despite having been selected for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, having gone 7 innings, he is unlikely to appear in it. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, no walks, and 12 strikeouts. He now has 147 strikeouts on the season, and is on pace to break Ron Guidry's single-season Yankee record of 248 set in 1978. Lucas Luetge and Jonathan Loáisiga each needed a good performance, and each pitched a scoreless inning.

Pitching like that deserves runs, and it got plenty of 'em. Chris Sale, in only his 2nd start after coming back from his latest injury, and only his 11th start since August 13, 2019, got hit hard, figuratively and literally. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a double. Aaron Judge was hit by a pitch, although Sale, unlike certain other Boston pitchers we could mention, isn't known as a dirty pitcher. Anthony Rizzo grounded out, which moved the runners over. Gleyber Torres reached on an error that scored LeMahieu. Matt Carpenter grounded to short, which scored Judge.

This is where the "hit hard figuratively" ended and the "hit hard literally" occurred: Aaron Hicks hit a line drive right back at Sale, and the sound of ball striking bone could be heard. The ball ricocheted into right field, to score Torres, and Sale was already walking off the field. He would have been useless for any further defensive work on the play, anyway: The TV cameras caught his left pinky broken. He hadn't even moved to try to catch the ball: It hit his hand right where it stopped in his pitching motion.

That is one hard-luck injury. Even the most hard-core of Yankee Fans, hating the Red Sox, has to have some sympathy for Sale. But not for his team. In this emergency situation, the Sox ended up having to use 9 pitchers, none of whom went more than 1 full inning.

The Yankees put the game away with 8 runs in the bottom of the 4th, the last 2 on a home run from Injury List returnee Tim LoCastro. That's a linescore of 30080, and that's a ZIP Code for Smyrna, Georgia, outside Atlanta. There were 2 more runs in the 7th, on a home run by the much-maligned Joey Gallo.

Yankees 13, Red Sox 2. Speaking of 1978, those of you who, like me, are old enough to remember that year will recall that as the result of Game 2 of the "Boston Massacre" series, on September 8. Of course, that was at Fenway, and this was at home. WP: Cole (9-2). No save. LP: Sale (0-1).

So, after 92 games -- 11 games beyond the numerical halfway point of the regular season, but not quite halfway if you get all the way to the World Series:

* The Yankees are 64-28, for a winning percentage of .696, a pace to win 113 games.

* They lead the American League Eastern Division, by 13 games over the Tampa Bay Rays, 14 1/2 over the Toronto Blue Jays, 16 1/2 over the Red Sox, and 18 over the Baltimore Orioles, who are, nonetheless, at .500. So it's the strongest Division out of the 6 in Major League Baseball, and the Yankees are running away with it. The Magic Number to clinch the Division is 58.

* In the race for best record in the AL, and thus home-field advantage through the League Championship Series, they are 4 1/2 ahead of the AL West-leading Houston Astros, and 15 ahead of the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.

* In the race for best record in all of MLB, and thus home-field advantage in the World Series, should they get that far (and they should), they are 3 games ahead of the team with the best record in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 1st half's success stories are many. Great years were expected from the hitters, especially Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and we've gotten them. Jose Trevino and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, both acquired before the start of the season, have been nice surprises. Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks are much-improved, and the recently-acquired Matt Carpenter has been an absolute steal. The only real down note has been Joey Gallo, batting .164 with an on-base percentage of .288.

Defense is also much-improved. Having Trevino means a better-hitting catcher than either Gary Sánchez or Kyle Higashioka, and a much better-fielding catcher than Sánchez. Having the slick-fielding IKF at shortstop has allowed Torres to go back to 2nd base, where he is much better with the glove. This team is not betraying its pitchers with poor defense.

And those pitchers! When healthy, they have been excellent. Take a look at the ERA+'s: Nestor Cortes 145, Cole 126, Jordan Montgomery 117, Severino 110, Jameson Taillon 99. And the WHIPs: Cole 0.979, Cortes 1.003, Montgomery 1.039, Severino 1.070, Taillon 1.126. Taillon is at 1.126, and he's only the 5th-best starter on the team.

The bullpen is an issue. Clay Holmes is now the closer, as Aroldis Chapman may have thrown away his chance. Despite some blips, we've had really good work from Michael King, Wandy Peralta, Ron Marinaccio, JP Sears, Albert Abreu and Ryan Weber. Lucas Luetge is a bit shaky, and Loáisiga may not be fully back from injury. But, overall, the bullpen has been as good as any team's.

Injuries: Domingo Germán could be ready to take Severino's place in the rotation on the weekend; Marinaccio had a rehab assignment in Triple-A yesterday, and could be back in a week; Severino won't throw for another 2 weeks, so mid-August is probably a good guess; Miguel Castro probably won't be back until late August; Zack Britton could start throwing off a mound soon, and could be a September call-up; Deivi Garcia has been throwing, and could also be a September call-up; and both Chad Green and Luis Gil underwent Tommy John surgery, and neither is likely to be back before next season's All-Star Break.

So, a little bad news, but a whole lot of good news. The Yankees need to keep their stranglehold on the Division, and make sure they get home-field advantage over the Astros, and then, somehow, stop José Altuve. If they do those things, Title 28 is possible.

See you after the Break -- unless a major sports story happens during the Break.

Yankees Play Pinball at Fenway Again

I always want the Yankees to beat the Red Sox. I want the Yankees to beat the Red Sox even when they're playing somebody else.

It's not that the Red Sox turned around the dynamic of the rivalry by finally winning, or even starting a period where they have been the superior organization, if not the superior team. It's not even that they did so by cheating. It's that they got away with it: They have gotten caught, repeatedly, they deny they'd done anything wrong, and the media takes their word for it, while believing every accusation against the Yankees, no matter how flimsy the evidence.

Is it any wonder that I follow the custom of English soccer rivalries, and call the Red Sox "The Scum" -- Capital T, Capital S?

Last night, in the 2nd game of a 4-game weekend series at Fenway Park, the Yankees did not get a good start from Nestor Cortes: He didn't get out of the 4th inning, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks.

But the Yankees didn't need a good start from him. I have often called Fenway "the little green pinball machine in the Back Bay," or "the little green pinball machine off Kenmore Square." The Yankees treated it as such last night. They scored 4 runs before the Red Sox even came to bat: Single by DJ LeMahieu, groundout by Aaron Judge that moved LeMahieu over to 2nd, Matt Carpenter was hit by a pitch, RBI single by Gleyber Torres, home run by Josh Donaldson.

Carpenter doubled a run home in the 2nd. In the 3rd, Aaron Hicks drew a leadoff walk (you know how troublesome those can be), and Jose Trevino doubled. After a Marwin González popup, Joey Gallo hit a ball that Sox right fielder Christian Arroyo never saw. It didn't quite make it out of the field of play, but it scored Hicks and Trevino. Gallo thought he could get an inside-the-park home run out of it, but was easily thrown out at the plate. It was the latest dumb moment for Gallo in a season loaded with them, but the ball he hit before it was a big help. That made it 7-2 Yankees.

Knowing Fenway, the run that Gallo couldn't score could have loomed large. As George Carlin might have said, You never hear about anything "looming small," but the Yankees made it do so. Carpenter led off the 4th with a home run. If I were Matt Carpenter, and you were at Fenway, would you cheer me anyway? 'Cause it was bye, bye, baby. (With apologies to the memories of Tim Hardin, Bobby Darin and Johnny Cash.) Two walks and a Sox error led to another Yankee run in the inning, and it was 9-2 New York.

The Yankee linescore for the 1st 5 innings was 41220. That ZIP Code is not in use, but if it were, it would be in Hagerhill, Kentucky.

The Sox scored 2 in the bottom of the 4th, and another in the 6th. 9 to 5 was a good movie, but as a score at Fenway Park, it brought back some concern. But the Yankees tacked on a run with some "small ball" in the 7th, another in the 8th on a single by Carpenter and a double by Torres, and another in the 9th on a bases-loaded walk by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Yankees 12, Red Sox 5. WP: Miguel Castro, who finished the 4th inning and pitched a scoreless 5th (5-0). SV: Lucas Luetge, who was the finishing but not the winning pitcher in a game won by his team, and pitched 3 1/3rd innings without blowing the lead, and thus fit the qualifications for being credited with a save (1). LP: Connor Seabold (0-2). Seabold was a nonentity coming into this game, and I was concerned that he might pitch the game of his life this one time against the Yankees, but he was given the beating that, by the fact of his wearing the Red Sox uniform, he so richly deserved.

In the American League Eastern Division, the Yankees now lead the Tampa Bay Rays by 15 1/2 games, the Red Sox by 16, the Toronto Blue Jays by 16 1/2, and the Baltimore Orioles by 20 1/2. Hey, don't look now, but after getting off to a terrible start, the O's are now only 3 games under .500. The AL East is actually a pretty good Division this year -- and the Yankees are running away with it. The Magic Number to clinch is 64.

The series continues tonight. Jordan Montgomery starts against Kutter Crawford. That's "Kutter" with a K. Maybe Roger Clemens is his real father. Let the Yankees be "his daddy" tonight.

I Hope They Saved Some Runs for Fenway

There were a lot of Yankee Fans in Pittsburgh for this series.

It seems as though, every time the Yankees head into Fenway Park to play the Boston Red Sox, their previous game is one where they unload the lumber and score a lot of runs, and use up all their hitting, and fall flat in that little green pinball machine in the Back Bay, when they should be taking advantage of the fact that it's the best hitter's park in the major leagues.

Last night, they did it again. After barely hitting at all in the opener of a 2-game series at PNC Park, the Yankees made the Pittsburgh Pirates' pitchers pay.

Luis Severino started, and pitched shutout ball for 6 innings, allowing only 4 hits and no walks. The Yankees then got 1 scoreless inning each from Wandy Peralta, Aroldis Chapman (sure, when there's no pressure on him) and Albert Abreu. This was the kind of performance you would hope for on a night when the Yankees' own hits were few and far between.

It sure looked that way until the 5th inning began, with no score. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Although they rarely lead to the amount of damage we saw the Yankees inflict last night.

Joey Gallo -- yes, Joey Gallo -- drew a leadoff walk. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled. Kyle Higashioka struck out, but DJ LeMahieu singled Gallo and IKR home. Aaron Judge hit a double, but LeMahieu was thrown out at the plate. And when Matt Carpenter struck out to end the inning, there was a sense of foreboding that the run that DJLM was unable to score might matter later on.

Instead, that sense of forboding was vaporized by back-to-back home runs from Josh Donaldson and Gallo in the 6th. Higashioka led off the 7th with a homer. The game was put away in the 8th, against Manny Bañuelos, whom the Yankees had sold to the Pirates just 3 days earlier: IKF singled, Higgy walked, DJLM walked, and Judge hit a grand slam. Aaron Hicks doubled, and Bañuelos was replaced by Chris Stratton. He walked Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres, and gave up a sacrifice fly to Donaldson. 10-0 Yankees.

Josh VanMeter moved from 2nd base to pitcher to start the 9th. Some position players can actually pitch. Van Meter... couldn't, at least not last night. IKF singled. Higgy flew out. DJLM singled. Marwin González singled. Hicks hit a grand slam. The YES Network broadcasters hadn't finished showing replays of it when Stanton made it back-to-back home runs. Torres singled. VanMeter got Donaldson to ground out, but walked Gallo. That's right: In 1 game, Joey Gallo had a home run and 2 walks. IKF got his 2nd single of the inning. And Higgy singled home Donaldson, before VanMeter mercifully got DJLM to ground into a force play to end it.

Those last 5 innings had a linescore of 22156. That's a ZIP Code for Springfield, Virginia, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Yankees 16, Pirates 0. WP: Severino (5-3). No save. LP: Mitch Keller (2-6). It was the 2nd time this season the Yankees had scored at least 16 runs, and the 13th that they'd scored at least 10.

That's 16 runs, 22 hits, and 8 walks. The Yankees now have to play 4 games against The Scum, at Scumway Park in Scumtown. If the Yankees lose any of those games by just 1 run, I'm going to wonder what 1 run from last night's shellacking in Pittsburgh could have made the difference.

Currently, the Yankees lead the American League Eastern Division by 14 games over The Scum, and also by 14 games over the Tampa Bay Rays, 14 1/2 over the Toronto Blue Jays, and 20 1/2 over the Baltimore Orioles. The Magic Number to clinch the Division is 67.

So the Yankees would seem to be in great shape. But you know what games at Fenway can do to us. Especially if the Red Sox have found a new way to cheat. Or an old one that they think won't get caught this time.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, with all games starting at or around 7:05 PM:

* Tonight, the only game of this series that will air on YES: Gerrit Cole vs. John Winckowski.

* Tomorrow night, on Amazon Prime Video: Nestor Cortes vs. a Sox pitcher not yet chosen.

* Saturday night, on Fox: Jordan Montgomery vs. a Sox pitcher not yet chosen.

* Sunday night, on ESPN: Jameson Taillon vs. Nick Pivetta.

The fact that the Sox' starting rotation is still in flux this close to the start of this series, a key one for them to get back into the race if not one for the Yankees to knock them out of it, is a good sign. But this is Fenway: Anything can happen, and has. In the immortal words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

And if you're going, to any of these 4 games, for crying out loud, control yourself: It's better to be an uninjured quiet person than a hospitalized partisan.

Cortes, Gallo Trustworthy vs. Guardians -- Chapman Not Trusted

Did you know that the New York Yankees have never, ever lost to the Cleveland Guardians? No, not even in Spring Training. (The Guardians train in Arizona, the Yankees in Florida, so they can't meet.) The Yankees are 5-0 against them.

Okay, the actual record between the franchises is Yankees, 1,148, Cleveland 906. After all, the Cleveland franchise of the American League, when you count a team's inception from when they began in their current city, tied for the 6th-oldest in Major League Baseball.

Anyway, last night, these 2 teams played a regularly-scheduled game, what turned out to be the nightcap of a rain-forced doubleheader. Nestor Cortes gave up a home run in the bottom of the 1st inning, but otherwise cruised, getting back to his "Nasty Nestor" self after some rough outings, going 6 innings, allowing no other runs, only 2 other hits, and no walks, striking out 6.

Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton backed him up with back-to-back home runs in the top of the 4th inning. They also hit back-to-back singles to lead off the 7th, chasing Guardians starter Aaron Civale. Reliever Enyel De Los Santos was no help: Josh Donaldson doubled home Rizzo. Miguel Andújar grounded into a fielder's choice, and Stanton was thrown out at the plate. De Los Santos tried to pick Andújar off 1st, but threw the ball away, and Donaldson scored.

You know you're not going well when you walk Joey Gallo, the man with the .281 on-base percentage. De Los Santos walked Joey Gallo. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled home Andújar. And Kyle Higashioka hit a sacrifice fly to score Gallo.

Michael King pitched a scoreless 7th and a scoreless 8th. Wandy Peralta got into trouble in the 9th, and, rather than bring in Aroldis Chapman, who had been the closer before his injury, Aaron Boone brought in Clay Holmes, who got the last out. Yankees 6, Guardians 1. WP: Cortes (7-3). SV: Holmes (15). LP: Civale (2-5).

This is what it has come to for Aroldis Chapman: He was not trusted on the mound, Joey Gallo was trusted at bat, both with men on base, and both worked.

The series concludes this afternoon. Jordan Montgomery starts against Triston McKenzie.

Yankees' Winning Feels Good, But Sword of Damocles Remains

So sweeping that series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays felt good. Maybe going over the Border to play those pesky Toronto Blue Jays would be a tougher test.

If last night's game is any indication, no. We smacked them around, and that felt good, too.

Too often, Jordan Montgomery hasn't gotten enough run support. The Yankee hitters must have had someone hold their beers. The Jays led 1-0 after 3 innings, but it was mostly Yanks from then on. The Yankees scored 2 runs in the top of the 4th, starting with a Gleyber Torres double.

Then came the top of the 5th. Are you ready? It began when Trent Thornton hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch. I don't think it was intentional. This was followed by back-to-back home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu. That was followed by back-to-back doubles by Torres and the much-maligned Joey Gallo.

Thornton off the mound, Trevor Richards on it. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled. Kyle Higashioka struck out. The Jays intentionally walked Aaron Judge to set up the double play. Josh Donaldson struck out. But now, the Yankees had batted around, and Rizzo crushed a grand slam to right center. Stanton grounded to 2nd to end it: 8 runs, 6 hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. No errors, but the Yankees didn't need them.

To put it another way: As good as the Yankees have been this year, they scored more runs in that 1 inning than they had in 49 of their 1st 63 games.

Anything after that was going to be gravy. Torres was hit by a pitch to start the 9th (probably also unintentional), and Gallo hit a home run. (Sure, in "garbage time.")

Montgomery went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk. The bullpen was fine after that. Yankees 12, Blue Jays 3. WP: Montgomery (3-1). No save. LP: Ross Stripling (3-2). That's 8 straight, and 15 out of the last 16.

The American League Eastern Division race is pretty much over: The Yankees lead the Jays by 11 games, the Rays by 13, and the Boston Red Sox by 13 1/2. Even in the fight for home-field advantage in the postseason, the Yankees lead the AL West-leading Houston Astros by 8, the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins by 12, and the team with the best record in the National League, the Mets, by 6.

And yet, this is still a Brian Cashman team. There's still a cloud hanging over the team. There's the fact that, since 2000, we've had some really good regular seasons turn into awful endings. The World Series of 2001 and 2003. The AL Championship Series of 2004, 2010, 2012, 2017 and 2019. The AL Division Series of 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2018 and 2021. The AL Wild Card Game of 2015. And the AL Wild Card Series of "Bubble Year" 2020. And, of course, we missed the Playoffs completely in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Only 2009 was an unqualified success.

And the YES Network keeps putting up that graphic: Best record through (X) games, and of the top 5, other than the 2022 Yankees, the 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd teams all won the World Series, but the 1st team is still the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who lost in ignominious fashion before they could even get to the World Series. (Which was fun at the time.) But they're still hanging there, like the Sword of Damocles, or Banquo's Ghost.

There's 98 regular season games to go, and, at this point, they don't mean much. Pulling starters earlier than I would like is okay, as we need to rest their arms for the postseason. Occasionally resting Judge, at the risk of blowing his chance at the real single-season record of 61 home runs, is okay. It's not the 98 regular-season games left that matter: It's the 11 postseason wins we will need.

Until I see a bunch of Yankees celebrating on a pitcher's mound in late October, I'm going to remain skeptical.

Of course, if that's the way Yankee Fans feel, can you imagine how Met fans feel, no matter how good they look right now, given their 36-year title drought?

The series continues this afternoon. Jameson Taillon starts against Alek Manoah.

Yankee Bats Bail Out Cold King Cole

The Yankees sent Gerrit Cole to the mound for the finale of their visit to Minneapolis, but he sure didn't pitch like an ace. He didn't get out of the 3rd inning.

Or, to put it another way: Cole faced 17 batters, threw 70 pitches, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks; the rest of the Yankee staff combined, last night, 22 batters, 84 pitches, no runs, 1 hit, 2 walks. Indeed, Cole allowed home runs to the 1st 3 batters the Minnesota Twins sent up.

Sounds like King Cole was a Cold King last night. Sounds like the kind of night where Brian Cashman's policy of "Bomb them out of the yard, so it doesn't matter how good our pitching is" was needed. Here's what we got:

* With 1 out in the 1st inning: Aaron Judge drew a walk, Anthony Rizzo singled him to 3rd, and Josh Donaldson got Judge home on a sacrifice fly.

* With 2 outs in the 2nd: Jose Trevino singled, and Joey Gallo hit a home run.

* Leading off the 5th: Gallo hit another home run, and DJ LeMahieu made it back-to-back home runs.

* Leading off the 6th: Gleyber Torres singled, and Aaron Hicks hit a home run. So the 2 most-booed Yankees, Gallo and Hicks, between them, went 4-for-10 with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs.

* Leading off the 7th: Judge doubled, Rizzo singled him home, Donaldson singled and stole 2nd, Torres reached on an error, and Hicks singled home Donaldson.

* With 2 out in the 8th: Rizzo walked, Donaldson doubled, Torres walked to load the bases, and Rizzo scored on a wild pitch.

Yankees 10, Twins 7. WP: Miguel Castro (3-0). SV: Clay Holmes (9). LP: Jhoan Duran (0-2, and, yes, that's how he spells his name, worse than Jhonny Peralta).

The Yankees are now 7 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, who won last night; and 7 1/2 ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, who were idle.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 3-game weekend Interleague series, with the Chicago Cubs.

Yankees Win, Just (Mostly) Like How Cashman Drew It Up

The Yankees' strategy under general manager Brian Cashman in the "Baby Bombers" era, July 27, 2016 to the present, has been, "Bomb the opposition with home runs, so that it doesn't matter how good your pitching is."

As we have seen, "Have good starting pitching" is a better starting point. It's worked for the opposition, and, this season, especially lately, it's been working for the Yankees.

These last 2 games against the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees haven't gotten good starting pitching. But Cashman's strategy has worked, anyway.

Jameson Taillon started, and didn't get out of the 5th inning, meaning, even if his team was leading 20-0, according to the rules, he couldn't be the winning pitcher. Nevertheless, when he left, the score was 5-4 in his favor.

This was thanks to home runs in the 1st inning by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton (just like Cashman drew it up), "small ball" that culminated in an RBI single by Judge in the 4th (not how Cashman drew it up), and a bases-loaded walk by DJ LeMahieu in the 5th. (Plate discipline? Absolutely not how Cashman drew it up!)

That would be all the runs the Yankees needed, as Lucas Luetge, Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio were each just good enough to not allow any runs. But Anthony Rizzo hit a 3-run homer in the 7th, putting the game away. There were 2 more runs in the 8th, including an RBI single by the much-maligned Joey Gallo.

Yankees 10, Twins 4. WP: Luetge (2-2). No save. LP: Cole Sands (0-2).

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays also won last night, so the Yankees remain 7 games ahead of the Jays, and 8 ahead of the Rays.

The series with the Twins concludes tonight, at Target Field in Minneapolis. Nestor Cortes starts against Chris Archer.

Any Way You Want It

There are 2 hit songs titled "Any Way You Want It." In 1964, the Dave Clark Five hit Number 14 with one. In 1980, Journey hit Number 23 with the other. Both are hard-driving rock and roll numbers.

The 2022 New York Yankees can win a baseball game any way you want it:

* Score a lot of runs? They are 12-0 when scoring at least 7.

* Get great pitching? They are 15-0 when allowing 1 run or none, and 25-2 when allowing 2 runs or less.

* Be clutch? They are 11-4 in one-run games, including this past Sunday, the conclusion of a 3-game home series with the Detroit Tigers.

* Get it done in extra innings? They are 3-1 when needing more than the standard 9, also including this past Sunday.

* In walkoff fashion? They've done it 6 times, also including this past Sunday.

The Tigers got 2 runs in the top of the 4th, but the Yankees responded in the bottom of the 5th: With 1 out, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled. Jose Trevino struck out, but in his at-bat, IKF stole 2nd. He was originally called out, but the Yankees appealed, and the replay showed he was safe. And then the much-maligned Joey Gallo crushed a home run to right field. This was no short-porcher: It went halfway up the Bleachers in right-center.

Once again, Jordan Montgomery pitched well despite not getting sufficient run support: He went 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, just 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. But he left with the game tied -- and just after getting a strikeout to start the top of the 7th. He had allowed 90 pitches. What would 5 more have been? There was no reason to bring in a reliever at that point. But Boone brought in Clarke Schmidt, who finished the inning.

The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom of the 7th, and DJ LeMahieu drew a walk that put them on top, 3-2.

If Aaron Boone had let Montgomery finish the 7th, he could have brought Schmidt in to pitch the 8th. Instead, he brought Schmidt in too soon, and to start the 8th, he allowed a double and a long flyout. Boone brought in Miguel Castro, and he had nothing, too: Strikeout, then game-tying single, wild-pitch, lead-granting single.

The runner scoring on that play was a pinch-runner, Kody Clemens, son of Roger, who was in the ballpark. Like his father did in Boston and Toronto, Kody wears Number 21. Because K is the symbol for "strikeout," Roger gave all 4 of his sons 4-letter names starting with K: Koby, Kory, Kacy and Kody. Koby got as far as Triple-A ball, Kacy to Double-A, and Cory now plays for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the independent Atlantic League.

The Yankees struck back in the bottom of the 8th. Leading off, Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch. Josh Donaldson struck out. Rizzo stole 2nd, and advance to 3rd when Tiger 2nd baseman Jonathan Schoop (who used to drive the Yankees crazy hitting against them for the Baltimore Orioles) mishandled the throw from catcher Eric Haase. Gleyber Torres grounded to 3rd, and 3rd baseman Jeimer Candelario made a bad throw. Tie ballgame.

Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless 9th, but the Yankees couldn't get the 1 more run they needed. Michael King stranded the ghost runner in the 10th by striking out the side. Aaron Judge started the bottom of the 10th on 2nd. Rizzo singled him over to 3rd. Boone called for the 2nd & home double steal, but it only worked well enough for Rizzo to reach 2nd, as the Tigers didn't take the bait. After all, the only run that mattered was Judge on 3rd.

Donaldson brought him home with a sacrifice fly to left. Yankees 5, Tigers 4. WP: King (3-1). No save. LP: Gregory Soto (2-3).

*

The Yankees have now won 6 in a row, 10 of their last 12. They are 39-15 overall, the best record in Major League Baseball. In the American League Eastern Division, they are 7 1/2 games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, 7 in the loss column; 8 ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays; 12 ahead of the Boston Red Sox; and 17 ahead of the Orioles.

Compared to the other Division leaders, in the race for Playoff position: They are 8 games ahead of the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, 4 ahead of the AL Western-leading Houston Astros, 4 ahead of the National League Western-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, 7 ahead of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, and 3 games, 4 in the loss column, ahead of the NL Eastern-leading Mets.

"Yeah, but the Mets are doing this without... " Spare me: No team has had injury problems like the Yankees have. Except maybe Arsenal, and they don't even play the same sport, much less on the same side of the Atlantic Ocean. (Though they will play 3 games in America in July.)

Regarding the Astros: Although the Yankees had home-field advantage over them in the 2015 AL Wild Card Game, they did not have it in either the 2017 or the 2019 AL Championship Series. Home field could be critical.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 3-game roadtrip to Minnesota, before coming home to face the Chicago Cubs in an Interleague matchup. Then comes 3 home games against the Rays, followed by another big roadtrip: 3 in Toronto, 3 in Tampa Bay.

That's 3 against the Jays, 6 against the Rays. The Yankees could have the AL East all but wrapped up in June, and concentrate on keeping key players healthy. In which case, maybe I shouldn't complain when a starting pitcher is taken out too soon, or a key hitter gets a day off. Maybe it's all part of the plan.

Somewhere, there must be a meme of Yankee general manager Brian Cashman as Heath Ledger's Joker, asking, "Do I look like a guy with a plan?" No, he doesn't.

At this point, I don't care. Any way I want it -- and "it" is winning the World Series -- via a plan, or no plan at all, that's all right by me.

You Just Might Find You Get What You Need

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The Pirates scored their run in the bottom of the 8th inning. With 1 out, they drew 3 straight walks. As you may have heard, those can kill you. And then Ke'Bryan Hayes grounded into a fielder's choice that got the run home.

You'll notice that there was no mention of a hit. They didn't get one. Not in that inning, not in any other. Hunter Greene started for the Reds, and got to that 8th inning, was relieved for former Yankee Adam Warren, and he completed the no-hitter. But, thanks to 6 walks, the Pirates got no-hit and won. Now an atrocious 9-26 on the season, the Reds pitched a no-hitter and lost. That's only happened 6 times in major league history.

One of those times was on July 1, 1990, at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago. Andy Hawkins went 8 innings for the Yankees, and allowed no hits, but 3 errors and 2 walks in the 8th doomed him, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Yankees, 4-0.

Yesterday's game, the conclusion of a 4-game series between the Yankees and the White Sox, was played across 35th Street from the site of Comiskey Park, at what's now named Guaranteed Rate Field. It wasn't quite either of those 2 games mentioned, but it was almost weird enough.

This time, the cliché was completely obvious: It was walks that helped the Yankees and killed the White Sox and their starting pitcher, Michael Kopech. With 2 out in the top of the 2nd, Joey Gallo drew a walk. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled. Then Jose Trevino walked to load the bases. Then Aaron Hicks walked, forcing Gallo home: Then DJ LeMahieu walked, forcing IKF home. Then Kopech threw a wild pitch, before Kopech got Aaron Judge to ground out to end it.

And the game remained 3-0 Yankees all the way into the bottom of the 8th, because Nestor Cortes pitched great again, allowing just 2 hits and no walks, striking out 7. He finally allowed a home run to Adam Engel, but that would be it. The Yankees would go into the top of the 9th, with only 1 hit to their credit, but leading 3-1.

A walk by Josh Donaldson was followed by the Yankees' 2nd hit of the game, a home run by Gallo. Now that it was no longer a save situation, Aaron Boone no longer faced the question of whether he could trust Aroldis Chapman 19 hours after a blown save. Boone sent Clay Holmes in to pitch the bottom of the 9th, and despite allowing an infield single, he ended it.

Yankees 5, White Sox 1. WP: Cortes (2-1). No save. LP: Kopech (0-1). If you had told me before the game that the Yankees would get only 2 hits, I would have figured on a bad loss. But, as the Rolling Stones taught us, "You can't always get what you want, but, if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."

So the Yankees took 3 out of 4 in Chicago, and were 2 outs away from a 4-game sweep. They remain in 1st place in the AL East, 4 1/2 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, and now 7 ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, who are seeing their much-hyped chance slip away. At 25-9, .735, a 119-win pace, the Yankees have the best record in baseball.

Tonight, they go to Baltimore to begin a 4-game series against the Orioles, before returning home for a rematch series with the White Sox.

Can Cashman's "Dream Team" also be ours?

For years now, Brian Cashman has tried to build the Yankees with the philosophy of bombing the other team out of the yard, and have been just enough pitching to go along with that and get the win.

This season, it looks like his dream season is finally coming true. Most Yankee Fans don't care how it's done, as long as it gets done. The problem is, since 2009, it hasn't been getting done.

Now, maybe it is. The Yankees opened the 2nd game of their 4-game series away to the Chicago White Sox in grand fashion, scoring 2 runs in the 1st inning, including another Giancarlo Stanton home run; and 3 runs in the 2nd. The South Siders were already finished: It was Friday the 13th for them, not for us. Aaron Judge added another home run in the 4th, Joey Gallo another in the 5th, Josh Donaldson another in the 9th.

I suppose it would have been overkill for Gerrit Cole to pitch like the best pitcher in baseball. He didn't have to. And he didn't. He did well enough, going 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and just 1 walk, striking out 9. Michael King went the rest of the way.

Yankees 10, White Sox 4. WP: Cole (3-0). No save. LP: Vince Velasquez (2-3). The Yankees are now 24-8, a .750, 122-win pace. They remain 4 1/2 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

The series continues tonight at Guaranteed Rate Field. Jordan Montgomery starts against former Houston nemesis Dallas Keuchel. I once demanded that Cashman acquire him. That time, he was right, and I was wrong. But he is still a long way from redemption here. Can Cashman's "Dream Team" also be ours? Stay tuned.

Today is also the FA Cup Final, England's Super Bowl, between two teams that are not Arsenal. Will I watch? Maybe.

Yankee Streak Ends, Primitive Screwheads Rejoice

In Army of Darkness, released in 1992, the 3rd film in the Evil Dead franchise, Ash Williams (played by Bruce Campbell) gets thrown back in time, to the Middle Ages, and wastes 3 shotgun cartridges -- that he can't replace in that era -- to demonstrate his superiority to the people there, so they won't treat him as a witch to be executed. He starts a monologue by saying, "All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up!"

Last night, having already taken the 1st 2 games of a 3-game series away to the Toronto Blue Jays, stretching their winning streak to 11, the Yankees tried to complete the sweep. But, unlike Ash in the film, there would not be enough "boomstick."

Nestor Cortés started, and over the 1st 4 innings, he allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks. It wasn't a terrible performance, but it was just off enough to put the Yankees in a hole. Michael King pitched the next 3 innings, and Clay Holmes the next 1. Neither allowed a single baserunner.

So, overall, the Yankees got pitching that was good enough to win the ballgame. But the hitting, which had been torrid for the last 2 weeks, finally gave out. Joey Gallo hit a home run to lead off the 3rd inning. But they wasted a leadoff single by DJ LeMahieu in the 1st, a leadoff walk by Aaron Judge in the 4th, a leadoff double by Kyle Higashioka in the 6th, and 2 walks with 1 out in the 7th.

It was 2-1 Jays with 2 out in the top of the 8th, when Judge came to bat with the bases empty. Home plate umpire Marty Foster called a strike 1 that was easily inside, and a strike 2 that was a little low. The 2nd strike wasn't a terrible call: Even Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay admitted that it "just clipped the outside corner." But it did reduce Judge's chance of hitting a game-tying home run, or at least getting on base to start a 2-out rally. And it came on a questionable called strike 3 on Judge in the 6th with Higashioka on 3rd and just 1 out.

Manager Aaron Boone came out of the dugout, and decided to make an example of Foster, to make him pay for the sins of every umpire who ever called a phony strike on Judge, of which there have been many. When you win the 1st 2 games of a road series against the team chasing you for 1st place, you can do that.

"He's six-fucking-seven!" Boone could be seen yelling, making the point that Judge's strike zone didn't have to be artificially made bigger. Foster yelled back, every bit as forcefully. (I wonder if he counts as a "primitive screwhead"?) When play resumed, Judge swung and missed a a pitch on the inside corner.

The Yankees did make a go of it in the 9th. Anthony Rizzo popped up to 2nd. Giancarlo Stanton singled to center. Tim Locastro was sent in to pinch-run for him. Josh Donaldson singled Locastro to 2nd. Aaron Hicks struck out. Gallo walked to load the bases. Marwin González was sent in to pinch-run for Gallo. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded to 3rd, but couldn't quite beat it out, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did a split that seemed to defy his chunky physique. Whoever was substituting as manager for the tossed Boone challenged the play, to no avail.

Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1. WP: Yusei Kikuchi (1-1). SV: Jordan Romano (12). LP: Cortes (1-1).

The crowd of 29,057 included some Yankee Fans. The Toronto fans celebrated winning a game in which they only got 4 hits after being embarrassed the previous 2 nights as if they had just won the Pennant.

All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up: The Yankees still have the best record in baseball, 18-7. You still trail them by 2 1/2 games, 3 in the all-important loss column. The road to winning the American League Eastern Division is the Major Deegan Expressway, not the Gardiner Expressway. In the immortal words of Nick Cannon, Sit yo' ass down!

The Yankees have today off, and open a 3-game home series with the Texas Rangers.

Stanton Powers Yanks Into 1st Place

The Yankees continue to move away from their frustrating .500 start. Last night, at Yankee Stadium, Jordan Montgomery started against the Baltimore Orioles, and pitched into the 6th inning, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, no walks, and 4 strikeouts. But he would not be the winning pitcher.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run in the 1st inning, the 350th of his career -- his 83rd as a Yankee. But Anthony Santander homered off the Yanks for the 2nd straight night in the 6th, meaning Montgomery left with the score tied, 2-2.

Michael King came in to pitch, and finished the 6th, so he was the beneficiary in the bottom of the 6th. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. DJ LeMahieu led off with a walk. Aaron Judge struck out, but Anthony Rizzo singled DJLM over to 3rd, and Stanton nearly hit another one out, but the sacrifice fly scored DJLM with the go-ahead run.

King pitched a perfect 7th, and was rewarded with a home run by Joey Gallo. The Yankees scored another run later in the inning, on an Oriole wild pitch. King pitched a hitless 8th, and Clay Holmes pitched a perfect 9th. Yankees 5, Orioles 2. WP: King (2-0). SV: Holmes (2). LP: Joey Krehbiel (1-2).

That's 5 in a row, and 7 of the last 8. And, with the Toronto Blue Jays getting clobbered by the Boston Red Sox last night, the Yankees are now 12-6, in 1st place by half a game, a full game in the all-important loss column.

The series concludes this afternoon. Jameson Taillon starts against Bruce Zimmerman.

Hey, Yankees, Save Some of That

It never fails: The Yankees usually have an offensive breakout before playing the Boston Red Sox, and then, it turns out that they could use some of those runs. They definitely could have used those runs in the recent series against the Baltimore Orioles.

They also could have used better performances from Corey Kluber. Since his return from injury, he had gone 4 innings all 4 times, and had a bad inning in each of the 4, usually the 4th. This time, though, against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium II, he was good, and he was tough. He pitched 6 shutout innings, allowing 4 runs and 2 walks, but struck out 4, and worked out of jams in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th, inducing ground balls for double plays in the latter 2.

The Yankees got home runs from Joey Gallo in the 2nd, Aaron Judge in the 4th, Brett Gardner in the 7th, and back-to-back jacks from Giancarlo Stanton and Gallo in the 8th. Hey, Yankees, save some of that for The Scum next week.

Michael King pitched a perfect 7th and 8th, and Lucas Luetge pitched a perfect 9th. Yankees 8, Indians 0. WP: Kluber (5-3). No save. LP: Zach Plesac (10-6).

The series continues this afternoon: Luis Gil starts against Aaron Civale.

*

Hours until the next Rutgers University football game: 3, this afternoon, at 3:30, home to the University of Delaware.

Days until the next New York Red Bulls game: 4, this Wednesday night at 8:00, home to New York City F.C.

Days until the Red Bulls again play a nearby rival: See the previous answer.

Days until the next Yankees series against the Boston Red Sox begins: 6, this coming Friday, at Fenway Park.

Days until the next Arsenal game: Days until the next North London Derby: 8, a week from tomorrow, at 11:30 AM, at the Emirates Stadium. TV programming moved the game from the day before. So the Yankees and The Arsenal will both be playing their arch-rivals on the same day.

Days until the next North London Derby: See the previous answer.

Days until the next East Brunswick High School football game: 13, on Friday, October 1, at 7:00 PM, against Watchung Hills of Watchung, Somerset County, on "neutral ground" at arch-rival Old Bridge.

Days until the next game of the U.S. National Soccer Team: 19, on Thursday, at 7:30 PM Eastern Time, a World Cup qualifying match against Jamaica, at the new Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, home of MLS expansion team Austin FC.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another regular-season game: 27, on Friday, October 15, home to the Chicago Blackhawks. Under 4 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a local rival: 40, on Thursday, October 28, home to the New York Rangers.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey and Mayor of New York City: 45, on Tuesday, November 2. Under 7 weeks.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 63, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, November 20, at 12:00 noon, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Exactly 9 weeks.

Days until the 1st Baseball Hall of Fame election for which Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz will be eligible, and we will know for sure whether steroid use keeps a player out, or if it's only perception that does: 129, on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. A little over 4 months.

Days until the next Winter Olympics open in Beijing, China: 139, on Friday, February 4, 2022. Under 5 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge football game: 356, on September 9, 2022, hopefully at home at Jay Doyle Field. A little under 1 year.

Days until the next elections for Congress and for Governor of most States, including New York and Pennsylvania: 416, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. A little over a year, or under 14 months.

Days until the next World Cup opens: 429, on Friday, November 21, 2022, in Doha, Qatar. A little over a year, or a little over 14 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup opens: 660, on Friday, July 10, 2023, jointly held in the neighboring nations of Australia and New Zealand. A little under 2 years, or under 22 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympic Games: 1,042, on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. Under 3 years, or a little over 34 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,144, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Under 3 1/2 years, or under 38 months.

Another "Worst Loss of the Season" for the Yankees

The Yankees will finish the season 11-8 against the Baltimore Orioles. The Tampa Bay Rays, 18-1. That is not the entirety of the difference between them in the standings, but it's most of it.

You've got to take care of business in your own backyard, because of you can't handle the teams, especially the worst team, in your own Division, you don't deserve to make the Playoffs.

It used to be that Camden Yards was a great place for the Yankees' ailing bats to get well. But in this series, they didn't. They didn't quite pay the price on Wednesday night, but they sure did last night. On Wednesday, Brett Gardner singled to lead off the top of the 3rd, and Gio Urshela hit a home run. But those 2 runs were all the Yankees would get over the 1st 8.

Nestor Cortes pitched great for 5 innings, before allowing a run in the 6th, and being taken out in the 7th. That's when Chad Green was brought in, and he blew the lead in the 8th.

Then came the 9th inning. It was the kind of series of screwy events that tends to happen to the Yankees, but, this time, it happened in their favor. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you, or save you, especially the leadoff variety. And Luke Voit drew such a leadoff walk. Tyler Wade was sent in to pinch-run for him. Gleyber Torres singled. Gary Sanchez flied out. Wade stole 3rd, and Torres stole 2nd on the throw. And Gardner dunked a single into center field, to score both of them.

Aroldis Chapman went against cliche, and sent the O's down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th. Yankees 4, Orioles 3. WP: Wandy Peralta (5-3). SV: Chapman (27). LP: Tyler Wells (2-3).

*

But last night, the Yankees had yet another "worst loss of the season." Brendan Kuty of The Star-Ledger tweeted: "This is about as bad as it gets for the Yankees, which is a tweet I feel like I've written at least 10 other times this season." He backtweeted this, so we know he previously said it on July 25, July 23, July 11, July 4, July 3, July 1, and June 28.

Once again Jordan Montgomery pitched very well with very little support. Over 6 innings, he allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk, with 12 strikeouts. But all they gave him came in the top of the 2nd: A home run by Joey Gallo, walks by Sanchez and Wade, and a double by Urshela.

It was 2-1 Yankees in the bottom of the 9th, and Clay Holmes couldn't hold it. He got a strikeout, but then allowed a single and uncorked a wild pitch. (Cliche Alert: Nothing except wine bottles and wild pitches ever gets uncorked.) He got a groundout, but then threw another wild pitch to tie the game, before getting another strikeout.

Most of #YankeesTwitter roasted Sanchez for not getting to those balls in time. They need to clean off their glasses, because both pitches were given as wild pitches by the official scorer, not passed balls. They were Holmes' fault, not Sanchez'.

The Yankees got nothing, even with the ghost runner, in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the 10th, the Orioles were willing to do what the Yankees weren't: Bunt the ghost runner over to 3rd, and that made the difference as Austin Hays singled him home, just as Hays hit the home run in the 8th.

Orioles 3, Yankees 2. WP: Cole Sulser (5-4). No save. LP: Peralta (5-4).

The Yankees come home to face the Cleveland Indians, and I'm not sure what the point is. They might still win one of the American League Wild Card slots, but they're not going anywhere. That's 12 years without a Pennant. And Brian Cashman will keep his job. Why?

Yankees Make Orioles Pay

Losing 2 out of 3 to the Baltimore Orioles, at home, last week was a massive embarrassment for the Yankees. Someone had to pay.

Last night the Orioles began to pay. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a single, and Aaron Judge hit a home run. With 1 out in the 3rd inning, Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch, and Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit hit back-to-back home runs. Now, it was 5-0 Yankees. Now, it was starting to look like a post-2014 Yankees-Orioles game.

Gerrit Cole started, after missing a start due to an injury. Aaron Boone played it safe by limiting him to 5 innings, in which he allowed 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks, with 7 strikeouts. That run, and 2 of those hits, came in the 5th. He threw 108 pitches over those 5 innings, and with a 5-0 lead, there was no reason to risk him any further.

Michael King pitched 3 shutout innings, looking very sharp. Joey Gallo hit one out in the 8th, and LeMahieu in the 9th. Sal Romano came in to pitch, and was a big shaky. As it turned out, he was pitching through an injury. Aroldis Chapman had to be brought in to get the last 2 outs. In spite of a wild pitch, he got them, both on strikeouts.

Yankees 7, Orioles 2. WP: Cole (15-7). No save. LP: Alexander Wells (1-3).

The series continues tonight. Nestor Cortes starts against John Means.

Injury update: The good news: Domingo German may be activated for the weekend series with Cleveland, although he'll be in the bullpen, not starting, so as not to overwork him. Jameson Taillon is throwing, and could be back soon. Luis Severino will make a rehab start this week, and may actually pitch again this season.

The bad news: Clint Frazier and Aaron Hicks are out for the season, and might never play for the Yankees again. Zack Britton is also out for the season, following surgery. 

The unsure news: Boone says Jonathan Loaisiga is "close to throwing" and "making positive strides." For all we know, he may be spouting platitudes again. Miguel Andjuar might return before the end of the season.