Yankee Bats Boost Kluber, Beat O's

Going into last night's 2nd game of a 4-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, the Yankees needed to start playing as advertised. I hate it when there's lies in advertising.

Before the game, the Yankees announced they'd traded verstaile outfielder Mike Tauchman to the San Francisco Giants, for Wandy Peralta, whose performance thus far in his career suggests that he is not the lefthanded reliever that the Yankees need; and a player to be named later. Not a good trade, or so it currently appears.

Fortunately, the Yankees did something they had only done once before this season: They scored a run in the 1st inning. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a double. Giancarlo Stanton grounded to 3rd, forcing DJLM to stay put, Aaron Judge singled, but it was too close for DJLM to score. But Gio Urshela hit a sacrifice fly to center, and DJLM was able to come home.

That early run was a big boost to Corey Kluber. He sent the Orioles down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 1st, pitched a hitless 2nd, and sent them down 1-2-3 in the 3rd.

In the top of the 4th, Kyle Higashioka hit a home run. LeMahieu and Stanton singled, Judge walked to load the bases, and Urshela singled LeMahieu home. Stanton also tried to score, but was thrown out. But it was now 4-0 Yankees.

Kluber was great in the 1st 3 innings, but he faltered in the bottom of the 4th, allowing double, groundout, RBI single. But he then got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat. He allowed a hit in the 5th, but no runs. He was allowed to start the 6th, and allowed a leadoff walk. (Hold your cliches.) He got an out, but allowed a single.

So it was 1st and 3rd, less than 2 outs. Going against the script, Aaron Boone kept him in. (Brian Cashman must have had a fit.) But Kluber got a lineout and a groundout to end that threat. He'd pitched 6 innings, allowing only 1 run. That was hoped for by most, but predicted by few.

He was rewarded with an insurance run, as Stanton led off the top of the 7th with a home run. Clutch? Clutch enough for me. And clutch enough for Boone, who sent Kluber out to start the bottom of the7th. He allowed a single, got a strikeout and a flyout, then allowed another single. That was enough for Boone, who brought Jonathan Loaisiga in, and he got out of it.

Loaisiga allowed a leadoff walk and a 1-out single in the 8th, but got out of it. Lucas Luetge pitched a 1-2-3 9th to end it. Yankees 5, Orioles 1. WP: Kluber (1-2). No save. LP: Bruce Zimmermann (1-3).

It wasn't quite the Camden Yards slugfest we were hoping for. But if the Yankees can get these kinds of key hits, and Kluber can keep pitching like this, the Yankees won't look like a 70-92 team. (They are currently 10-13, a percentage of .435, which translates to 70-92 over 162 games.)

The series continues tonight. Domingo German starts for the Yankees, and Dean Kremer for the O's.

The Savagery Had to End Sometime

The Yankees took a 5-game winning streak into yesterday's series finale with the Colorado Rockies at a scorching hot Yankee Stadium. Aaron Boone's guys had been "fucking savages in that box," but, well, I suppose the savagery had to end sometime.

James Paxton started for the Yankees, and didn't have much. He allowed a run in the 1st inning, 4 in the 3rd, and was taken out after allowing 2 in the 4th. The bullpen was fine: Between them, Chad Green, Adam Ottavino, Stephen Tarpley and Aroldis Chapman went 5 2/3rds innings, allowing just 1 unearned run on 5 hits and 3 walks. (Chapman got work because he hadn't been needed in the Yankees' 2 previous wins, both blowouts.)

But the bats couldn't back it up. Between DJ LeMahieu stunning his former team with a leadoff home run, and Mike Tauchman hitting one out in the 5th, the Yankees got only 2 baserunners, both walks, both stranded at 1st base. It was 7-1 before Tauchman hit his shot, and it was pretty much over.

Aaron Hicks added a homer with Tauchman aboard in the 8th, but the Yankees got no closer. Rockies 8, Yankees 4. WP: German Marquez (9-5). No save. LP: Paxton (5-5).

*

The Yankees have 64 games left, over a span of 10 weeks. They are in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, 9 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 11 ahead of the Boston Red Sox, and the only major league team with a better record, and thus would have home-field advantage in a postseason matchup, is the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their Magic Number to clinch the Division is 52.

The Yankees now hit the road, going to Minnesota for 3, and then Boston for 4, a series in which they can pretty much end any hope The Scum still have. Then they return home to face Arizona.

Yankee Tanaka Outpitches (Future Yankee?) Stroman, Yanks Beat Jays

UPDATE: Stroman did end up getting traded to a New York team near the deadline -- but it was the Mets.

If Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays really is a targeted before-the-trading-deadline starting pitcher for the Yankees, we're going to have to look past his won-loss record, and see that he's actually pitching decently -- in the American League, and in the Eastern Division, no less. Even after yesterday's game, his ERA is just 3.25.

He started against the Yankees, going 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts. Had Masahiro Tanaka done that well, and no better, I think I would have taken it.

As it happened, Tanaka was better: 6 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, no walks, 5 strikeouts. As you may have guessed, those 2 runs came on home runs, solo shots by Eric Sogard and Randal Grichuk, both in the 5th inning. Adam Ottavino and Tommy Kahnle combined for a scoreless 7th inning, Zack Britton pitched a scoreless 8th, and Aroldis Chapman a perfect 9th.

Of course, any pitcher, or series of pitchers for a single team, needs run support. Luke Voit led off the bottom of the 2nd with an infield single. Gleyber Torres doubled. Brett Gardner grounded to 1st, and the runners had to hold. But Gio Urshela singled them home. 2-0 Yankees.

Those pesky Blue Jays tied it in the top of the 5th. But in the bottom of the 5th, the Yankees got another leadoff infield single, this time from Urshela. Austin Romine drew a walk. Mike Tauchman popped up, and DJ LeMahieu grounded into a field's choice that eliminated Romine, but got Urshela to 3rd. Then Stroman threw a wild pitch to score Urshela. 3-2 Yankees.

Tauchman made up for his pop-up by hitting a home run in the bottom of the 7th. That made the final score Yankees 4, Blue Jays 2. WP: Tanaka (6-5). SV: Chapman (25). LP: Stroman (5-10).

The trading deadline is 16 days away. So far, the only names really being talked about as being trade bait are prospects. Has Brian Cashman finally seen the light? Has he finally grasped that he has enough prospects, and that he needs to go for it this year?

The Tampa Bay Rays won yesterday, while the Boston Red Sox are tied in the 8th inning as I type this. The Yankees remain 6 games ahead of the Rays in the AL East, but 8 games in the loss column, as they have 4 games in hand. The Red Sox lost, and are now 10 games back, 11 in the loss column.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a series against the Rays. At the end of it, the following may have happened:

* The status quo could hold: The Rays would be the Yankees' closest challengers, with the Red Sox behind.

* The Yankees could knock the Rays out of the race, and the Red Sox would take their place as the closest challengers.

* The Yankees could knock the Rays back, but they could recover.

* The Rays could close the gap, and expose the Yankees as needing that extra starter before the deadline more than we already think they do.

Here are the projected starting pitchers for the series, with all games set for a 7:05 start:

* Tonight: James Paxton vs. Blake Snell.
* Tomorrow: CC Sabathia for us, and the Rays are currently undecided.
* Wednesday: Domingo German vs. Yonny Chirinos.
* Thursday: J.A. Happ vs. Charlie Morton.

Come on you Pinstripes!

Yanks Outlast Rain, Twins

Yesterday's game between the Yankees and the Minnesota Twins was pushed back from a 1:05 to a 4:05 start, because of the rain that has drenched the New York Tri-State Area. Domingo German started, and went 6 2/3rds innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits. His 3 walks were a little concerning, but he also struck out 7.

The Yankees got all the runs they would need in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. Facing former Yankee pitcher Michael Pineda, Gleyber Torres singled, and Brett Gardner and Cameron Maybin drew walks to load the bases. But Pineda struck Gio Urshela and Mike Tauchman out, so it looked like he would work out of it.

But DJ LeMahieu hit a dribbler up the middle, a Luis Sojo 2000 World Series kind of hit. The best thing that Twins shortstop Jose Polanco could have done was just get to it, and hold the Yankees to 1 run on the play, Torres. Instead, he tried to throw DJLM out, and threw wildly. Gardner also scored, and it was 2-0 Yankees.

The Twins got a run back in the top of the 4th, but the strikeout victims of the 2nd made up for it in the bottom of the 4th. Urshela hit an infield single, and Tauchman hit a home run, making it 4-1 Bronx Bombers.

German allowed a single and a walk in the top of the 7th, and, seeing that he had thrown 108 pitches, Aaron Boone decided he had seen enough. He brought Tommy Kahnle in to relieve. He struck Max Kepler out to end the inning and the threat.

Kepler would be the only better that Kahnle faced, but it was enough to set a new team record. He had made 10 straight appearances without allowing a both of a run, making him the 5th Yankee pitcher to do so. The currently-injured Dellin Betances was the 4th. That strikeout gave Kahnle 11 such appearances, and the team record all to himself.

The rain returned in the bottom of the 8th, and after a delay, the umpires called the game. Yankees 4, Twins 1. WP: German (6-1). SV: Aroldis Chapman (7). LP: Pineda (2-3).

So, with the season 20 percent in the books -- and a strange season it has been -- the Yankees are 19-14, 2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division. The Boston Red Sox are 5 games back, the Baltimore Orioles 6 1/2 back, and the Toronto Blue Jays 9 1/2 back.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a home series with the Seattle Mariners. CC Sabathia, a future Hall-of-Famer, starts against Felix Hernandez, who has a chance of making it, but the fact that he's never appeared in a postseason game doesn't help. And they call him "King"? Ha!

*

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 2, on Wednesday night at 8:00, home to the Montreal Impact. They beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 this past Saturday.

Days until Arsenal play again: 3, on Thursday, at 2:45 PM New York time, away to Valencia, in Spain, in the 2nd leg of the Semifinal of the UEFA Europa League. Arsenal take a 3-1 aggregate edge into it, but they'll have to win the Europa League in order to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League, after their pathetic 1-1 draw at home to Sussex team Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday. Arsenal are doomed to finish 5th, behind North London arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur. We talk about Spurs "bottling it" every year, but, this time, both North London teams bottled it.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 24, on Thursday, May 30, at Yankee Stadium II. (I previously had this incorrectly listed as being at Fenway Park.)

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 32,  on Friday, June 7, in France. A little over 1 month. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 33, on Saturday night, June 8, against the Philadelphia Union, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City FC will be on Sunday night, July 14, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, August 17, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 43, on Tuesday, June 18, at the brand-new Allianz Field in St. Paul, home of Minnesota United, in the opener of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A little over 6 weeks.

Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 54, on June 29. Under 8 weeks.

Days until Arsenal play in America: 70. Exactly 10 weeks. On July 15, they will visit the Denver suburbs to play the Colorado Rapids. On July 17, they will visit the Los Angeles suburbs to play Bayern Munich. On July 20, they will visit Charlotte to play AS Roma. And on July 23, they will visit the Redskins' stadium in the Washington suburbs to play Real Madrid. This almost certainly means no Emirates Cup this Summer.

Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, as both Premier League matches, and a League Cup match, have been played this season. The next season starts on August 10, which is 96 days from now, but the PL never puts a Derby on the opening weekend. The Gunners and Spurs usually play each other in N5 in October or November, and then in N17 in February or March.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 117, on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. Under 4 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, which would be 123 days. It has been announced that East Brunswick and its arch-rivals, Old Bridge, will no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, many of the local Thanksgiving rivalries have been moved back to the opening night, September 6. Whenever the Big Green play the Purple Bastards, it will be under a new head coach, because Bob Molarz, in charge for the last 6 seasons, has resigned.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: Unknown. Traditionally, a new NHL season begins on the 1st Thursday in October, which would be October 3, which is 150 days from now. Under 5 months. The new schedule is usually released around June 20 or so. We shall see.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: Unknown. But the Devils never open against either the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum; the New York Islanders; or the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 208, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Under 7 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 226, on December 18, 2019. A little over 7 months.

Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 228, on December 20, 2019.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 260, on January 21, 2020. Under 9 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 445, on July 24, 2020. Under a year and a half, or a little over 14 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 547, on November 3, 2020. A little over a year and a half, or under 18 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 608, on January 3, 2021. Under 2 years, or under 20 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 625, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or a little over 20 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,005, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 33 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,295, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 years, or under 43 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

There Go Da Judge

Pyrrhus was King of Epirus in ancient Greece. As Rome rose to become the new power in the Mediterranean region, he fought them hard. In 279 BC, near what is now Ascoli, Italy, he fought the Battle of Asculum. Rome lost 6,000 men; Greece, 3,500. Pyrrhus is alleged by historians to have said words to the effect of, "Another such victory, and I am undone." In the 2,300 or so years since, any victory that includes a notable loss has been known as a Pyrrhic victory.

Yesterday, the Yankees had what may end up being a Pyrrhic victory.

They hosted the Kansas City Royals, and Masahiro Tanaka pitched very well, going 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7. Jonathan Holder pitched the last 2 innings, continuing to not pitch well, allowing a run.

That didn't matter, because the Yankees got the runs they needed to win, and then some. Aaron Judge hit a home run in the 1st inning, Clint Frazier hit one in the 2nd, Mike Tauchman hit one in the 4th, and DJ LeMahieu hit one in the 5th.

So, 4 home runs and a very good performance by the starting pitcher. No problem, right?

Wrong. Judge singled to right in the 6th, but when he got to 1st base, he bent over as if he was hurt. On the video, it sounds like the fans in The Stadium collectively said, "Oh, no!" at the thought of their most popular player joining the many Yankees on the Injured List. The instant replay showed that he may have injured an oblique muscle in his swing. He was taken out of the game, and slowly walked back to the dugout. A microphone picked up his yell of, "Fuck!"

Yankees 9, Royals 2. WP: Tanaka (2-1). No save. LP: Heath Fillmyer (0-1). In spite of all their injuries, the Yankees are back to .500 at 10-10.

It sure doesn't feel like a victory. It feels like half the team is injured. As if Marvel Comics villain Thanos snapped his fingers, and eliminated half the team. And now, Aaron Judge says, "Mr. Cashman, I don't feel so good."

Then again, today is Easter, a day that celebrates new life, and revived hope. Maybe Judge won't be out as long as we think.

We hope.

The teams conclude their series this afternoon. James Paxton starts against Jorge Lopez.

Old Formula, Familiar Result: CC & Homers Lead Yanks Past Royals

The Yankees have needed too many bounce-back wins already this season, and haven't gotten enough of them. They needed another last night, against the Kansas City Royals. And on the mound was just the Big Fella to do it.

CC Sabathia started for the Pinstripes, and was his old (or young) self: He went 5 innings, allowing 1 unearned run on 3 hits, before concern for age and injury led Brian Cashman (through Aaron Boone) to take him out. His 5 strikeouts got him closer to a milestone: He now has 2,994 for his career. The 4 walks were a worry, though.

But that unearned run in the 3rd, thanks to errors by CC himself and Luke Voit, put the Yankees down 1-0. They struck right back, as Tyler Wade singled and Brett Gardner hit a home run. 2-1 Yankees.

Mike Tauchman led off the 5th with a homer. The Royals closed to within 3-2 in the top of the 6th, but the Yankees put the game away in the bottom of the inning. Aaron Judge led off with a double, Voit drew a walk, Gleyber Torres got an infield single to load the bases with nobody out.

If you were expecting the Yankees to get some runs home, you may not have expected how they did it. DJ LeMahieu flew to center for a sacrifice fly that got Judge home, and Clint Frazier drew a walk whose ball 4 was a passed ball, allowing Voit to score. 5-2 Yankees.

Kyle Higashioka, doing just fine filling in at as catcher for the injured Gary Sanchez, doubled to lead off the bottom of the 7th. Wade tried to sacrifice him over, and got more than that when Royal 3rd baseman Hunter Rosier fielded his bunt and threw it away for another run.

Luis Cessa allowed a run in the 6th, while Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle and Zach Britton each pitched a scoreless, hitless inning.

Yankees 6, Royals 2. WP: Sabathia (1-0). No save. LP: Jakob Junis (1-2). CC notched his 247th career win, and is now 15-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 27 regular-season starts following a Yankees loss since the start of the 2017 season. Shades of an earlier, much thinner lefty, Ron Guidry in 1978.

The series continues this afternoon. Masahiro Tanaka starts against Heath Fillmyer. Yeah, I know: Another one of those weird names that sounds like the name of a shady law firm.

Hanging 8 On Sox Is Great, But Paxton's Pitching Was More Important

My concern coming into this brief 2-game home series with the Boston Red Sox was that the Yankees would not be prepared to face them.

This, of course, flew in the face of the fact the Sox have had an even worse start than the Yankees, 6-11 as opposed to 6-9. But, as we've seen over the last few years, it doesn't matter how bad the Red Sox are, they still find a way to beat the Yankees. Whether that was within the rules or not doesn't seem to matter to them, but they do it.

I was sure the Yankees would lose both of these games, and badly, whether that was through a blowout or blowing a big lead and losing in shocking fashion.

As it turned out, at least for last night, my fears were unwarranted. James Paxton pitched not just the best game of his thus-far-brief Yankee career, he pitched the best game of the thus-far-brief season. He began the top of the 4th by walking Mookie Betts and allowing a double to Xander Bogaerts, and  J.D. Martinez flew to right. But because Aaron Judge has a good arm, he was able to hold Betts on 3rd on both the double and the would-be sacrifice fly.

Paxton hit Rafael Devers with a pitch in the 5th, and allowed a 2-out double to Jackie Bradley in the 8th. But that was it: 8 innings, no runs, 2 hits, a walk, a hit batsman, and 12 strikeouts.

In contrast, Chris Sale, perhaps the biggest reason the Red Sox won * last year's World Series, continued his horrific start to the season. He didn't allow a baserunner in the 1st 2 innings, but Brett Gardner led off the 3rd with a double. After 2 outs, DJ LeMahieu singled him home. Judge drew a walk, and Luke Voit singled LeMahieu home. 2-0 Yankees, and that would be all we needed.

But not all we wanted. This is The Scum we're talking about. And we got more. Clint Frazier continued his bid to prove he can hit major league pitching by leading off the 4th with a home run. A single by Austin Romine and a double by Mike Tauchman made it 4-0 Pinstripes. Rookie Gio Urshela led off the 6th with a double, Gardner drew a walk, and Romine bunted the runners over. Small ball. Torreball.

Then Tauchman hit a home run. Cashmanball. Hey, whatever works!

It was the 1st major league home run for the 28-year-old rookie outfielder from the Chicago suburbs. Naturally, Yankee Fans were wondering what John Sterling's home run call would be. I was thinking it could be, "You can't Tauch this!" But it's not "tawtch," as in "touch," but "tauch," as in "rock." So Sterling said, "Tauchman, the Sock-man!" As in, he socked it. Lame, John, very lame.

Gleyber Torres added a home run in the 8th, and rookie Joe Harvey pitched the 9th to finish it off. Final score: Yankees 8, Red Sox 0. WP: Paxton (2-2). No save. LP: Sale (0-4).

Eight-nil! We beat The Scum, eight-nil! We beat The Scum, eight-nil! We beat The Scum, eight-nil!

Easily, the best Yankee game of the season so far, topping Opening Day. And, while hanging 8 runs on The Scum is wonderful, the pitching performance of James Paxton was, for the long term, far more encouraging.

The brief series concludes tonight, J.A. Happ against former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi. Come on you Pinstripes! Beat The Scum!