Yanks Get Hosed by White Sox

The Yankees came home to open a 3-game series against the Chicago White Sox. At first, it was the "Baby Bombers," Brian Cashman's precious prospects, who came through. Cliche alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Miguel Andujar drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the 4th, and then Gleyber Torres hit his 20th home run of the season.

This gave Masahiro Tanaka a 2-0 lead. Ordinarily, when Tanaka gets out of the 1st inning without allowing any runs, that's a good sign. Not this time: He allowed 3 runs in the 6th, and another in the 7th. A.J. Cole put it out of reach in the 9th, his error leading to 2 more ChiSox runs.

White Sox 6, Yankees 2. WP: Carlos Rodon (6-3). No save. LP: Tanaka (9-5).

The Yankees rebounded on Tuesday night. The game was scoreless until the top of the 5th, when Lance Lynn allowed a run. Then the Pale Hose scored 3 more in the 6th, and it was 4-0, and it looked over.

But Andjuar took James Shields deep in the bottom of the 6th to make it 4-2. Aaron Hicks tied it in the 8th with a home run, and Neil Walker crushed one to right-center for a walkoff homer in the 9th.

Yankees 5, White Sox 4. WP: Betances (4-3). No save. LP: Dylan Covey (4-12).

The momentum from that game didn't last into last night. CC Sabathia didn't have it -- or, to be more accurate, had not quite enough of it to overcome a pathetic Yankee attack that got only 6 hits and 2 walks. The only run came on a Ronald Torreyes single in the 5th.

White Sox 4, Yankees 1. WP: Reynaldo Lopez (5-9). SV: Jace Fry (4). LP: Sabathia (7-5).

Sonny Gray, Sweeping the O's Away

The Yankees went down to Baltimore and began a weekend 4-game series against the Orioles, wearing those ridiculous uniforms as part of a ridiculous MLB promotion. At 37-90 going into the series, the worst record in the major leagues, the O's seemed like just what the struggling Yankees needed.

The Friday night game was tougher than expected. CC Sabathia allowed only 2 runs over 6 innings, but it was 2-0 Orioles after 3. But in the top of the 4th, Neil Walker singled, and rookie Luke Voit hit a home run to tie it up.

It remained tied into the 7th, when David Robertson gave up a home run to Jonathan Villar, making it 4-2 Baltimore. But Gleyber Torres got 2 runs home on an 8th inning single, Chad Green pitched a scoreless 9th, and the game went to extra innings.

With 1 out in the top of the 10th, Walker hit one out, Torres drew a walk, and Voit hit another home run. Aaron Boone sent Zach Britton out to close it down. For all the saves Britton had gotten for the O's against the Yanks, it was nice to see the tables turned. But he almost blew it, giving up a 2-run homer to Chris Davis. But he settled down, and ended it.

Yankees 7, Orioles 5. WP: Green (7-2). SV: Britton (5). LP: Cody Carroll (0-2).

Due to a rainout earlier in the season, Saturday featured a day-night, separate-admissions doubleheader. The Yankees fell behind 2-1 after 2 innings in the opener, and then unloaded the lumber. They scored 4 runs in the 3rd, including a 3-run homer by Miguel Andujar. Brett Gardner added a home run in the 4th, and Luke Voit an RBI single in the 6th.

That was all J.A. Happ needed, and Luis Cessa pitched 3 innings, so he got the save in spite of the final margin of victory, which was boosted by homers by Torres and Aaron Hicks.

Yankees 10, Orioles 3. WP: Happ (15-6). SV: Cessa (1). LP: Jimmy Yacabonis (0-2).

Sonny Gray, bless his heart, usually pitches well at Camden Yards. Or, as the composers of the Sesame Street theme might have said, "Sonny Gray, sweeping the... O's away." He pitched into the 7th inning of the nightcap, allowing no runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, with 7 strikeouts. He was aided by a home run by Austin Romine.

Yankees 5, Orioles 1. WP: Gray (10-8). SV: Dellin Betances (1). LP: Andrew Cashner (4-12).

Of course, the sweep wasn't yet complete. On Sunday, the Yankees scored 2 in the 2nd inning, on a home run by Luke Voit, and 2 more in the 3rd. That was all that Luis Severino needed, as he pitched into the 6th, and got 3 1/rd innings of scoreless relief from Green, Britton and Robertson.

Yankees 5, Orioles 3. WP: Severino (17-6). SV: David Roberts (4). L: Dylan Bundy (7-13).

With 4 weeks left in the regular season, the Yankees are 6 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division, 5 in the all-important loss column. It doesn't look good. We're in the driver's seat for home-field advantage in the AL Wild Card Game, but the winner will almost certainly face the Red Sox in the AL Division Series, with the Sox having home-field advantage.

Winning the Division should have been made a priority. It wasn't, and even a 4-game sweep on the road didn't help the Yankees much.

Yankees Unload Lumber, Sweep Those Pesky Blue Jays

Those pesky Toronto Blue Jays came into Yankee Stadium for a 3-game weekend series. Lance Lynn started the Friday night game, but allowed 4 runs in the 1st inning, and didn't get past the 4th. Between them, though, Chad Green and David Robertson pitched 3 shutout innings.

The Yankees answered that 4-run Jays 1st inning with 2 runs of their own, and then took the lead on Neil Walker's 3-run home run in the 5th. The Jays tied it in the top of the 5th. Then came the bottom of the 5th. Cliche alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Aaron Hicks provided one, Miguel Andujar singled him over to 3rd, and Gleyber Torres grounded into a force play that got Hicks home and gave the Yankees the lead.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run in the bottom of the 7th to make it Yankees 7, Blue Jays 5. But after one more at-bat, a strikeout by Hicks, it started to rain. Given how far along the game was, the umpires called it, and the current score became official and final. WP: Green (6-2). SV: Robertson (3). LP: Joe Biagini (1-7).

*

Five runs wasn't enough for the Jays on Friday night. Six wasn't close to enough for them yesterday afternoon. Luis Severino wasn't great, but he didn't have to be, as the Yankees broke out the lumber. Didi Gregorius homered in the 1st inning, Stanton did it in the 4th, Andjuar in the 5th, and Greg Bird in the 8th.

Yankees 11, Blue Jays 6. WP: Severino (16-6). No save. LP: Sean Reid-Foley (0-2).

*

The Yankees kept pounding this afternoon, and got the sweep. Bird added another homer in the 1st inning, a grand slam. That was all the cushion that J.A. Happ would need, as he got into the 6th inning, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, just 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. Ronald Torreyes contributed 3 hits, Torres 2. In addition to Bird's 4 with 1 swing of the bat, Andujar and Kyle Higashioka each had 2 RBIs.

Yankees 10, Blue Jays 2. WP: Happ (14-6). No save. LP: Ryan Borucki (2-3).

Still, the Yankees are 9 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division. There are 6 weeks to go. We are not winning the Division, and we will have to win a single win-or-go-home game just to set up an AL Division Series matchup with the Sox. Add winning that, and it's a tall order for the Yankees to meet what should have been the minimum requirement for the season: Equaling last season.

Yanks Take 3 of 4 From Texas, But Don't Get Your Hopes Up

After a Sox-filled roadtrip, getting humiliated by the Red ones in Boston and taking their frustrations out on the White ones in Chicago, the Yankees came home to play 4 against the Texas Rangers.

Didi Gregorius drew a walk in the 1st inning, and Aaron Hicks hit a home run. Miguel Andujar (2 runs) and Neil Walker (solo) had back-to-back jacks in the 4th, to make it 5-1 Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton added a homer in the 5th, and Walker hit another in the 6th.

That was more than enough for J.A. Happ, who wwent 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 9. David Robertson pitched a scoreless 7th, and Dellin Betances a perfect 8th. Aroldis Chapman hadn't pitched at all in the Chicago series, so they had to give him some work. Sometimes, that doesn't work out well: He's been known to take some big leads and make them shaky. Not this time: He walked 2, but allowed no hits and no runs.

Yankees 7, Rangers 3. WP: Happ (12-6). SV: None. For the 4th straight game, the Yankees won without a save. LP: Ariel Jurado (2-2).

*

The Yankees got 7 runs on Thursday night, and it was plenty. They also got 7 runs on Friday night, and it wasn't nearly enough. Brett Gardner hit a home run in the 5th inning, and Austin Romine in the 7th. Romine and Gregorius each got 3 hits.

But the pitching wasn't there. Masahiro Tanaka allowed 6 runs in 5 innings, A.J. Cole 4 in 2, Chad Green 2 in 1. Only Zach Britton, in the 9th, emerged unscathed.

Rangers 12, Yankees 7. WP: Mike Minor (9-6). No save. LP: Tanaka (9-3).

*

The Saturday afternoon game looked like it was going to go the Yankees' way. They got 2 runs in the 1st inning, including another homer by the on-fire Stanton. Lance Lynn had pitched very well, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 8.

And then, Aaron Boone pulled a blunder right out of Joe Girardi's binder. Lynn had thrown 99 pitches. A smart manager would have left him in, but Boone either isn't smart, or (this may be more likely) is, as Girardi may have been, under orders from Brian Cashman, who isn't smart, to adhere to a pitch limit.

So David Robertson was brought in, and he pitched a perfect 6th. Naturally, a smart manager would leave him in. Boone didn't do this. He brought Britton in to pitch the 7th, and then brought Betances in to finish the inning. Between them, they blew it, allowing the game to be tied.

But Andujar hit a home run in the bottom of the 7th. Betances shook off his bad 7th to pitch a perfect 8th. Chapman loaded the bases in the 9th, but got out of it.

Yankees 5, Rangers 3. WP: Betances (3-3). SV: Chapman (30). LP: Chris Martin (1-3).

*

Stanton kept his hot streak going in the Sunday afternoon game, hitting one out in the 1st inning. Other than that, it was a tight pitching duel between CC Sabathia and Martin Perez, until the bottom of the 5th. With 1 out, Romine beat out an infield single. Gardner doubled, and Hicks singled Romine home. Stanton singled. Andujar got Hicks home on a groundout. And Gregorious hit a home run.

Sonny Gray almost blew it in the 7th, but Jonathan Holder got through the 8th and the 9th with no runs. Yankees 7, Rangers 2. WP: Sabathia (7-4). No save. LP: Perez (2-5).

I often say that, as long as the number of weeks left in the sregular eason exceeds the number of games behind a baseball team is, they have a chance. There are now 7 weeks to go, and the Yankees trail the Boston Red Sox by 9 1/2 games in the American League Eastern Division, albeit by "only" 8 in the all-important loss column. 8 > 7, so the Yankees don't have a very good chance.

They do, however, remain in the driver's seat to host the AL Wild Card game. But, given that this is the most gutless bunch of Yankees in the last 100 years -- since before Babe Ruth arrived -- I don't like their chances in the Wild Card Game.

Then again, I didn't like said chances last season, and they won. And they won the AL Division Series, too. But they still looked really bad in losing the AL Championship Series.

And, let's not forget: If the Yankees do win the Wild Card Game, they advance to the ALDS, where they would give up home-field advantage to the team with the AL's best record. And that will probably be the Red Sox.

So don't get your hopes up.

Take 3 From the White Sox and Call Me In the Morning

After their worst regular-season series in memory, a 4-game debacle at Fenway Park, the Yankees went out to Chicago to play the White Sox, who are having an awful season.

The South Siders turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. New acquisition Lance Lynn pitched beautifully, going 7 1/3rd innings, allowing no runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 9. The Yankees backed up him with 2 runs in the 4th inning, 2 more in the 5th, and 3 in the 8th thanks to home runs by Gleyber Torres and Neil Walker.

A.J. Cole finished what turned out to be a 3-hit shutout. WP: Lynn (8-8). No save. LP: Dylan Covey (4-8).

The Tuesday night game was a bit tougher. CC Sabathia got into the 6th inning, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 3 hits, striking out 12. And then Aaron Boone turned to Joe Girardi's binder, and played musical chairs with the bullpen: Chad Green got the last out in the 6th, David Robertson pitched a perfect 7th, Dellin Betances struck out the side in a perfect 8th, and Jonathan Holder pitched a perfect 9th. But except for a Miguel Andujar homer leading off the top of the 7th, the Yankees couldn't score, either.

So it went to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Brett Gardner drew a walk, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run, to make it 3-1 New York. And then this turned into a game that turned the Yankee season as we know it on its head. Zach Britton blew the save by hitting Omar Navarez with a pitcher and giving up a homer to Jose Abreu.

It turned out to be Sonny Gray, who can't seem to beat anybody but the Baltimore Orioles, who was the winning pitcher. He pitched a perfect 11th inning, and worked in and out of trouble in the 12th. With 1 out in the top of the 13th, Didi Gregorius drew a walk, Luke Voit single, and Andujar singled Didi home. Gray went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 13th, and it was over.

Yankees 4, White Sox 3. WP: Gray (9-8). No save. LP: Luis Avilan (2-1).

Luis Severino got into immediate trouble in the Wednesday night game, allowing 2 runs in the 1st inning. But the Yankees not only bailed him out, they blew up the jail.

Cliche alert: Walks can kill you,, especially the leadoff variety. Torres led off the top of the 2nd with a walk. Andujar struck out, but Walker singled, Austin Romine singled Torres home, and Shane Robinson singled Walker home. Gardner was hit by a pitch. Bases loaded. And Stanton hit a screamer down the right field line for a grand slam. 6-2 Yankees.

Aaron Hicks added a home run in the 5th, which the White Sox answered, but other than that Severino cruised until the 7th. Green pitched a scoreless 8th, Holder a scoreless 9th. Yankees 7, White Sox 3. WP: Severino (15-5). A 3-game sweep with no saves, and I have no idea how long it's been since the Yankees did that. LP: Lucas Giolito (7-9).

Yankees Can Only Manage a Weak Split In Cleveland

The Yankees went out to Cleveland to play the Indians in a 4-game weekend series at Progressive Field.

Yankees 7, Indians 4. Luis Severino started the Thursday night game, and didn't have it: 5 innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, though only 1 walk. Between them, however, the bullpen was fantastic: Adam Warren pitched a perfect 6th, David Robertson a perfect 7th, Dellin Betances a scoreless and hitless 8th with just 1 walk, and Aroldis Chapman a perfect 9th.

The Yankees trailed 2-0 in the top of the 3rd, when Brett Gardner hit a home run to tie it. They fell behind 3-2 in the bottom of the 3rd, then took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 4th on a home run by Didi Gregorius, a single by Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks reaching on an error, and Greg Bird doubling Stanton home.

The Indians tied it 4-4 in the 7th, but in the 8th, the Yankees put it away. Cliche alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Didi drew a leadoff walk against Corey Kluber. Stanton nearly hit one out, but it was caught. Hicks doubled Didi home.

Only then did Indians manager Terry Francona bring in a reliever, and it was former Met Oliver Perez. Hicks stole 3rd, and Bird hit a sacrifice fly to get him home. Gardner added another homer in the 9th to forge the final score.

Yankees 7, Indians 4. WP: Robertson (6-3). SV: Chapman (25). LP: Kluber (12-5).

*

The Friday night game wasn't so lucky. Domingo German is young, and not ready for the Yankee starting rotation. He lasted only 4 innings, and allowed 6 runs. As with the night before, the Yankee bullpen didn't allow any runs, but, this time, it was too late.

Bird and Tyler Wade each had 2 hits. Gardner had 2 RBIs. And Stanton hit a home run. But it wasn't enough. Indians 6, Yankees 5. WP: Shane Bieber (5-1 -- and that's Shane, not Justin). SV: Cody Allen (19). LP: German (2-5).

*

The Saturday night game was an improvement. The 1st 3 batters of the game were Gardner with a walk (cliche alert), Aaron Judge with a single, and Didi with a home run. So CC Sabathia had a 3-0 lead before he ever took the mound against his former team.

Good thing, because he allowed a homer in the bottom of the 1st. And he did not have a good outing, allowing 4 runs in less than 6 innings. Again, the bullpen got the job done, going 3 1/3rd innings, no runs, no hits, 2 walks.

Bird hit a home run in the 6th. Austin Romine led off the 7th with a double, and was able to come around to score on a throwing error by Indians right fielder Brandon Guyer. That made the difference in the ballgame.

Yankees 5, Indians 4. WP: Robertson (7-3). SV: Chapman (26). LP: Mike Clevinger (7-5).

*

But the Yankees blew the Sunday afternoon game. An RBI single by Hicks in the 3rd and a homer by Neil Walker in the 4th game them a 2-0 lead. But Masahiro Tanaka allowed a game-tying home run in the 4th.

It was still 2-2 going to the bottom of the 7th, when Tanaka allowed a leadoff single. Manager Aaron Boone picked up Joe Girardi's Binder, which is the opposite of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Right there, on the cover, in huge letters, is the word, "PANIC!" He pulled Tanaka for Chad Green, who got out of it.

But he left Green in to start the 8th, and he allowed a leadoff homer to Michael Brantley. Then he allowed 2 more runs.

Indians 5, Yankees 2. WP: Carlos Carrasco (11-5). SV: Allen (20). LP: Green (5-2).

All 4 games were loseable, so getting 2 wins might seem good. But all 4 games were also winnable, so getting only 2 wins is not good. Especially the way the Boston Red Sox are playing.

Yankees Have Sickening Series in Texas

On Monday, the Yankees started a 3-game series away to the Texas Rangers. Masahiro Tanaka started, and was not at his best, allowing 4 runs in 5 innings.

But neither did that big fat cheating ex-Yankee tub of goo, Bartolo Colon, pitch well. The much-hyped rookie Gleyber Torres, the much-hyped no-longer-rookie Aaron Judge, and the veteran Neil Walker all hit home runs off him. In Walker's case, it was his 1st of the season.

The game was tied 5-5 going into the 6th. Then, Torres took Colon deep again, for his 1st major league 2-homer game. Keep in mind: When Colon made his major league debut, on April 4, 1997, Torres was not yet 4 months old.

That homer provided the margin of victory, although the Yankees added more, including a home run by Aaron Hicks. Chad Green, David Robertson and Jonathan Holder provided solid relief.

Yankees 10, Rangers 5. WP: Tanaka (5-2). No save. LP: Colon (2-2).

*

The Yankees were never in the Tuesday night game. The Rangers roughed Domingo German up, scoring 3 runs off him in the 1st inning and 2 more in the 2nd, and coasted from there. The Yankees simply couldn't reach former Phillies star Cole Hamels until the 7th inning. Torres hit another homer, and others were added by Miguel Andujar and Austin Romine, but it wouldn't be enough.

Rangers 6, Yankees 4. WP: Hamels (3-4). SV: Keone Kela (9). LP: German (0-2).

*

The Wednesday game was a sickening end to a sickening series. The Yankees hit 4 home runs: Another by Torres, another by Judge, another by Walker, and one by Didi Gregorius. They led 3-0 before the Rangers even came to bat, and 4-0 going into the bottom of the 4th. And blew it. CC Sabathia lost his control, allowing 2 walks, a single, and 2 home runs, and, just like that, it was 5-4 Rangers.

But the Yankees scored 6 runs in the 5th, and suddenly it was 10-5 Yankees. But they blew this, too. For some reason, general manager Brian Cashman believes that Chasen Shreve belongs in the major leagues. He doesn't. But veterans David Robertson and Dellin Betances were not appreciably better.

Rangers 12, Yankees 10. WP: Alex Claudio (2-2). SV: Kela (10). LP: David Robertson (3-2).

The Yankees come home for a Memorial Day weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels of Run-On Sentences. They'd better get good pitching, because to get 14 runs and still go 0-2 is not good.

Yankees Sweep Angels in Anaheim

Note: Due to my new job eating a lot of time, I fell 7 games behind. I've fixed the dates on these posts to make them look a bit more timely.

After an extra-inning thriller on Friday night, the Yankees decided to have a little fun. As yo ucan see by the photo of Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius above, they succeeded.

Jacob Ruppert, who owned the Yankees from 1915 until his death in 1939, bought Babe Ruth, and built the 1st Yankee Stadium and the 1st Yankee Dynasty, said his idea of a perfect day was when the Yankees scored 9 runs in the 1st inning, and slowly pulled away.

This game, against "the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" at "Angel Stadium of Anaheim," wasn't quite that, but still rather satisfying.

Brett Gardner struck out to start the game, but Aaron Judge singled to center. Didi drew a walk. Giancarlo Stanton reached on an error. Sanchez doubled to left. Aaron Hicks got an RBI groundout to 2nd. Neil Walker struck out, but, Tommy Henrich and Mickey Owen 1941-style, the ball got away from Angels catcher Martin Maldonado, Walker got to 1st base, and Sanchez scored. Miguel Andujar doubled to left. The Yankees scored 5 runs before the Angels even came to bat for the 1st time.

2nd inning: Again, Gardner led off, and this time, he drew a walk. The cliche of "Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety" doesn't really apply here, since the Angels were already "mortally wounded." Judge doubled to left. Didi and GCS (are we allowed to call Giancarlo Stanton "GCS"?) both grounded out, but Sanchez drew a walk, and Hicks tripled to right. Walker singled up the middle. Andujar singled to right. Gleyber Torres, who ended the previous inning with a groundout, singled to left.

Gardner grounded to 2nd to end the inning, but think about this: By this point, the Yankees had sent as many batters named Brett Gardner to the plate as the Angels had sent batters of any name: 3.

Given that support, Masahiro Tanaka didn't have to be particularly good, but he went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 9. Typical for him, even on a good night, the run was a home run, but Zack Cozart in the 5th inning.

Chasen Shreve pitched a scoreless 7th inning, and A.J. Cole, a former Washington National making his Yankee debut, pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th. The Yankees added a run on a Walker single in the 8th. Yankees 11, Angels 1. WP: Tanaka (4-2). No save. LP: Garrett Richards (3-1).

*

The Sunday game was a lot more like the Friday game. Same result, though, which is good for me, because I'm a Yankee Fan. Hopefully, you're also a Yankee Fan, meaning it's good for you, too.

CC Sabathia took the mound, and turned back the years: 7 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk. Chad Green pitched a scoreless 8th, Aroldis Chapman a scoreless 9th.

So CC needed 2 runs. He got them. Stanton doubled in the 4th, and Sanchez followed this with a home run, his 7th of the season.

Yankees 2, Angels 1. That's 9 wins in a row. WP: Sabathia (2-0). SV Chapman (6). LP: Tyler Skaggs (3-2).

With this 7-game roadtrip to Anaheim and Houston, 2 places where the Yankees have had problems in the past, I was hoping they would be able to take 5 out of 7. Well, now, they would only need a split in Houston to do that.

Bring on the defending World Champions.