IKF Leads Yankee Win Over Mariners

Just the luck to which the Cashman Era Yankees have become accustomed: On the day that Aaron Hicks, who had been designated for assignment, got picked up by a Divisional opponent, the Baltimore Orioles, the center fielder who replaced him, Harrison Bader, went on the Injured List.

Fortunately, for last night's middle game of a series away to the Seattle Mariners, catcher Jose Trevino was activated from said Injured List. He went 0-for-4, but did draw a walk. 

Nestor Cortés started. Over the 1st 4 innings, he allowed no runs on 3 hits and a walk. But in the 5th, he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. After the 4th inning this season, his ERA is 14.67.

Fortunately, the Yankees gave him some run support, early and often. The game began with Gleyber Torres singling, Aaron Judge drawing a walk, Willie Calhoun flying out, DJ LeMahieu reaching on an error, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singling Torres and Judge home, and Jake Bauers hitting a sacrifice fly that scored LeMahieu. It was 3-0 Yankees.

In the 3rd, Calhoun and IKF singled, and Anthony Volpe hit a home run, to make it 6-0. In the 4th, Greg Allen hit a solo home run, so it was 7-0 before Cortés faltered and made it 7-2. Judge led off the 7th with a home run. IKF singled home 2 runs in the 9th. On the night, he went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs. His batting average, long under his weight, is now up to .243. Michael King and Ryan Weber each pitched 2 scoreless innings.

Yankees 10, Mariners 2. WP: Cortés (5-2). No save. LP: Logan Gilbert (3-3).

The series concludes tonight. Clarke Schmidt starts against George Kirby. Then the Yankees have tomorrow off. Then they start a series away to the Los Angeles Baseball Team. (I like to call the Dodgers that, in reference to the fact that they left Brooklyn in 1957, and should have given the name up.)

Yanks Top Reds In 10 Despite Needing an "Opener"

Until about 4 hours before yesterday's first pitch at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, the Yankees still had not decided who would be the starting pitcher. They decided to go with an "opener game," with Jhony Brito going on 3 days' rest. He was a bit shaky, allowing 4 runs in 4 innings. The only support he got was from an RBI single by Aaron Judge in the 3rd inning.

But the bullpen, according to plan, was fantastic. Ron Marinaccio pitched a scoreless and hitless 5th and 6th innings, Michael King pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th, and Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless 9th.

So the Yankees needed runs. They got 'em, from sources both likely and otherwise. One of the "otherwise" was Isiah Kiner-Falefa: He came into the game batting just .200, but hit a home run in the 5th inning. This was followed later in that inning by an RBI double by Judge and an RBI single by Anthony Rizzo. That tied the game.

The game went to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, the Yankee "ghost runner" was the newly-acquired Greg Allen. And, with 1 out, Judge singled him home. To put an exclamation point on it, Rizzo hit a home run. And Ryan Weber pitched a perfect bottom of the 10th.

Yankees 7, Reds 4. WP: Holmes (2-2). SV: Weber (1). LP: Ian Gibaut (3-1).

The series concludes this afternoon. Luis Severino has come off the Injury List, and will make his 1st start of the season, against Hunter Greene.

Yankees Win Again, Despite Jays' Whining of "Cheating"

What's he looking at now? A replay of the homer?

The Toronto Blue Jays need to shut the hell up. It seems like, every time the Yankees beat them, the Jays find something to whine about, going back at least as far as the Alex Rodriguez "Ha!" incident of 2007. And it also seems like, every time they whine, the Yankees make them pay for it.

Domingo Germán started, and pitched 3 perfect innings. The Yankees staked him to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd. But as he went out for the bottom of the 4th, the Jays told the umpires that he was using a foreign substance on the ball. The so-called "sticky stuff," not the rosin that pitchers are allowed to use to get a better grip.

Germán was thrown out of the game. Since this is the 2nd time he's been caught doing it, it will likely result in a suspension and a fine -- as if the Yankees don't already have enough holes in their starting rotation. And, given Brian Cashman's record as a general manager, I'm not sure hoping for a trade to fill any of these holes is a good idea.

Clearly, this was revenge for what Aaron Judge did the night before. He was caught moving his eyes to the dugout, and then hit a 462-foot home run. The Jays claimed he was looking at something that let him know what the pitcher was going to throw. That's exactly what he was doing: His teammates were letting him know that Toronto pitcher Jay Jackson was "tipping his pitches," doing something that, unconsciously, let everyone know what kind of pitch he was going to throw.

Telling a teammate, verbally or with hand signals, that a pitcher is tipping his pitches is absolutely legal. It's not like an electric or electronic system was being used, like the 1951 New York Giants (the former) or the 2017 Houston Astros (the latter). Nothing artificial was used. It's like the police say: "If you see something, say something."

The Yankees had every right to let Judge know what was coming. But, between what's already being called "The Judge Side-Eye" and Germán's repeat offense, this has already given rise to a new round of how the Yankees are the biggest cheaters of them all, worse than the 2017 Astros (as if the Astros only cheated that season), and worse than the 2003-18 Red Sox (who, of course, get treated as if they never cheated at all).

Germán left the game with a WHIP of 0.896 for the season -- but with a 2-3 record and a 3.75 ERA. If he is "cheating," is it helping much?

At any rate, Ian Hamilton was brought in to replace Germán. Not used to being brought in that early, he immediately blew the perfect game and the no-hitter, giving up a single and a walk. He got 2 strikeouts, then walked another batter to load the bases. And it was still only 2-0 Yankees. Aaron Boone brought Ron Marinaccio in, and he got the last out, to keep it 2-0.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, not an expected power source, hit a home run in the top of the 5th. But Marinaccio fell apart in the bottom of the 5th, and by the time Ryan Weber got the last out in that inning, the game was tied, 3-3. Remember: Marinaccio could have expected to pitch last night, but not so early.

It was still 3-3 as the 8th inning began. Same inning in which Judge had hit the controversial homer the night before. Different pitcher: Erik Swanson. Jose Trevino led off with a single. Gleyber Torres tried to bunt him over, but it didn't work. Next up was Judge. No pitch-tip. No recognition of any such action by anyone in the Yankee dugout. No signal to Judge. No reception of any such signal by Judge. He hit a 448-foot home run anyway.

So, what is a signal of a tipped pitch worth to Aaron Judge? Apparently, 14 feet -- which doesn't matter much when you can already hit the ball 448 feet. And it's legal. It's not cheating. Or even "cheating."

In the 9th, Torres made up for his bad bunt with a sacrifice fly that forged the final score: Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3. WP: Weber (1-0). SV: Wandy Peralta (3). LP: Swanson (2-2).

The series concludes tonight. Gerrit Cole starts against Chris Bassitt.

I Needed a Good Day, and I Got One

Yesterday, I needed a good day. And I got one.

You know what's better than the Yankees smacking the Boston Red Sox around? A few things, but not many. Not quite as good, but almost, is making Red Sox fans look like idiots.

Take the case of Jared Carrabis, one of the guys behind the vulgar, dishonest Barstool Sports, and now Red Sox writer for fools-and-their-money-parters DraftKings and co-host, with former Oakland Athletics perfect-game pitcher and nonetheless jackass Dallas Braden, of a podcast titled Baseball Is Dead.

Last night, after a nice catch by the good-field-not-much-hit Jackie Bradley Jr., he tweeted, "Jackie Bradley Jr. is the best defensive centerfielder in Red Sox history. I know you already know that, but I just had to say it again." Apparently, this great Red Sox fan has never heard of Tris Speaker, or Dom DiMaggio, or Jimmy Piersall, or Fred Lynn. Or even Dave Henderson.

In the 1st inning of last night's game, Rafael Devers hit another home run off the Yankees, and Carrabis tweeted, "RAFFY BIG SCOOPS IS THE OWNER OF THE YANKEES FRANCHISE."

Final score: Yankees 14, Red Sox 1. Who owns who, fool? After the game, he tweeted, "Wasting all their runs in one game like a bunch of dumbasses." Yeah, we know who owns who: The Yankees own you, Jared.

Jameson Taillon gave up that home run to Devers in the top of the 1st inning. The Yankees came right back and tagged Nick Pivetta for 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st. DJ LeMahieu started by flying out to center. But this was followed by a single from Aaron Judge, a double from Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton drawing a walk, Josh Donaldson getting Judge home with a groundout, and Matt Carpenter hitting a home run.

Taillon cruised through the 6th, allowing only 1 more baserunner. He got the support he needed, and there was plenty more where that came from. Judge and Carpenter both hit 2 home runs in this game. And in 3 separate innings -- the 1st, the 4th, and the 8th -- the Yankees scored 4 runs. That produced 2 linescores of 40004. That's the ZIP Code for Bardstown, Kentucky.

As I said: Yankees 14, Red Sox 1. WP: Taillon (10-2). SV: Ryan Weber (1). LP: Pivetta (8-7).

How can a pitcher get a save when his team wins by 13 runs? The rule says that if a pitcher is the last but not winning pitcher in a game won by his team, and "he pitches effectively for at least 3 innings." Weber came in with a 9-run lead, but he pitched 3 innings without blowing the lead. Not only that, he pitched 3 innings, allowing no runs, just 1 hit, and just 1 walk. And these are the cheating Red Sox we're talking about. Maybe if he had done the same thing at Fenway, the save would seem more plausible. But, according to the rule, he earned it.

The series, and the official 1st half of the season (even though this will be Game 92, 11 past the numerical half), concludes this afternoon. It's ace against ace: Gerrit Cole pitches against Chris Sale. Come on you Pinstripes, beat The Scum!

*

Yesterday was a good day for another reason. Arsenal F.C., the North London-based soccer team I root for -- sorry, forgot to speak English there: The Arsenal, the football club I support -- was able to make a Summer tour, after canceling the last 2 years due to COVID concerns. And they've come to America. I wanted to go, as I had in 2014, when they played at Red Bull Arena, but I couldn't afford it.

They played Everton F.C., the blue team in Liverpool, at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, and won, 2-0. The goals came in a 3-minute span in the 1st half, from newly-acquired Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus and last season's breakout star, Bukayo Saka, an Englishman of Nigerian descent. The 2nd half was quieter, meant to give reserves a chance to get good minutes in.

Of particular note was the use of William Saliba. The 6-foot-4 centreback was much-hyped when acquired 3 years ago, but has spent each season since on loan to a team in his native country, France. Now 21 years old, maybe Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta thinks he's finally ready for the Premier League.

Attendance: 39,245. Apparently, they never intended to sell in the upper deck. They could have: Arsenal remain the 3rd-most popular English team in America, behind Manchester United and Liverpool; while Everton, due to having had some American stars like Tim Howard and Landon Donovan, are probably 6th, behind those 3 and Manchester City.

Arsenal now travel to Orlando, to play Orlando City on Thursday and fellow Londoners Chelsea on Sunday. Come on you Gunners!

Rizzo Walkoff Completes Yankee Sweep, Maybe Knocks Rays Out

This Jersey Mike finds both Jersey Mike's subs

and the Yankees' season thus far to be delicious.

The Tampa Bay Rays have been a pain in the Yankees' neck since they got good in 2008. If the Bronx Bombers want to win the World Series, they're going to have to eliminate the Rays as an American League Eastern Division threat -- among other things.

They may have done that for this season this week, and it's still only mid-June.

Luis Severino was supposed to start the game, but was sick -- apparently, not COVID, as he's been allowed to join the team on their roadtrip to Toronto, and Canada has stricter COVID protocols than America. So both teams were going to do a "bullpen game" last night. So anybody predicting a final score of 2-1, either way, was taking a gamble.

But that's what happened. Clarke Schmidt started for the Yankees, and went 3 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk. Ryan Weber was called up for this game -- apparently, just for this game -- and went 3 2/3rds, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and no walks. Ron Marinaccio went an inning and 1/3rd, perfect. And Michael King pitched a scoreless 9th.

But against 7 Rays pitchers, the Yankees had trouble scoring runs as well. They didn't get a baserunner until Aaron Judge drew a walk in the 4th inning, and fell behind 1-0 on a home run in the 5th. With 2 out in the 6th, well, you know the cliché: Walks can kill you. DJ LeMahieu drew one, Judge drew another, and Anthony Rizzo singled LeMahieu home.

With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Rizzo struck again: Walkoff home run. Yankees 2, Rays 1. WP: King (4-1). No save. LP: Shawn Armstrong (0-1). That's 7 in a row, 14 of the last 15, and 47-16 on the season, a 121-win pace. That's insane. I love it.

The win puts the Yankees 12 games ahead of the Rays in the AL East. The Toronto Blue Jays lost last night, so they fell to 10 games back. The Magic Number for the Yankees to clinch is 90.

After the game, Severino was reinstated... and Weber was designated for assignment. It was like, "Thanks a lot, you may have earned yourself a World Series ring with less than 4 innings of work. Now, get outta here!"

So now, the Yankees go off to Toronto, with a chance to essentially end the AL East race this weekend. Tonight, Jordan Montgomery starts against Ross Stripling -- both of them sounding like the names of law firms.