Third Triple Play's the Charm as Yanks Beat A's

Today is the first day of Summer. And the Major League Baseball season is now 44 percent in the books. It looked for a while like the Yankees were sure to make the Playoffs. Then, sure not to.

Now, who knows? But they are certainly making things interesting.

An improved crowd of 27,807 came out to Yankee Stadium II for yesterday's finale of the series with the Oakland Athletics. Jordan Montgomery started, and he pitched very well, getting into the 6th inning, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6. But he would not be the winning pitcher, as the Yankees didn't hit for him. Gary Sanchez in the 1st inning and DJ LeMahieu in the 3rd each hit a 2-out double, but weren't brought home.

Then came the bottom of the 6th, with the Yankees trailing 1-0. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Clint Frazier led off by working Sean Manaea for a walk. LeMahieu struck out, but Judge worked Manaea for another walk. Sanchez hit another double to get Frazier and Judge home. 2-1 Yankees.

Jonathan Loáisiga finished the 6th and the 7th, allowing just 1 baserunner, a walk that didn't kill anybody. Lucas Luetge pitched a scoreless 8th. Of course, Aaron Boone brought Aroldis Chapman on for the 9th. But, once again, he made things more interesting than they had to be. Remember what I said about walks? Chapman started by walking former Red Sox pain in the neck Jed Lowrie, and then walking Tony Kemp. Now, it was tying run on 2nd, potential winning run on 1st, nobody out, and Chapman not throwing enough heat.

The batter was Sean Murphy. He hit a sharp grounder to 3rd. Gio Urshela hauled it in, and stepped on 3rd base. One out. He threw to LeMahieu at 2nd. Two out, LeMahieu threw to Chris Gittens at 1st base. Three out.

It was the Yankees' 3rd triple play of the season, which had never happened before. Cliché Alert: The third time is the charm.

Ballgame over. Yankees win. Theeeeeeee Yankees win! Yankees 2, A's 1. WP: Loáisiga (7-2). SV: Chapman (16). LP: Manaea (6-3).

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So here we are, at the dawn of Summer, watching "The Summer Game." The Yankees are 38-33, for a winning percentage of .535, which works out to a record of 87-75 for a full season. That will probably be enough to make the Playoffs, but not to win the American League Eastern Division. The Boston Red Sox lead it by half a game over the Tampa Bay Rays, while the Yankees are 4 1/2 games back -- 4 games back in, Cliché Alert, the all-important loss column.

Things are improving. Sanchez has snapped out of a 2-year slump, and is getting key hits. Judge and Stanton are getting more selective at the plate: Walking more, striking out less, and realizing that not every contact made has to result in a home run, that singles are okay, too. Urshela and Brett Gardner are also hitting better.

There are still issues. With Luis Severino out for at least another month, and Corey Kluber out for probably more than that, there are still 2 holes in the starting rotation, and Jameson Taillon and Michael King have not been the answer. Chapman still puts the game at risk nearly every time, even if he gets out of it nearly every time.

LeMahieu, while not bad, hasn't been as productive as he was the preceding 6 years, the last 2 of them with the Yankees. We're going to need him to hit better. Center field is still an issue, with Aaron Hicks out for the season. But Judge is showing that he can play center, and with Frazier showing the ability to play all 3 outfield positions, maybe Judge doesn't have to be the right fielder every game.

This week, the Sox and Rays play each other, so the Yankees will get some help, if not enough help. The Yankees have today off, before beginning a home series with the Kansas City Royals tomorrow night.

Yanks Shuffle Out of Buffalo With Sweep of Pesky Blue Jays

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that the 1st live game I saw, at the old Yankee stadium in 1978, was against the Toronto Blue Jays, and that they beat the Yankees, and that the Jays seemed to beat the Yankees every time I saw them play until the late 1990s Dynasty began,, and that's why I call them "those pesky Blue Jays."

So, while I don't hate them as much as I hate the Boston Red Sox, or perhaps some other teams, I do have a burr under my saddle when it comes to them.

So it's always good to see them lose. And it is  certainly good to see the Yankees sweep them, regardless of whether it's in The Bronx, or Toronto or, as was the case this time, Buffalo.

Buffalo's ballpark, a replacement for the old War Memorial Stadium, opened in 1988, hoping to soon be the home of an expansion team. Since the Buffalo Bisons are Class AAA (or "Triple-A"), a capacity of 19,500 was deemed sufficient for that, but the mezzanine was set up so that it could be expanded into a true upper deck, increasing capacity to a major-league ready 41,530.

In 1991, Major League Baseball decided that the 2 new expansion teams for 1993 would be Denver (the Colorado Rockies) and Miami (the Florida Marlins, renamed the Miami Marlins in 2012). Buffalo got bypassed again in 1995, when Phoenix (the Arizona Diamondbacks) and Tampa (the Tampa Bay Rays) were selected for 1998.

Still, the Bisons kept going, winning International League Pennants in 1997, 1998 and 2004, and vying with Louisville, Kentucky for the attendance leadership in minor-league baseball. The naming rights changed a few times: Pilot Field, for Pilot Air Freight, until 1995; then North AmeriCare Park, for a health care company, until 1999; then Dunn Tire Park, for a tire salon outfit, until 2008; then Coca-Cola Field until 2018; and, since then, Sahlen Field, for a local meat packing company.

Current capacity is listed at 16,600. When COVID restrictions forced the Blue Jays to play there, in the closest big city to Toronto, they paid for some improvements, including to the lighting and the scoreboards, to bring Sahlen Field up to major league sufficiency.

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Last night, the Yankees faced the hole in the starting rotation caused by the injury to Corey Kluber, and started Michael King. He didn't get out of the 5 inning, allowing 2 runs. He was also responsible for a runner in the 5th that Lucas Luetge allowed to score. And Chad Green allowed another run in the 6th. It wasn't looking good for the Bronx Bombers.

They managed to get a run on a fielder's choice in the 2nd inning, and Gio Urshela hit a home run in the 3rd. But it was still 4-3 Jays going to the top of the 7th. It could have been even worse had it not been for some bad hitting by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and some worse baserunning by Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette, in the 1st inning that led to the Yankees' 2nd triple play of the season.

But Rougned Odor led off the 7th inning with a single, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run to give the Yankees the lead. One thing led to another, and rookie Chris Gittens singled home 2 more runs. Gittens drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the 9th.

Green settled down after allowing his run, Jonathan Loaisiga threw some nasty stuff to close the 7th and the 8th, and Zack Britton pitched a hitless 9th to end it. Yankees 8, Blue Jays 4. WP: Green (1-4). No save. LP: Anthony Castro (1-2).

The completion of the sweep, and the completion of the roadtrip, means the Yankees are now 36-32. They are 6 games, 5 in the loss column, behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, as they come home to start a homestand, against the AL Western Division-leading Oakland Athletics.

How Long It's Been: The Yankees Pulled a Triple Play

Last night, the Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1, on an RBI single by Gleyber Torres in the bottom of the 9th inning.

In the top of the 9th, Aroldis Chapman was brought in to pitch, and he let the 1st 2 men get on base: A walk to Yermin Mercedes, with Billy Hamilton pinch-running for him; and a bunt by Leury Garcia, which Chapman tried to handle himself, and couldn't.

All I could think of was the old line from Star Wars: "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

The batter was Andrew Vaughn. He hit a hard shot toward 3rd base. Gio Urshela got it, and stepped on 3rd. 1 out. He threw to 2nd, where Rougned Odor stepped on the bag. 2 outs. Odor threw to 1st, and Luke Voit got it before Vaughn could get to the base. 3 out.

A triple play. I've seen footage of triple plays after the fact before, but this is the 1st time I can ever remember seeing one as it happened, either live or on TV.

It was the 1st one pulled by the Yankees since April 17, 2014. It happened on the horrible carpet of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Yankees ended up beating the Rays 10-2, thanks to home runs by Alfonso Soriano, Brian McCann and Yangervis Solarte.

The triple play came in the bottom of the 2nd. CC Sabathia allowed a leadoff double to Evan Longoria, and then walked Wil Myers. Sean Rodriguez hit a ground ball to 3rd base, where Solarte took it, stepped on 3rd, and threw to 2nd. Brian Roberts took it, stepped on 2nd, and threw to 1st. Scott Sizemore caught the 3rd out.

That was 7 years, 1 month and 4 days before last night's Yankee triple play. How long has that been?

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For one thing, of the 14 Yankees who played in that game, only Brett Gardner, a late defensive replacement, is still playing for them. The only other one still playing in the major leagues is Dellin Betances, with the Mets. (He relieved Sabathia, who pitched 7 innings for the win.) Solarte is still playing, but in the Mexican League. No other Yankee then on the roster is still there, although Adam Warren has left and been brought back.

The Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers have opened new ballparks. The Oakland Raiders have moved to Las Vegas, the St. Louis Rams and the San Diego Chargers have both moved back to Los Angeles, and all of them have built new stadiums. So have the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons. The Vegas Golden Knights began play. They, the Edmonton Oilers, the Sacramento Kings, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Detroit Pistons and Red Wings have opened new arenas.

Bob Melvin of the Oakland Athletics, and Terry Francona of the Cleveland Indians are the only MLB managers still running the same teams they were at the time. Head coaching changes have since come to the Yankees once; the Mets, the New York Rangers, and the New York Islanders twice each; the New York Liberty and the New York Red Bulls 3 times; the New York Jets, the New Jersey Devils and New York City FC 4 times each; the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Nets 5 times, the New York Knicks 6 times.

The San Francisco Giants, the Kansas City Royals (who hadn't done it in 30 years), the Chicago Cubs (who hadn't done it in 108 years), the Houston Astros (who had never done it in 56 years of trying), the Boston Red Sox, the Washington Nationals (who had never done it in 15 years of trying) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (who hadn't done it in 32 years) have won the World Series. The Mets, the Cleveland Indians and the Tampa Bay Rays have won Pennants. The Yankees haven't won either.

The defending World Champions were the Red Sox, the Seattle Seahawks, the Miami Heat and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Heavyweight Champion of the World was, aw, who the hell knows, the title's been split so many ways. The Olympic Games have since been held in Brazil and Korea; the World Cup, in Brail and Russia.

The President of the United States was Barack Obama. The Governor of the State of New York was Andrew Cuomo (that hasn't changed), and the Mayor of the City New York was Bill de Blasio (that hasn't changed, either). The Governor of New Jersey was Chris Christie.

The Prime Minister of Britain was David Cameron. The Pope was the same as now, Francis. There have since been 3 Presidents of the United States, 3 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 1 Pope.

The films Divergent, Muppets Most Wanted, Noah, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Draft Day and Oculus were in theaters. Jimmy Fallon had just become the host of The Tonight Show. Chicago P.D., Bitten, Wahlburgers, Black Sails, Chrisley Knows Best and The 100 had recently debuted on television. Psych, How I Met Your Mother and Being Human had recently aired their last first-run episodes. The Number 1 song in America was "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.

Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.13 would buy now. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed that day at 16,408.54. There was no TikTok yet, and Vine has both come and gone.

In the Spring of 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 crashed into the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people on board. Russia annexed the Crimea from Ukraine, causing the other 7 members to suspend them from the Group of 8. Islamic fundamentalists kidnapped 276 girls from a school in Nigeria. A Korean ferry sinks, killing 304 people. And, in order to save money, the City of Flint, Michigan changes the source of its water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the considerably less-regulated Flint River, starting the Flint Water Crisis.

Maya Angelou, and formerly imprisoned boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, and Brazilian soccer legend Hilderaldo Bellini died. Nobody yet particularly famous was born yet, but Clint Frazier, Tyler Wade, Miguel Andujar and Michael King were just 19 years old, and Gleyber Torres was only 17.

April 17, 2014. The Yankees pulled off a triple play. Last night, they did it again, 7 years later.

Does it matter? In 2014, it didn't: They missed the Playoffs. If they make the Playoffs in 2021, that triple play might end up having had something to do with it.

Something Special May Be Going On With the Yankees

Every year, one baseball team goes on to win the World Series. And every year, there is one game they can look back on, point two, and say, this was when we knew something special was going on.

If the Yankees do manage to win the World Series this year, the game we are going to point to won't be Corey Kluber's no-hitter, as thrilling as that was. It will be last night's opener of a 3-game home Series against the Chicago White Sox.

The Pale Hose came into this game with the best record in the American League, 26-16. They also came in with Tony La Russa, age 76, having returned to his 1st MLB managing job (1979-86), having courted controversy, above and beyond his off-season drunk-driving issue.

Jordan Montgomery was coming off a couple of bad starts, but took the mound last night as if he was trying to keep up with the other starting pitchers follow done exceptionally well lately. He made the best start of his career, pitching 7 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and no walks, striking out 11.

The problem was, ChiSox starter Carlos Rodon was also sensational, going 6 shutout innings, 2 hits, no walks, 13 strikeouts. But he threw 95 pitches in those 6 innings, whereas Montgomery threw in his 7, And that may have made all the difference.

The Yankees finally took the lead when Gleyber Torres hit a home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th. It was measured at 345 feet, a true "short porch" home run. But with how difficult it's been for anybody to score runs this season, I don't want to hear anybody calling this a "cheap" home run.

But you know what I say about walks, especially the leadoff variety, right? Jonathan Loaisiga came in to relieve Montgomery, and promptly gave that lead right back: Walk, wild pitch, groundout, single. 1-1.

In the bottom of the 8th, the Yankees loaded the bases, and then, on the next 2 plays, grounded into a force play at home plate, and grounding into an inning-ending double play. So far, this season, the Yankees have made 20 outs on the base paths, 10 of them at home plate. In each of those categories, they lead the major leagues. That is unacceptable.

Aroldis Chapman was brought in to pitch the top of the 9th, and he led the 1st 2 men get on base: A walk to Yermin Mercedes, with Billy Hamilton pinch-running for him; and a bunt by Leury Garcia, which Chapman tried to handle himself, and couldn't. All I could think of was the old line from Star Wars: "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

The batter was Andrew Vaughn. He hit a hard shot toward 3rd base. Gio Urshela got it, and stepped on 3rd. 1 out. He threw to 2nd, where Rougned Odor stepped on the bag. 2 outs. Odor threw to 1st, and Luke Voit got it before Vaughn could get to the base. 3 out.

A triple play. I've seen footage of triple plays after the fact before, but this is the 1st time I can ever remember seeing one as it happened, either live or on TV. It was the 1st one pulled by the Yankees since April 17, 2014.

I got a big charge out of it. Now, I thought, they just have to take that momentum, and win this game in the bottom of the 9th. I wasn't even thinking about extra innings, and that stupid "ghost runner" rule.

Anybody who was thinking about it didn't have to think about it for very long. The Yankees won the game with 3 straight singles: A line drive to center by Aaron Judge, a line drive to right-center by Urshela, and a ground ball through the short-3rd hole by Torres. This time, there would be no out at the plate, as left fielder Vaughn's throw was off the mark, and Judge scored easily.

Yankees 2, White Sox 1. WP: Chapman (3-0). No save. LP: Evan Marshall (0-2).

What a game. I felt really charged up, like I'd said, "SHAZAM!" and it worked. This felt like some of those "team of destiny" games from late 1978, all through 1996, and all through 2009.

With the Boston Red Sox also winning last night, 11-3 over the Phillies in an Interleague game in Philadelphia, the Yankees remain a game and a half behind the Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division, 1 back in the all-important loss column.

The series with the White Sox continues this afternoon. Gerrit Cole starts against Dylan Cease.

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There was some serious action going on last night. The Mets got into a bottom of the 9th jam in Miami, took a 6-3 lead in the 12th, and barely hung on to beat the Marlins 6-5. The Los Angeles Dodgers went to San Francisco and beat the arch-rival Giants 2-1.

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-4, getting 3 home runs from Jesse Winker. He currently leads the National League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. 

In a Battle of Texas, the Houston Astros took a 5-3 lead on the Texas Rangers in the top of the 10th, but a home run by Adolis Garcia gave the Rangers a 7-5 win. The Tampa Bay Rays went to Toronto and beat the Blue Jays 9-7 in 12 innings.

The Minnesota Twins went to Cleveland and beat the Indians 10-0. It gets worse. The San Diego Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 16-1. It gets even worse than that. The Atlanta Braves scored 20 runs before the Pittsburgh Pirates finally got 1 in the 9th inning.

And, starting the count from the 1st National Association game on May 4, 1871, 150 years ago this month, José Godoy entered the bottom of the 6th inning of that game in San Diego, as the Mariners' catcher, making him the 20,000th player in Major League Baseball history. A 26-year-old Venezuelan, he grounded to 3rd in the 7th, and drew a walk in the 9th.

Twins' Surprise Season Continues, Beat CC & Yanks

The Minnesota Twins have been the biggest surprise of this baseball season. After reaching the American League Wild Card Game in 2017, and losing it to the Yankees, they weren't even close to a Playoff berth last season. This year, though, they were running away with the American League Central Division, before the Cleveland Indians got on a hot streak and made that race close again. Currently, the Twins lead it by 2 1/2 games.

The Yankees came in to Minneapolis last night, to begin a 3-game series with the Twins at Target Field. CC Sabathia started. At times, he has pitched like a legend giving us one last great performance. At other times, and this was one of them, he has pitched like a guy who is retiring right on time. He lasted only 4 innings, and allowed 7 runs.

This game was pretty much what I feared would happen to the Yankees all year: Brian Cashman's beloved home runs -- in this case, by Gio Urshela, Luke Voit and DJ LeMahieu -- were unable to overcome insufficient pitching. The Twins even pulled off a triple play against the Yankees.

I can't blame the bullpen: Luis Cessa allowed only 1 run in 3 innings, and Jonathan Holder pitched a perfect 9th. Both have had their share of bad games this season, but came through last night. It was too late, though.

Twins 8, Yankees 6. WP: Lewis Thorpe (1-1 -- not to be confused with Louis Winthorpe III, Dan Aykroyd's character in Trading Places). SV: Taylor Rogers (15). LP: Sabathia (5-5).

The teams chasing the Yankees for the AL Eastern Division lead began a series against each other in St. Petersburg. The Boston Red Sox jumped out to an early 8-0 lead on the Tampa Bay Rays, and cruised to a 9-4 win. This puts the Rays 9 games behind the Yankees, the Red Sox 10 back. Each team is 11 games behind in the loss column.

The Yanks-Twins series continues tonight. Domingo German starts against Kyle Gibson.

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Hours until Arsenal play again: 2, at 7:00 tonight, against Real Madrid, at FedEx Field, the Washington Redskins' stadium, in Landover, Maryland. On their U.S. tour, they've already beaten the Colorado Rockies in the Denver suburbs, Bayern Munich in the Los Angeles suburbs, and Fiorentina of Florence, Italy in Charlotte.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 2, this Thursday, at Fenway Park.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 4, this Saturday night at 8:00, home to the Columbus Crew.

Days until the MLB trading deadline: 8, a week from tomorrow night. At this point, the hope is that Brian Cashman will bring in a good starting pitcher, and the fear is that he will trade a key player for 25 teenagers are running neck-and-neck.

Days until the 2019-20 Premier League season begins: For Arsenal's purposes, 19, on Sunday, August 11, at 9:00 AM New York time, away to Newcastle United. Under 3 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 25, on Saturday night, August 17, against the New England Revolution, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington. The next game against New York City FC will be on Saturday night, August 24, at Yankee Stadium II. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Sunday night, September 22, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 38, on Friday night, August 30, at 7:15 PM, home to the University of Massachusetts. Under 6 weeks. This game was moved back from the previous afternoon.

Days until the next North London Derby: 39, on Saturday, August 31, at the Emirates Stadium. It is unusual for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to play each other so early in the season, but not unprecedented: As recently as the 2013-14 season, they did so on September 1.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 45, on Friday night, September 6, at 7:00 PM, home to arch-rival Old Bridge. Under 7 weeks. Like most of the local rivalries that were once played on Thanksgiving Day, this one has been moved back to the opening game. It will also be the head coaching debut of Andy Steinfeld, a longtime assistant and a two-way lineman on the school's 1984 Conference Champions. It will also be the start of a Yankees-Red Sox series. So I'm getting a double dose of "Scum" on the night. Lucky me. At least it'll be at Jay Doyle's Green Grove off Cranbury Road, instead of at the purple shit pit on Route 9.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 45, on Friday night, September 6, at 8:30, against Mexico, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands. This will be their 1st match of any kind since their bottlejob against Mexico in the Final of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The women's national team, of course, won their 4th World Cup, their 2nd in a row, defeating the Netherlands in Lyon, France. Their next game is against Ireland on August 3, at the Rose Bowl.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 73, on Friday night, October 4, at the Prudential Center, against the Winnipeg Jets. Under 12 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 78, on Wednesday night, October 9, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The season's 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday, October 17, at the Prudential Center. The 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Thursday, January 2, 2020, at the Barclays Center.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 130, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little over 4 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 148, on December 18, 2019. Under 5 months.

Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 150, on December 20, 2019.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 182, on January 21, 2020. Under 6 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 367, on July 24, 2020. Almost exactly 1 year, or 12 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 469, on November 3, 2020. Under a year and a half, or under 16 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 530, on January 3, 2021. Under a year and a half, or under 18 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 547, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little under a year and a half, or a little under 18 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: 927, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 31 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,217, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 3 1/2 years, or under 40 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.

Days until the next Women's World Cup is scheduled to kick off: As yet unknown, but probably on the 2nd Friday in June 2023, which would be June 9. That would be 1,417 days, under 48 months, under 4 years. A host nation is expected to be chosen on March 20, 2020. Since 2 of the last 3 host nations have been in Europe, North America (Canada) hosted in 2015, and Asia (China) hosted in 2007, my guess is that it will be in either Asia (Japan, possibly Korea) or Oceania (Australia, possibly a joint bid with New Zealand).

Triple Your Pleasure

The Yankees returned home last night, for a short 2-game Interleague series with the Cincinnati Reds. If it wasn't quite the 1939 World Series (the Yankees of DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Ruffing and Gomez swept the Reds of Ernie Lombardi in 4 straight) or the 1961 World Series (the Yankees of Mantle, Maris, Berra and Ford beat the Reds of Frank Robinson in 5), it was certainly better than the 1976 World Series (the Yankees with Thurman Munson and Catfish Hunter, but not yet Reggie Jackson, got swept by the Big Red Machine of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan).

One of the weirdest plays in the 115-season history of the Yankees -- or even the 136-season history of the Reds -- happened last night. With the game scoreless in the bottom of the 2nd, Matt Holliday led off against Luis Castillo. As we've seen, National League players named Luis Castillo have some unpleasant (for them) history at the new Yankee Stadium.

But this was different. Holliday singled to right. Didi Gregorius singled to right. Chase Headley singled to left, but Holliday couldn't score. Bases loaded, nobody out. The Yankees should've gotten at least 2 runs home.

The batter was Todd Frazier. From Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey, he was making his Pinstripes debut, having come to the Yankees in a trade while we were on the road. He got a nice hand.

Frazier hit a ground ball up the middle. Jose Peraza, the Reds' shortstop, got it, and stepped on 2nd base. That's 1 out. He threw to Joey Votto at 1st base to throw Frazier out. That's 2 outs. In the meantime, Holliday came home to score.

But Gregorius thought the ball might be caught, so he stayed close to 2nd. Maybe 99 times out of 100, that's the smart thing to do; maybe 999 times out of 1,000, it's at least the safe thing to do. But, seeing what was happening, he ran for 3rd base. Votto saw this, and threw across the diamond, and Gregorius was caught in a rundown. Eventually, he was called out for running wide of the baseline to avoid a tag. That's 3 outs.

A triple play. The 1st pulled by the Reds since 1995, the 1st against the Yankees since 2011. But since Holliday scored while the play was still in progress, and none of the outs concerned him, his run still counted.

"A strange play," said Captain Obvious, in his secret identity of Joe Girardi.

Not to be Captain Obvious myself, but, for any Mets or Red Sox fans

who may be reading, this is not actually Joe Girardi.

This is Brandon Moynihan, the actor who plays

Captain Obvious in the Hotels.com TV commercials.

"Got to be a record," Frazier said. Not quite: It was the 1st run scored during a triple play since the Seattle Mariners did it against the Minnesota Twins in 2006.

This wasn't a case of, to paraphrase the old Doublemint gum slogan, "Triple your pleasure, triple your fun." But it did get the Yankees on the board. Cliche Alert: That's baseball: You never know when you're going to see something you've never seen before.

A triple play, but we still score? Cliche Alert, Part 2: Whatever works.

So, anyway, one-nil to the Pinstripe Boys. Gregorius made up for his baserunning faux pas with a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning, to make it 2-0. An Austin Romine double brought home a run in the 5th, to make it 3-0.

Jordan Montgomery walked a batter in the 2nd inning, but kept a no-hitter going through 5. We were 12 outs away from having a no-hitter and a run-scoring triple play in the same game. Cliche Alert, Part 3: Baseball is a funny game.

In the 6th, Montgomery ran into trouble, allowing a leadoff double, and 2 grounders that each advanced the runner a base, to make it 3-1. Girardi kept him in through 7, and brought Dellin Betances in for the 8th.

Cliche Alert, Part 4: Walks can kill you. Betances bracketed a strikeout with walks. A fielder's choice moved the runners up, and then he allowed an RBI double to make it 3-2, with the tying run on 3rd.

Girardi brought in Adam Warren, and I figured this was another game that Girardi had blown with his pitching musical chairs. But Warren got a strikeout to end the threat. And Gregorius, clearly the man of the game, in whatever direction you want to suggest, got us an insurance run with his 15th home run of the season. Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect 9th to close it out.

Yankees 4, Reds 2. WP: Montgomery (7-5). SV: Chapman (12). LP: Castillo (1-4). The Yankees have now won 4 of their last 5, and it really should be 5 in a row; while the Reds have lost 10 of their last 12.

Even better, the Boston Red Sox lost last night, so the Yankees close to within 1 game of 1st place in the American League Eastern Division -- and, because we have 4 games in hand on them, we are actually a game ahead of them in the all-important loss column!

This briefest of actual series, rather than a 1-game rainout makeup -- 2 games, most likely ending within 21 hours -- concludes with a matinee today, with Luis Severino starting for New York, and Homer Bailey, he of 2 career no-hitters but otherwise with a career record of just 59-56, for Cincinnati.

Then, tomorrow night, the Tampa Bay Rays come in for a 4-game series.

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Hours until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 9, tonight at 9:30, in the Final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, against Jamaica, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. The U.S. had expected to play Mexico in the Final, but Jamaica pulled the upset.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, on Saturday, 11:20 AM our time, as they begin the 2-day Emirates Cup. Four teams, two doubleheaders. The early game on Saturday is Sevilla of Spain against Red Bull Leipzig of Germany, followed by Arsenal vs. Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal. The next day, Benfica play RB Leipzig, while Arsenal host Sevilla.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 3, on Saturday night at 7:30, home to the Montreal Impact.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 11, a week from this Sunday, August 6, against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. They will next play the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, September 17, at at Red Bull Arena. They will next play the D.C. Scum on Saturday, September 27, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. They are not scheduled to play the New England Revolution again this season. The Red Bulls might make the Playoffs, but the Revs probably won't, so they almost certainly won't face each other again until next season.

Days until the Premier League season begins: 16, on Friday, August 11. A little over 2 weeks.
The Arsenal open the season at home to Leicester City, in a game moved back from the intending opening to suit British TV.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 16, on Friday, August 11, at Yankee Stadium. A little over 2 weeks.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 37, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. A little over 5 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 44, on Friday night, September 8, home to Sayreville, a "derby." A little over 6 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 73, on Saturday night, October 7, home to the Colorado Avalanche. A little over 10 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 80, on Saturday night, October 14, against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan. Their 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Sunday, January 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn -- and they'll have played the Rangers 3 times by then. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark -- and they'll have played the Rangers 3 times and the Islanders once by then. This is a weird schedule. But at least we have it. The NBA usually doesn't release its new season's schedule until August.

Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 97, on October 31.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 104, on Tuesday, November 7. A little over 3 months until we elect Phil Murphy, defeat Kim Guadagno, and end Christieism forever. But only if you vote!

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 108, on Saturday, November 11, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next North London Derby: 115, on Saturday, November 18, at the Emirates Stadium. This game could be moved to the following day, for TV purposes.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 120, on Thursday, November 23, at 10:00 AM. A little under months, and thank God it's at home, at Jay Doyle's Green Grove, rather than at that purple shit pit on Route 9.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 202, on February 9, 2018. A little over 6 months.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 323, on June 14, 2018. Under 11 months. Has Bruce Arena turned our chances around? Maybe. Or maybe, with the tournament on his soil, Vladimir Putin will tell his bitch Donald Trump to tell Bruce Arena to tank the games. Maybe not. Or maybe only if we end up playing Russia. I don't think Arena will listen. If he doesn't, I hope his life insurance is paid up, because Putin has had people killed for defying him.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" for whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman threw away a chance at the 2016 Playoffs: 402. A little over a year, or a little over 13 months. Of course, Clint Frazier is already up, but we've hardly benefited enough to offset the cost of Andrew Miller. We could end up seeing another of them sooner than that, but since most of them are at Double-A Trenton now, if that, who's kidding who?

Days until the next Congressional election: 468, on November 6, 2018. Under a year and a half, or a little over 15 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 532, on January 9, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 17 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 897, on January 8, 2020. A little under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 29 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,102, on July 24, 2020. A shade under 3 years, or 36 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,564, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or a little over 39 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,642, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little under 42 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.