Aaron Judge

New York Yankees 9/18: 3 Major takeaways from a powerful win over the Indians

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New York Yankees, Corey Kluber

Last night after a disappointing loss to the Baltimore Orioles and falling out of a wild-card berth, the New York Yankees entered a new series with the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees had a new urgency and a mission to get back into wild-card contention; they did that and, in a big way, shutting out the Indians 8-0. The Yankees can take away several positives in the win.

Corey Kluber returning to form?

After not pitching for nearly two years, Corey Kluber got off to a slow start with the Yankees, but gradually got better and better to the point he had a no-hitter, the Yankees first since David Cone’s perfect game 22 years ago. But then Kluber went in the IL with a shoulder strain.

Kluber ended up nursing that shoulder for three months before he returned to the team, missing half of the season. Since his return, he struggled. In his second to the last start, he showed some early improvement. Last night he showed a huge improvement. He looked like an ace, pitching six full innings only allowing 4 hits in his scoreless outing. Last night Kluber showed he could be impactful as a number two starter should the Yankees reach the postseason.

Michael King for two innings and Lucas Luetge were masterful in relief.

The nail-biting disappeared for once

The New York Yankees have been winning games all season long by just a run or two, creating nail-biting win after nail-biting, many not decided until the ninth inning or beyond. The Yankees have won 84 games this season, 72 of them by 1 or two runs.

Last night that changed in a big way; the Yankees shut out the Indians, hitting five home runs in the game; it was the second time in a week that they beat their opponent by five or more runs. This is encouraging as the Yankees are starting to look like the Bronx Bombers again. Last night the hot Brett Gardner homered. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit homers. However, Joey Gallo topped them by hitting two long balls. For Gallo, it was his fifth homer in as many games.

Yankees looking forward to the postseason

Last night the Yankees got back a wild card berth as they won big over the Cleveland Indians while the surging Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Minnesota Twins. This is good news but make no mistake about it; the Yankees have much more to do. The first step is getting back the home-field advantage in the wild card. To do that, they must keep winning games. With only fourteen games left in the regular season, they have to win all of their remaining series at least.

The Yankees have reasons to believe this can happen. First, they have found that ace Gerrit Cole is not injured, and the second starter in the rotation, Corey Kluber, seems to be returning to form. Although still inconsistent, there are signs that the Yankee’s powerful lineup is again becoming powerful. Also, on the pitching front, it appears that ex-ace Luis Severino will be ready to be supportive in the bullpen by the postseason. There are also pitching arms Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt who could help shore up a fatigued bullpen. Jonathan Loaisiga is still a question mark.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Bronx Bombers shut out the Indians 8-0

by
joey gallo, yankees

The New York Yankees had fallen out of a walk card berth and, tonight, entered a new series, with a new urgency to get back into one of those postseason spots. Tonight the Yankees took on the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium with that goal in mind. Corey Kluber took the mound for the Yankees facing the Indians’ Zach Plesac.

In the first inning, Kluber faced Myles Straw; he flew out to Gallo in left. Brad Zimmer struck out when he couldn’t hold up. Jose Ramirez singled and immediately stole second. Franmil Reyes tapped back to Kluber to end the half. At the bottom, DJ LeMahieu led off with a single up the middle. Anthony Rizzo flew out to right. Aaron Judge singled to left, moving DJ to second base. Giancarlo Stanton hit into a 4-3-6 double play to strand two batters. No score.

Bobby Bradley led the second inning, who reached on an E3 when the hit tipped off Rizzo’s glove. Harold Ramirez flew out to Judge, and Judge fired in getting Bradley out at first. Two outs. Owen Miller flew out to center to end the half. In the bottom, Joey Gallo led off by hitting his 36th home run of the season into the second deck in right. Gleyber Torres ground out to second. Gio Urshela ground out to first. Brett Gardner ground out to third base. New York Yankees 1 Indians 0.

Leading off the third inning was Robert Perez, who singled to center field. A pitch hit Andres Gimenez. Straw with two on and no outs struck out. Zimmer flew out to Judge in right with the runners, not challenging Judge. Jose Ramirez lined out to second, assisted by Kluber to end the half. At the bottom, Kyle Higashioka led off by going down on strikes. LeMahieu popped out to second. Rizzo flew out to right to end the inning. Yankees 1 Indians 0.

Franmil Reyes led off the fourth by striking out. Bradley struck out. H. Ramirez singled up the middle. Miller popped out to Rizzo to end the half. Aaron Judge led off the bottom and homered the other way for his 35th of the season. Stanton went down on strikes. Gallo, who homered in the second, flew out to left. Torres stuck out swinging, but the Yankees picked up another run off of Judge’s home run. New York Yankees 2 Indians 0.

The fifth inning was led off by Perez, who worked a walk. Gimenez singled up the middle. Straw with two on and no outs hit into a double play with Perez moving to third. Zimmer ground out to second to end the half stranding Perez at third. Urshela led off the bottom of the fifth by singling up the middle. Gardner went down on three pitches. Higashioka gave one a ride, but it was caught at the right-centerfield wall. LeMahieu ground to first to end the inning. Yankees 2 Indians 0.

Jose Ramirez was at the plate for the sixth inning with Kluber still on the mound and walked. Reyes hit into a double play. Bradley flew out to Gallo to end the half. At the bottom, Rizzo ground out to first. Judge struck out. Stanton tipped back into the catcher’s glove, and that was it for the sixth. Yankees 2 Indians 0.

Harold Ramirez led off the seventh by facing new Yankee pitcher Michael King and went down on strikes. Miller ground out to third. Perez lined out directly to Torres at second. At the bottom, Gallo led off by singling to first. Torres walked. Urshela singled to center field, scoring Joey Gallo for the Yankee’s three run lead. With one in, two on, and no outs, Gardner hit a two-run homer to the short porch at the stadium. Higashioka struck out. LeMahieu ground out to center. Rizzo was out on a slow roller to second. New York Yankees 6 Indians 0.

The eighth inning was led off by Gimenez going down looking. Straw struck out. Zimmer flew out to Gardner, almost having a collision with Gallo. At the bottom, Judge led off by flying out to the warning track in right. Stanton homered into the left-field stands. Then Gallo had a back-to-back home run to right-center into the bullpen. Torres singled to center. Urshela, with still only one out, flew out to center. Gardner walked. Higashioka went down on strikes. New York Yankees 8 and the Cleveland Indians 0.

With the last licks on the line for the Indians in the top of the ninth, the Indian’s best player took to the plate and ground out to Urshela. Reyes flew out to Gallo in left. Yu Chang pinch-hitting for Bradley struck out to give the Yankees the shut out.

The final score was the New York Yankees 8 and the Cleveland Indians 0. The winning pitcher was Corey Kluber, and the loser was Zach Plesac.

 

 

 

New York Yankees: 3 Major takeaways from Yankees powerhouse win over the Orioles

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New York Yankees, Michael King

The New York Yankees entered last night’s game with the Baltimore Orioles with an urgency to win over a team they should win over. The Yankees have a relatively easy next 9 games with the O’s, the Indians, and the Rangers. These are all games the Yankees should win before facing a difficult end of the season against the Red Sox, Jays, and Rays. They need to at least win these 3 upcoming series to stay in contention for a wild-card berth. Last night they took the first step toward that goal by besting the Orioles 7-2.

Gerrit Cole wasn’t great, but it didn’t matter

New York Yankee ace Gerrit Cole’s night did not start well. Cole had the luxury of first stepping to the mound with a two-run lead, but he almost blew it. Cedrick Mullins faced Cole and doubled to the left-field wall. Ryan Mountcastle popped out to first. Anthony Santander ground out, but Mullins advanced. Trey Mancini, with two outs and a man on third, walked. Austin Hays walked to load the bases. Ramon Urias struck out to get Cole out of a bases-loaded jam. New York Yankees 2 Orioles 0.

It was evident from the start that Cole did not have his best stuff working. After the first inning, Cole was pretty much what a Yankee ace is supposed to be. Cole managed five innings of shaky ball, giving up just one run, walking three while striking out seven Oriole’s batters. He lowered his ERA and got the win in the game. The only thing he didn’t accomplish was helping out the bullpen by going deep into the game. He had 108 pitches, 62 for strikes in his 5 innings of work.

The real Yankee pitching hero of the night was Michael King. With Cole only going 5 innings, it might have taken four or five relievers from an already overworked bullpen to close out the game. But King came in and pitched a brilliant three innings in relief, not allowing a single hit. Some might question why Aaron Boone did not allow King to close out the game as he was a stretched-out reliever with only 47 pitches. Boone brought in Sal Romano, who only lasted one out, giving up a run on two hits, requiring Boone to bring in Aroldis Chapman to close out the game.

Home runs power the Yankees

1-2-3-4-5, count ’em five home runs power the Yankees to a win in the first game of a 3 game set against the Baltimore Orioles. Aaron Judge started the power assault with a two-run homer in the first inning, driving in DJ LeMahieu. The third inning was devastating for Orioles’ starter Alexander Wells. Giancarlo Stanton stepped to the mound and crushed one into the left-field stands, scoring another two runs. To add insult to injury, Luke Voit then got a solo back-to-back shot, putting Wells into a five-run hole.

But the New York Yankees were not done. In the eighth inning, Joey Gallo got his 34th homer of the season. Finally, in the top of the ninth, DJ LeMahieu deposited a long ball into the left-field stands for his 10th homer of the season and giving the Yankees nine players with double-digit home runs.

Torres moved, but the same result

The New York Yankees rearranged the entire infield for one player, Gleyber Torres. The main reason was to relieve stress on Torres that they thought his excessive errors at short might be affecting his poor hitting behind the plate. Manager Boone even announced that the change would be for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, the experiment didn’t work. Torres possibly made his worst performance error at his new position when he bobbled an easy double-play ball.

Torres’s move to second also meant that Gold Glover DJ LeMahieu was moved off of second base to the hot corner. That move caused stellar third baseman Gio Urshela to move to shortstop. Both of these players proved earlier that they could handle their new positions. In the remaining days of the season, we will have to see how this experiment works out, but it didn’t look good for Torres last night.

Notes: Sal Romano earlier yesterday was awarded a Major League contract from the Yankees. The contract was worth $583K after earning just $47K in 2020. Luckily for the Yankees, the contract is for only one year. Last night on the first night of that contract Boone called him out to close the game, he pitched horribly lasting only 1/3 of an inning, requiring Chapman to close out the game.

Tonight the Yankees will face off with the Orioles in game two at Camden Yards. Nestor Cortes Jr. will be on the mound for the Yankees and John Means for the Orioles. The 7:05 pm EDT game will be televised on the YES Network and MASN.

New York Yankees Recap: Homers are king as Yankees win over the Orioles

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees entered a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles tonight at Camden Yards in Baltimore. After a win against the Minnesota Twins last night, the Yankees hoped to continue with another win tonight. The Yankees had a dramatic come-from-behind win, and that same energy was hoped to propel them to another winning streak against the Orioles, who will lose at least 110 games this season. Gerrit Cole was on the mound for the Yankees and Alexander Wells for the Orioles. The Yankees homered their way to a 7-2 win over the Orioles.

DJ LeMahieu led off the first with Wells on the mound and singled to left. Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer for his 34th of the year. Anthoney Rizzo singled to center. Giancarlo Stanton struck out swinging. Luke Voit lined out to short. Joey Gallo flew out to left, but the Yankees picked up two runs in the half. At the bottom, Cedrick Mullins faced Cole and doubled to the left-field wall. Ryan Mountcastle popped out to first. Anthony Santander ground out, but Mullins advanced. Trey Mancini, with two outs and a man on third, walked. Austin Hays walked to load the bases. Ramon Urias struck out to get Cole out of a bases-loaded jam. New York Yankees 2 Orioles 0.

At the top of the second inning, Gleyber Torres stuck out. Gio Urshela singled to right. Gary Sanchez flew out to right-center. Higashioka ground out to second. LeMahieu flew out to Mullins. At the bottom, Pedro Severino ground out. Pat Valaika ground out. The bottom was scoreless off of Cole. New York Yankees 2 Orioles 0.

In the third inning, Stanton, with one on, hit a two-run homer to left. Luke Voit followed him with a homer of his own, a solo shot for his 10th of the season. At the bottom, the Baltimore Orioles remained scoreless. New York Yankees 5 Orioles 0.

The Yankees had a scoreless fourth inning. DJ Stewart ground out to lead off the fourth inning. Austin Hays stuck out. Urias singled to Stanton in left field. Urias struck out. Pedro Severino ground out to end the inning. New York Yankees 5 Orioles 0.

Stanton, against new pitcher Erick Handhold in the fifth inning, singled up the middle. Voit ground out for a double play to left. . Joey Gallo ground out to center. Cole at the bottom faced Valaika, who got a single in front of Stanton in left. Gutierrez popped out to center. Mullins went down swinging. Mountcastle doubled down the left-field line to drive in Valaika, getting the Baltimore Orioles on the scoreboard. Santander walked on Cole’s 103rdd pitch. Stewart, with two on and two outs, stuck out to end the inning. New York Yankees 5 Orioles 1.

The sixth inning was led off by Gleyber Torres, who ground out to short. Urshela singled up the middle. Higashioka singled to right field. LeMahieu hit into a double play to end the half. Austin Hays led off the bottom against new Yankee pitcher Michael King and walked. Urias singled. Hay made second on a double bobble from Torres and Urshela. With two on and no outs, Severino hit into the double play with Hays moving to third. Valaika flew out to Stanton in left to keep the Orioles scoreless in the sixth. Yankees, 5 Orioles 1.

Aaron Judge led off the seventh inning by walking. Rizzo hit into a double play. Stanton walked. Brett Gardner was brought in to pinch-run for Stanton. Voit struck out on the 10th pitch at-bat. At the bottom, Gutierrez flew out to Gardner in left. Mullins lined out directly to Judge. Mountcastle went down swinging. Yankees 5 Orioles 1.

The eighth inning was led off by Joey Gallo, who homered to right-center. Torres gound out. Urshela flew out to right field. Higashioka flew out to left field to end the half. Anthony Santander led off the bottom by flying out to a running Aaron Judge in right. Stewart flew out to Gardner in left field. Hays struck out looking for a 1-2-3 inning for Michael King. Yankees 6 Orioles 1.

DJ LeMahieu led off the ninth inning for the Yankees and homered into the left-field stands. Judge ground out to third. Rizzo singled up the middle. After taking over for Stanton at left, Brett Gardner flew out to the warning track at center in his first at-bat. Voit flew out to right-center to end the half, but the Yankees picked up another run. At the bottom, with the last licks on the line, Urias facing Sal Romano foul tipped into Higashioka’s glove. Austin Wynns singled to right. Valaika walked. Gutierrez singled off Romano’s bare hand with two on and one out as Wynns scored, knocking Romano out of the game with an injured finger. Aroldis Chapman came in to face Mullins with one out and two on; he struck out. A wild pitch advanced the runners. Mountcastle struck out swinging.

The final score was the New York Yankees 7 and the Baltimore Orioles 6. The winning pitcher was Gerrit Cole, and the loser was Alexander Wells.

 

 

 

 

 

New York Yankees: 3 Takeaways from Yankees comeback win over the Twins

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New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

Yesterday afternoon, the New York Yankees had a makeup game with the Minnesota Twins caused by a rainout at Yankee Stadium on August 22. After winning only one game of a three-game set with the New York Mets, the Yankees were hoping to win after they moved out of a wild card berth. The Yankees got their win, besting the Twins 6-5.

Luis Gil gives up four, but the Yankees win

Luis Gil, in this season, has gotten to live his dream. When Cory Kluber went down with shoulder problems, Gil and Nestor Cortes Jr. started games for the Yankees. Gil was called up from Scranton Wilkes/Barre on August 3 to start a game against the Baltimore Orioles. He allowed only 4 hits, 2 hits against the Mariners, 3 hits against the Red Sox, 1 hit against the Blue Jays, none for extra bases. He earned the title of pitching sensation.

Yesterday he proved he is indeed human. He gave up two long balls for 4 RBIs in the very first inning of the Twins game. But the young man remained calm and gave the Yankees 6 innings, throwing 102 pitches while giving up just one more run and striking out 8 Twins batters. With the game tied at 5, closer Aroldis Chapman held the game at 5. The Yankees would have a walk-off win in the 10th inning when Gary Sanchez lined down the left-field line, scoring ghost runner Gleyber Torres.

Aaron Judge has a storybook moment

Aaron Judge, in his career, has drawn comparisons to the Hall of Famer and 20-year veteran Yankee Derek Jeter. Jeter was known for rising to the occasion at the most important times. Aaron Judge had his Jeter moment last night. After being behind by five runs, the Yankees began to claw their way back as the crowd became energized for the first time in the game. In the eighth inning, Anthony Rizzo pinch-hitting Wade walked with the Yankees still behind by 3 runs. Gary Sanchez pinch-hitting for Higashioka flew out to left. LeMahieu flew out to center. Gardner walked.

With Judge coming to the plate, the Twins turned to closer Alex Colome. Judge represented the tying run at the plate. You could feel the electricity in the stands as fans hoped for a big moment. Just like in a storybook, Judge homered to right-center to tie the game at 5. Gary Sanchez would seal the deal for the Yankees when he drove in the ghost-running Gleyber Torres in the 10th inning for the walk-off win. It was the first time the Yankees have come back from a five-run deficit this season.

Yankees new infield look

The New York Yankees have finally changed the look of their infield. Yesterday saw Gleyber Torres move to second base his natural position. Management apparently felt that the stress and errors being made by Torres might have been causing his poor plate performance. However, earlier in the season, it was proven that second baseman DJ LeMahieu played just as well at third base. Additionally, when Torres was on the IL, that third baseman Gio Urshela performed well as a shortstop. So to put Torres at second, those corresponding moves were also made.

Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reported that manager Aaron Boone said that the infield would remain this way for the duration of the season.

Notes: The New York Yankees will start a short three-game road trip today when they play the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Yankee ace Gerrit Cole will be on the mound for the Yankees and Alexander Wells for the Orioles. The game will be at 7:05 pm EDT and televised on the YES Network and MASN in Baltimore.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Judge and the Yankees win with a storybook ending

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

Today was supposed to be a day off for the New York Yankees, but a rainout on August 22nd facilitated today’s makeup game with the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees are coming off a loss to the New York Mets and going 3-12 in their last 15 games. The Twins were coming off a lost series with the Kansas City Royals.  Luis Gil was on the mound for the Yankees and John Gant for the Twins. In a game that went 10 innings, the Yankees got the walk-off 6-5 win.

Luis Arraez singled to right. Byron Boxton flew out to left. Jorge Polanco homered to right center, bring in Arraez. Josh Donaldson walked. Max Kepler struck out for the second out of the inning. Miguel Sano followed by getting the second run homer of the inning. Rob Refsnyder struck out. But Gil gave up four runs in the half. DJ LeMahieu led off for the Yankees and ground out to third base. Brett Gardner ground out to short. Aaron Judge walked. After the Judge walk, starter Gant was removed from the game with some type of injury; Luke Farrell replaced him. Giancarlo Stanton ground out to third to end the inning. Later in the game, Gants problem was determined to be a lower back strain.  Minnesota Twins 4 Yankees 0.

Gil faced Ryan Jeffers leading off the second inning; he fouled out to Luke Voit. Andrelton Simmons struck out swinging. Arraez flew out to Gallo as Gil rebounded for a 1-2-3 second. At the bottom, Joey Gallo struck out swinging. Luke Voit walked. Gleyber Torres ground into a double play to end the scoreless half.  Twins 4 Yankees 0.

Buxton led the third inning, who hit the Twin’s third home run, making this the ninth straight game that the Yankees have given up 5 or more runs since 1940. Polanco flew out to left. Kepler flew out to Gardner in center. At the bottom, Tyler Wade flew out to center. Kyle Higashioka struck out swinging. Finally, LeMahieu flew out to the right-field wall. Twins 5 Yankees 0.

Miguel Sano led off the fourth inning by going down on strikes. Refsnyder struck out swinging. Jeffers struck out as Gil struck out the side. At the bottom, Gardner ground out to short. Judge had a towering fly out to center. Stanton copied with the exact same out. Twins 5 New York Yankees 0.

Simmons led the fifth inning, who struck out for Gil’s fourth strikeout in a row. Arraez ground out to Wade at short. Buxton singled past third. Polanco flew out to Gallo in shallow left. Joey Gallo led off the bottom by laying down a beautiful bunt for a single. Voit faced new pitcher Kyle Barraclough and hit into a 5-4-3 double play. Torres flew out to center. Twins 5 Yankees 0.

Josh Donaldson led off the sixth and ground out to Wade at short. Kepler singled in front of Judge in right. Sano singled to left. Refsnyder struck out swinging. Jeffers flew out to center. Tyler Wade led the bottom of the frame, who worked a walk to lead off. Wade stole second. Higashioka flew out to right with Wade tagging and easily going to third base. LeMahieu got a sac fly to the right-field wall, Kepler made a great play, but Wade scored on the play.  Wade’s base running excels again. Gardner doubled up the middle. That ended the day for Barraclough. He was replaced by Tyler Duffy facing Aaron Judge, who rolled one to short to end the inning stranding Gardner. Mets 5 Yankees 1.

Andrelton Simmons led off the seventh inning against new Yankee pitcher Andrew Heaney; he tapped back to Heaney. Simmons ground out to Wade. Buxton went down swinging. At the bottom of the frame, Stanton struck out swinging. Gallo homered will into the bleachers in right-center. Voit ground out to short. Torres ground out to third. Mets 5 New York Yankees 2.

Polanco led off the eight with a soft bunt, Higashioka retired him. Donaldson was called out on strikes. Kepler walked. Sano singled to left. Refsnyder faced the new Yankee pitcher Albert Abreu with two on and two outs and ground out to third. The bottom was led off by Anthony Rizzo pinch-hitting for Wade and walked. Gary Sanchez pinch-hitting for Higashioka flew out to left. LeMahieu flew out to center. Gardner walked. With Judge coming to the plate, the Twins turned to closer Alex Colome. Judge as the tying run at the plate homered to right-center to tie the game at 5. Stanton went down swinging. New York Yankees 5 Minnesota Twins 5.

The New York Yankees trusted Aroldis Chapman to hold the game at 5. Jeffers went down looking. Simmons went down swinging. Arraez hit a two-out double to left. Buxton walked. Polanco flew out to Gardner to end the Twin’s threat. At the bottom with a chance to win it for the Yankees, Joey Gallo who already homered in the game went down swinging. Voit also went down swinging. Torres went down swinging, bringing in free baseball, a nail-biting 10th inning. The game tied at 5.

The tenth inning was led off by Donaldson with ghost runner Polanco on second and Clay Holmes on the mound for the Yankees. Donaldson struck out. Kepler tapped back to Holmes for the second out. Sano flew out to Judge to end the half. At the bottom with Torres as the ghost runner Urshela struck out. Sanchez powered one to left to win it for the Yankees in the 10th.

The final score was the New York Yankees 6, the Minnesota Twins 5. The winning pitcher was Clay Holmes and the loser was Ralph Garza Jr.  Judge’s three-run homer makes this one a storybook, Derek Jeter-like win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yankees: Latest injury update on Aaron Judge

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

So far, we can firmly say that the New York Yankees have had the luxury to enjoy a relatively healthy season from their star player, Aaron Judge. He has taken part in 129 games and is already up to 552 plate appearances. He has missed some contests here and there, in part because the organization has made it a priority to keep him in one piece.

However, the fact that Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone had to remove his star outfielder in the third inning of Sunday’s game against the Mets raises concerns in the entire organization. Judge was taken out with what was described as “dizziness,” per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.

Judge seems to be feeling better already, but the Yankees will monitor his status ahead of Monday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

“I just spoke with him and he’s doing pretty good, so hopefully we’ll be in a good spot for [Monday],” Boone said.

The Yankees need their star to keep pushing for the postseason

Boone explained that Judge, who is carrying the Yankees offensively with a .293/.377/.535 line, 32 home runs, and 79 RBI, started experiencing the aforementioned dizziness during his first at-bat of the game, against Mets’ starter Carlos Carrasco. In fact, he received medical attention.

“After the first pitch of his first at-bat, he just got a little bit dizzy,” Boone said. “It lasted for a little bit.”

After striking out twice against Carrasco, the Yankees took him out in the third frame and replaced him with Brett Gardner in center.

Judge was the Yankees’ hero on Saturday’s 8-7 victory against their crosstown rivals, smashing two home runs.

Hopefully he can return to the field as soon as today and keep building on an impressive campaign fueled by improved health and durability. The Yankees, currently out of a postseason spot after Sunday’s loss, need his contributions to stay afloat and keep fighting.

New York Yankees: 3 Takeaways from the Yankee’s return to winning

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New York Yankees, Kyle Higashioka

It’s just one game, but last night the New York Yankees returned to their winning ways, giving glimpses of the 13 game winning streak. From July 4th to the end of August, the Yankees won more games than any baseball team. But then, unexplainably, they just as quickly returned to the team that played the first half of the season, losing 8 games and playing and pitching poorly. But last night, with new urgency, the team rose to the occasion and started what may be another winning streak. It wasn’t easy, but the Yankees pulled out an 8-7 win over their crosstown rival New York Mets.

It was a bit of a roller coaster event in a day and night that baseball, particularly in New York, remembering those lost in the 9/11 attacks on our country. There were ceremonies at Citi Field, and the players of both teams wore FDNY ball caps. In the second inning, the Yankees burst out of the doldrums scoring five runs and looking like they were going to have a laugher. But the Mets clawed back to lead at one point, but the Yankees answered with 3 runs in the eighth for a lead that would hold.

Corey Kluber continues to build for the postseason

Corey Kluber, who had been on the IL for three months, had his third start since his return. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was one more step to him returning to form that saw him pitch the Yankee’s only no-hitter this season.

Kluber went four innings striking out six Mets hitters but giving up four earned runs. However, he showed signs of better control and poise on the mound. Kluber pitched a scoreless first. After the Yankees put five runs on the board in the second. At the bottom, Kluber issued a walk to Javier Baez walked. Jeff McNeil struck out, but Baez stole second. Kevin Pillar got an RBI double driving in the lead-off walk. James McCann tripled driving in Pillar. Taijuan Walker singled, driving Pillar. Villar struck out swinging. Lindor ground out to second. New York Yankees 5 New York Mets 3. Kluber gave up another run in the third inning, a Baez homer.

Lucas Luetge, Chad Green, and Clay Holmes in relief of Kluber, all gave up a run in their inning. Albert Abreu although waking two, didn’t give up a run in the eighth. Aroldis Chapman walked one, gave up a hit, but preserved the Yankee win, getting his 26th save of the season.

The home run is again king

It is often said that when the New York Yankees homer, they win games. It certainly was true last night. Of the 8 runs scored, 7 were scored off the home run. Kyle Higashioka homered driving in two. Brett Gardner homered driving in two. Aaron Judge hit two homers in the game, scoring three.

A tail of two catchers

There are glaring differences in the Yankees’ two catchers. Last night Kyle Higashioka made some excellent plays and called a good game. He also hit a 2 run homer in the second inning. Unfortunately, this was in comparison to Gary Sanchez’s passed balls and boneheaded play at home plate. In the first game that the Yankees lost Sanchez backed off the home plate to allow a run scored instead of blocking the plate.

Higashioka often doesn’t get the praise he deserves. “Higgy” is a professional behind the plate that calls great games and seldom makes errors. He, for the most part, is Gerrit Cole and Cory Kluber’s personal catcher. But still, he doesn’t get a lot of playing time.

Those who support the idea that Sanchez is the Yankees’ catcher of the future always say that, yes, Higashioka is a good catcher, but he is not the power hitter that Sanchez is. If you look a little deeper, that is not true; the fact is that Higashioka is right up there with the best Yankee home run hitters considering at-bats this season. He has 10 long balls in 58 games. Sanchez has 21 in 101 games. Kyle’s drive-in rate is almost identical to Sanchez.  Higgy leads the AL in range factor (putouts + assist per games played).

Except for a few, catchers are notoriously poor hitters with low batting averages and don’t run the bases well. The whole point of this conversation is that Kyle Higasioka is well-focused and is a much better player than many fans would think.  He could be even better if he had more playing time.

New York Yankees Recap: Yankees get a big win in the 9th to end the skid

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

Tonight was the second game of a three-game set between the New York Yankees and the crosstown New York Mets. After losing seven consecutive games, the Yankees hoped to preserve their first series win with a win tonight after losing four in a row. The Yankees sent Corey Kluber to the mound to face Taijuan Walker, hoping to finally right the ship. Putting sloppy play and lack of urgency behind them, they hoped to turn a new leaf and show they still hoped for a wild card berth. It was a squeaker but the Yankees pulled off the 8-7 win.

Taijuan Walker, who was once a Yankee consideration, took to the mound against DJ LeMahieu, who had a leadoff walk. Brett Gardner flew out to center. Aaron Judge struck out swinging. Then, Giancarlo Stanton singled up the middle. Anthony Rizzo tapped back to Walker for the final out. At the bottom, Jonathan Villar against Corey Kluber struck out. Francisco Lindor flew out to Stanton in left field. Michael Conforto singled in front of Judge in right field. Pete Alonso struck out to end the inning. No score.

Gleyber Torres led off the second inning by singling to left field. Gio Urshela was retired on a line drive to first. Kyle Higashioka got a two-run homer to the left-field stands for his 10th of the season. Corey Kluber ground out to first. LeMahieu singled to right. Brett Gardner got a two-run homer to center. Aaron Judge got the third homer of the inning. Giancarlo Stanton ground out to short to end the half, but the Yankees picked up five runs. At the bottom, Javier Baez walked. Jeff McNeil struck out, but Baez stole second. Kevin Pillar got an RBI double driving in the lead-off walk. James McCann tripled driving in Pillar. Taijuan Walker singled, driving Pillar. Villar struck out swinging. Lindor ground out to second. New York Yankees 5 New York Mets 3.

The third inning was led off by Rizzo, who ground out to first. Torres struck out looking. Gio Urshela struck out to end the half. At the bottom, Conforto struck out swinging. Alonso ground out to short. Baez homered to the left-field stands. McNeil ground out to second, but the Mets got another run. New York Yankees 5 New York Mets 4.

Kyle Higashioka led off the fourth inning by striking out. Kluber struck out. LeMahieu struck out to strike out the side. At the bottom, Pillar led off by striking out swinging. McCann walked. Walker bunted and was out, but the runner moved up. Villar hit a long one, but it was coraled by Judge to end the inning. Yankees 5 Mets 4.

The fifth inning was led off by Brett Gardner, who struck out. Judge ground out, and Stanton struck out. In the bottom, Lindor, against new Yankee pitcher Lucas Luetge struck out. Conforto singled to left. Alonso flew out to Judge in right. Baez lined out to third. Yankees 5 Mets 4.

Anthony Rizzo led off the sixth inning by grounding out for the eleventh put down by Walker. Torres flew out to the right-field wall. Urshela struck out. At the bottom, Mc Neil walked, with Pillar coming up, Boone brought in Chad Green. Pillar, after a delay due to balls on the field, struck out. McCann hit a homer to left, giving the Mets the one-run lead. Dominic Smith pinch-hitting for the pitcher walked.  Villar struck out. Lindor flew out to Rizzo in foul territory. Mets 6 Yankees 5.

Higashioka led off the seventh inning and lined out to short. Tyler Wade pinch-hitting struck out upstairs. LeMahieu ground out. In remembrance of 9-11, the Mets had a moving rendition of “‘God Bless American.” At the bottom, Conforto went down against Clay Holmes. Alonso fouled one off his foot, delaying the game a bit, but then struck out. Baez singled on review. McNeil singled to left with Baez going to third. Pillar got a base hit to left driving in Baez. McCann ground out to short to end the inning, but the Mets tacked on another run. Mets 7 Yankees 5.

Brett Gardner led off the eighth by singling to center. Judge hit a two-run homer into the left-field stands to tie the game, his second long ball of the game. Stanton singled to right. Velazquez replaced Stanton as a pinch-runner. Rizzo faced the new Met’s pitcher Aaron Loup and flew out to right. Torres sent a rocket to Lindor that he couldn’t handle. Urshela was pinch-hit by Luke Voit, who singled to left on a failed double play by Baez as he airmailed one past first with Velazquez scoring. Higgy struck out, but the Yankees took the lead in the game. At the bottom, Guillaume pinch-hitting with Albert Abreu on the mound ground out to second. Villar ground out to Rizzo. Lindor walked. Conforto walked. Alonso flew out to Gardner in center to preserve the Yankee lead. New York Yankees 8 the Mets 7.

The ninth inning was led off by Tyler Wade, who ground out to second. LeMahieu ground out to second. Gardner struck out. At the bottom of the ninth Yankee closer, Aroldis Chapman came to the mound to face Javier Baez, who lined out on a Judge diving catch. JD Davis pinch-hitting for  McNeil hit a ground-rule double that bounced into the right-field stands. Pillar was out at first with a magnificent play by Higashioka. Davis went to third. McCann flew out to Judge in right field to end the Yankees slide.

The final score was the New York Yankees 8 and the New York Mets 7. The winning pitcher was Clay Holmes the loser was Trevor May. The save went to Aroldis Chapman (26).

 

 

 

 

 

New York Yankees: 3 Major takeaways from Yankees 4th consecutive loss

by
New York Yankees, Gleyber Torres

After three consecutive losses, the New York Yankees entered last night’s game with the hope of righting the ship with ace Gerrit Cole on the mound. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as the Yankees slipped another game behind in the AL East when they lost their second game against the Toronto Blue Jays. What was even worse, Cole left the game injured. As a result, the Yankees lost the game 5-1.

Gerrit Cole leaves the game with an injury

The New York Yankees tentative pitching situation may have just gotten worse. The Yankees had had a questionable pitching outlook from the beginning of the season when they hired two pitchers for their starting rotation that hadn’t pitched in nearly two years. That has gone pretty well, except for a few bumps along the way. Jameson Taillon started slow but, as time passed, became one of the Yankee’s best pitchers. In addition, the Corey Kluber experiment didn’t go well, with him going to the IL for three months.

The bullpen started as one of the best in baseball, but as the season progressed, they lost members, and the remaining arms tired out. Nevertheless, the Yankees could count on ace Gerrit Cole, but now even that is in question. Cole pulled himself out of a game last night against the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth inning. It was not immediately clear what the problem was. But after his removal, a few innings later, the Yankees announced that he had left the game with left hamstring tightness. So this morning should be telling with just how impactful this will be for the Yankees and their postseason race.

After the game in an interview, Cole did not give any assurances other than we will have to wait and see how this unfolds in the next 24 to 36 hours. After a pitch in the fourth inning, Cole felt something and signaled to the dugout to come out to the mound. Cole reminded questioners that this is not the first time this has happened. “it’s one of those things you go through; hopefully, I will not miss a start.” Cole stated that he took himself out of the game to avoid further injury. Manager Boone was asked if an MRI was ordered, he said no, we would have to see how he is in the morning.

If Cole only misses one start because of needing a little more rest, that will be the upside. However, if the situation is more problematic, it could be devastating for the Yankees and their hope of postseason play.

The Yankees continue the slide as division is slipping away

For a short time after a languid start to the season, things looked pretty rosy for the Yankees as they became the winningest team in baseball, even winning 13 games in a row. But after losing 4 straight, things have turned from joist to worrisome. With only 24 games to go, the Yankees have slipped to 9.5 games behind the AL East Tampa Bay Rays and only one-half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

So what’s the problem? The Yankees pitching hasn’t been as good, and the bullpen is horribly overworked. That would be bad enough, but the Yankees have returned to the team that before the All-Star break just not hitting the ball. During the recent skid, the Yankees have not hit an extra-base hit since Sunday. The Yankees have only scored one run in the last 21 innings. It’s the first time since 1962 that the Yankees have not hit an extra-base hit in consecutive games.

It is often said that “how Aaron Judge goes, so do the Yankees.” Judge has gone 0-4 in the Yankees last four games. For the most part, Judge has carried the team throughout the season and now needs his teammates to pick him up, but that is not happening. The Yankees are now 2-8 in their last ten games and are in danger of losing home-field advantage in a wild card game if they reach it at all.

Two big cogs missing as the train stalls

The train had left the station, but some key players were not onboard. The entire team is not hitting, but there are two glaring deficiencies. First, Joey Gallo and Gleyber Torres are missing in action and taking up space in the once-powerful lineup.

Just before the trade deadline, the New York Yankees picked up Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers. They knew at the time they would be getting a guy that strikes out a lot but is a home run powerhouse and had a high on-base percentage. But, for the most part, that has not happened. During August, he had only 15 hits. In September, only 1 hit in 19 at-bats, a home run. Also, he has only 3 walks over the span.

After the arrival of Andrew Velazquez and his excellent defense at short, and the spark he added to the team, many Yankee fans weren’t thrilled when Gleyber Torres returned off the IL. Torres for September has only 3 hits, none for extra bases. No home runs and never walking. He also has a career-high error number. Since his return, he has had 2 errors and one bad throw that was not labeled an error but may have cost the Yankees a game.

The bottom line in all of this is that the Yankees will have to take a closer look at both of these players. Using Andrew Velazquez more at short may be part of the answer. Another move the Yankees should make is moving Gallo out of the number two or three slots in the lineup. If these two players continue as they have in the last several games, being in any postseason lineup is in question.