Gary Sanchez

New York Yankees Lose To Diamondbacks Despite Out-Hitting Them

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New York Yankees, Brett Gardner

The New York Yankees only allowed five hits, but it was enough for the Diamondbacks to hold off a late Yankee rally and win, 3-2.

Voit does it again

Luke Voit hit another home run to lead the limited Yankee offense on Wednesday. His home run was a 398 foot shot to left for his ninth of the season. This came in the sixth inning, and put the Yankees on the board.

Mike Tauchman was responsible for scoring the second and final run, an RBI single in the eighth to make it a 3-2 game.

Gardner, Sanchez, Torres, Urshela, and Maybin also had hits for the Yankees. Nobody had multiple hits, but Voit, Tauchman, and Maybin each reached multiple times. Voit’s on-base streak was extended to 41 games.

A short afternoon for Tanaka

Masahiro Tanaka was a bit off on Wednesday, and with the NL rules only lasted four innings. Mike Ford pinch-hit for him in the fifth, and drew a walk.

Tanaka allowed five hits and three runs over four innings, striking out six. He walked one and gave up one home run.

Tanaka got three ground-balls and three fly-balls, also getting first pitch strikes to 12 of the 18 batters he faced. He also got 11 swings and misses, which is really good for four innings.

But now, Tanaka can get a bit of rest for his home start in about a week. A short outing Wednesday added with two off-days this week will help him in the long run.

The bullpen stepped up

The bullpen had a really good showing on Wednesday in relief of Tanaka. They didn’t allow a hit over four innings.

Luis Cessa pitched the fifth and sixth, walking one and picking up three strikeouts. Cessa is an entirely different pitcher than last year, which is very helpful with all of the injuries.

Tommy Kahnle and Adam Ottavino each followed with 1-2-3 innings. Kahnle is also having a great year so far. His velocity is back, and he is looking like he did in 2017. I just wish that Aaron Boone would pitch him in higher leverage situations.

After an off-day on Thursday, the Yankees head home to take on the 17-10 Minnesota Twins in a 7:05PM start. As usual, the game will be televised on YES and Fox Sports Go.  James Paxton (3-2, 3.38 ERA) gets the ball for the Yankees against Kyle Gibson (2-0, 4.88 ERA) of the Twins. Gibson has won his last two starts, both against Baltimore.

CC Sabathia Picks Up Strikeout 3,000, But The New York Yankees Lose To Arizona

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New York Yankees, Yankees, CC Sabathia

With his five strikeouts, CC Sabathia became the 17th in MLB history to register 3,000 career strikeouts. However, the New York Yankee offense was quiet and scored just one run in a loss to Arizona.

CC was solid

Over 5 and 1/3 innings, CC Sabathia gave up five hits and two runs, and got charged with the loss. He just had no run support.

CC walked two and fell behind too many batters, getting just nine first pitch strikes to 23 faced batters. He got six ground-balls and five fly-balls, and one ball left the yard. The home run was to former Met, Wilmer Flores.

The batter that CC struck out for 3,000 was former Yankee John Ryan Murphy, the player that caught Mariano Rivera in his final MLB appearance.

CC Sabathia hitting 3,000 strikeouts is just one of many great accomplishments for the lefty, adding on to his hall of fame career. Now he can focus on his final season without milestone pressure.

A lack of offense

After explosive offense in San Francisco, the Yankees had some trouble hitting in Arizona. But, you can’t expect much with guys like Mike Tauchman batting fifth.

The Yankees got just five hits, and their lone run came in relatively early. Gleyber Torres bounced in a run on a ground rule double in the fourth inning. Torres had two hits, the only Yankee with multiple.

Gardner, Sanchez, and newly acquired Cameron Maybin each had a hit. Luke Voit extended his on-base streak to 40 with a walk.

DJ LeMahieu did not play as he was listed as day-to-day with knee inflammation from the San Francisco series, and Gio Urshela was also listed day-to-day but pinch-hit later on. Urshela was hit by a pitch in his wrist on Sunday.

Holder looking more normal

After a rough start to the season, it appears that Jonathan Holder is back to his usual self. He pitched 1 and 2/3 hitless innings, walking one. His ERA is now down to 4.50,  and was a 7.00 two weeks ago.

Zack Britton relieved Holder, and gave up a run and two hits. The run scored off a sacrifice fly. This was Britton’s first bad outing in a while, after a few bad ones to start the season he had settled into a groove.

The final game of this short two game set takes place at 3:40PM (ET) on YES and Fox Sports Go. Masahiro Tanaka (2-2, 3.60 ERA) gets the ball against Merrill Kelly (2-2, 3.94 ERA) of the Diamondbacks. The Yankees head home after Wednesday to face the the Twins and Mariners.

New York Yankees Beat The Giants 11-5-But At A Cost

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

The New York Yankees took down the San Francisco Giants 11-5 for a three game sweep, but it came at a cost. Gio Urshela and DJ LeMahieu were both removed with injuries.

The bats came out again

The Yankee bats had another big afternoon, tallying 14 hits led by Gary Sanchez and Luke Voit.

Voit had three hits and two RBIs. He is batting over .400 on this west coast swing, with two games left before going east.

Gary Sanchez had a hit and three RBIs, clearing the wall in left by a mile, almost going out of the stadium for a two-run shot.

Thairo Estrada added two hits along with Gleyber Torres and Urshela. Nine of the 13 Yankees that had an at-bat got a hit. With the injuries, JA Happ was actually forced to pinch-hit. He grounded out, but hit it hard.

Injury issues

DJ LeMahieu was removed early on with knee tightness that started on Friday. It got a bit tighter during the game, and with an off-day on Monday, Aaron Boone didn’t want to take any chances. Results came back relatively clean, just inflammation.

Gio Urshela was hit by a pitch in the wrist towards the middle of the game. He was also removed as a precaution, and his results came back clean.

One bad inning

Overall, Domingo German had a good start, but had one bad inning.

He gave up four runs, all in the sixth inning off a series of RBI singles and an RBI double. The sixth was his final inning, giving up a total of five hits.

German struck out four, walking just one. He threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 25 batters he faced, getting eight swings and misses, while working eight fly-balls and seven ground-balls.

Jonathan Holder and Tommy Kahnle worked scoreless relief innings, and Joe Harvey gave up one run in the ninth. Holder seems to be pitching better in his last few appearances.

After an off-day on Monday, the Yankees travel down to Arizona for some more inter-league baseball on Tuesday. Game one begins at 9:40PM (ET) on YES and Fox Sports Go. CC Sabathia gets the ball for the Yankees against Merrill Kelly of the Diamondbacks.

New York Yankees: Sanchez Hits Grand Slam to Lead Yankees Past Giants

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New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

Gary Sanchez hit a fifth inning grand slam to lead the New York Yankees past the Giants, 6-4. The Giants made an attempt to come back, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth.

Happ’s best start

JA Happ undoubtedly had his best start of 2019 against the Giants.

Over seven scoreless innings, he gave up just five hits without a run crossing. He didn’t allow any walks, but struck out just two.

Happ got six swings and misses, also getting 13 fly-outs to just six ground-balls. He threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 26 batters he faced.

But, it didn’t go well after Happ was removed.

After Luis Cessa pitched a scoreless eighth, Boone wanted to keep him out for the ninth but only could do so by letting him hit. So he did (well, he tried), and after taking two balls he took three hard cuts to be retired.

In the bottom of the ninth, Cessa gave up home runs to two former Yankees.

Yangervis Solarte hit a three run home run, and Erik Kratz followed with a solo shot. That was enough for Aaron Boone to pull Cessa, and he was forced to use Aroldis Chapman in a one out save situation. Chapman successfully got the final out for the win.

The big blast

Without Gary Sanchez hitting that home run, the Yankees likely would of lost Saturday’s game.

With Happ, LeMahieu, and Voit on-base, he belted a 1-2 sinker to left-center, well over 460 feet. He saw all sinkers during the at-bat, and picked one and crushed one. It currently sits as the fourth longest home run of the season.

Gio Urshela had three hits in four tries, raising his average to .327.

LeMahieu, Torres, Maybin, and Estrada each had Yankee hits. Luke Voit was hit by a pitch to keep his on-base streak alive, but his hit streak ended at 13.

The final game of this three game set concludes on Sunday at 4:05PM (ET) on YES and Fox Sports Go. Domingo German is expected to get the ball for the Yankees against Dereck Rodriguez of the Giants.

 

 

Gio Urshela Leads New York Yankees Past Angels in 14 Innings

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

Giovanny Urshela had an RBI single in the 14th inning, as the New York Yankees took down the Angels 4-3.

Five lame hits

Despite 14 innings of play, the Yankees only managed to squeak out five hits.

Luke Voit got it going his first time up, belting a 2-2 slider to right-center for a solo home run.  Gleyber Torres had a sacrifice fly in the third to drive in a run to tie it at two. The Angels got two runs in the second off a two-run bomb from catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

It would seemingly stay 2-2 forever.

Urshela had a sacrifice fly in the 12th, and the Angels got a run off of Chapman in the bottom of the inning for his first blown save of the year. Come the fourteenth, Urshela knocked in another run; this one a hit that would win the game.

Urshela ended up with two hits on the night to go along with the hit from Voit, a hit from Higashioka, and a hit from Frazier.

The struggling Jonathan Holder finally got it going in the right direction, pitching a scoreless 13th and 14th en route to a win.

About time it HAPPened

After a rough start to the season, JA Happ settled in and gave the Yankees seven strong innings. He gave up three hits, and his only mistake was a slider that found the seats for Lucroy of the Angels for two runs.

Happ walked two and struck out five. He only threw first pitch strikes to 11 of the 25 batters he faced, which isn’t great. He should have more success if he throws more first pitch strikes.

Happ had a decent start last time out against the Red Sox, with Austin Romine catching. Maybe Happ will continue to have success without Sanchez catching him, and it may be in the Yankees best interest to DH or sit Sanchez on days that Happ pitches. Sanchez is still expected to be activated on Wednesday.

Game two of this four game set begins Tuesday at 10:05PM (ET). Jonathan Loaisiga is expected to come up from AAA to make a start to give the rotation an extra day of rest, and Joe Harvey is being sent down. Chris Stratton gets the ball for the Angels.

New York Yankees – The dog days of April are upon us

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New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

It’s April 19 and the New York Yankees find themselves banged up with twelve guys on the Injured List as if a whole season had taken it’s toll rather than just 21 days.

The team is struggling to find it’s footing here in the early going, challenged by the mass of injuries that have plagued them.  It’s hard to say who the club misses more, it’s ace, it’s centerfielder or it’s catcher.

The Yankees have an 8-10 record and are 5.5 games back of the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays.  Fans are baffled in the Bronx, as the Yankees lose against teams they should beat (White Sox) and beat teams who pose the greatest challenge (Red Sox).

The lineups these days reflect the reality that an all-star team is on the IL for the Yankees and are made up of rookie call-ups – Mike Ford is the most recent, joining Gio Urshela and Tyler Wade on the Yankee bench – and regulars, such as Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Brett Gardner and Luke Voit.

Yankee manager Aaron Boone has configured numerous lineups this season, moving Gardner in and out of the lead-off spot, trying LeMahieu there, using Clint Frazier and Mike Tauchman in an almost platoon situation to get Frazier’s bat into the lineup and Tauchman’s glove in the field.

In the game on Thursday, against the Kansas City Royals, the Yankee’s looked flat offensively after their emotional two-game series win over the Boston Red Sox; they were unable to gain momentum from that win to propel them forward to a win against the Royals, losing 6-1.

The team lacks consistency because the Yankees are still a team figuring it out this season rather than a team with a plan and a direction.  The poet T.S. Eliot once wrote that “April is the cruelest month,” and for Yankee fans it certainly has been as the team rides the waves of success one day, followed by a face plant in the dirt the next.

Usually when we think about a team that’s banged up and jerry-rigging the lineup, it’s August, not April.  The dog days of August came early to the Bronx with injuries and tired-looking performances marring the early promise of the season.

Good news, May is on the way and will bring healthy players back to this lineup, – Gary Sanchez is due to come off the IL on Sunday. Aaron Hicks is with the team and is ramping up baseball activities, and Giancarlo Stanton may be able to join the team after the West Coast trip around May 9th, according to MLBTraderumors.com

When this team begins to get it’s starters back, it will become the kind of team that can carry the momentum of winning from one game to the next, one series to the next, and on into the postseason.

April losses can defeat you in October, but only if you let them.  The Yankees have some time still to get healthy and get their starters back in the lineup before the season is in jeopardy.

In the meantime, May can’t come soon enough for the Bombers to turn the page and start playing better baseball.

 

 

New York Yankees Lose to White Sox 9-6 in Rain-Shortened Game

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New York Yankees, J.A. Happ

The New York Yankees pitching staff gave up 12 hits and nine runs in a game only played through the top of the seventh, and called because of rain. In contrast, the Yankees had seven hits and scored six runs in six innings of at-bats, and lost to the White Sox 9-6.

Happ continues to struggle

JA Happ was hit hard for his third straight time to open the 2019 campaign. On Friday, he gave up nine hits and six runs while walking two and striking out five in just four innings of work.

Happ gave up an RBI single in the first, then worked out of trouble in the second and third.

In the fourth, he gave up a two run double to Leury Garcia to cut the Yankee lead down to one.

After a run in the bottom of the inning for the Yankees, Happ gave it all back when he served up a fastball down the middle for Yonder Alonso to put it in the short porch in right. This tied it up at five.

The next batter that came in was Joan Moncada, and he singled to pull Happ out of the game. Jonathan Holder came right in and gave up a two run home run to Eloy Jimenez. The home run was the first of his career.

The next time Jimenez was up, it was against Chad Green, but the result was no different. A home run to deep center, and then James McCann hit one to right to make it back-to-back jacks for the White Sox.

Friday’s game was called just after the two home runs.

Happ’s poor start raises his ERA up to 8.76, and raises struggling Chad Green’s to 11.81.

The offense was there

Despite the fact that the Yankees lost by three, their offense was pretty good, especially with three less innings of at-bats.

The Yankees started strong by putting up two in the first and the second off White Sox starter Lucas Giolito. In the first, DJ LeMahieu drove in two with an RBI single to right. An inning later, Austin Romine hit an RBI single and Aaron Judge lined one to right, good enough to score Giovanny Urshela.

Come the fourth, it was a Gardy Party as Brett Gardner mashed a two out fastball to right for a solo-shot.

To score the final Yankee run, Urshela had an RBI single to drive in LeMahieu in the sixth.

The Yankees will continue to look for guys to step up on offense, especially with Gary Sanchez now on the IL.

Game two of the series will begin on Saturday at 1:05PM on YES Network, Fox Sports Go, and ESPN+. CC Sabathia gets the ball for his first start of his final season, and former Yankee Ivan Nova gets the ball for Chicago.

New York Yankees: Chad Green Struggles as The Yankees Lose 6-3

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New York Yankees reliever Chad Green gave up three runs in the eighth inning as the Yankees lost to the Astros 6-3. The sad part is that they led 3-2, blowing their second lead in as many days.

Bullpen struggles

In five pitched innings on Tuesday, the Yankee bullpen gave up three runs off seven hits. Jonathan Loaisiga only pitched three innings, giving up two runs. He was removed due to throwing 71 pitches in the three innings.

Steven Tarpley relieved Loaisiga and gave up a hit, but threw just nine pitches in the scoreless inning. Luis Cessa got five outs without a score, before the ball was turned over to Jonathan Holder.

With the Yankees up 3-2, Holder gave up a double to new Astro Michael Brantley before being pulled. After, Chad Green came in and got hammered in the eighth, giving up three runs and the Astros took a 6-3 lead.

Again, the Yankees couldn’t recover and went down 1-2-3 in the ninth

Sanchez keeps cookin’

Gary Sanchez kept up his strong play on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 and knocking in two runs on a sixth inning double to put the Yankees up 3-2. His other hit was a single that beat the shift, as the Astros placed three men on the left side.

Luke Voit was responsible for the other run, mashing a solo home run to center field in the first. That was his only hit in four at-bats.

Aaron Judge and Austin Romine were each responsible for a base hit.

Red hot Clint Frazier went hitless on Tuesday night. Not just that, he had a few problems in the field. He dropped a ball on a diving catch attempt, then misplayed a ball a little later.

Brett Gardner also went hitless on Tuesday including being doubled up on a bunt attempt that he didn’t run out. This killed a rally with runners on first and second early in the game.

The Yankees try to salvage the series with the Astros on Wednesday before returning home. Gametime is at 7:40PM (ET) on YES Network and FOX Sports Go. James Paxton gets the ball for the Yankees against Collin McHugh of the Astros.

 

New York Yankees Smack Seven Home Runs to Beat Orioles

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The New York Yankees came out swinging on a sunny Sunday in the DMV, hitting seven home runs to beat the Orioles 15-3.

Scary Gary

Gary Sanchez led the New York Yankees by smacking three home runs, while just missing a fourth in the final inning. Two of his long balls came off a fastball, one first pitch, and the third was off a slider.

Clint Frazier built off of Saturday’s game by going 4-for-5 with two home runs and an RBI single. Gleyber Torres went 2-for-5 with a home run, and Austin Romine mashed a home run in the ninth.

New Yankee Giovanny Urshela added an RBI while going 2-for-3 as well as playing a good third base.

The Yankees accumulated 15 hits while drawing nine walks during the game, with Gardner drawing three. Aaron Judge went 0-for-4, but didn’t strikeout at all.

Luke Voit went 1-for-5, and despite him having a .182 average, he has reached safely in all but two games thus far.

Dominant Domingo

Domingo German was dominant on Sunday in possibly his best start yet. He pitched 6+ innings, allowing two hits and two runs. German actually had a no-hitter going through 5 1/3 innings. In the seventh inning, he gave up a hit and a walk before he was pulled.

Once pulled, Steven Tarpley came in and allowed both runs to score, as well as one of his own runs as he struggled to make it through the seventh.

Luis Cessa came in for the eighth and ninth, giving up just one hit. Cessa is looking better and better each time out, and we are finally starting to see why Brian Cashman thinks so highly of him.

Speaking of Brian Cashman, the Yankees won their 2,000th game with Cashman as the GM. What an accomplishment for one of the best general managers in all of sports.

The Yankees now travel down to Houston to take on the Astros in a three game series. Masahiro Tanaka gets the ball for the Yankees against Houston ace Justin Verlander. First pitch is set at 7:00PM (ET) on ESPN, Watch ESPN, YES Network, and FOX Sports Go.

New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez is an Enigma

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The New York Yankees have an enigma in Gary Sanchez, one that continues from 2018 right up to the game on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles where he was picked off third base in the sixth inning with the Yankees holding onto a one-point lead.

What is he thinking, has too often been uttered by Yankees fans in the past year, as they watched him lead the league in passed balls (18) behind the dish and stink on offense (.186/.291/.406).

New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez seems to be regressing

In 2017, Sanchez was as good as advertised, an offensive juggernaut with a .278/.354/.531 slash line with 33 home runs, 90 RBIs and he lead the majors in pull percentage (51.6%).  On defense, he had the best arm strength (87.8), according to Wikipedia, and the third-best average pop time to second base (1.93 seconds) of all MLB catchers; however, at the same time he tied for the league lead in passed balls with 16.  Enigma, right?

So far in ‘19, passed balls have not been his problem, rather, he has four throwing errors from behind the dish, a .946 Fielding Percentage and he’s 5-for-13 (.217) on offense.  

He has three homers and looks like the Sanchez of 2017 on those.  His hard-hit rate is at 55.6%, according to Scott Thompson of SNY.com, that combined with his 66.7% fly ball rate is encouraging for Yankee fans.  Thompson states that:

“…having a higher fly ball rate with good exit velocities will obviously lead to more round trippers and extra base hits off the fence”

Sanchez is trending in the right direction and some reports claim that he has just hit into bad luck -otherwise known as hitting into the shift-this season and fans should be encouraged by the hard-hit homers off Sanchez’ bat that his offense is getting hot.

There are many questions about Sanchez, including whether he’s focused enough behind the plate to overcome his issues and whether he can live up to his 2017 break-out numbers.

The Yankees are fully invested in Sanchez, considering they were not players in the J.T. Realmuto sweepstakes this offseason.  Austin Romine is not in line to take a full-time position behind the plate for the Yankees.  Sanchez is the man.  The Yankees need him to step up on defense and offense, especially with the number of players the Yankees have on the Injured List.

Sanchez is an enigma, but not insoluble.  He needs to combine the confidence and swagger of his rookie season with his growing experience and responsibilities as a veteran.

Fans who are calling for his head just need to be patient and they will likely be rewarded with a solid season from the now veteran backstop.  Steamer projects he’ll hit .245 this season with 27 homers and I believe most fans would sign on for this type of production from him at the plate.

Defensively, Sanchez continues to work on areas of his game that need improvement and fans will continue to hold him accountable for his miscues, as they should.

The 2019 season is just beginning, let’s give Sanchez a chance to put it all together and achieve a balanced, elite performance on both sides of the plate.  The Yankees obviously believe he is capable of doing it and so do I.