gerrit cole

New York Yankee Analysis: What to expect from the last seven weeks of the season

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New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu

The New York Yankees have been surging during the last month, so have the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Tampa Bay Rays continue to be the best team in the AL East. The Boston Red Sox overachieving has ended, making the race for the postseason exciting. Today I will try to predict what I see for the remainder of the season and why. Over the past few years, I have registered just over 50% accuracy in my predictions, so take this for what it is worth.

The Baltimore Orioles: We can get this out of the way right away. The Orioles will finish last in the AL East. No matter what they do in the last weeks of the season, they won’t improve their position.

The Toronto Blue Jays: The Jays are the team that is making this season so interesting. They are a young and energetic team that has done much this season to better themselves. The Jays are just whispering behind the Yankees in the division, with both teams going 7-3 in their last ten games. Although the Blue Jays lead the AL in home runs and OPS thanks to an MVP-caliber season from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., they got an important boost at the trade deadline via the acquisition of two-time All-Star José Berríos, the Yankees are yet to meet up with Berrios.

With the return of George Springer to the outfield and Alec Manoah back in the rotation, things are looking pretty bright for the Jays going forward. Where the Jays may fail is with their not-so-good bullpen has really underperformed. Nevertheless, I predict the Jays will finish third in the East and fight Oakland for the second wild-card spot.

The Boston Red Sox: After the first few weeks of the season, I said they would fall apart when the Red Sox were playing so well. They haven’t but recently have not over-achieved like they did the first half of the season. The addition of Alex Cory, like him or not, has had a huge impact on the Red Sox in changing their culture. In addition, the Red Sox has going for them the return of their ace Chris Sale to the rotation; if he returns to form, it will be a big plus for the Sox.

Rafael Devers has been huge for the Red Sox. he has 27 home runs and 82 RBIs. Right behind him are juggernauts Xander Bogaerts and JT Martinez, with a combined 37 home runs and 133 RBIs. The problem for the Red Sox is that they don’t have a single starting pitcher with an ERA under 4, and during the second half so far, they have gotten little offense from the outfield. Also, in the second half, their bullpen has been less than stellar. Prediction: they will finish fourth in the East and will not make the playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Rays: It’s hard to change the picture for the Rays. They have the best put-together team managed by the best manager in the AL East. They went to the World Series last year and will make the postseason this season as well. The addition of Nelson Cruz at the trade deadline could be huge for the Rays as it adds a proven veteran to their relatively young lineup. The young lineup has four players with 20 or more home runs. They don’t have a single starter with a losing record, and Andrew Kittridge 8-1 has been huge for the Rays.

It’s hard to find weaknesses with the Rays. If they have any, it’s a lack of production from short and the loss of their pitching ace Tyler Glasnow that has been a Yankee killer. They also have some injuries to deal with. Luckily for the Rays, they don’t have an extremely challenging schedule ahead. I predict the Tampa Bay Rays will win the AL East by at least 2 games.

The New York Yankees: The Yankees, after a plodding start to the season, have been the best team in baseball for the last several weeks, advancing in the AL East. The Yankees have been winning despite having more injuries and Covid outbreaks (21) than any team in the East. They also did more to improve the team at the trade deadline than any other American League team, with 3 pitchers and contact hitting lefty Anthony Rizzo and power-hitting Joey Gallo.

That’s not to say the Yankees don’t have their problems; they do, and some big ones. Most significant is that the Yankees have been hit harder than other teams with Covid outbreaks that have put key pitchers and key hitters on the Covid list; this coming week, Yankee ace Gerrit Cole will finally be back with the team, followed by pitcher Jordan Montgomery. Also, in the coming week, Anthony Rizzo and catcher Gary Sanchez should rejoin the team. However, the biggest disappointment for the Yankees is that neither of last seasons’ batting average champ DJ LeMahieu and home run leader Luke Voit has yet to perform this season. To get to the postseason the Yankees will need improvement from them both.

Predictions: It’s hard to predict the New York Yankees because they have had so many injuries. With the returning players, and if the team can find a way to limit further infections, they have an excellent chance of finishing second in the AL East and will surely get a wild card berth. If they are fortunate and the Rays are not, they could still take the division.

 

Yankees News: Gio Urshela injury, Gerrit Cole has COVID, young starter called up to bigs

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

Monday was littered with bad news for the New York Yankees as they fell to the lowly Baltimore Orioles 7-1 at home. With new acquisition Andrew Heaney on the mound, the Bombers allowed four runs in 4.0 innings, as he elevated his ERA to 5.42. The bullpen didn’t fare much better, allowing three runs the rest of the way, but the Yankees offense was simply nonexistent.

The lineup tallied just three hits on the evening, and while they made solid contact, striking out just five times, they couldn’t take advantage of Jorge Lopez, who has a 5.91 ERA on the season and allowed just one hit over 6.0 innings.

Nonetheless, more disappointing news came after the game regarding an injury to starting third baseman Gio Urshela and ace Gerrit Cole being put on the COVID-19 list.

Your Yankees news roundup:

Gio Urshela:

Urshela underwent an MRI, which showed a middle-grade strain on his hamstring, which could see him back in a couple of days. Skipper Aaron Boone was more optimistic than pessimistic regarding his situation.

“He’s actually doing pretty well, so we can back-date it a couple of days [to Sunday],” Boone said. “He’ll continue to ramp up here in the next couple of days and hopefully it will be just another week or eight days or so.”

Gerrit Cole:

The Yankees’ constant COVID-19 issues continue to bubble to the surface, as Cole tested positive prior to making his start on Tuesday, which will keep him out for at least a few days. Luckily, he’s the only player to return a positive test, so the rest of the team should be safe for now.

Over 21 starts this year, Cole has a 3.11 ERA, winning 10 games. Coming off a 14-0 beating against Tampa Bay last week, he was looking to bounce back against Baltimore, but that will have to wait.

Luis Gil:

Via Gil’s Instagram, the young starting pitcher will make his major league debut this week. With Cole out, Gil could earn himself a start, currently hosting a 5.64 ERA over eight games in Triple-A. He features a 25.7% ground ball rate and 11.27 strikeouts per nine, giving up six homers and 22 hits over 30.1 innings this season, per Fangraphs. Gil has never made an appearance at the MLB level, so he will be looking to leave a positive impact. Baltimore represents the perfect team to take on.

New York Yankees: Back at the Stadium, preview of the Baltimore Oriole series

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The New York Yankees are coming off a successful road trip, winning 6 of the 10 games. The Yankees won one of four against the Red Sox, two of three against the Tampa Bay Rays, and a 3 game sweep of the Miami Marlins. The Yankees being 7 games back in the AL East and fighting for a wild card slot; every game can be an important step forward in that goal. The Yankees must win over the teams that they should beat. The Baltimore series that starts today is one of the series. The Yankees will hope to sweep the series at the Stadium in the Bronx.

For the first time at home, Yankee fans will get to see the new Yankee look, with the addition of Anthony Rizzo, Joey Gallo in the lineup, and 3 new pitchers, including Andrew Heaney, who will start tonight’s first game. Tonight will be an exciting game for Yankees fans that had almost lost faith in their team; now, the Yankees look hopeful that they can pull out the season.

Tonight, August 2, 7:05 pm:

Tonight the New York Yankees fans will get to see their new starter, Andrew Heaney; he is a lefty that is 6-7 with an ERA of 5.27 and a very respectable 113 strikeouts. Heaney comes to us from the Los Angeles Angels, where he has made 102 starts since 2015 going 30-33 over the span. Heaney has been better than his traditional numbers might suggest. His K%-BB% is ninth in the AL among 43 pitchers who’ve logged a minimum of 90 innings (just ahead of Lance Lynn, Nathan Eovaldi, and Berríos). The Yankees hope at the very least he can be a back-of-the-rotation starter for them and can make spot starts when needed.

Heaney will face the Baltimore Orioles’ Jorge Lopez, a righty that is 2-12 with an ERA of 6.19 and 90 strikeouts. The Orioles have won his last three starts even though he is coming off his worst game of the season. In his Miami Marlin start, he went only two innings giving up five earned runs. Several Yankee players have hit well off of Lopez, including Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu, but Aaron Judge has Lopez’s number. In 3 at-bats, Judge has hit two home runs.

Tuesday, August 3, 7:05 pm:

Tuesday night’s game will feature Yankee ace Gerrit Cole on the mound at Yankee Stadium. Cole is 10-6 with an ERA of 3.11 and an incredible league-leading 176 strikeouts. However, he is coming off two disappointing losses. One against the Red Sox and the last against the Tampa Bay Rays when he gave up 7 earned runs in just five innings, throwing 105 pitches and struggle mightily. The Yankee hope he will bounce back and get a win over the Orioles.

Cole will face the Orioles Alexander Wells, a lefty that is 1-1 with an ERA of 5.28 and 12 strikeouts in four games pitched. Wells is coming off two straight losses, one to the Tampa Bay Rays and, more recently, one to the Detroit Tigers. In those two games, he gave up seven earned runs. He also walks hitters more than the league average. However, he will have some advantage over the Yankees hitters, as they have never seen him pitch.

Wednesday, August 4, 7:05 pm:

Jameson Taillon will start Wednesday night’s game at the Stadium. He is 7-4 with an ERA of 4.11 with 98 strikeouts. Taillon is quickly becoming the Yankee’s best pitcher. After a slow start to the season after not pitching for nearly two years due to two Tommy John surgeries, Taillon is gaining the confidence of manager Aaron Boone. The Yankees have won six of his last seven starts. He is coming off a 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins when he threw 98 pitches, not allowing a run.

Taillon will face the Orioles’ Matt Harvey that the Yankees hitters are very familiar with. Harvey has made the rounds pitching for the Mets, the Reds, the Angels, the Royals, and now the Orioles.  He has not been what the Orioles’ hoped for; he is 6-10 with an elevated 6.20 ERA. However, his last three games are among his best of the season, going into the sixth inning in all three games with the Orioles winning all three. Gio Urshela and DJ LeMahieu have both hit well off Harvey, but strangely Anthony Rizzo has faced him twelve times only with a .083 batting average.

All three Baltimore Oriole games will be broadcast on the YES Network and in Baltimore on MASN. The Tuesday night game will also be on MLBN out of market.

New York Yankees: 4 Major takeaways from 14-0 shutout of the Yankees

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New York Yankees, Albert Abreu

The New York Yankees entered last night’s game with the Tampa Bay Rays feeling fully confident that they would sweep the Rays with ace Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees. Unfortunately, that is not close to what happened; instead, the Rays shut out the Yankees 14-0. Another case this season as the Yankees take two steps forward and one step back. Nevertheless, the Yankees did take the series.

Gerrit Cole loses the game before recording an out

It would be an understatement to say that Yankee ace Gerrit Cole didn’t have it as he stepped to the mound in the first inning of last night’s game. Cole gave up four runs without recording an out. With the Yankees not hitting, the death knell led to a 14 run shut out from the Rays. Once that was over, Cole settled in and put down 8 in a row at one point. With his secondary pitches not working, he had to revert to solely throwing his fastball.

In his time with the Yankees, Cole has never given up 8 runs in a game, making this his worst outing in years. It is the first time since 1912 that a pitcher has given up eight runs in a game while recording 10 strikeouts. It is also the first time the Yankees have given up 14 runs in a game since last year against the Toronto Blue Jays at Buffalo.

This loss has to be a concern for the Yankees; it’s Cole’s second loss in a row when he couldn’t complete six innings. His last loss was a critical one against the Boston Red Sox. This trend can’t be acceptable to the Yankees; as the season progresses, he is trending down, not up. After April, Cole’s ERA was 1.43; now, it has risen to 3.11, which is still good but not what you want to see from your ace.

Yankees’ lack of hitting continues

The Yankees’ lack of hitting all season continues to dog them in most games. Last night was no different. The Yankees could only muster up 4 hits in the game. With three runners in scoring position, no home runs, they couldn’t bring a run home. Most concerning last night was Giancarlo Stanton, who stuck out three times with one walk. Stanton, who was a legitimate spark before the All-Star break, has not hit the ball since then. He had 16 home runs then, and that is where it sits. Both Judge and Stanton should be the power bats in the lineup, but Stanton is missing in action.

By taking this series, the Yankees now have a winning record at Tropicana Field for the first time since 2015. The Yankees are now 7 and 9 against the Rays this season, with the last 3 games between the teams to be played at Yankee Stadium to end the season in September.

Yankees give up 10 in the sixth

After giving up four runs in the early part of the first inning, Gerrit Cole pitched well into the sixth inning, striking out 10 Rays. But everything went south in the sixth inning, putting the Yankees in an unrecoverable 14 run hole. In the sixth, Cole gave up another two runs before being removed from the game, leaving two on base that was his responsibility. With the bullpen, overused Boone sent Michael Abreu to replace Cole. However, the Rays had their way with Abreu, who gave up another eight runs including the two base runners Cole left.

Sal Romano did his job; between the seventh and eighth, he allowed two hits but kept the Rays scoreless. On a good note, the Yankees sent out their newest pitcher Clay Holmes in his Yankee debut. He pitched a hitless ninth inning for the Yankees.

Hal means business

New York Yankees general partner Hal Steinbrenner said recently that he doesn’t see the Yankees as sellers at the trade deadline. It seems he was true to his word. The Yankees acquired Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers and last night announced that they had acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs. With $4 million left without going over the luxury tax threshold and a 4 o’clock deadline today, he may still improve the team.

New this season, after the deadline today, there will be no waiver deals made. At the end of today, the team will be what they will go with the rest of the season. With the additions of Gallo and Rizzo, it seems Cashman is addressing the lack of left-hand hitters in the lineup. If there is another deal coming before that deadline, it will most likely be in the pitching department.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Yankees totally embarrassed in sweep attempt

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yankees, gerrit cole

This afternoon the New York Yankees and ace Gerrit Cole went for what may be their most important game this season. A sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees have had big problems this season winning against the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. However, in the past two nights, the Yankees have taken the first two games of the series and had a chance for the sweep today and a possible turnaround to their season. Cole faced the Tampa Bay pitcher Luis Patino. The sweep was not to be had as the Rays shut out the Yankees 14-0.

At the first, DJ LeMahieu went down on strikes. Aaron Judge singled to right-center. Odor flew out to center. A wild pitch allowed Judge to go to second. Giancarlo Stanton went down on a Patino slider to end the scoreless half.

Brandon Lowe, at the bottom of the inning, took the first pitch he saw from Cole for his 23rd home run of the season, just above the right-field foul pole. Upon review, it was called a foul ball over the foul pole. Lowe finally singled to short and beat out the throw. Ji-Man Choi, who has been a Cole killer (10-21), walked. Yandy Diaz singled, driving in Lowe for the Rays lead. Austin Meadows hit a three-run home run to center to give the Rays a four-run lead without Cole getting a single out. Randy Arozarena went down swinging. Wander Franco struck out. Kevin Kiermaier flew out sharply to Florial in center. Tampa Bay Rays 4 New York 0.

The top of the second was led off by Gleyber Torres, who singled to right. Gio Urshela lofted one to right field for the first out. Brett Gardner hit an infield single. Kyle Higashioka went down looking. Estevan Florial flew out to left to end the half. At the bottom, Mike Zunino ground out to second. Brett Phillips struck out. Lowe went down on a changeup for a 1-2-3 inning comeback for Cole. Rays 4 Yankees 0.

LeMahieu led off the third inning flew out to centerfield. Judge also flew out to center. Odor made the third out to center for a quick half for Patino. Choi led off the bottom of the inning by flying out to Gardner in left. Diaz doubled past Urshela. Meadows went down on strikes. Arozarena struck out on a Cole slider to end the inning. Rays 4 Yankees 0.

The fourth inning saw Stanton at the plate; he struck out. Torres went down on strikes. Urshela made the third strikeout. At the bottom, Franco flew out to left. Kiermaier went down on strikes, and Zunino stuck out swinging. Rays 4 Yankees 0.

The fifth inning was led off by Brett Gardner, who flew out to left. Higashioka popped out to Choi at first. Florial drew a walk, but LeMahieu flew out to right to end the half. At the bottom of the fifth, with 71 pitches and 8 strikeouts from Cole, Phillips became the ninth victim. Lowe flew out to center. Choi got Cole’s 10th strikeout. Rays 4 Yankees 0.

Aaron Judge led off the sixth inning by walking. Odor went down looking. Stanton struck out for the third time. Torres flew out to the warning track in left. Diaz led off the bottom and ground out to second. Meadows had a line-drive single to center. Arozarena got a short base hit to right, holding Meadows at second. Franco walked to load up the bases with Rays. Kiermaier doubled to allow two runs to score. Those two runs and 105 pitches thrown knocked Cole out of the game.

Albert Abreu replaced him, facing Zunino, who walked to reload the bases. Phillips had a grand slam to put the Rays up 10 runs. Lowe walked. Choi homered up the center-field seats for another two runs. Diaz singled to left. Meadows followed with another home run, finally knocking Abreu out of the game. Still, with only one out and after giving up 10 runs in the inning Sal Romano took to the mound to face Arozarena, who had a ground-rule double with a ball that bounced beyond Judge into the right-field stands. Franco went down looking for the second out of the inning. Kiermaier singled to center. Zunino flew out to Judge in right to finally end the inning, with the Rays tacking on 10 runs in the inning. Rays 14 Yankees 0.

At the top of the seventh, Louis Head was on the mound for the Rays to face Tyler Wade pinch-hitting for Urshela; he went down swinging. Brett Gardner popped out to third. Higashioka popped out to Choi at first. At the bottom, with Romano still on the mound, Phillips was called out on strikes. Lowe flew out to left, and Choi struck out looking for a 1-2-3 inning for Romano. Rays 14 Yankees 0.

The eighth inning was led off by Estevan Florial, who singled to left. LeMahieu flew out to center. Ryan LaMarre pinch-hitting for Judge as it appears the Yankees have conceded the game struck out. With Odor coming to the plate, Head was replaced by Ryan Sherriff, Odor with one on and two outs, flew out to left. At the bottom of the inning Clay Holmes, the new Yankee reliever, made his Yankee debut. He led off, grounding out Diaz. Meadows flew out to Florial in center. Arozarena was called out on strikes as Holmes had a 1-2-3 inning in his Yankee debut.

With last licks on the line for the New York Yankees Giancarlo Stanton took to the plate with the Yankees behind 14 runs, he walked. Gleyber Torres ground into a double play. Tyler Wade flew out to center to end an embarrassing loss for the Yankees.

The final score was the Tampa Bay Rays 14 and the New York Yankees 10. The winning pitcher was Luis Patino and the loser was Gerrit Cole.

 

New York Yankees: Gerrit Cole goes for the sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays today

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yankees, gerrit cole

This afternoon the New York Yankees and ace Gerrit Cole go for what may be their most important game this season. A sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees have had big problems this season winning against the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. However, in the past two nights, the Yankees have taken the first two games of the series and have a chance for the sweep today and a possible turnaround to their season.

At 1:05 pm today, Gerrit Cole will face righty Luis Patino. Cole has been the Yankee’s most successful pitcher. He is 10-5 with an ERA of 2.74 and an incredible baseball-leading 166 strikeouts. He is coming off a loss to the Boston Red Sox. Back on July 10th, he pitched a complete-game shutout of the Houston Astros. Only one Ray has Cole’s number. Ji-Mon Choi has a .667 batting average against Cole in 12 at-bats.

The Rays will send out Luis Patino to face Cole. Patino is a righty that is 1-2 with an ERA of 5.26. Patino is a starter and long reliever for the Rays. He seldom goes more than four innings. This will be the seventh start of his pitching career. The Yankees have little experience with Patino. Only DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela have gotten a hit off him. The matinee game will be televised on the YES Network and Bally Sports Sun.

Cole, 30, was born on September 8, 1990, in Newport Beach, California, to Mark and Karen Cole. Cole’s father was from New York and a Yankee fan. His father would tell him Lou Gehrig and other famous Yankees stories, and the young boy would quickly become a Yankee fanatic. His father certainly nurtured Cole’s interest in the Yankees by flying him across the country seven times to Yankee Stadium to see his idols, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Andy Pettitte. Then, in 2001 his Dad would take the young Cole to the World Series in Arizona to see his favorite Yankees play. The eleven-year-old could be seen in the stands with a Yankee uniform and cap on while holding a sign saying “Yankee Fan Today, Tomorrow, Forever”.

Through the Pittsburgh Pirate organization, Cole was traded to the Houston Astros, where he blossomed, becoming one of the best pitchers in the game. Cole was originally drafted by the Yankees in 2008 but decided to attend college at UCLA. That young boy with the sign in the stands in 2001 became a New York Yankee in December of 2019 when Hal Steinbrenner and company signed a $324 million contract with the then 29-year-old star pitcher.

In the shortened 2020 season, Cole was 7-3 with an ERA of 2.84. Yankee fans thought that although he was dominant, he wasn’t the same pitcher that went 20-5 for Houston the previous year. So far this year, He is 10-5 with an ERA of 2.74. With the poor hitting Yankees, Cole hasn’t gotten a lot of run support. If he did, his record would be better still. On July 10th Cole threw a career-high 129 pitches in a complete-game win over the Houston Astros, striking out 12. Cole is tied for fourth-most wins in all of baseball and with the third-lowest ERA.

Cole and his family moved to Greenwich, CT, a suburb of New York. The 6’4″ Cole is married to his wife Amy, who he met as a softball player at UCLA. His brother-in-law is Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants. He and his wife love to cook and entertain family and friends. Cole is a healthy cook and a nutritional nut. Amy has a blog called “the Culinary Experience.” The two gave birth to a son last summer. Cole has a younger sister Erin.

 

 

 

New York Yankees: Tampa Bay Rays series preview of a must-win series

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Last week, the New York Yankees went into a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox, hoping to win that series. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen; the Yankees couldn’t even split the series. That loss makes the series that starts tonight with the Tampa Bay Rays even more important to put it into the win column for the struggling Yankees. The series will be played under the dome at Tropicana Field.

The Yankees are now just one half-game from 10 games out in the AL East. The Yankees started the season with what most thought was a championship team. Performance has shown that that has not been proven to be true. A championship team wins more than they lose, a lot more wins than the Yankees have been able to win. A championship team leads its division. The fact is that the Yankees have not been able to beat the teams ahead of them in the division.

Tampa Bay is one of those teams. In the first series of the season, the Yankees won one of 3. Then, in mid-April, the Rays swept the Yankees. In mid-May, the Yankees took 2 of 3. Finally, in early June, they split a four-game series. Going into this series, the Yankees are 5-8 against the Rays this season. The Yankees really need a win in this series to begin a difficult climb up in the AL East standings.

Tonight, July 27, 7:10 pm:

The New York Yankees, tonight, will send Jordan Montgomery to the mound to face Shane McClanahan. The game at Tropicana Field will begin at 7:10 pm. Montgomery has been the bad luck kid getting little, if any, run support. The Yankees have only scored 10 runs in his last 6 starts. That’s less than 2 runs a game. Monty is 3-5  with an ERA of 3.96  with 105 strikeouts. However, he has pitched much better than the stats suggest. Monty hopes in this important game against the Rays; he will get some help.

Shane McClanahan will start for the Tampa Bay Rays. He is a lefty that is 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA and 78 strikeouts. McClanahan coming off two wins in a row, one against the Blue Jays and one against the Orioles. This month he has allowed two walks per game. All of the regular Yankees have hit well off of McClanahan this season. Tonight’s game is televised on WPIX and its affiliates in New York, Bally Sports Sun in Florida, and MLBN out of market nationally.

Wednesday, July 28, 7:10 pm:

Back off the Covid list, Nestor Cortes Jr. will start the Wednesday evening game against Michael Wacha. Cortes has pitched masterfully, replacing Corey Kluber in the rotation. The Yankees have won his last four starts giving up just one run. He is 0-0 with an ERA of 1.95 with 34 strikeouts. Most of the Rays players have not seen much of Cortes. Only Yandy Diaz has hit well off of Cortes.

The Rays righty Michael Wacha will start for the Rays. He is 2-2 with a 5.16 ERA and 34 strikeouts. The Rays have won his last three starts while giving up eight runs.  Both Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu have .333 batting averages off him. Gio Urshela has had the best record going .400 in five plate appearances. Wednesday night’s game will be televised on the YES Network, Bally Sports Sun, and nationally on ESPN.

Thursday, July 30, 1:10 pm:

Thursday’s matinee will feature New York Yankee ace Gerrit Cole pitted against righty Luis Patino. Cole has been the Yankee’s most successful pitcher. He is 10-5 with an ERA of 2.74 and an incredible baseball-leading 166 strikeouts. He is coming off a loss to the Boston Red Sox. Back on July 10th, he pitched a complete-game shutout of the Houston Astros. Only one Ray has Cole’s number. Ji-Mon Choi has a .667 batting average against Cole in 12 at-bats.

The Rays will send out Luis Patino to face Cole. Patino is a righty that is 1-2 with an ERA of 5.26. Patino is a starter and long reliever for the Rays. He seldom goes more than four innings. This will be the seventh start of his pitching career. The Yankees have little experience with Patino. Only DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela have gotten a hit off him. The matinee game will be televised on the YES Network and Bally Sports Sun.

New York Yankees: 3 Major takeaways from Yankees second loss to the Red Sox

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After a devastating tenth inning loss to the Red Sox on Thursday night, the New York Yankees, with their ace Gerrit Cole on the mound, were hoping to get back to their winning ways. Unfortunately, it was not to happen. Instead, they lost the second game of the series 6-2.  Now they have the challenging task of winning the next two games so they can at least come away from Fenway Park with a split and feeling a little better about themselves.

Cole’s stuff wasn’t good enough

If the New York Yankees were going to win a game in this four-game set against the Boston Red Sox, last night was the night with Yankee ace Gerrit Cole on the mound. After all, he had won his last two outings in great fashion, one a complete 129 pitch game against the Houston Astros. The other win was against these same Boston Red Sox when he allowed just one run on the night.

Last night in an aftergame interview, Cole explained that for the most part, he made his pitches, but last night the Sox wore him down early, throwing 70 pitches in the first three innings. He lasted only five innings using 104 pitches. The big blow came in the fifth inning when Rafael Devers took a good pitch and hit it into the monster seats at Fenway. Cole called Devers a special player for his ability to hit that pitch. In his usual candid way, he also admitted that the whole Red Sox lineup was working on all cylinders last night. Cole was making pitches over 100mph, but they just weren’t good enough.

Lack of hitting continues to dog the Yankees

Last night was deja vu all over again. Like in so many games this season, the New York Yankee lineup didn’t hit the ball. They could only muster up six hits in the game. With hits and walks, they left eleven Yankees on the bases last night. Basically, the Yankees only hit the ball against bad pitchers or good pitchers that make bad mistakes. This situation has dogged them in almost all games this season.

There may be some excuse for it last night as the Yankees are not operating at full strength. Last night missing from the lineup, was slugger Aaron Judge, third baseman Gio Urshela, both on the Covid list. They were also short first baseman Luke Voit who is out with a bum knee. Still, the Yankees had opportunities in the game but failed to take advantage of them.

Last night the Yankees did not hit a home run, and when they don’t hit home runs, they seldom win. Brett Gardner and Rougie Odor had the only RBI’s in the game. Giancarlo Stanton was patient at the plate, getting a hit and taking two walks. The Yankees had their chances with starter Eduardo Rodriguez leaving the game after the first inning and the Yankees trying to beat up the Boston bullpen for the next 8 innings. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as the Yankees struck out twelve times against 6 Sox pitchers.

The hitting star of the game was Rafael Devers with his two home runs. Devers drove in five of the six Red Sox runs. Gerrit Cole was correct; Devers is a very special player.

Gary Sanchez injured in the fifth

With 16 on the injured or Covid list, the beleaguered New York Yankees took another blow last night. In the fifth inning catcher, Gary Sanchez had to leave the game with what was described as back spasms. With backup catcher Kyle Higashioka already on the Covid list, this presents a big problem for the Yankees. Unless Sanchez goes on the IL, the Yankees will have to send a player down as they call up another backup catcher. After the game last night, Boone was asked if Sanchez would be available to catch on Saturday afternoon. Boone responded that it was too early to tell and evaluate the situation in the morning.

Note: Today’s game at Fenway Park is at 4:05 pm, with Jameson Taillon on the mound for the Yankees and Nathan Eovaldi for the Red Sox. The game will be televised on the YES Network, NESN in Boston, and nationally on FS1.

New York Yankees Recap: Cole falls short in Yankees second loss to the Red Sox

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yankees, gerrit cole

Last night after a devastating 10 inning loss, the New York Yankees faced the Boston Red Sox in game two of the four-game weekend set. Ace Gerrit Cole faced the Boston Red Sox ace, Eduardo Rodriguez, in a near must-win situation for the New York Yankees if they wished to advance in the AL East against their first-place rival. However, Cole fell short in the end, and the Yankees lost the game 6-2.

DJ LeMahieu faced Rodgriguez in the first inning and lined out to left field. Giancarlo Stanton struck out on an outside change. Rougie Odor ground out, and the Yankees went down in order. In the bottom, Enrique Hernandez led off against Gerrit Cole and ground out to second. Jerran Duran went down on strikes. Xander Bogaerts singled to right. Rafael Devers went down looking for the final out of the scoreless inning.

In the second, Gary Sanchez led off by walking. Gleyber Torres got a single off the diving Bogaerts in left, moving Sanchez to second base. Brett Gardner got an RBI double with two on and no outs, scoring Sanchez and Torres moving to third. Chris Gittens faced new pitcher Phillips Valdez after E-Rod left the game with some type of injury. Gittens with a run in, two on, and no outs went down on strikes. Ryan LaMarre was plunked in the shoulder to load the bases. Greg Allen, with the bases loaded and one out he went down on strikes. DJ LeMahieu, with the bases still loaded with Yankees, struck out, leaving the bases loaded, but the Yankees took the lead in the game. New York 1 Boston 0.

At the bottom of the second, JT Martinez went down on strikes from Cole. Alex Verdugo went down swinging. Hunter Renfroe fighting off pitches singled to short. Christian Vazquez flew out to LaMarre in left-center. New York Yankees 1 Boston Red Sox 0.

The third inning was scoreless, as was the fourth inning. Then, finally, the fifth inning saw the Boston Red Sox score three runs, including a homer by Rafael Devers off Gerrit Cole to take the lead for the Red Sox. Bogaerts and Devers combined for the other two runs. Boston Red Sox 3 New York Yankees 1.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Nestor Cortes Jr., fresh off the Covid list, pitched a clean sixth inning, striking out one and not allowing a hit. Gerrit Cole went only five innings giving up the three Boston runs in an unusually short outing while striking out eight and walking two. The Sox wore down Cole, who used 100 pitches to get through the fifth inning.

At the top of the seventh, Gerret Whitlock took over the pitching for the Boston Red Sox. Estevan Florial went down swinging. Greg Allen was hit in the shin and took first base. LeMahieu singled. Stanton, with a chance to tie up the game, ground out to third. With two on and two outs, Odor flew out to right-center to end the threat from the Yankees. At the bottom, Dalbec against Cortes Jr. went down swinging. Hernandez singled to right. Duran also singled to right for two on and one out. Bogaerts struck out. Devers got another home run just over the left-center wall to make it 6-1 Red Sox. It was announced that Sanchez left the game with back spasms.

In the eighth inning, with the Yankees behind five runs, Brantly, who took over for Sanchez, lined out to first. Torres advanced on a hit by pitch. Gardner went down on strikes. Gittens, who got a hit earlier, walked. Florial, who pinch-hit for LaMarre in the seventh and with two on and two outs, made the final out of the half, leaving two Yankees stranded. At the bottom, Verdugo, against the new Yankee pitcher Justin Wilson flew out to Gardner. Renfroe went down looking. Vazquez walked, but Dalbec ground out to end the inning. Red Sox 6 the Yankees 1.

With last licks on the line for the Yankees at the top of the ninth inning against Brandon, Workman flew out to center. LeMahieu tapped right back to Workman. Giancarlo Stanton, who walked twice on the night, got an infield hit. Rougie Odor doubled to far left field right in front of the green monster. Stanton scored. Rob Brantley flew out to foul territory at first to end the game.

The final score was the Boston Red Sox 6 and the New York Yankees 2. The winning pitcher was Yacksel Rios, and the loser was Gerrit Cole.

New York Yankees: Yankees enter critical series with the Red Sox – Preview

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Under impossible odds, the New York Yankees are trying to pull themselves out of a self-created hole they have made for themselves in the AL East. In that effort, they have now won four straight games. They took a series from the Red Sox and most recently swept the Philadelphia Phillies with a walk-off win in the tenth inning last night when call-up Ryan LeMarre singled, initiating the win.

What makes this recent turnaround so incredible is that the Yankees have won with 18 players injured or on the Covid list. Some of the biggest names on that list are slugger Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ most productive player, and Gold Glove-like consistent hitter Gio Urshela. Luke Voit is also out of the lineup with a knee injury. They are also without starters Corey Kluber, Nestor Cortes Jr., and Michael King. The Yankees have called up player after player from the minors and have performed admirably for the most part. In some cases, a replacement has replaced another replacement at the same position. None on the Covid list will return to the team during the Boston series.

Regardless of the recent success, the Yankees have only advanced one game in the East and have much work to do to turn their sour season around completely. Tonight they enter a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. This is a crucial series where the Yankees can really move up in the East standings or possibly shut the door on any rebound. With the recent success, they are now 7 games behind the East-leading Red Sox and six games behind the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. All of their next seven games are between these two teams.

Tonight, July 22, 7:10 pm:

Jordan Montgomery will take to the mound tonight in game one against the Red Sox. The lefty is 3-5 with an ERA of 4.18 and 99 strikeouts. Montgomery has gotten very little run support in his games; in fact, in his last four games, he has gotten no run support at all. Nevertheless, the Yankees have won 11 of his 18 starts. The Yankees hope Monty can go deep into the game after using 11 relievers in the last two days. Monty will have to be careful with Xander Bogaerts; he has a .474 batting average off him in 19 at-bats.

Montgomery will face the Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck. He is a righty that is 0-2 with an ERA of 3.38. Houck has pitched in only 4 games this season, 2 as a starter. His last game was a save for the Red Sox against the Yankees when he came in in the seventh inning to finish off the Yankees in game one of the last series. While most Yankees were hitless off of Houck, Tyler Wade and callup Greg Allen got a hit off of him.

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on the YES Network, NESN, and MLBN out of market.

Friday, July 23, 7:10 pm:
New York Yankee ace Gerrit Cole will start in game two on Friday night. Cole is 10-4 on the season with an ERA of 2.63. He leads all of baseball with 158 strikeouts. Cole is coming off two consecutive wins, one a complete game with a career-high 129 pitches against the Houston Astros, the other a 96 pitch win over the Red Sox on July 17. When the Sox take the field, Cole had better hope that Danny Santana isn’t standing at first base. Santana has a .643 batting average off Cole in 14 at-bats.
Cole will face the Boston ace Eduardo Rodriguez a lefty who is 7-5 with an ERA of 5.19 and 112 strikeouts. E-Rod has faced the Yankees three times this season, winning all of his starts, the most recent was a shutout of the Yankees on July 16th. Rougie Odor has E-Rods number; he has a .374 batting average off him in 9 at-bats.
Friday night’s game will be televised on WPIX and its affiliates, NESN, and MLBN out of market.
Saturday, July 24, 4:10 pm:
Saturday’s later afternoon game will feature Jameson Taillon pitching for the New York Yankees. Taillon is a righty that is 5-4 with an ERA of 4.60. Taillon is not a strikeout pitcher but relies on ground ball-outs. He and Domingo German have been the Yankees’ most undependable starters, although he has pitched better in his last two outings. Taillon is coming off a win against these very Red Sox when he pitched 5.1 shutout innings. Xander Bogaerts and Hunter Renfro have been Yankees killers with Taillon on the mound.
Taillon will face the righty former Yankee pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi for the Red Sox is 9-5 with an ERA of 4.60, he like Taillon is also not a strikeout pitcher; he has only 89 on the season. He is coming off two straight losses, one against the Angels and one against the Yankees on July 17. He was the loser in that rain-shortened game. Over his career with the Red Sox, only DJ LeMahieu and Greg Allen have been successful off him with batting averages of .338 and .500.
Saturday’s game will be televised on the YES Network, NESN, and FS1.
Sunday, July 25, 1:10 pm:
Sunday’s matinee will pit Domingo German against Martin Perez. German has been a puzzle this season for the Yankees. He is 4-5 with an ERA of 4.71. Near the beginning of the season, the Yankees won six of his starts in a row. But more recently, the Yankees have lost 3 or his last 5 starts.  The Yankees don’t know what they will get with German; he could be lights out but more frequently struggles. German puzzles some Sox, Bogaerts hits well off on him, while Devers has a .133 average off him in 15 at-bats.
Geman will face Martin Perez, a lefty that is 7-6 with an ERA of 4.16. Perez is coming off of two losses, one against the Phillies and one against the Yankees on July 18th. He has been dogged all season long by not going deeper into games. In the Yankees 9-1 win, he went only 4 innings giving up 3 earned runs. Several Yankees hit well against him in Stanton, LeMahieu, and Odor.
Sunday’s finale will be televised on the YES Network, NESN, and on TBS out of market.
In the next month, both of these teams will see the return of important pitchers to their rotation. Ace Chris Sales will return to the Boston Red Sox first, with Luis Severino returning some near the end of August. The New York Yankees are also expecting the return of Corey Kluber in September.