gerrit cole

Yankees: Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman join Aaron Judge as All-Stars

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yankees, gerrit cole

You wouldn’t know it for the way they played over the weekend, but New York Yankees’ pitchers Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman were selected as members of the American League roster for the All-Star game, which will be played at Coors Field, in Denver, on July 13.

But the season is longer than a weekend, and both Yankees hurlers have merits to be part of the Midsummer Classic. Their selections were announced on Sunday during the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Selection Show on ESPN.

The non-starters were chosen through a combination of fan voting and the Commissioner’s Office.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Cole said. “I’m always humbled because it’s a player vote relative to the pitchers. That holds a special place for me and hopefully, we can get back to pitching to that type of level here soon.”

The Yankees are sending two hurlers to Colorado

The Yankees’ ace, who had his shortest start of the season on Sunday (he allowed four runs in 3.1 innings, with three walks and six strikeouts) receives his fourth All-Star selection, as he played in 2015, 2018, and 2019.  

This year, he is 8-4 with a 2.91 ERA in 17 starts, conceding 81 hits and 20 walks but striking out 135 hitters in 105 innings.

Chapman, meanwhile, is the Yankees’ closer, but is in the middle of a rough stretch that has inflated his ERA to 4.71.

This will be his seventh Midsummer Classic and the third with the Yankees.

“It’s one of those achievements that definitely go under the resume of your playing career,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “It’s one of those opportunities that I think every player wants the chance to be a part of at least once. To be selected means a lot.”

He was unscored upon in April, but the wheels fell off in June and July.

“The way I started the season and the performance those months gave me an idea that it could have been a possibility,” Chapman said. “It’s surprising and nice, given that the past couple of weeks have been tough for me. It’s great to hear it.”

Both pitchers join Aaron Judge, who will be a starter and is slashing .284/.381/.529 with 19 home runs and 43 RBIs in 76 games.

New York Yankees: A tale of two different teams, Mets series takeaways

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Yesterday, the New York Yankees suffered an embarrassing loss in game one of a day-night doubleheader after another loss on Saturday. Still, they salvaged the night game, just another series loss. Yesterday was a microcosm of the whole Yankee season. Down, up, and down again. The Yankees, at the halfway point of the season, are now ten games behind the East-leading Boston Red Sox and are only trailed by the Baltimore Orioles.

The New York Yankees have suffered all season long with poor pitching at times and poor hitting most times. The was evident in yesterday’s two games. In game one, the Yankee pitching completely collapsed, with Yankee ace Gerrit Cole having his shortest outing as a Yankee. Then the bullpen imploded behind him. In game two, the pitching was much better, with Nestor Cortes Jr. getting his first start of the season and Chad Green having one of his best games of the season, resulting in a win. However, the hitting was mostly missing as the Yankees only mustered up eleven hits between the two games.

Game one, Pitching collapses:

Yankee ace Gerrit Cole has been struggling recently and had his shortest outing since being acquired by the Yankees. Cole went only  3.1 innings giving up 6 hits and 4 earned runs, one of them a home run. Giving up long balls has been a problem for him recently. Loaisiga replaced Cole, and Green came in and pitched two scoreless innings.

Then Aroldis Chapman came in for the save as they were ahead 5-4. In his last few outings, Chapman, who has struggled mightily, immediately gave up a home run into the visitor’s bullpen in left to Pete Alonso blowing the save. Then hit a batter, followed by walking one. Next, Boone came to the mound and removed him. He was charged with 3 earned runs. From the game, Boone brought in the usual good Lucas Luetge, who made things even worse, giving up another 3 earned runs for the 10-5 loss.

There isn’t much positive to say about the game. The New York Yankees did get seven hits in the game, but they weren’t timely. The brightest spot in the game is when catcher Kyle Higashioka hit a double, driving in two runs. But, unfortunately, the Yankees hit no home runs.

Game two a different story

The disaster in game one of the doubleheader caused manager Boone to use Michael King in the game. He was scheduled to start the second game, but having to pitch on Friday thrust Nestor Cortes Jr. into a Sunday start. Then, after Justin Wilson gave up 5 runs Saturday, Boone had to call in King to pitch  4 innings for the Yankees, preventing him from getting the start on Sunday.

Reliever Cortes who had pitched 18 innings with an ERA of 1.02, finally got his chance to shine in a start in game two, and shine he did. Cortes Jr. went 3.1 innings for his longest outing of the season, giving up just one earned run while striking out four. Chad Green, who got the win, pitched three scoreless innings, including an immaculate inning in the seventh when he stuck out the side with nine pitches. Nestor Cortes Jr. now becomes an option for future starts.

The Yankees could only make five hits in the game, but the stellar pitching saved the deficient lineup. The hitting star of the game was Gio Urshela hit a two-run homer giving the Yankees the three-run lead.

A tale of two different teams

The New York Yankees at the beginning of the season a the team to beat by baseball analysts. So when they opened the season, winning only 5 for their first 12 games, it was shocking. Unfortunately, that shock has disappeared, and the Yankees have done the same thing all season. They have had good stretches, but bad ones follow them. They tease fans by becoming the Bronx Bombers we all know and then losing the next few games in a row. At the start, the Yankees just could not hit, scoring less than three runs a game. More recently, the Yankees’ pitching has been subpar. With the loss of Corey Kluber, who had a no-hitter, to shoulder problems, the Yankees starting pitching, and even the bullpen has struggled at times.

Now that we are at the halfway point of the season, getting out of the hole the Yankees have dug for themselves seems more and more remote. They are certainly not out of it mathematically, but they have much work to do with being five games out of getting a second wild card slot.

New York Yankees Recap: Yankees pitching completely implodes in Yankee’s second loss to the Mets

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Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

The New York Yankees met up with the New York Mets for a day-night doubleheader caused by a Friday night rainout. The Mets bowled over the Yankees 8-3 in the opening game yesterday. The day game today pit the Yankee ace Gerrit Cole against the Met’s Marcus Stroman. Both games were to go seven innings. The night game was slated to start reliever Nestor Cortes Jr. in his first major league start for the Yankees. The Yankees lost the game 10-5.

Cole, in the first game, faced the Met’s Brandon Nimmo, who struck out. Francisco Lindor flew out to center. Dominic Smith homered to center field as the Mets struck first. Pete Alonso flew out to Gardner to end the half, but the Mets picked up a one-run lead. DJ LeMahieu led off for the Yankees and flew out to right. Aaron Judge lined out to left. Luke Voit ground out to short for a 1-2-3 inning for Stroman. Mets 1 Yankees 0.

The top of the second was led off by Michael Conforto who struck out. Jeff McNeil reached on a reviewed call. Billy McKinney went down swinging. Tomas Nido flew out to Judge in the right to end the half and a scoreless inning for Cole. At the bottom, Giancarlo Stanton led off by singling to center. Gio Urshela singled to second, but Lindor bobbled the ball, and Stanton was safe at second. Gleyber Torres reached on the fielder’s choice, Stanton to third. Brett Gardner advanced on a hit by pitch. Kyle Higashioka, with the bases loaded and only one out, doubled down the left-field line to bring in two Yankee runs. With two still on, Tim Locastro (fastest major league runner) hit a sac fly to score Gardner. LeMahieu few out to end the inning, but the Yankees took the lead. New York Yankees 3 Mets 1.

The third inning was led off by Luis Guillorme, who doubled on a slow roller that Urshela airmailed into the camera well. Nimmo was out on a reviewed play, with Guillorme moving to third. Lindor walked. With men on the corners and one out, Smith struck out on a perfect change-up from Cole as Higashio didn’t have to move his glove. Lindor stole second. Alonso struck out on a 100mph fastball. At the bottom, Aaron Judge singled on a line drive to left. Voit singled on a liner, with Judge reaching third. Stanton hit into a 6-4-3 double play, but Judge scored. Urshela tapped out to first. Yankees 4 Mets 1.

Michael Conforto led off the fourth inning and walked. McNeil singled, and Conforto held at second as Judge fired in. With two on and no outs, McKinney walked to load the bases prompting a mound visit from Yankee pitching coach Matt Blake. Nido singled driving in Conforto. Guillorme, with the bases, still loaded, and no outs, struck out for the first out of the inning. Nimmo got an RBI single, and that was the end of the day for Cole.

Jonathan Loaisiga entered the game with the bases loaded and only one out, facing Lindor, who singled in front of Judge. Judge fired in and got the Nimmo returning to second, but McKinney scored. Smith walked to reload the bases. Alonso hit back to Loaisiga for the last out, leaving the bases loaded, but the Mets tied the game at 4 apiece. The Yankees failed to score at the bottom, with the Yankees making another base running mistake.

The top of the fifth was led off by Conforto, who flew out to left. McNeil struck out. McKinney also struck out for a quick inning for Loaisiga. Locastro led off the bottom by grounding out. LeMahieu singled to center. Judge had a soft ground ball single with LeMahieu moving to third base. Voit with men on the corners and one out, Stroman had a wild ball allowing LeMahieu to get the Yankees back to the lead. Voit flew out to center. Stanton flew out to right, but the Yankees regained the lead. New York Yankees 5 Mets 4.

The sixth inning was led off by Nido, who struck out. Guillorme singled on a line drive to left. Nimmo was called out on strikes. Lindor was hit by a pitch, and Loaisgia was replaced by Chad Green, who faced Smith, who flew out to Gardner in center. Gio Urshela led off the bottom of the inning by singling to center with Jeurys Familia on the mound. Torres went down swinging. Gardner popped out to shallow center for out number two. Higashioka struck out swinging. Yankees 5 Mets 4.

With last licks on the line for the Mets in the top of the seventh, Pete Alonso with closer, Aroldis Chapman on the mound hit a home run to the visitor’s bullpen, tying the game. That was followed by Chapman hitting Conforto in the shoulder. McNeil walked, and Chapman was pulled from the game. Luetge replaced him, trying to right the ship facing Keven Pillar singled loading the bases. James McCann, pinch-hitting, stuck out for the first out of the inning. Peraza pinch-hitting for Guillorme hit a two-run double that looked like a Grand Slam, but a fan interfered. Nimmo singled, driving in another run. Lindor singled, driving in another run. Smith, still with only one out and one on, popped out to Torres, who dropped the ball, but the infield fly rule was called. Alonso went down on strikes to finally end the inning. Yankee pitching gave up five runs in the half. New York Mets 10 Yankees 5.

After the Mets turned the tables on the New York Yankees at the top of the inning, the Yankees were five runs behind. Seth Lugo took the mound for the Mets, facing pinch hitter Rougie Odor who ground out. LeMahieu struck out. Aaron Judge lined out to Alonso for the final out of the game and one of the Yankee’s worst games of the already disappointing season.

The final score was the New York Mets 10 and the Yankees 5. The winning pitcher was Juerys Familia and the loser Aroldis Chapman.

 

New York Yankees to play day-night today, takeaways from loss to the Mets

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new york yankees, justin wilson

Today will be a huge day for both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. Yesterday the Yankees lost game one against their cross-town rivals 8-3. The Yankees were almost embarrassed by the Mets, as they couldn’t get a single hit off Taijuan Walker until the sixth inning. In the end, they could only muster up three hits, all in that sixth inning.

Today they will play a dual day-night doubleheader starting at 2:05 pm; the two games will be seven-inning contests. The day game will be started by Yankee ace Gerrit Cole that has struggled recently. The night game will be started by Nestor Cortes Jr., who has been lights out for the Yankees in relief; his ERA is 1.02. For Cortes, it will be his first nationally televised game in the Major Leagues. The 7:05 pm game will be televised on ESPN. To save face, the Yankees will need to win both of these games and take the series from the Mets.

New York Yankees couldn’t perform in game

The New York Yankees struggled mightily in game one yesterday. The pitching wasn’t there, and the hitting was almost absent. Jordan Montgomery only lasted 4.1 innings giving up three earned runs. Montgomery, although the Yankee’s second-best pitcher, couldn’t find control over his secondary pitches. Taijuan Walker mowed down every Yankee hitter he saw through five innings as the Yankees couldn’t garner up a hit against him to add insult to injury.

Montgomery was bailed out in the fifth as Lucas Luetge replaced him and stopped the bleeding. Then bad turned worse when Justin Wilson came in sixth, not recording an out and giving up five more runs. The only bright spot in the game was when Michael King replaced him and pitched four scoreless innings shutting down the Mets rest of the way.

Also, Aaron Judge hit his 19th home run of the season on the plus side as he continues his hot streak. The Yankees only left one man on base, but there is not much to be said about that; if you don’t get hits, you can’t leave men on base.

Torres/Frazier continue to disappoint

After an abysmal season last year for Gleyber Torres, he started this season out pretty good, showing up in better shape and with improved defense. But near the end of April, he crashed and was hitting just .186. By the end of May, he had improved, hitting his second home run of the season and batting .274. However, during the whole month of June, it has been all downhill for the young shortstop.  He has only hit one more home run, and his batting average has dropped to .240. Yesterday he went hitless in the Mets game and earned his 12th error of the season. His signature has become airmailing throws to first base.

What makes this so disappointing is that the Yankees still have faith in Torres. He had a stellar season in 2019 when he led the team in home runs with 38 and batted .278. So far this season, he is on track to hit 6 or 7 long balls.

Possibly the biggest disappointment hitting-wise is that halfway through the season, Clint Frazier has still not found his stroke, hitting just .186. In the last month, he hasn’t hit a home run, and for the month of June, he has only ten hits. The is the longest slide of his up and down career.

Now he is on the IL with vertigo. He has gone under several tests, but no cause has been revealed. It could result from his 2018 head-first smash into the wall that caused him to have a concussion and miss some of 2018 and 19. The only talk about Frazier is that he may end up on the trading block.

Gerrit Cole will start today. Hal has faith in him

Gerrit Cole will start game one today of a day-night doubleheader. Cole’s performance has fallen off dramatically since Josh Donaldson of the Indians named him in a conversation on using illegal substances to improve grip. Once MLB announced that they would be regularly checking and suspending for the use of any kind of sticky stuff, Cole’s spin rate affecting ball movement has been off. In June, the New York Yankees have lost three of his five starts. During April, his ERA was 1.43 near the top for pitchers. Now at the end of June, it’s 2.66.

Cole’s last start against the Boston Red Sox was one of the worst of his career. He gave up five runs in five innings, three of them home runs. The Yankees have now lost eight of his sixteen starts, making many wonder if Hal Steinbrenner spent $324 million on an average pitcher that can’t be good unless using illegal substances. However, this week when addressing the team’s woes, managing partner Hal Steinbrenner has reaffirmed his faith in Cole, saying that he is not worried about Cole in a post sticky baseball world.

Cole has a game score of 33. However, 50 is average in the metrics system created by Bill James to measure the pitcher’s effectiveness in a single game.

 

 

New York Yankees: Mid-season player report cards and comparisons

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton

Before the 2021 season started, the New York Yankees looked like they had their best chance of accomplishing the next world championship goal. Two major competitors seemed to be far less strong. The Boston Red Sox with a new controversial manager and in complete disarray, and a Tampa Bay team that had traded away some of their best pitchers were Yankee Killers.

Then everything was turned on its head. The Yankees got off to a plodding start (5-10) while the Tampa Bay Rays outplayed them, and to add insult to injury, the Yankees were 1-5 against them. The bigger surprise for the Yankees was that the hapless Red Sox were 10-5 during the same fifteen-game period.

Now at the halfway point, the New York Yankees are playing inconsistent ball and are nine games out of first place in the AL East.  They can’t win against the Red Sox nor the Tampa Bay Rays. With the Yankees seemingly unable to right their ship, the team gets a D on their report card. That D extends to manager Aaron Boone who doesn’t seem to be able to inspire his team to play to their capabilities.

The first figure next to the player’s name is their card from the first quarter and the second is the change since then.

Gerrit Cole, A+/A

Gerrit Cole has a record of 8-4, ERA 2.66 with 129 strikeouts. His record 6-2, ERA 1.81in the first quarter was absolutely amazing this season, considering he has gotten pretty poor run support. He is second in all of baseball with 129 strikeouts. He also has gone deeper into games than any other Yankee pitcher. At the quarter, he led the majors in strikeouts; he is now 5th. Although he is the best Yankee pitcher, his performance has fallen off. Yankee fans expected him to win 20 games this season; at this point, that doesn’t seem likely.

Corey Kluber, A/B

Record 4-2, ERA 2.86. After a slow start in the last several games, Corey Kluber has shown that he can be the Cy Young Award pitcher that he has been in the past. First, he recorded the Yankees’ 12th no-hitter against the White Sox. But then he was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He will be out for at least another month.

Domingo German, A/C

Record 4-5, ERA 4.50, his record at the quarter was 4-2, ERA 3.05. After a rough start being sent down to Scranton, he had returned to his 2019 form when he was 18-4. The New York Yankees won six straight of his starts. But then things went downhill fast; in the second quarter, he hasn’t had a win. The Yankees have lost his last two starts, and he hasn’t gone more than 4.1 innings since June 6th.

Jordan Montgomery, B+/B+

Record 3-2, ERA 4.06, his record at the quarter was 2-1, ERA 4.07. Montgomery has been pretty good but also quite inconsistent. Other than Gerrit Cole, he is second in strikeouts but also suffered from a lack of command. Four of his starts at the quarter were for five or fewer innings. However, in June, he has pitched into the sixth inning in all of his games and complete seven innings on May 21st. The interesting thing about his stats is that the Yankees have won 11 of his 15 starts.

Jameson Taillon D+/F

Record 3-4, ERA 5.43, his record at the quarter was 1-3, ERA 5.06. Jamison Taillon has not fully shaken off all the rust from his lack of pitcher after two Tommy John surgeries. His 5/23 outing against the White Sox was one of his best. However, since then, he has only gotten worse and is the Yankees’ most undependable pitcher.

Aroldis Chapman A+/B+

At the quarter, his relief record 4-0, ERA 0.47. Chapman, with the addition of his new splitter and has been lights out, going 19 games without giving up a run and recording almost 2.1 strikeouts a game. However, on May 8th, he proved he was human by giving up his first run of the season. Since then, he has blown 3 saves and took the loss in two games and, most recently, on 6/30, failed a hold in an unbelievable 9th inning, giving up 4 earned runs while only recording a single out. If he continues his 9th inning struggles, his report card will drop like a rock.

Jonathan Loaisiga A/A+

Record 7-3, ERA 2.32, was 3-2, ERA 2.49 at the quarter. Loaisiga, ever since spring training, has been manager Boone’s most dependable reliever. Since the last report card, he has only gotten better being Boone’s most reliable reliever.

Lucas Luetge B+/B+

Record 2-1, ERA 3.15; at the quarter, it was 2-0, ERA 2.95. Luetge, after a long time out of the majors, was given a change by the Yankees, and he has not disappointed this season. He had only one bad relief appearance when he gave up 3 runs in the 6/30 game against the Angels.

Chad Green  B/B+

Record 2-4, ERA 2.48, at the quarter he was 0-3, ERA 2.25. Chad Green is Chad Green, the most dependable reliever the Yankees have had over the last several years. This season he has been put into some challenging situations but still has a low 2.48 ERA.

Luis Cessa C/B+

Record 1-1, ERA 3.31. At the quarter, he was 0-0, ERA 3.00, and hadn’t got into full relief mode, but history shows he gets better as the season progresses. That holds pretty much true as he is a dependable reliever. He gets nearly a strikeout per inning and has given up only twelve runs in 36 innings pitched. At this point in the season, he has the best ERA of his 6-year career.

Aaron Judge A+/A+

Batting average .285 at the half. Aaron Judge has been gangbusters lately after a slow start to the season, hitting 12 home runs and leading the team in hits at the quarter. At the half, he has 18 home runs and leads the team in every stat except doubles. He has played well enough to be the only New York Yankee to be elected to the 2021 All-Star Game in Denver.

Giancarlo Stanton A+/A

Batting average .269. Before going on the IL with a quad strain, Stanton led the team in home runs and was the spark that ignited the team. After a brief off period, he is hitting again and has the second-most home runs on the team.

Gleyber Torres A/C

Battin average .242. Gleyber Torres got a lot of flack at the beginning of the season for poor field play, and he wasn’t hitting. That changed, and his fielding and hitter went up. Now it has changed again, and his batting average is down, and so is his defense. He has been inconsistent and has hit only 3 home runs, compared to his 38 in 2019.

Gio Urshela B+/A

Batting average .272. Gio Urshela continues to shine at the hot corner making amazing play after amazing play. He has also been the most consistent Yankee hitter, performing at key moments. He has 10 homers on the season.

DJ LeMahieu B/B+

Batting average .273. LeMahieu is still one of the Yankee’s best hitters but is not performing anywhere near like he did last season. He bats almost full 100 points below the average he ended up with last year, earning the baseball batting title.

Brett Gardner C/C

Batting average .204. Gardner is not hitting this year and has yet to hit his first home run of the season. But he is better than several of the bench players. In the field, he hasn’t lost a beat, making incredible plays. All three of his home runs have been in the month of June. So he may finally be heating up.

Clint Frazier D/F

Batting average .186. Frazier has hit pretty poorly so far in the season, although he seems to be coming into form of late. This season’s main asset is his mostly stellar play in the field, making many wild diving catches and taking runs away from opponents. However, he is the team’s biggest disappointment this year and may soon be on the trading block.

Gary Sanchez D-/B+

Gary Sanchez has been a tale of two different players. After hitting only .147 last season until recently, he looked to be on track to have another lousy season. He even lost his starting catching job to Kyle Higashioka. But after having a .178 batting average at the quarter, he has raised that to .238. In addition, he has 8 home runs in June after only having 6 during April and May combined. He is the New York Yankees’ most improved player.

Luke Voit X/D

Luke Voit after not starting the season due to knee surgery has returned to the team. He has yet to get him hitting rhythm he is batting just .195 since his return on May 11th. He has only 3 home runs compared to his 22 last season when he was the baseball home run leader.

Some players did not get report cards due to not playing enough games or being in the IL for a prolonged period.

New York Yankees: Preview of the cross-town rival Mets series

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Tonight at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees will face their cross-town rival New York Mets for the first time this season. Often called the subway series due to the closeness of both teams in the New York Market. Yankee ace Gerrit Cole had this to say about the series:

“I hope it will be a fun atmosphere, It’s nice that it’s happening over the weekend, get the kids out to the park. And hopefully it will be an electric atmosphere filled with a bunch of New York fans in general, and we’ll put on some good ballgames and hopefully play well.”

Which team plays well will be one of the storylines for the series. The Yankees are coming off a devasting loss to the Los Angeles Angels and have not played consistent ball. They are 4-6 in their last ten games. The Mets are also 4-6 but lead the NL East. They are coming off a one-run deficit against the Atlanta Braves. Luckily for the Yankees, they will not be facing Jacob deGrom in the series. Something to watch will be Gio Urshela and Francisco Lindor, who are best friends and will be playing together in the same game for the first time.

With these relatively evenly matched teams, the big story may be the impact of the weather on the games. As of this writing, there is a 75% chance of thunderstorms tonight throughout the game. Unfortunately, the weather for tomorrow’s matinee doesn’t look much better. So for this July 4th weekend series, mother nature’s fireworks may come into play.

Tonight, July 2, 7:25 pm:

Jordan Montgomery will start tonight’s game for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Montgomery is 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA, with 80 strikeouts. This will be “Monty’s” 16th start of the season. Montgomery has pitched well for the Yankees this year, and his stats are a bit deceiving. The Yankees have won 11 of his 15 starts.  He is coming off a loss to the Boston Red Sox when he went six innings, giving up three runs. He got no run support in the game.

Montgomery will face the Met’s Taijuan Walker, 3-3, with an ERA of 2.38, identical to Montys. Walker was a Yankee target in the offseason when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays; he ended up with the Mets. He is coming off a five-inning win over the Pittsburgh Pirates but lost his previous games against the Nationals when he gave up three runs in six innings. Brett Gardner has faced him once and shelled him with a home run. DJ LeMahieu has had the most appearances against him (20), hitting .300. The game will be televised on the WPIX and its affiliates, SNY, and MLBN out of market.

Saturday, July 3rd, 1:05 pm:

Yankee ace Gerrit Cole will start the Saturday matinee at the Stadium for the Yankees. He is 8-4 with an ERA of 2.66 and an incredible 129 strikeouts. Since the MLB crackdown on sticky stuff, his strikeouts have dropped dramatically. He has only 16 in his last 20 innings pitched. He has had 8 or more strikeouts in eight of his starts. He is coming off two consecutive losses, one to the Kansas City Royals and one to the Boston Red Sox.

Cole will face another pitcher that the Yankees were interested in. Marcus Stroman is 6-6 with an ERA of 2.45 with 105 strikeouts. Stroman has struggled with little run support in his games. The native New Yorker might be called the bad luck kid. He is coming off three straight losses while only giving up 4 earned runs combined. Presently Stroman is the shortest (5’7″) pitcher in the Major Leagues. The game will be televised on the YES Network and WPIX, and affiliates.

Sunday, July 4th, 7:08 pm:

The pitcher for the New York Yankees for the Sunday night game has not been announced, but it will likely be Michael King. Whoever the Yankee pitcher is, he will face the Met’s rookie Taylor Megill. Megill is 0-0 in two starts with an ERA of 4.82. He has never gone beyond the fifth inning, but the Met’s have won both of his starts. If tonight’s or Saturday’s game are postponed due to weather, there could be a day-night doubleheader. The game on Sunday night will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

New York Yankees Analysis: Gerrit Cole’s problems continue, what lies ahead?

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone, Gerrit Cole

Suppose the New York Yankees have any chance of advancing to the postseason; they must rely on ace Gerrit Cole to lead the way. With Cole’s performance in his last two outings, that future remains in question. What started out as a season with mostly excellent starting pitching and a baseball-leading bullpen. The season looked bright for the New York Yankees, with most industry insiders saying that the Yankees were the team to beat. Much has changed since then, the starting pitchers and even those in the bullpen have struggled at times, and the Yankee hitters that were supposed to represent one of the strongest lineups in baseball have dramatically faltered.

The Yankees now find themselves almost have way through the season in fourth place in the AL East, behind the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays, teams they must beat to win the East prize. However, the Yankees are now six games off of the pace that would put them in the first place. The Yankees have been too inconsistent all season, sometimes taking a step forward then falling two steps back. Their one constant this season has been Yankee ace Gerrit Cole, but now even that is in question.

It has been an unsettling month for Gerrit Cole.  He allowed nine homers during June, the second-most he has ever allowed during a month. The most were in August of last season when he allowed 10 long balls. After Cole struck out 14.8 batters per nine innings during the March/April period, that figure dropped to 9.6 in May and 9.3 in June. Also, in June, Cole’s ERA has risen from 1.48 to 2.66. Although his record is 8-4, the New York Yankees have lost 8 of his 16 starts, and that is not the result the Yankees want to see from their ace.

Yesterday was just another example of Cole’s decline.  After Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez put the Yankees down 1-2-3 at the top of the first inning, Cole’s nightmare began. His first pitch to Red Sox leadoff hitter Kike Hernandez deposited a bomb into the green monster stands. But, unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. Cole allowed two more runners, then Rafael Devers came to the plate and hit a three-run blast into the right-center field bleachers. Just like that, the New York Yankees were behind by four runs in just minutes before the Yankees got their first hit.

After the game catcher, Kyle Higashioka stated that he thought Cole didn’t have good control of his secondary pitches. Cole, after the game, said he had trouble keeping his fastball down. The bottom line is that two misplaced down the middle of the zone pitches cost the Yankees big-time. Although Cole’s poor pitching yesterday was in the spotlight, his involvement in the “sticky ball” situation remained in the minds of Yankee fans. Cole has been the poster boy for the supposed use of sticky substances to improve grip and spin rate. Coles’s spin rate was down yesterday from what it was before MLB’s crackdown on the use of any sticky substance.

The Yankee ace ended up pitching only five innings, his shortest outing since a game against the Texas Rangers on May 17th. He gave up 6 runs, just one less than his five outings in April. It is the first time in his career he gave up a leadoff home run, the first time he allowed two home runs and allowed four runs in his first inning. Although his loss was a worry yesterday, what may be more concerning is that Yankee fans are now wondering what they can expect from Cole in the future. If the Yankees hope to catch the three teams ahead of them in the East. After the game, Cole commented on his pitching.

“Couldn’t get the breaking ball down,” Cole said after the game, speaking to his lack of command. “Couldn’t get the fastball where I wanted to. Tried to make a good pitch to Devers and absolutely pulled it into the wrong part of the zone. The first pitch of the game to Kiki Hernandez was poorly located as well.”

A pitcher with Cole’s resume could be excused for a bad month, but with the spotlight on Cole and his reduced spin rate during the crackdown for the use of any sticky substance by MLB, it only adds to the tension Cole faces to pitch well. The underlying metrics of his decline and spin rate will be a moot point if he consistently wins games, but he continues his June performance into July and beyond, it will be concerning. Additionally, to be completely fair to Cole, he has gotten less than three runs of support from the Yankee hitters in his losses, another area of concern for the team.

The bottom line in all of this is that Gerrit Cole is now in the hot seat, needing to perform. He is joined by manager Aaron Boone who, if his seat isn’t hot, will begin to feel the heat if he can’t turn this underperforming team around in time to run for the postseason. Unfortunately, his uninspiring after-game platitudes aren’t cutting it.

Yankees News, 6/28: Gerrit Cole explains his awful performance against Boston, Aaron Boone on hot seat?

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Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

Entering the season, the Boston Red Sox weren’t assumed to be an elite team this year, but having swept the New York Yankees for the second time this season, it seems as if expectations have polarized. Boston overcame the Yankees 9-2 on Sunday as they pulled ahead in the AL East standings. The Yankees now sit 6.5 games back from the Red Sox in first place and six games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

After pulling within 3.5 games of first, the Yankees now sit near the bottom of the division, only ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, who’re 23 games back and showcasing another embarrassing season.

However, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole struggled considerably in the outing, watching his ERA bubble to 2.66. Over 5.0 innings, he allowed eight hits and five earned runs, striking out just six batters while giving up three HRs. In the first three innings, Cole allowed six runs before Aaron Judge hit a two-run blast to drive in DJ LeMahieu. Unfortunately, there was no way Boston was walking out of Fenway without sweeping the Yankees in front of their home fans.

“Yeah, you hit the nail on the head right there, I couldn’t get the breaking ball down, couldn’t get the fastball where we wanted to,” Cole said. “I tried to make a good pitch to Devers and absolutely pulled it into the wrong part of the zone.

“The first pitch of the game was poorly located, as well, and he put a good swing on it, so a bit of credit to Kiké there. … As the game went on, I think things started to progress a little better, but at that point, much of the damage had been done.”

At this point in the season, it seems field manager Aaron Boone could be on the hot seat. When you have the highest payroll in baseball and can’t string together a few wins and produce consistency, it suggests a possible management change. Some are already curating rumors of different managerial candidates that could fit the bill if Boone is fired after the season. There’s no doubt the clock is ticking, and the Yankees could be looking for a different style of manager come 2022.

Of course, an option like Buck Showalter might be of preference, given his experienced career. Even third base coach Phil Nevin could be an alternative when considering his experience with the club.

However, Boone still has a bit of time to right the ship, but if things continue to tumble and the Yankees can’t drag themselves out of the basement, there’s a good chance Boone could find himself looking for work in a few months.

New York Yankees: Three embarrassing facts as Red Sox swept the Yankees

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

Yesterday, the New York Yankees had one of the most embarrassing losses of the season. They lost to the Red Sox 9-2 in a shellacking that cost them to be swept by the Red Sox for the second time in the first half. The Yankees pitched poorly, and although having 7 hits in the game, only one was meaningful; Aaron Judge’s home run drove in both of the Yankees runs in the sixth inning. Generally speaking, when the Yankees don’t hit multiple home runs, they don’t win games.

Ace Gerrit Cole flopped again!

Plan and simple Gerrit Cole was a mess yesterday. After Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez put the Yankees down 1-2-3 at the top of the first inning, Cole’s nightmare began. His first pitch to Red Sox leadoff hitter Kike Hernandez deposited a bomb into the green monster stands. That was not the worst; Cole allowed two more runners, then Rafael Devers came to the plate and hit a three-run blast into the right-center field bleachers. Just like that, the New York Yankees were behind by four runs in just minutes before the Yankees got their first hit.

After the game catcher, Kyle Higashioka stated that he thought Cole didn’t have good control of his secondary pitches. Cole, after the game, said he had trouble keeping his fastball down. The bottom line is that two misplaced down the middle of the zone pitches cost the Yankees big-time. Although Cole’s poor pitching yesterday was in the spotlight, his involvement in the “sticky ball” situation remained in the minds of Yankee fans. Cole has been the poster boy for the supposed use of sticky substances to improve grip and spin rate. Coles’s spin rate was down yesterday from what it was before MLB’s crackdown on the use of any sticky substance.

The Yankee ace ended up pitching only five innings, his shortest outing since a game against the Texas Rangers on May 17th. He gave up 6 runs, just one less than his five outings in April. It is the first time in his career he gave up a leadoff home run, the first time he allowed two home runs and allowed four runs in his first inning. Although his loss was a worry yesterday, what may be more concerning is that Yankee fans are now wondering what they can expect from Cole in the future. If the Yankees hope to catch the three teams ahead of them in the East, Cole must lead the way.

The Red Sox are a better team

Saying that the Red Sox is a better team than the New York Yankees is a broad statement, but at least at this point in the season, that can not be questioned. The Yankees are now 0-6 on the season against their main rival. The Yankees in the East only have a winning record off of the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees have won 4 of 6. It’s no longer early in the season as we approach the midpoint, and the Yankees can still overtake their rivals but have to start doing it now. When the Yankee won their last World Series in 2009, they started their season losing seven of eight against the Red Sox.

The Yankees don’t bring men home

In yesterday’s loss to the Red Sox, they continued not bringing men in scoring position home. The Yankees did not bring a single run in with men in scoring position. One of the biggest differences between the Red Sox and the Yankees was evident in yesterday’s game. In the first inning, the Red Sox had 4 hits resulting in 4 runs. In the third inning, the Yankees had 3 hits loading the bases but failed to bring any Yankee home. This wasn’t just yesterday; it has been a season-long problem for the Yankees, not bringing men home, sloppy play, and hitting into double plays. These problems lead to fewer runs and potentially fewer wins. According to Stat Cast, the Yankees only score 11%  of the time with runners in scoring position.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Yankees lose 9-2, swept by the Red Sox again

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yankees, gerrit cole

The New York Yankees played the final game of a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox today at Fenway Park in Boston. The Red Sox won the first game 5-3 and won the second game 4-2. With ace Gerrit Cole on the mound today, the Yankees were hoping to salvage the last game of the series. It was a hot and steamy day for baseball. Meredith Marokovitz said that it was 120 degrees on the field.  The heat was on the Yankees from the first as they lost the game 9-2 and the Red Sox swept the Yankees for the second time in a row.

DJ LeMahieu led off at the first for the Yankees and flew out to right. Aaron Judged chopped to first for the second out. Luke Voit struck out to end the half. Kike Hernandez hit the first ball he saw from Cole up and over the green monster for a homer. Alex Verdugo hit a double to right. JD Martinez walked as Cole allowed the first three players to start the game. Xander Bogaerts flew out to left, and both runners advanced. Rafael Devers homered to right-center, putting the Red Sox up four runs with only one out. Hunter Renfroe flew out to right. Christian Vazquez singled to center and advanced on a pitch in the dirt. Marwin Gonzalez flew out to Judge in center to end the Yankee bleeding. Red Sox 4 Yankees 0.

Giancarlo Stanton led off the second with the Yankees hoping to answer the Sox with runs of their own. Stanton struck out. Gio Urshela ground out to short. Gleyber Torres singled off the green monster. Miguel Andujar flew out to left with the Yankees remaining scoreless. At the bottom, Danny Santana led off and went down swinging. Hernandez flew out to center. Verdugo struck out as Gerrit Cole settled down. Red Sox 4 Yankees 0.

Clint Frazier, who can buy a hit, was at the plate to start the third; he ground out to third. Kyle Higashioka singled to left field. LeMahieu singled to the same place in left. Aaron Judge went down looking. Voit line out to short to end the half. JD Martinez led off the bottom and promptly hit a home run to left-center. Bogaerts hot to short, and Torres skied it into the camera well for a double for Bogaerts. Devers ground out to first on a Cole assist as Bogaerts moved to third. Renfroe walked. Vazquez flew out to Frazier, and he threw at least 30′ off-center to home with Bogaerts scoring. Gonzalez struck out, but the Sox picked up another two runs. Red Sox 6 Yankees 0.

With the Yankees behind by six runs, Stanton struck out. Urshela struck out swinging. Gleyber Torres ground back to the pitcher for the last out. Santana opened up the bottom, singling to second. Hernandez flew out to center. Verdugo struck out. Santana stole second. Martinez flew out to Judge to end the inning. Red Sox 6 New York Yankees 0.

Andujar led off the fifth, flying out to left field. Frazier was called out on strikes. Higashioka went down looking. Bogaerts flew out to Andujar. Devers singled in front of Judge in center. Renfroe was out on a slider. Vazquez struck out swinging. Red Sox 6 Yankees 0.

DJ LeMahieu led off the sixth inning and singled to left. Judge hit a bomb over the green monster and out of the park for a two-run homer. Voit struck out. Stanton flew out to Renfroe in right in a tumbling catch. Urshela lined out to short as the Yankees picked up two runs. At the bottom, with Luis Cessa on the mound, Gonzalez lined out to second. Santana ground out to first. Hernandez popped out to Voit for a 1-2-3 inning for Cessa. Red Sox 6 New York Yankees 2.

The seventh inning was led off by Torres, who went down looking. Andujar walked. Frazier singled down the middle. Gary Sanchez pinch-hitting walked to load the bases. LeMahieu struck out. Judge flew out, leaving the bases loaded. Verdugo led off the bottom by striking out. Martinez flew out to right. Bogaerts doubled to left. Devers doubled to left driving in Bogaerts. Vazquez lined out to third. Red Sox 7 Yankees 2.

Luke Voit led off the eighth inning singling to center. Stanton struck out for the third time. Urshela hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the half. At the bottom, Vazquez hit a homer at the green monster. Gonzalez advanced on a hit by pitch. Santana was out at second, but Gonzalez reached third. Hernandez doubles on a slow roller to right. Gonzalez scored. Verdugo ground out to second. Hernandez moved to third. Martinez went down swinging. Red Sox 9 Yankees 2.

With last licks on the line for the New York Yankees, Gleyber Torres went down swinging. Miguel Andujar tapped back to the pitcher for the second out. Clint Frazier walked. Frazier took second on defensive indifference. Gary Sanchez struck out to end the game and a wasted weekend in Boston. The final score was the Boston Red Sox 9 and the New York Yankees 2. The winning pitcher was Eduardo Rodriguez and the loser Gerrit Cole.