Jameson taillon

New York Yankees Recap: Taillon couldn’t get the sweep of the Indians

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The New York Yankees met up with the Cleveland Indians in the finale of a 4 game set at Progressive Field on the shores of Lake Erie. The Yankees had won the first three games of the series. In today’s matinee, the Yankees sent Jameson Taillon to the mound to face the Indians’ Triston McKenzie. It was a partly cloudy day with a significant NW breeze, making it feel like 40 degrees on the field. The Yankees lost the game 7-3.

At the top of the first inning, McKenzie faced the Yankees’ Brett Gardner, who ground out. Giancarlo Stanton singled to right-center with a bullet (120.1 mph, fastest in MLB this season). Aaron Judge went down on strikes. Rougie Odor walked for two on and two outs. Gleyber Torres also walked, loading the bases. Gio Urshela struck out, letting McKenzie off the hook and leaving the bases loaded with Yankees. At the bottom, Amed Rosario led off against Taillon. He popped out to Torres at short. Cesar Hernandez had a one-hopper to Odor. Jose Ramirez popped out at the plate, and that did it for the inning. Taillon looked good. No score.

With 29 pitches, McKenzie faced Mike Ford in the second inning, who popped up to the infield. Gary Sanchez walked. Mike Tauchman struck out swinging. Brett Gardner hit back to the pitcher to end the half. Eddie Rosario started the bottom of the second by flying out to Judge in right. Franmil Reyes singled in front of Hicks. Josh Naylor struck out looking. Jordan Luplow at the plate, Reyes stole second. Luplow flew out to Tauchman in left to end the inning scoreless.

Stanton led off the third inning by grounding out to first base. Aaron Judge hit a high fly ball to right. Rougie Odor, with a long at-bat, struck out for a 1-2-3 inning for McKenzie. Gimenez led off the bottom by sticking out. Austin Hedges struck out. Rosario was also called out on strikes. No score.

Gleyber Torres had a long single up the middle to start the fourth inning. Gio Urshela hit a monster home to center, and just like that, it was 2-0 Yankees. Mike Ford followed with a back-to-back homer, this one into the right-field stands. It was the first time this season that the Yankees hit back-to-back homers in a game. Gary Sanchez popped out to left. Mike Tauchman walked. Brett Gardner struck out for the second out of the half. Stanton flew out to the warning track for the final out, but the Yankees picked up three runs.

At the bottom, Hernandez singled to left. Ramerez singled to first, with Hernandez moving to second with no outs. Rosario had an RBI single with Ramerez going to third. Reyes hammered a three-run homer just over Judge’s head, giving the Indians the lead. Naylor at the plate still with no outs. Naylor popped over Taillon’s head for an out at first. Luplow stuck out. Gimenez struck out, but the Indians took the lead. Cleveland Indians 4 New York Yankees 3.

Aaron Judge faced the new pitcher Sam Hentges and singled to left-center at the top of the fifth. Rougie Odor flew out to the right foul territory. Gleyber Torres hit sharply to third for the second out, but Judge moved to second. Judge on a wild pitch went to third base. Urshela struck out, ending the half. At the bottom, Austin Hedges led off against the new Yankee pitcher Nick Nelson. Hedges walked, Rosario, lined out directly to Torres. Hedges advanced on a wild pitch by Nelson. Hernandez singled right before Judge, who made a diving attempt. Hedges went to third. With one out Ramirez had a sac fly to Tauchman and beat out the throw to home for another Indian run. Rosario flew out to Aaron Judge. Indians 5 Yankees 3.

Mike Ford led off the sixth and chopped back to the pitcher. Gary Sanchez ground out to short. Tauchman hit a standup double to right. Clint Frazier pinch hit for Brett Gardner against Cal Quantrill. Tauchman went to third on a wild pitch. Frazier walked. Stanton hit back to the pitcher, nearly knocking his glove off to end the half a strand two. At the bottom, Reyes got a triple with a strange bounce off the left-center wall. Naylor ground out to Ford. Luplow hit to the left-field wall driving in Reyes as Nick Nelson was quickly losing control. Gimenez struck out. Hedges singled driving in Luplow. Rosario struck out, but the Indians plated two more. Indians 7 Yankees 3.

Aaron Judge led off the seventh by flying to right. Odor made a successful drag bunt ending up with a base hit. Torres hit into a double play catching Odor off first. At the bottom of the seventh birthday boy (29), Luis Cessa faced Herandez, who struck out against Cessa. Ramirez flew out to Tauchman. Rosario struck out. For a 1-2-3 inning for Cessa. Indians 7 Yankees 3.

Urshela struck out swinging to start the eighth. Mike Ford struck out on a high pitch. Gary Sanchez was hit by a pitch and advanced to first base. Tauchman struck out for a quick inning for Karinchak. At the bottom, Reyes lined out to short. Naylor ground out. Luplow was out on a full-body dive by Clint Frazier. Indians 7 Yankees 3.

With last licks on the line for the Yankees, Frazier led off by grounding out to second. Stanton flew out to right field. Aaron Judge flew out to right to end the game. The final score was Cleveland Indians 7 and the New York Yankees 3. The winning pitcher was Sam Hentges, and the loser was Jameson Taillon.

 

 

New York Yankees: Can the Yankees sweep the Cleveland Indians?

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone, jameson taillon

Today at 1:10 pm, the New York Yankees will meet the Cleveland Indians in the finale of a four-game set that has seen the Yankees come alive and win the first three games outscoring the Indians 13-7. Last night the Yankees won an epic battle between the Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole and the Indians ace Shane Bieber. It was surely a  pitching duel as advertised, but the Yankees were victorious, winning 2-1.

Now the question is can the Yankees sweep the Indians? In today’s matinee, Yankee pitcher Jameston Taillon will try to make that a reality when he faces the Indians’ Triston McKenzie. The Yankees have lost two of Taillon’s three starts, and he has averaged only 4.2 innings per outing. McKenzie suffers similar stats, the Indians have lost all of his starts, and he has only averaged 4 innings per game. If the New York Yankees can pull out a win today, it will be their 6th straight win over Cleveland. The Yankees swept the Indians in last season’s Wild Card matchup. If Taillon doesn’t go deep today, Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman will both be available.

Game One:

Yankee starter Domingo German had a bad first inning in game one but pitched four more scoreless innings, keeping the Yankees in the game. Other than that first inning, German impressed the Yankee management. The Yankee bullpen took over and did not allow another run. Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman was lights out, closing the game.

Gleyber Torres played in game one with new aggressiveness and energy, getting three hits in five at-bats; he also had his first two-hit game of the season. Rougned Odor was again a Yankee hero breaking the game tie wide open with his two-run single. The Yankees had more hits in that game than the last two series with 8 hits. Kyle Higashioka continued to assert his value to the team in game one, becoming the actual home run leader based on the number of games played. (3 in only ten games).

Game Two:

In game two in Cleveland, Ohio, the New York Yankees hit four homers in one game for the first time this season for a team with mostly silent bats since the beginning of the season. The Yankees won the game 5-3 to string two wins in a row together. In game two, slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit two monster home runs (4). Other players hitting home runs in the game were Aaron Hicks (2) and Rougie Odor (2).

Just as in game one, starter Jordan Montgomery got in trouble in the first inning, giving up three runs. But he settled down and pitched scoreless into the fifth inning. The Yankee bullpen continued to shine, not giving up a run for the remainder of the game. Aroldis Chapman rose to new heights in the game. In seven games (seven innings), Chapman has yet to give up a home run. He has struck out 17 of 21 batters faced. That’s 22.5 strikeouts per nine innings. In this first seven games of the season, his ERA is 0.00.

Game Three:

The New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, in a big epic game 3 against the Cleveland Indians 2020 Cy Young Award winner, Shane Bieber, Cole was nothing less than dominant. With 111 pitches, he threw 75 strikes, striking out 11 Indians in 7 innings of work without allowing a walk. He allowed one run and lowered his ERA to 1.71. With Cole going deep into the game, it allowed minimal use of the bullpen. Justin Wilson pitched two-thirds of the eighth inning scoreless. After using Chapman two games in a row, manager Boone showed his confidence in Yankee reliever Jonathan Loaisiga by allowing him to get the last four outs of the game. It was Loaisiga’s first-ever save.

In game three, Rougie Odor continued to impress, hitting another home run. Even though his batting average stinks, he is turning out to be one of the best situational hitters. He has 3 home runs on the season, only playing in 10 games. But in the Yankees’ last 7 wins, he has had the deciding run in three of them.

Will the New York Yankees sweep the Indians?

That’s either a fool’s question or only a fool would answer it. The Yankees have some pretty impressive sweeps. In 1961 the Yankees swept 18 series. In 1997 they swept 10 two-game sweeps. In 1961 and again in 1985, they had five each sweeps in 4 game series and a record 5 game sweep in 2006.  A sweep of the Indians will energize the team as they start a 3 game set with the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow at Camden Yards.

 

New York Yankees: 3 major takeaways from the Yankees win over the Braves

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

The New York Yankees finally pull out a win last night after sliding 5 games in a row that put them as far into the cellar in the America League that you can get. From the aspect that a win is a win, last night’s game shouldn’t be confused with something to celebrate; it wasn’t a pretty win, it wasn’t a win produced by the Yankees, it was a win provided to the Yankees by the Atlanta Braves. The Yankees won the game 3-1.

Taillon had a good start

After a good start and a shaky start, Jameson Taillon performed well in last night’s game. He kept the Yankees in the game allowing only four hits and one earned run across 5 innings of work with five strikeouts. Taillon faced only four more batters than the minimum.

Jameson Taillon came to the New York Yankees via the trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates with the hope that after two Tommy John surgeries that he could return to the pitcher he was before the surgeries; so far, it’s a mixed bag that seems to have an upside to it. His performance last night shows that when the rust shakes off, he could be everything the Yankees could have wanted.

For the most part, the Yankee bullpen has been stellar, headlining Chad Green, Jonathan Loaisga, Justin Wilson, and Aroldis Chapman with a new pitch that may make him the closer the Yankees have always wanted him to be. In five innings of work, he has had 19 pitches registered at 100 mph or more.

Yankee batting is still substandard

Last night’s win is nothing to rejoice about. The fact of the matter is that the Yankees as a team still aren’t hitting, especially considering that they are supposed to be one of the most powerful lineups in baseball. The team in the last sixteen games is batting just .210  with an OPS of .642. If that is isn’t bad enough, the only reason it’s that high is the anchor players in the lineup. The heart of the lineup is pitiful.

What is truly disturbing is that only half of the team is doing their jobs. The team is leaving too many men on base and hitting into too many double plays. In several games, the defense has been downright miserable, not making plays that would be made in high school games. These stats are unexplainable; more than half of the Yankee’s regular lineup is hitting below .200. You don’t win games consistently when more than half of your lineup isn’t being productive.

Those Yankees that are doing their jobs

It still early in the season, and all is not bad. Defense wise last night’s game was free from errors that have plagued Gleyber Torres and others. Even though there were only 5 hits in the game, the Yankees played solid ball.

There are some stand-out players, and it’s not just from last night’s game. Gio Urshela won the game for the New York Yankees with a double and a home run (437′). DJ LeMahieu contributed with two hits and has the highest number of multihit games since 2019. Ushela and LeMahieu have also been defensive standouts. We need to include Kyle Higasioka, who has the team’s highest batting average.

Playing in average mode is Aaron Judge, who leads the team in home runs, Giancarlo Stanton, the team’s only real situational hitter; he has the most RBI’s. Brett Gardner has been the best player out of the dugout. Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier have been absolutely abysmal. I give the team coaching staff an F for not energizing and motivating the team. And that applies to manager Aaron Boone as well. These coaches must inspire the players to play to their considerable abilities as we advance.

Upcoming games

Tonight the New York Yankees will face the Atlanta Braves in the finale game at Yankee Stadium. Corey Kluber will face the Brave’s Ian Aderson at 6:35 pm. Starting on Thursday, they will face the Cleveland Indians in a four-game set. Then a four-game set with the Orioles before returning to the Stadium to face the Tigers and Astros.

 

 

The New York Yankees finally find the win column, but plenty of work remains

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

As April nears an end, the New York Knicks continue their downward spiral. Coming off yet another ugly loss while sitting at the bottom of their conference, the Knicks somehow found the win column on Tuesday to put an end to their five-game losing streak.

Oh wait, the Knicks are currently on a seven-game winning streak and sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference. It’s actually the New York Yankees off a five-game losing streak and on the floor of the American League. Certainly not a jab towards the Knicks who have done an incredible job on their rebuild, but it’s certainly unusual to see them flourishing while the Yankees struggle to win games.

However, the Yankees finally managed to pull out a victory on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves, putting an end to their dismal losing streak spanning a week. Giveth, the Braves played without the hottest hitter in all of baseball, Ronald Acuna Jr., as he’s day-to-day with an abdominal strain. But, just seeing a win is something to celebrate, regardless of who the Yankees are playing.

Sure, it wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win in the end. The Yankees only had five hits, but two of them came off the bat of Gio Urshela with the latter flying 437 feet into Monument Park for a home run. DJ LeMahieu added two hits, but Urshela’s home run was really the only run-producing swing of the night. The team had the bases loaded in the eighth and scored two runs, but they came off a wild pitch and a walk. LeMahieu and Aaron Judge each singled to set up the two run-scoring plays, but each of the scoring plays wasn’t direct results of swings.

So basically, the Yankees won the game off the Braves pitching mishaps. The Yankees did get a strong five-inning start out of Jameson Taillon and four shutout innings from the bullpen, but the bats weren’t there to back the pitching staff. When the Braves scored their lone run of the evening in the second inning, it felt like the Yankees were going to lose that game 1-0. Fortunately, Urshela came through with a bomb and the team had enough plate discipline late.

Right now, LeMahieu and Urshela are really the only two guys swinging the bat well on the team. The common factor between the two: Both are probably the most versatile hitters on the team. By that, they can hit the long ball, but can also go the other way for a base hit. They can put one in the gap when needed, or beat out a chopper for a hit. And on Tuesday night, that’s exactly what happened. Urshela’s first hit of the evening was a two-strike pitch slapped down the right-field line for extra bases, and LeMahieu picked up an infield single on a ball hit about six feet.

However, the other seven guys in the order look lost at-bat. Judge has been hit-and-miss this season, but he did manage to single on Tuesday. Giancarlo Stanton’s hitting .170, Gleyber Torres is hitting .182, and Clint Frazier’s hitting .162. All three of those guys have enormous expectations set for them this season and have so far been let-downs.

Through almost three weeks, the Yankees are hitting just .210 as a team with an OPS of .642. Players are striking out in 25% of at-bats with a combined 87 wRC+. The team has also been the worst at hitting fastballs across the league, a category that the Yankees are typically towards the top of. In short, the New York offense has performed terribly through 16 games and needs to improve. No other way to put it.

However, we have seen a few positives of late. Baserunning seems to have….improved, and the infield defense hasn’t done anything horrific over the past few games. Torres has looked a little more comfortable at shortstop and has made all of his throws, while of course LeMahieu and Urshela continue to play Gold Glove-caliber defense.

As cliche as a sounds, the Yankees should hopefully snap out of this rut soon. We’re finally seeing a few positives on each side of the ball, and a win should give the team some confidence with a long road trip looming. However, the team still has a long way to go, and the battle continues with trying to win back-to-back games against the Braves to conclude the homestand.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Atlanta Braves fall to the 8th inning rally by the Yankees

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

Tonight the New York Yankees hoped to turn around their season while meeting the Atlanta Braves in a short two-game series. The Yankees have gotten off to a languid start going 5-10 with some pretty sloppy play in the last few games. They were coming off a sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays. Tonight, Jameson Taillon was hoping for a rebound facing the Braves. Charlie Morton, a pitcher, the Yankees, were all too familiar with. He pitched for both the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays most recently, but now he is an Atlanta Brave.  The Yankees won the game 3-1.

Taillon took the mound at the top of the first and faced Ehire Adrianza, who struck out. Freddie Freeman singled off Taillon. Marcell Ozuna gound out to Torres. d’Arnaud flew out for a quick inning for Taillon. DJ LeMahieu led off the bottom, grounding out to first. Aaron Judge had a long fly out to far left for the second out. Brett Gardner struck out for a dominant half for Morton. No score.

Ozzie Albies led of the second against Taillon and flew out to Tauchman. Pedro Sandoval struck out. Dansby Swanson ground out for Taillon’s 1-2-3 innings. At the bottom, Giancarlo Stanton struck out. Gleyber Torres ground out. Mike Ford was up for his first time in the major league season and flew out on the first pitch thrown. No score.

Austin Riley led off the third inning by flying out. Guillermo Heredia doubled to the left-field wall. Andrianza doubled, and Heredia scored for the Braves early one-run lead. Freeman went down looking for out number two. Ozuna struck out, but the Braves picked up a run. At the bottom, Gary Sanchez ground out to third. Gio Urshela doubled for the first hit by the Yankees. Mike Tauchman had a sac fly with Urshela going to third base. LeMahieu struck out swinging, leaving one on base. Braves 1 Yankees 0.

d’Arnaud led off the fourth by flying out. Albies walked. Sandoval singled, making two on and no outs for Taillon. Swanson drove into a double play getting Taillon out of trouble. Judge led off the bottom by walking off Morton. Brett Gardner flew out to Ozuna in left. Stanton walked for two on and one out with Torres up; he reached on a fielder’s choice. Stanton went to third base. Mike Ford went down looking as the Yankees failed to tie up the game.

At the top of the fifth, Austin Riley tapped back to Taillon for out number one. Heredia flew out to Judge for the second out. Adrianza struck out for a quick inning for Taillon. Sanchez led off the bottom by flying out to the right-field foul territory. Urshela then homered to tie up the game at one apiece. Tauchman ground out. LeMahieu got a slow roller single. Judge ground out to short, but the Yankees tied up the fame in the fifth. Yankees 1 Braves 1.

Freddie Freeman led off against Lucas Luetge, who replaced Trillion, who had a good start allowing just one run in five innings. Freeman popped out behind the plate to Sanchez. Ozuna flew out to Judge in right. d’Arnaud walked. Albies ground out to short to end the half. Brett Gardner at the bottom of the frame stuck out on 10 pitches running Morton’s pitch count up. Stanton struck out as the Yankee fans booed from the stands. Torres ground out to short, and the score remained tied at 1 apiece.

Sandoval led off the seventh inning by walking. Swanson faced Chad Green replacing Luetge. Green coming into the game, had an unfortunate 0-2 record but an unbelievable 0.93 ERA. Swanton struck out. Riley singled, moving Sandoval to second. Sandoval, one of the slowest runners, was replaced by Kazmar, who hasn’t played in the majors for 12 years.  Heredia singled on a show chopper to third, loading the bases for Green. Adrianza struck out for the second out. That was it for Green, replaced by Justin Wilson. With the bases loaded and two outs, Freeman hit sharply out to LeMahieu, leaving the bases loaded with Braves. At the bottom, Ford led off, lining out to the first baseman. Sanchez chopped to third for the second out. Urshela, with two hits in the game, flew out to Freeman for an over-the-shoulder catch and final out of the inning. The game tied at 1.

At the top of the eighth, with a new pitcher, Jonathan Loaisiga on the mound hit Ozuna, advancing him to first base. d’Arnaud hit into a double play to Torres for two outs. Albies struck out. At the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Hicks pinch hit for Mike Tauchman and walked. LeMahieu single left of short and advanced Hicks to second base. Judge singled, loading the bases with no outs. Clint Frazier pinch-hitting for Brett Gardner with the bases loaded with Yankees. A strange move for manager Aaron Boone as Frazier was 0-66 without an RBI. Frazier did the job benignly as a wild pitch allowed Hicks to score. However, Frazier popped out into the infield. Stanton was intentionally walked, bringing up Gleyber Torre. Torres flew out to center. Mike Ford, with the bases, still loaded, and two outs, walked in a run with DJ scoring. Sanchez popped out to left, but the Yankee rallied to take the lead. Yankees 3 Braves 1.

With last licks on the line for the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman took to the mound to close it out for the Yankees. In for Kazmer, Johan Camargo struck out on a breaking ball. Swanson struck out swinging on a 100 mph Chapman pitch. Riley walked. Heredia flew out to Mike Ford in foul territory to end the game and break the Yankees’ five-game losing streak.

Final score New York Yankees 3 Atlanta Braves 1. The winning pitcher was Jonathan Loaisiga, the loser was Tyler Matzek, and the save went to Aroldis Chapman. Gio Urshela homered and doubled in the game.

 

 

 

 

New York Yankees Report: Pitching in trouble, best to worst

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New York Yankees, Domingo German

The New York Yankees lost another game last night and now sit at the bottom of the AL East. Why? The Yankee starting pitching failed again, giving up more runs than the Yankees could recover from. Another big concern for the Yankees is that the hitting hasn’t been there. But the bottom line is that the starting rotation has to be able to keep the Yankees in the game, and they just have not been able to do that. At the start of the season, the Yankees were looking for high rewards from their new starting rotation; those rewards are yet to be realized.

Gerrit Cole:

Gerrit Cole, not being as dominant compared to his 2019 season with the Houston Astros, has been our best pitcher and is likely to get even better as his history has shown. In this young season, he is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA and striking out an amazing 29 opposition hitters in 3 games so far. Cole also has pitched notably better when being caught by Kyle Higashioka. Last season when being caught by Gary Sanchez, he had a 3.91 ERA. When “Higgy” became his personal catcher late in the season, his ERA was 1.10. That seems to be holding so far this season as well. Manager Aaron Boone although not committing to the personal catcher name, has said that Kyle will be catching many of Cole’s games.

Jordan Montgomery:

Some have complained about Montgomery’s performance, but the fact is that he is our second-best pitcher this season. He has a 1-0 record with an ERA of 3.27. If he can end the season with a 3.27 ERA, the New York Yankees will be more than happy. However, the Yankees would like to see him go deeper into games lessening the bullpen’s use. If he can stretch to seven innings a game, that would be ideal.

Corey Kluber:

The New York Yankees took the risk in the offseason of paying Corey Kluber $11 million to pitch a year for the Yankees after only pitching one inning last season for the Texas Rangers. Kluber also missed much of the 2019 season after being hit by a pitch. Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, but as of today’s start against the Blue Jay’s, he will bring his 5.68 ERA with him. Kluber had a mediocre start against the Blue Jays when he last faced them on April 3rd. In his start against the Baltimore Orioles, he was just plain bad. One has seldom seen the concentration that Kluber shows; it’s hard to believe that he can’t improve. Today will allow him to do so.

Jameson Taillon:

The New York Yankees obtained Jameson Taillon via the trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was coming back from his second Tommy John surgery. He made delivery adjustments to ease up on his elbow with the hope of becoming an even better pitcher. He has yet to show that. His ERA sits at 7.56 in two poor starts, only going 4 innings a game and putting unneeded stress on an overworked bullpen. Last night he caved in the fourth inning and put the game out of the Yankees’ reach.

Domingo German:

This writer doesn’t know what to make of Domingo German. In spring training, he was the Yankee’s best starting pitcher. He pitched for four starts with an ERA of 1.38 striking out 11.8 hitters per nine innings, allowing only one home run. Now that the regular season is here, he is an entirely different pitcher. In two games, he only went seven total innings giving up seven runs with 4 home runs. It may just be that he has to shake off the rust from not pitching for a year and a half with German. With his spring training record and his 2019 season when he went 18-4, it’s hard to believe he won’t improve.

It’s only the beginning of a 162 game season, and there is plenty of time for these pitchers to improve, but the fact that the Yankees sit at the bottom of the AL East is certainly concerning. Manager Aaron Boone in his usual cheery outlook, admits that pitching has to get “popping” soon. If Kluber, Taillon, and German don’t improve, the Yankees may have to dig into their depth early on and try out Jonathan Loaisiga, who has been near perfect, Micheal King, Deivi Garcia, or the soon returning Clarke Schmidt.

 

Yankees’ starter acknowledges that staff ‘needs to get better’

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New York Yankees, Jameson Taillon

The New York Yankees made important commitments to pitchers Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon during the offseason. The former required a one-year, $11 million contract to sign, and the latter was the result of a trade in which the Bombers gave away important prospect capital, most notably hurler Miguel Yajure.

They also needed Domingo German to return to his 2019 levels, after being suspended for the whole 2020 season. So far, the trio hasn’t been able to perform on the mound.

Only Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery have pitched well among members of the Yankees’ rotation. The former has a 1.47 ERA, a 41.4 strikeout rate and a minuscule 4.3 walk rate in 18.1 innings, while the lefty has a 3.27 ERA in 11 frames.

Three Yankees’ starters need to pick it up

Kluber, on the other hand, hasn’t found his command and has struggled to a 5.68 ERA, while Taillon has been worse, at 7.56 in 8.1 frames. German has allowed seven earned runs in seven innings.

“The good thing about this group is that we’re all pretty self-aware,” Taillon said. “We know what we need to get better at. I think the adjustments will be made, but right now we’re not getting deep enough into games. We’re not getting it done. We need to start picking it up, and I think we will.”

Taillon lost Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays, as he conceded five runs in 3 2/3 innings. The season is extremely young, however, and neither he nor the Yankees are particularly worried at this point of the year. But it’s clear that s far, it has been a struggle.

“There were a lot of two-strike situations where [Taillon] wasn’t able to finish guys off,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com. “I thought his stuff ticked up and I thought his fastball up was really playing, but some two-strike walks … it seemed like a lot of the damage was done with two strikes.”

New York Yankees: 3 major takeaways from Yankees loss to the Jays

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

Last night the New York Yankees met up with the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a three-game set in Dunedin, Florida. The results were not encouraging; they lost to the Jays 7-3, and both the pitching and hitting mostly failed. Here are 3 major takeaways from the game.

Jameson Taillon, not good again

Jameson Taillon had his second start of the young season last night, and it wasn’t good. He got through the first inning just fine, but it was all downhill from there. Grichuk singled, Gurriel Jr. was hit by a pitch, Jensen walked, loading the bases. Then, Palacios had a sac fly, scoring two Jay’s runs. In the third inning, the Jays scored another run.

In the fourth inning, Taillon was still in the game, with the Yankee hitting able to pull him out of a bad start. The fourth inning did Taillon in, as allowed Marcus Semien a home run giving the Jays the 4 run lead. Later in the inning, a wild pitch and a double added another Jay’s run, and that was it for Taillon. Lucas Luetge came in the get the last out of the inning. You may say this is only one game, but Taillon is yet to have a good outing. Add to that, Domingo German has been sent down to Scranton after his two bad starts. Corey Kluber hasn’t been exactly great either; his ERA is sitting at 5.68. Taillon’s ERA is 7.56.

The once stellar-looking New York Yankee pitching rotation looks pretty bad, with only two pitchers performing well, Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery. Luckily for the Yankees, the bullpen has been considerably better than the starting rotation, but if the starters continue as they have, the bullpen will soon be burnt out.

Where is the New York Yankee hitting?

The Yankee hitting has been just horrible so far this season. You may say, hey, it’s early in the season. That is true, but the more games the Yankees lose early on, the further they will be behind at the end of the season. The fact of the matter is that the Yankees hitting has been inconsistent or just not there at all.

The Yankees hitting has come alive in a few games, and those are the games the Yankees won. Last night in as in so many games, the Yankees were only able to muster up 8 hits, most in the game’s late innings when the game was out of reach. Aaron Hicks, who has been one of the worst hitters in the lineup, came alive, going 3 for 4 on the night. Other bright spots include Rougned Odor driving in a run; he has been impactful in his first three games as a Yankee, Giancarlo Stanton drove in two runs for a team-leading 9 RBI’s. If he remains healthy and continues at that pace he will have over 100 RBI’s on the season.

The biggest problem the New York Yankees are having with their hitting is that the heart of the lineup who is supposed to win games for the Yankees, in the first eleven games of the season, the 3 to 6 slots in the lineup are hitting just .143, that’s the worst in baseball. In the first eleven games of the season, the Yankees have struck out 146 times, that’s the most in MLB.

If these stats aren’t alarming to the Yankees and don’t find a way to fix it quickly, they will again fail in the division. They now anchor the AL East. To add to an already bleak-looking situation, the Yankees are hitting into double plays an inordinate number of times (15), many of them by last year’s batting champ DJ LeMahieu.

The only bright spot is the bullpen

All during the regular season, the New York Yankees bullpen has performed well, almost to the point of being perfect. Last night the combination of Lucas Luetge, Luis Cessa, and Albert Abreu only allowed on earned run over four innings. Normally over the first eleven games, they have been even better than that.

Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa, Michael King, Chad Green, Aroldis Chapman, Darren O’Day, and Justin Wilson have yet to allow an earned run on the season. Any team would be thrilled to have this bullpen. Nick Nelson is the only reliever that has not performed well.

The bottom line is that the bullpen can’t carry the Yankees season, the starters must go further into games and perform better, and the Yankees hitters have to start hitting consistently.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Yankees bats silent in 7-3 loss to the Jays

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New York Yankees, Jameson Taillon

The New York Yankees met up with the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Dunedin, Florida, at TD Stadium. The Yankees went 1-2 in the first set that they played at Yankee Stadium. Last night the Yankees won the first game of this three-game set 3 to 1. Tonight the Yankees sent Jameson Taillon out to the mound to help the Yankees win another one. He faced the Jay’s ace Hyun Jin Ryu. In his first start of the season, Taillon had an ERA of 3.68 while striking out seven. Ryu, in his first start, struck out seven in a no-decision against the Texas Rangers.

Ryu faced in the first inning DJ LeMahieu pushed out a single. Giancarlo Stanton hit into the double play. Aaron Judge struck out to end the half for the Yankees. At the bottom, Jameson Taillon faced Marcus Semien ground out. Bo Bichette, with a nine-game hitting streak on the line, flew out to Judge in right. Vlad Guerrero Jr. ground out to Urshela for his second successful play at shortstop to end the scoreless inning. Taillon had an eight-pitch first inning.

The top of the second had Gary Sanchez at the plate leading off against Ryu. He struck out on a ball high out of the strike zone. Aaron Hicks struck out. Rougned Odor struck out, with Ryu striking out the side. Randal Grichuk led off the bottom against Taillon and singled. Cavan Biggio struck out. Gurriel Jr. was hit by a pitch moving Grichuk to second. Rowdy Tellez struck out for the second out. Danny Jansen walked to load the bases. Josh Palacios ground up the middle for a two-run single for Palacios.  Semien ground out to Odor to end the inning, but the Jays picked up two runs. Jays 2 New York Yankees 0.

Gio Urshela led off the third by grounding out. Clint Frazier flew out to third. Jay Bruce, who was manning first tonight, flew out to center for a 1-2-3 inning for Ryu. At the bottom, Bichette went to second on an errant throw from Urshela in another catch that Jay Bruce should have made.  Guerrero Jr. line drove to left. Men on the corners with no outs. Grichuk flew out to Judge, but Bichette scored. Biggio singled. Gurriel Jr. popped out to Urshela for the second out. Tellez grounded to Odor to end the inning. Jays 3 Yankees 0.

At the top of the fourth, DJ LeMahieu struck out. Stanton flew out to Grichuk on the warning track. Judge ground out to short. Ryu continued to dominate the Yankee hitters. At the bottom, Danny Jansen was called out on strikes. Palacios flew out to the wall in right, but Judge was there for the out. Semien got a home run into the right-field stands for the 4 run lead for the Jays. Bichette doubled to right-center. Guerrero Jr. at the plate Bichette made third on a wild pitch. Guerrero Jr. doubled to give Toronto the five-run lead and knocking Taillon out of the game. Lacus Luetge came in and got Grichuk to fly out. Jays 5 Yankees 0.

Ryu ground out Gary Sanchez at the top of the fifth. Hicks singled to left field. Odor hit into a double play to end the half. At the bottom of the fifth, with Luetge still on the mound, Baggio struck out swinging. Gurriel Jr. struck out. Tellez homered over the center-field wall for the 6 run Jays lead. Jansen struck out to end the inning, but the Jays picked up another run. Jays 6 Yankees 0.

Gio Urshela led off the sixth, striking out. Frazier was called out on an obvious ball, drawing shouts from the crowd. Bruce had a double to center with two outs. LeMahieu worked a walk for two on and two outs. Stanton chopped back to Ryu to end the half and strand two Yankees. Palacios struck out with Luis Cessa on the mound. Semien was called out on strikes. Bichette lined out to LeMahieu at third to end the inning. Jays 6 Yankees 0.

Aaron Judge ground out to start the seventh inning. Sanchez made it to first on an E5. Aaron hicks doubled to put two on base with only one out.  Odor ground out but got an RBI as the Yankees scored a run from third, and that was it for Ryu, who was dominant through 6.2 innings. He was replaced by David Phelps facing Urshela, who popped out for the final out, but the Yankees put a run on the board. Cessa still on the mound, Guerrero Jr. walked. Grichuk struck out. Biggio singled. Gurriel Jr. hit into the force out. Tellez ground out to end the inning. Jays 6 Yankees 1.

Leading off the eighth was Clint Frazier, and he singled past short. Jay Bruce struck out. LeMahieu reached, and Giancarlo Stanton drove in two for the 3 run Yankee deficit. Aaron Judge, with one on, flew out. Sanchez walked, causing another pitching change. Sanchez tried to get to second and was tagged out for a huge mistake, losing a great opportunity to tie the game up. Albert Abreu came out at the bottom, and Jensen ground out. Palacious walked. Semien walked. A wild pitch allowed the runners to advance while Abreu seemed to have lost the way. Bichette had a sac fly driving in another Jays’ run. Geurrero Jr. struck out. Jays 7 Yankees 3.

With last licks on the line for the New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks singled. Odor hit into a double play. Urshela singled. The play was put under review, and the call was overturned to end the game—final score Toronto Blue Jays 7 and the New York Yankees 3. Hyun Jin Ryu was the winning pitcher, and Jameson Taillon the loser. The Yankees developed a pulse in the late innings, but there were mistakes, and it wasn’t enough.

Yankees’ Jameson Taillon made his long-anticipated return: ‘I’ll never take a day in a big-league uniform for granted’

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New York Yankees, Jameson Taillon

The New York Yankees knew they were making a somewhat risky move when they flipped a few prospects, including Miguel Yajure, to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange of Jameson Taillon. After all, he has undergone three elbow surgeries and also worked his way back from a testicular cancer diagnosis back in 2017.

But the Yankees also knew they were getting not only a survivor, but a warrior. A man that has learned perseverance and resilience, and knows how to deal with adversity. Those character traits matter in Major League Baseball.

Last night, Taillon pitched his first game since May 2019, when he underwent his third elbow procedure, and second Tommy John reconstructive surgery. The Yankees were bringing him back along slowly, but he showed in spring training he is ready for prime time.

On Wednesday, Taillon was in the mound for 4 2/3 innings, in which he allowed two solo home runs and struck out seven Baltimore Orioles hitters.

The Yankees’ starter is ‘grateful’

“I’m extremely grateful,” Taillon said after the game, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “That game ran a little long, and I had plenty of time to get my thoughts. It’s going to sound cheesy, but I’ll never take a day in a big-league uniform for granted, that’s for sure. I was super happy to be out there; it felt really good to compete.”

Taillon, who is currently 29 years old, has the potential to be an asset for the Yankees from the mound, even if he is not expected to cover seven or eight innings at a time.

Despite the three elbow surgeries and the cancer diagnosis, Taillon actually has great career numbers, as he has a career 3.67 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 83 starts, most of them with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Yankees fans, and baseball people in general, are all rooting for Taillon and hoping his 2021 season goes smoothly.