Jonathan Loaisiga

New York Yankees: 3 major takeaways from the Yankees’ win over the Tigers

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New York Yankees, Clint Frazier

The New York Yankees traveled to Lakeland, Florida, to face the Detroit Tigers. The Yankee’s won their seventh game in a row, beating the Tigers 7-4. Giving them an 11-4 -1 record on the spring training season. Here are three major takeaways from yesterday’s outing.

Gerrit Cole stumbles again!

In an earlier article, I wrote about the best players and the most disappointing ones so far in this spring training. Cole was featured as one of the starts of the disappointing season.

We all know that Gerrit Cole is our New York Yankees ace, and we all expect a 20 game winning season. Short of that, we will be somewhat disappointed. As of his last start, Cole pitching over the qualifying 5 innings has the highest ERA of any starter (4.50). At least at the beginning of the season, one conversation with Cole is who he will be throwing to. In his first game, he struggled with Gary Sanchez catching him. In his second outing, he pitched much better when caught by Kyle Higashioka. It’s a small sample but worth noting.

Today against the Tigers, he was caught by Michael Brantly. He got out of the first inning unscathed. But in the second inning, he was nailed for two homers. Jacoby Jones and Renato Nunez scored long balls off the Yankee ace. He also walked one in the inning, which gave him 2 walks in his first 6 innings of the spring. At the top of the third inning, Cole only faced three hitters. Nevertheless, Cole giving up back-to-back home runs is concerning. Already with the highest ERA of the starting rotation, he today raised it to 4.70. At this point of the season, Gerrit Cole does not look like the ace he is; that place goes to Domingo German, who has an ERA of .000 in a full nine innings.

The New York Yankees are trying to expand innings for their starters in preparation for the regular season. In doing so, they brought Gerrit Cole out to start his fourth inning. Jonathan Schoop hit a hard double off Cole that dropped just short of Frazier.  He struck out the next two hitters bringing his ERA back to 4.70. Although his performance was not horrible, it is not what the Yankees expect from their ace.

Clint Frazier on fire

Clint Frazier had 3 hits in 3 plate appearances yesterday against the Tigers. One of them a monster homer that traveled 425′, raising his batting average to .304. He drove in three of the seven New York Yankees runs. Frazier over spring training so far has 7 hits in 23 plate appearances, two of them home runs with 5 RBI’s.

After reinventing himself as an elite outfielder and Gold Glove nominee last season, Frazier earned a permanent place in the New York Yankees lineup due to his improved defense and excellent hitting. Frazier is healthy and off to a great start in spring training.

Jonathan Loaisiga shines in the game

Jonathan Loaisiga followed Gerrit Cole in yesterday’s game against the Detroit Tigers. He pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. Loaisiga has now pitched in 8.1 innings without issuing a home run for an ERA of 0.00. He is only second to Domingo German. In the 8.1 innings, he has only given up 2 hits while striking out 7 opponents.

Jonathan Loaisiga is an exciting pitcher. We don’t know if he is a starter or a reliever. He has performed well in both roles. So far, his control is excellent. It is doubtful that the Yankees will add him to the starting rotation, but they will seriously look at him if there are any injuries.

The winning pitcher in the game was Gerrit Cole, and the loser was Michael Fulmer. The final score was New York Yankees 7 and the Detroit Tigers 4.

New York Yankees: 3 major takeaways from the Yankee’s win over the Phillies and today’s preview

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees. traveled to Clearwater, Florida yesterday and put on a show of how the game of baseball should be played. They used a mix of the long ball and small ball over nine innings to display the game elements that win games. Mix that with good pitching, and you will win most games. The Yankees won the game 6-1, and they did it with their “B” lineup.

Gerrit Cole:

Gerrit Cole bounced back from his one inning struggle in his first start of the season. In his first start, he struggled to throw 27 pitches in one inning and giving up a run. A subject at least at the beginning of the season is who is catching Cole. Last season he had a personal catcher in Kyle Higashioka. Manager Aaron Boone said before spring training started that that would not be the case this season. But that conversation is not going to go away. In his first game, Gary Sanchez caught the ace, and as I said, it was obvious with so many pitches that he struggled.

In yesterday’s game, he was caught by Kyle Higashioka, who was his personal catcher during 2020. Last year demonstrated the difference in his ERA when caught by Sanchez vs. Higashioka. 3.91 with Sanchez and 1.10 with Higashioka. Yesterday seemed to demonstrate that same difference. Pitching to Higashioka, he lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 4.50, pitching 3 innings.

Jonathan Loaisiga:

Encouraging news for the New York Yankees arising out of yesterday’s game was that Jonathan Loaisiga was again nearly perfect in his second outing. He pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Gerrit Cole. He pitched four innings of scoreless ball over both of his games while striking out eight opponents while allowing no walks.

This kind of performance from Loaisiga has to be encouraging for the Yankees as they will be missing Zack Britton for at least two or three weeks of the regular season while he recovers from elbow surgery to remove some bone chips from his elbow. Luis Cessa, the Yankee’s main mid-reliever, has struggled so far in spring training. The New York Yankees will need Loaisiga to continue his excellent pitching displays.

Get singles and steal bases:

The New York Yankees proved yesterday that they could win when not using their “A” lineup. The Yankees used a combination of a homer from Aaron Hicks and a lot of small ball to propel them to a win. Five of the six runs they scored in the game were via the small ball. The Yankees used a mix of singles, doubles, and base stealing to overcome the Phillies. The lineup yesterday did not include two power hitters that are Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Aaron Hicks set the game’s tone, homering in the first inning, but it was the Yankee’s 14 hits in the game that won it for them. Andrew Velazquez, Oswald Peraza, and Chris Gittens shone in the game. It also helped that the Yankees played errorless ball. With the possibility of a Grand Slam from the Phillies, the Yankee’s Matt Vierling robbed the Phillies with a jumping catch at the wall.

Today the New York Yankees will take on the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida. The Yankee’s Jameson Taillon will take on the Tiger’s Julio Teheran. This will be Taillon’s second start in three games. So far, he has only given up two hits, one walk, and no earned runs while striking out five opponents across three innings.

 

New York Yankees Recap: Small ball was the name of the game in Yankee win

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New York Yankees, Jonathan Loaisiga

The New York Yankees traveled to Clearwater, Florida today to play the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Park. Starting for the Yankees was Gerrit Cole in his second start of spring camp. Cole was roughed up a bit in his one inning with Gary Sanchez catching; he went only one inning giving up one run with 27 pitches. Today he faced Aaron Nola for the Phillies. It was a beautiful day for baseball under mostly sunny skies and a game-time temperature of 78 degrees and a light breeze. The Yankees won the game 6-1.

The Yankees led off with their “B” lineup. Leading off was Aaron Hicks who was very patient with Nola and ended up hitting a left-field homer off him to start the game. Luke Voit lined out. Jay Bruce ground out. Clint Frazier ground out to third, ending the half but with a Yankee one-run lead. Gerrit Cole came out in the bottom of the frame, this time with Kyle Higashioka catching. Ex-Yankee McCutchen singled to right, Hoskins struck out, and Bryce Harper flew out. Bohm closed out the inning by striking out. Yankees 1 Phillies 0.

Mike Ford fighting for a spot on Opening Day, led off the second inning by having a line-drive single to right field. Higashioka had a swinging strikeout; Tyler Wade also swung his way to a strikeout, followed by Thairo Estrada ground out, leaving Ford stranded. Cole out for the second stuck out Didi Gregorius, who is off to a languid start this spring training. Segura ground out, and Herrera flew out to give Cole a quick one-two-three inning.

Andrew Velazquez led off for the New York Yankees in the third. He singled sharply. Back at the top of the lineup Aaron Hicks who homered in the first, Velazquez stole second and advance to third on the Hicks ground out. Voit singled, scoring Velazquez for the two-run Yankee lead. Jay Bruce walked, moving Voit to second. Frazier flew into a double play ending the inning, but the Yankees picked up another run. Cole is being stretched out and was out on the mound for the third inning. Knapp struck out, Kingery doubled off Cole, and McCutchen singled, scoring Kingery from second. Hoskins flew out for the second out. Harper struck out to end the inning. Yankees 2 Phillies 1.

Nola out for his fourth-inning ground out Ford. Higashioka ground out, and Tyler Wade struck out for the quick half. Jonathan Loaisiga replaced Cole at the bottom of the frame. Bohm flew out sharply to Hicks, Gregorius struck out, and Segura grounded out to Ford for the game’s quickest inning. Yankees 2 Phillies 1.

In the fifth, Coonrad replaced Nola. Estrada struck out. Velazquez got his second single of the game. Velazquez advanced to second on a pickoff error. Hicks doubled in Velazquez as the Yankees picked up another run. Voit ground out, and Jay Bruce ground out for the third out. Loaisiga out for a second inning popped out Herrera. Knapp ground out, as did Kingery. Loaisiga looked sharp in both of his innings. Yankees 3 Phillies 1.

With Romero pitching, Clint Frazier singled, Ford hit into a double play leaving the bases empty. Higashioka struck out, ending the half. Loaisiga was on the mount for a third inning. He caught a comebacker from Vierling; Hoskins ground out as did Harper, completing three excellent innings for Loaisiga.  Yankees 3 Phillies 1.

David Hale faced Tyler Wade in the seventh. Wade singled, Estrada was hit by a pitch advancing the speedy Wade to second. Park pinch-ran for Estrada. Velazquez flew out to left. Greg Allen hit into a double play stranding the runners. Jhoulys Chacin took the mound at the bottom of the frame. Maton singled, Chatham was forced out, Stot flew out. Chacin threw Jankowski three straight balls but got him out on the 9th pitch. Yankees 3 Phillies 1.

Michael Ynoa on the mound for the Phillies in the eighth, Anthony Seigler walked on nine pitches. Seigler stole second. Ryan LaMarre struck out. Brito flew out, Gittens singled, driving in Seigler, and McDowell singled, allowing Gittens to advance to third base. The Phillies changed pitchers Ynoa out, Hammer in. Oswald Peraza singled driving in Gittens for another Yankee run. Hoy Park, while batting, Hammer had a wild pitch advancing McDowell to third and Peraza to second. Park walked, loading the bases for the Yankees. Velazquez hit McDowell in for another run. Bases remain loaded. Greg Allen ground out, leaving the bases loaded, but the Yankees picked up three runs in the half. Yankees 6 Phillies 1.

Chacin had a one-two-third inning at the bottom of the eighth. At the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees’ Siegler led off against Ramon Russo. Seigler struck out, LaMarre struck out, Brito singled, Gittens singled, McDowell walked, loading the bases, Peraza flew out, leaving the bases loaded. With last licks on the line for the Phillies, the New York Yankees sent Lucas Luetge to close it for the Yankees. Hall popped out,  O’Hoppe struck out, and Maton made the final out of the Yankee 6-1 win over the Phillies.

Jonathan Loaisiga was the winning pitcher. The New York Yankees played a great game of small ball that accounted for five of the six runs. The long home run was from Aaron Hicks. The Yankees played errorless baseballs and stole to bases in the assault against the Phillies. On a down note, the Yankees did leave 10 men on base.

New York Yankees: 3 major takeaways from Sunday’s shutout of the Phillies

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New York Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton

The New York Yankees could only wish they could have a pitching demonstration in every game they had on Sunday. Jordan Montgomery, in his second start of the season, was, well, superb. After a great start in his first outing, yesterday he showed the rotation how it’s done. He started by grounding out Andrew McCutchen, the former Yankee. He struck out another former Yankee in Didi Gregorius. Next up was Bryce Harper, who also grounded out for a perfect first for Monty.

Segura faced Monty to start the second inning. He had a line drive that DJ LeMahieu snagged in an exceptional play. Knapp got a long fly ball that Judge at the warning track caught. Miller flew out for another one-two-three inning for Montgomery.

Montgomery out for the third. Joyce singled, Quinn singled, ex-Yankee Ronald Torreyes had a line drive to Torres for the first out. Andujar made a great play to cut off the runner at second, two outs. Didi Gregorius struck out for the third out of the half. Monty looked good early in this spring training, and yesterday was everything the New York Yankees could have wanted.

Next up was Jonathan Loaisiga. Jonathan Loaisiga for the New York Yankees got his chance to pitch in the fourth, grounding out Bryce Harper. Segura struck out. Knapp chopped out a single, and Miller flew out to Hicks for a scoreless inning. He followed that for a second inning. Joyce singled off him leading off. Quinn failed to advance him. Torreyes hit into a double play ending the half. Loaisiga’s day was nothing if it was not brilliant.

Each succeeding Yankees pitcher did his job until Brookes Kriske, who had his troubles in the ninth; he walked the first two hitters he faced but still managed to get out of the inning without giving up a run to the Phillies.

Brett Gardner is washed up

Wait just one moment, please. If you watched yesterday’s game, Brett Gardner is the only reason the New York Yankees won the game. His Grand Slam and his four runs scored was the only Yankee scoring of the game. The rest of the Yankee lineup remained nearly silent.

During the offseason, the veteran relinquished, waiting to see if the Yankees would bring him back for yet another season. Fans in a pole were 50/50 on if the team should bring him back. Some wanted to see him back for sentimental reasons, stating that he was the Yankees’ heart and soul and deserved another season so his family could see him play again and retire as a Yankee. The other thought his time had passed, and the Yankees should move on. Yesterday the veteran showed he can still play and be an integral part of a winning team.

When healthy Stanton is Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton was the 2017 National League MVP hitting 59 home runs and batting .281. In a somewhat questionable move that was quite expensive for the New York Yankee, they traded with the Miami Marlins to make Stanton a Yankee and took on his massive contract. In 2018 the Yankees got pretty much what they asked for. Stanton hit 38 home runs and hit .266. That’s when it all went south; 2019 and 2020 revealed Stanton as an injury-laden player that couldn’t stay on the field.

However, in the 2020 postseason, when healthy Stanton hit six home runs in just seven games, hitting .301 with a 1.462 OPS. Stanton entered this season completely healthy. In yesterday’s spring training game, he hit two massive doubles. The Yankees couldn’t get him home, but his doubles were no doubters, both hit with extreme power. If Stanton can remain healthy, there is little doubt that he can be an important tool for the Yankees to get to another championship.

 

New York Yankees Player Profiles: Clarke Schmidt, will he be the fifth starter in 2021? (video)

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New York Yankees, Clarke Schmidt

The New York Yankees have many decisions to make this offseason and before spring training. But nothing is happening while everything is on hold until the front office finds out if they can re-sign DJ LeMahieu. Even if they do sign him soon, there will not likely be any changes until right before or during spring training. The New York Yankees will be conservative with spending as owner Hal Steinbrenner has already said he wants to cut payroll, not spend. With that stance, big signings are most likely not going to happen.

According to how you look at it, that news could be bad, or on the other hand, good for young Yankee prospects like the up and coming prospect Clarke Schmidt. Clarke made his major league debut on September 4, 2020. With the loss of Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ, Schmidt just might be considered for the anchor spot on the 2020 rotation. How he performs during spring training will make that more clear. But let’s start his rise to possible inclusion in the rotation from the beginning.

Clarke was born in Acworth, Georgia, and attended Allatoona High School and played baseball at the University of South Carolina. As a freshman, Schmidt pitched in 18 games and made 10 starts, pitching to a 2–2 with a 4.81 ERA and 55. He became South Carolina’s ace as a sophomore in 2016. He pitched in 18 games with 17 starts and went 9–5 with a 3.40 ERA and 129 strikeouts. Schmidt remained the team’s number one starter his junior year in 2017, but in April, he was forced to have Tommy John surgery to repair an ACL.

Nevertheless, he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2017 draft but did hot play that year at all rehabbing. He made his pro debut with the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2018. He got a big signing bonus of $2.1 million. He quickly worked his way in the minors finishing the season with a 3.09 ERA in ​23 1/3 innings. He started 2019 with the Tampa Tarpons but in August was promoted to the Trenton Thunder, where he pitched until it was announced that there would be no minor league season. On September 4th, he was called up to the Stadium, where he pitched in relief. The 24-year-old ended up pitching in 3 games for 6.1 innings striking out seven but had an elevated 7.11 ERA.

He really impressed manager Aaron Boone and the coaching staff during spring training. Pitching coach Matt Blake feels that Schmidt is progressing well and is the second most promising pitcher after Deivi Garcia will most likely be the number three started when the season starts, assuming the Yankees make no moves to either bring back Masahiro Tanaka or pick up another mid-level pitcher. As it stands now, the number five spot is vacant and probably will be a competition between Schmidt and Jonathan Loaisiga. In the video below, Schmidt talks about his progress and what he is doing during the offseason to be ready for spring training.

 

 

 

New York Yankees Analysis: Yankee 2021 bullpen starting to firm up

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New York Yankees, Zack Britton

The New York Yankees were pretty much a non-participant in the baseball Winter Meetings. Their main priorities, although they may have been addressed, there were no results. They didn’t re-sign DJ LeMahieu and didn’t add a much-needed starting pitcher. The only real good news coming out of the meetings is that no team made an offer good enough to steal DJ LeMahieu away from the Yankees as of yet. Still, that remains to be seen.

The only area that may be firming up and giving us a look at the 2021 season is in the Yankee bullpen. Here is what we do know. Tommy Kahnle will miss most if not all of the 2021 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The top five listed below will carry most of the 2021 load coming out of the bullpen. But if there is anything close to a 162 game season, those stalwarts will need a lot of help. After such a short season this year, the Yankees will have to be careful with all of them, being cautious with how many innings each pitch to prevent injuries. If the Yankees don’t add a number two or three starter that can go deep into games, that will put even more stress on the bullpen.

Although the bullpen may be shaping up, the New York Yankees still need a bullpen arm that can be Tommy Kahnle-like. Especially with an Adam Ottavino, the Yankees find it questionable if he can return to the reliever he was in 2018.

Aroldis Chapman:

Aroldis Chapman is Aroldis Chapman, you know what you’re going to get, and that is not a Mariano Rivera-like closer. He generally gets the job done but scares the hell out of you doing it.  Last season he lost a bit of velocity but is still overpowering. Another question with Chapman is how he has given away the winning run in the postseason for the last two seasons in a row.

Zack Britton:

You may see Zack Britton take a more leading role in closing games this season. He will definitely be the setup man for Chapman. Britton was really impressed last season when in place of Chapman, who had tested positive for the coronavirus, Britton eight straight saves and ended the 60 game season with an ERA of 1.89 in 20 games. There is no question, Britton outpitched Chapman during the last season. Chapman pitched in 13 games with an ERA of 3.09.

Chad Green:

Chad Green will again be an integral part of the bullpen. The season may see him open games, be a middle reliever, and even a setup man. Green is manager Aaron Boone’s most versatile reliever. Green had a very similar year to his performance in 2019; although he improved his ERA to 3.51, he also saved a game for the Yankees this past season. Chad Green will surely play a big part in the 2021 season.

Luis Cessa:

The Yankees tendered Luis Cessa an offer for a contract this year and good reason. Although Cessa’s 2020 campaign was not as good as his best year in, 2019 he is still a workhorse that can be generally counted on in mid relief. You may find his role being shared with the just re-signed Nestor Cortes Jr. They are very similar pitchers.

Adam Ottavino:

Unfortunately, Adam Ottavino is a huge question about whether he will be effective during 2021, especially considering it may very well be a longer season than in 2020. Ottavino lost steam as the 2019 season progressed. In this shortened season, he lost steam even quicker to the point that he was nearly useless. Ottavino pitched 18.1 innings giving up more than a hit per inning with an elevated 5.89 ERA. He followed that up, turning into a disaster in the postseason. He pitched 2/3 of an inning using 16 pitches, walking one, not getting an out, and given up a run for an ERA of 13.50.

Ottavino, like Kahnle, is most often used as a late-inning setup to the setup man. With Kahnle out of the season and Ottavino in question, the Yankees really need that one more quality arm to firm up the season’s bullpen.

The Yankees have several arms they will have to depend upon. One of the biggest pitching questions is what role Jonathan Loisiga will play. He pitched in twelve games, including three games as a starter. Loaisiga, although not consistent, has shown brilliance at times. He had a 3-0 record last season with an ERA of 3.52. What happens with the starting rotation may play a role in where Loaisiga pitches in 2021.

Because of an expected season going for 100 to 162 games and the stress this will put on the bullpen, the Yankees will have to watch how many innings each reliever pitches so that they won’t be worn out for the hopeful postseason.  Brook Kriske, Nick Nelson, Ben Heller, Miguel Yaujer, and newly acquired Nestor Cortes Jr. will be called up to help out.

Again according to what happens with the starting pitching, Clarke Schmidt, Micheal King, Albert Abreu may be used as starters or could aid the relievers. It is most likely that Jordan Montgomery and Deivi Garcia will find their place among the starters no matter what happens.

New York Yankees Previews: Yankees start a four game series with the Jays in Buffalo

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New York Yankees, Jonathan Loaisiga

The New York Yankees has clinched a berth in the playoffs, and tonight they will meet up with the Toronto Blue Jays to begin a four-game series, away in the Jays 2020 home, Buffalo. The Yankees were hoping to clinch their berth in the postseason last night in Boston.  The Yankees, riding a ten-game winning streak, entered last night’s game with high hope, but Deivi Garcia failed, and the Yankee’s bat were near silent.  Never the less, the Yankees clinched their 22nd postseason berth in 26 years when the Seattle Mariners lost to the San Diego Padres.

Pitching sensation Deivi Garcia, in his fifth start of the season, only lasted three innings, giving up six runs in the eventual Yankee 10-2 loss.  The only bright spot in the game is when Luke Voit hit his 21st home run of the season, which leads all of baseball.  21 home runs in this short season equate to 64 home runs in a regular 162 game season.  The would beat the Yankee home run record leader’s 61 home runs in 1961.

Tonight should be a pleasant evening for baseball, with a game-time temperature (6:37 pm) in the high ’60s. The game will be played under mostly clear skies with no chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on the Yes Network, on SNET in Canada, and nationally on MLB Network (out of market only).

The New York Yankees have met up with the Blue Jays six times, so far in the season, winning four of those games, but they never have faced Matt Shoemaker. The righty Shoemaker has been on the IL with right shoulder problems.  There will be pressure on Shoemaker to win tonight’s game, as it could cement his place as the third starter in the Blue Jay’s postseason. He is 0-1 with an ERA of 4.91. The Jays have lost 4 of the 34-year-olds starts.  In his last start, he went five innings in the eventual Jay’s win while striking out six Tampa Bay Rays. Coming off the IL, the Jays don’t expect him to go more than 60 pitches.

The New York Yankees, in an attempt to line up pitchers for the postseason, will give both Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka an extra day’s rest, and start this game with an opener. That opener could be Michael King or Jonathan Loaisiga, although that is no surety. Loaisiga is 3-0 on the season with an ERA of just 2.70 and has started 3 games this season. The Yankees last year and this year, has been quite successful in opener games.  Chad Green is the most successful game opener, so he is a possibility.

“We’re going to try to win games,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’d love to have those (wild card) games at home — not at the expense of anyone, but our guys should be good and ready to go.”

Both teams had streaks end on Sunday. The Yankees (31-22) lost 10-2 to the Boston Red Sox to stop a 10-game winning streak, and the Blue Jays (27-26) defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 to end their skid at six. Both teams will be looking to improve their seeding in the postseason.  It’s most important for the Blue Jays to win as they move closer to clinching their berth in the playoffs. The Yankees swept the Blue Jays in their last meeting at Yankee Stadium.

New York Yankees Recap: Yankees at Fenway Park won their ninth in row, but it wasn’t easy

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Friday night for the New York Yankees, it was a long and winding road for their ninth win in a row, this time against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. After playing clean baseball and scoring 43 runs in three games against the Blue Jays, last night may have been a wake-up call that brought the Yankees back down to reality.

The Yankees did not play well, the game saw the Yankees commit three errors. Yankee pitching allowed the Red Sox to run on them, and the Yankees lineup remained dormant for the first six innings of the game. The result was that at the end of six innings the Yankee trailed the Boston Red Sox 4-0. The main culprit was the lousy starting pitching of Yankee starter Jordan Montgomery who struggled mightily. Montgomery gave up four runs on five hits while still having a respectable seven strikeouts.  Montgomery who has pitched well this season will want to forget this one.

The offense remained quiet for the first six innings, and the Yankee fearsome threesome of Judge, Stanton, and Voit combined for just three hits in the game and one RBI. The Red Sox’s Martin Perez pitched a brilliant game against a strong Yankee lineup, sprinkling in just three hits and walk, while string out seven Yankees. While the Yankees had some sloppy play, the Boston defense made some sparkling defensive plays in the game.

The stars of the game for the New York Yankees were, of course, DJ LeMahieu, Jonathan Loaisiga, but the surprise name on the star list was Gary Sanchez. I seldom praise Sanchez, but other than a minor flaw defensively, it was overshadowed by some amazing defense for Sanchez.  In the seventh inning, Sanchez had a long double, into the right-field stands, allowing the Yankees to finally get on the board as two runs scored.  At the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees still behind by two runs, Sanchez again came through with a significant home run to left over the Green Monster scoring two and tying up the game and causing it to go into extra innings. Gary Sanchez is the only reason the Yankees won this ninth game in a row.

Although starting pitcher  Jordan Montgomery faltered, the Yankee bullpen was brilliant. Luis Cessa came in for 1.1 innings, he allowed two hits but kept the Sox from scoring. Adam Ottavino’s swerve was working, allowing only one hit in his inning. Zack Britton pitched a clean inning. Chad Green was dominant in his inning, while striking out two. Aroldis Chapman struggled with his velocity down, but got out of the tenth inning, striking out two. The pitching star of the game was Jonathan Loaisiga, who pitched the eleventh and twelfth innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out two Red Sox.

The New York Yankees’ offense finally got going in the seventh inning, with Gary Sanchez’s two-run double. At the bottom of the eighth inning, Giancarlo Stanton took one to the left-field wall scoring Aaron Judge who motored home all the way from first base, and the Yankees were just one run shy of tying the game.  Then came Sanchez’s solo homer in the ninth to tie the game and bring it into extra innings.

At the bottom of the eleventh inning, Luke Voit who had been silent in the game hit a double scoring Mike Tauchman who had previously been brought in to run for Stanton, for the Yankees first lead of the game. But in the bottom of the frame, Christain Arroyo put the ball in play driving in a run and retying the game at 5. The eleventh inning was a long one with Loaisiga loading the bases, but Loaisiga battled and got our of the inning without allowing the Red Sox to take the lead.

At the top of the twelfth with Yankees on the corners, DJ LeMahieu stepped to the plate and drove in Aaron Hicks from third, for the Yankee 6-5 lead. At the bottom of the frame, Loaisiga on the bump again, he got the win keeping the Red Sox scoreless in the frame. Loaisiga got the win for the Yankees, Ryan Weber took the loss for the Red Sox. The final score was 6-5 in twelve long innings. The game time was just over five hours.

Although this wasn’t the best game for the New York Yankees, it shows the great team that they are. Down four runs, they came all the way back to get the win. It was the Yankees’ eighth straight win over the Red Sox this season. Tonight at 7:30 pm, J.A. Happ will be on the mound for the Yankees, as they try for their tenth win in a row.

 

Another crucial Yankees’ player is set to return from the injury list soon

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New York Yankees, Jonathan Loaisiga

The pending return of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge to the New York Yankees‘ active roster has, with good reason, stolen all the headlines in the Bombers’ universe. It’s clear that the club needs them both to mount a fight for a playoff spot. But another crucial player, in this case a pitcher, also has a chance to rejoin the team in the next few days, even sooner that the slugging duo.

Jonathan Loaisiga has been out of the Yankees’ active roster for a week for undisclosed reasons, but according to Max Goodman of Sports Illustrated, that could change as soon as Tuesday.

Placed by the New York Yankees on the injured list on September 4 but retroactive to September 2, it appears that Loaisiga will only require a few more days than the minimum.

The Yankees miss Loaisiga’s versatility

“Jonathan Loaisiga will throw a bullpen today, Aaron Boone says. If that goes well, another will follow on Sunday and then the hope is for him to be activated on Tuesday,” Goodman wrote on his Twitter account.

It represents an excellent piece of news for a New York Yankees team that has had a surprisingly mediocre year when it comes to the performance of its relievers. Loaisiga, fortunately, has been one of the few bright spots for Boone and company.

For the season, the right-hander has a 3.18 ERA with a 4.36 FIP in eight games, three of which have been starts. In 17.0 frames, he has a 10.59 K/9 mark and a 2.12 BB/9 one: it means that he has been striking out lots of batters and limiting walks.

It’s possible that his 89.3 strand rate is a tad high, but so is his 30.0 HR/FB rate. All things considered, he has been pretty much legit, and the Yankees will welcome his talented right arm when he returns from his condition.

New York Yankees Update: Yankees look to take two tonight in Baltimore

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New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

The New York Yankees tonight will hope to come back from an embarrassing loss last night against the New York Mets, and going 10-6 in their last sixteen starts. The Yankees will travel today to Baltimore, to Camden Yards where they normally play well, for a late afternoon and night doubleheader. Game one will start at the unusual time of 5:05 pm, with the second game following 30 minutes after completion of the first game.

The Yankees have not released the names of any of the four starters in the series at the time of this writing.  In the doubleheader this evening, the Yankee fans will most likely see Deivi Garcia and Jonathan Loaisiga. Saturday should be Gerrit Cole with Masahiro Tanaka following on Sunday. Jordan Montgomery will likely start the first game in Buffalo with the Blue Jays.

This evening the Baltimore weather should be just fine for two baseball games, with a zero chance of rain or pop up showers.  Game time temperature for the game will be in the mid-’80s, with mostly sunny skies. It will be slightly cooler for game two, but the skies will remain clear.  In fact, similar weather will be had for the Saturday and Sunday games as well.  The games will be telecast on the YES Network and MASN in Baltimore.

In game one, the New York Yankees will face the Orioles Alex Cobb.  Cobb is 1-3 with an ERA of 4.33.  This will be the first time this season that Cobb will pitch to the Yankees.  Back at the end of the 2017 season, the Yankees were interesting in the Ray’s free agent Alex Cobb, but Cobb went with the Baltimore Orioles.  He didn’t pitch very well with the Orioles, but on August 1, 2018, Cobb beat the Yankees in a 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, snapping a nine-start winless stretch. In 2019 due to injuries he only pitched in three games.  So far this year in seven starts, he has given up 5 home runs, with 12 walks while striking out 24. Gio Urshela is 2 for 2 off Cobb.

UPDATE!

Alex Cobb has been scratched from game one.  The starter will now be Thomas Eshelman who is 3-0 with an EAR of 3.48. Eshelman is a reliever that has started two games of the Orioles.  He does not go deep into games. In his six starts, he averages 3.2 innings per game. He has a combined five strikeouts in his last three games while giving up a home run in each game. In a March 8th spring training game Eshelman threw one pitch that hurt him. With one out in the Yankees’ second, first baseman Luke Voit hit the first pitch out to right for a homer.

In game two the Yankees will face Jorge Lopez, who has been a reliever for the Orioles but was recently made a starter.  He made his first start against the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings in a game Baltimore lost 6-5. The Orioles have lost every game that Lopez has pitched in. Brett Gardner, in five at-bats against Lopez, has batted .600.  Mike Tauchman and Mike Ford have also played well off the righty that has a 7.53 ERA this season.

Deivi Garcia pitched masterfully in his major league debut. In the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets, Deivi Garcia made his major league debut for the Yankees. An unintimidating figure on the mound, Garcia showed the complete confidence of a much older veteran. He backed that up with a one, two, three first inning. He struck out the side in the third. He ended up his major league debut pitching six innings on 75 pitches, allowing four singles, no earned runs, no walks, and had six strikeouts in a no-decision debut.

Jonathan Loaisiga has pitched in eight games this year for the New York Yankees, three of them starts caused by the Yankees lack of starting pitchers. In those eight games, he has pitched to a very respectable 3.18 ERA. He has been with the Yankees for three years now, going back and forth from the minors to the majors, and has improved each year.  This is only my personal opinion, but I feel if Loaisiga was stretched out, he could make a fine option for a fifth spot in the rotation.

After the Yankees went 2-8 off the Tampa Bay Rays and have gone 10-6 in their last sixteen starts need to win these two games tonight.  They also lost a game against the Mets last night, and have slipped to being tied for second place in the East Division with the Blue Jays. The Yankees no longer have to look over their shoulders at the Jays, as they are right there.  The Jays have been playing well of late, as the Yankees have not. The Yankees would love to sweep the Orioles, but must at least take the series, as they face the Jays next week in Buffalo.