Luke Voit

New York Yankees Lose To Diamondbacks Despite Out-Hitting Them

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New York Yankees, Brett Gardner

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

Voit does it again

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

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

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

A short afternoon for Tanaka

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

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

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

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

The bullpen stepped up

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

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

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

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

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

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New York Yankees, Yankees, CC Sabathia

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

CC was solid

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

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

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

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

A lack of offense

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

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

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

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

Holder looking more normal

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

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

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

New York Yankees: Luke Voit Living Up To Expectations A Month In

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New York Yankees, Luke Voit

A lot of questions surrounded the 2019 first base battle for the New York Yankees, and when the team left spring training for New York, it looked like Luke Voit would be the starting first baseman. Greg Bird would likely still get at-bats, DHing against certain right-handers.

Voit didn’t get off to a fantastic start, but neither did Bird. About two weeks ago, Bird was placed on the IL with a plantar fascia tear, and Mike Ford was called up.

Ever since Bird was on the IL, Voit has had great success, and Ford has been playing decently as well.

Was the opportunity that Bird had before the injury his final in Pinstripes? The way Voit has been playing, I think so. I don’t just think that I believe that Voit will be the first baseman for years to come.

Voit is red hot

Ever since Bird went on the IL, Voit has been great. He has been even better since the Yankees went out west, batting well over .400 with four home runs in the last seven games (LAA and SF games).

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On the season, Voit is batting .283 with 25 RBIs, an OBP of .400 and an OPS of .935.

His offensive production has been making up for Aaron Judge’s injury disappearance, and more offense should return soon in Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks, and Giancarlo Stanton (Note: Andujar should begin rehab with A-ball Tampa Tarpons on Tuesday).

His average puts him 32nd in the AL, his OBP at 16th in the AL, his eight home runs put him sixth in the AL with teammate Gary Sanchez, and his 25 RBIs are good for second in the AL.

Voit is doing everything that the Yankees want him to do: drive in runs and get on base. He has also just been named the AL player of the week for 4/21-4/28.

Bird gets worse with time

In 35 at-bats before his injury, Bird bat a dismal .171, driving in just one run on an opening day solo-blast.

His WAR sits at -0.2, meaning that the Yankees would have more success if they didn’t use Bird at all this year.

Bird needs to be traded or sent to play AAA ball for Scranton. They could sure use players since everyone else has been called up, including Mike Ford.

Ford could keep a roster spot

In 24 at-bats, Ford has just four hits but has four RBIs. His defense is better than Voit’s and Bird’s, with better on-base, slugging, and OPS numbers than Bird.

Ford also has had more minor league success, batting over .400 before receiving the call after 10 games with Scranton.

The conclusion:

Luke Voit is here to stay for years to come. He’s sure proving that last year’s success was no fluke, and he will continue to mash. Greg Bird’s time may have come to an end as a Yankee, and Ford could stay up to play defense and potentially DH. But remember, DJ LeMahieu can play first base, too.

Still, with the injuries, I think that LeMahieu will end up staying at second and third, and Voit will be the everyday first baseman.

 

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

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

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

The bats came out again

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

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

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

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

Injury issues

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

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

One bad inning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

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

Happ’s best start

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The big blast

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

New York Yankees Collect 15 Hits In Win Over Giants.

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For the first time in years, the New York Yankees found themselves in San Francisco to take on their old New York rival in the Giants.

And they sure took their bats on this trip, collecting 15 hits as they took down the Giants 7-3.

Welcome Cameron Maybin

Cameron Maybin didn’t wait long to get his first Yankee hit.

He lined the first pitch he saw to center for an RBI single, batting fifth in his first game in the road grays.

But for the most part, the big guns led the way.

For the second consecutive night, Luke Voit had three hits and extended his on-base streak to 37 and his hit-streak to 13. Voit also drove in three, and his average now sits at .276.

After a little rough patch, DJ LeMahieu is getting hot again, also collecting three hits. His average has now risen over .300 again.

Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela batted three-four in the order, each picking up two hits and driving in a run. Romine, Tauchman, and Estrada each picked up a hit and Mike Ford had a pinch-hit single.

Solid Start For Big Maple

James Paxton had a solid start coming off two lights-out starts.

Over 5 and 2/3 innings, Paxton gave up three runs off five hits, walking two. He struck out eight on the night.

Paxton has sure proven that he is a strikeout pitcher in his short tenure with the Yankees. He got 14 swing and miss strikes, and in comparison, Masahiro Tanaka had just one on Thursday night.

For every two fly-balls he worked, he got a ground-ball, and got first pitch strikes to 18 of the 24 batters he faced.

Tommy Kahnle would eventually relieve Paxton to get the final out in the sixth. Zack Britton had the seventh, but was pulled after walking the bases loaded, still one out away from the end of the inning.

But, Adam Ottavino bailed him out and also pitched a scoreless eighth before Aroldis Chapman came in to lock it down in the ninth.

Game two of the series takes place at 4:05PM (ET) on YES and Fox Sports Go. JA Happ gets the ball for the Yankees against Derek Holland of the Rangers.

New York Yankees: Tanaka’s Rough Start Ends Win Streak At Six

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New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka

New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka gave up two fifth inning home runs, as the Angels climbed out of a 4-0 deficit to win 11-5.

Couldn’t keep it down

Tanaka had a lot of trouble keeping the ball on the ground on Thursday. Along with the home runs, hitters got nine fly-balls off of him, to just five ground-balls. He also only struck out two, which isn’t normal for him. Tanaka is usually good for at least six strikeouts.

He was also quite wild, walking three and throwing balls 38% of the time. Tanaka only got one swing and miss on the game.

Tanaka gave up six runs (five earned) over 5 and 2/3 innings, allowing six hits.

So overall, Tanaka was just off a bit on Thursday. It’s gonna happen to all pitchers, and you just have to live with it. He’ll bounce back on Wednesday at Arizona. Let’s just hope he doesn’t hurt himself running the bases this year.

Boone didn’t handle his bullpen right

The way that Yankees skipper Aaron Boone handled the bullpen on Thursday left a lot of people asking questions.

He had Jonathan Holder get just one out, before Stephen Tarpley and Joe Harvey gave up a combined five runs in the seventh inning. Before the runs scored, the Yankees only trailed by two.

Once the game seemed out of reach, he put in Tommy Kahnle, who has an ERA under two.

Why not go with Kahnle earlier on, or other high leverage guys like Zack Britton. It was unlikely that Chapman would of pitched on Thursday, as he pitched two of the prior three games.

Also, Boone could of went with Holder, who is beginning to improve from the beginning of the season. Situations like Thursday make you wish more and more that Chad Green wasn’t struggling and that Dellin Betances wasn’t injured.

Luke’s gettin’ hot

After a slowish start to the season, Luke Voit is red hot. He went 3-for-5 last night, and his average now sits at .255. Voit has reached base the last 36 games, and has gotten a hit in the last 12.

DJ LeMahieu also added two hits and drove in a run. Gardner, Torres, Urshela, and Wade each had hits in the game.

Urshela’s hit left the yard for his first Yankee home run, and his average now sits at .283. Tyler Wade has been contributing well to the Yankees, playing solid defense and getting on base.

Early in Thursday’s game, Wade singled then stole second and third on back-to-back pitches. The next pitch scored Wade on a single by LeMahieu.

The Yankees now head up to San Francisco for their first interleague series of the season. Game time is at 10:15PM (ET) on Friday on YES and Fox Sports Go. James Paxton gets the ball for the Yankees against Madison Bumgarner of the Giants.

 

New York Yankees: DJ LeMahieu Leads Five-Run Comeback Over Angels

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New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu

DJ LeMahieu had two hits and three RBIs to help dig the New York Yankees out of a five run deficit to beat the Angels 6-5.  The Yankees have now won six consecutive games.

DJ saves the day

Tyler Wade led the sixth inning off with an infield single, and scored the next pitch off a double by LeMahieu. LeMahieu scored a few batters later on a passed ball by Angels’ catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

In the seventh, Wade drew a bases-loaded walk to score a run. LeMahieu hit a sacrifice fly and Luke Voit hit a fielder’s choice, each scoring a run to tie it up.

After two outs to start the ninth, Wade singled to start a rally. With LeMahieu up, Wade stole second before he was knocked in to go ahead.

Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning as the Yankees held on for the win.

Luke Voit extended his on-base streak with a walk in the first, now at 35 games. He also had a hit to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Three away from 3K

CC Sabathia struggled a bit in his third start of the season, but his three strikeouts put him three away from 3,000 on his career.

CC allowed five runs (four earned) in five innings, giving up six hits and three home runs. He got 14 first pitch strikes to 22 batters. Sabathia had trouble keeping it on the ground, getting eight fly-balls to just five ground-balls.

Jonathan Loaisiga finally got some work in, however it was out of the bullpen. He was originally expected to start one of the Anaheim games.

The righty pitched three innings in relief, allowed two hits and picked up the win. He walked one and struck out one. Loaisiga was also optioned to AAA following the game.

Game four of the series takes place on Thursday at 9:07PM (ET) on YES and Fox Sports Go. Masahiro Tanaka gets the ball for the Yankees against Trevor Cahill of the Angels.

Voit’s Two Home Runs Lead New York Yankees Past Angels

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New York Yankees, Luke Voit

Luke Voit had two solo home runs to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and his on-base streak to 34 games as the New York Yankees took down the Angels 7-5.

Milestones for the young fellas

Mike Ford and Thairo Estrada each had milestones at the plate on Tuesday.

Ford hit his first career home run in the fifth, over the high wall in right-center at Angel Stadium. Estrada collected the first two hits of his career, going 2-for-4.

Despite no RBI’s, Brett Gardner went off for a huge four hit night. His first hit came in the third inning, a triple to right-center. In the fifth, he singled to left before doubling to left-center in the seventh. In his final at-bat, he was just a home run away from the cycle, but instead singled for a second time.

Gleyber Torres also added two hits and an RBI, and Mike Tauchman and Tyler Wade each had a hit.

Green needs to go

Chad Green is struggling. A lot.

He managed to load the bases, then proceeded to give up a grand slam on a change-up right down the middle to Justin Bour. His ERA is now 16.43. Green needs to work out his problems in AAA, because he keeps getting put in low-leverage situations then quickly makes them high-leverage situations b y giving up runs. He continues to have an inability of getting outs.

Luis Cessa relieved Green and pitched the remainder of the eighth scoreless, and Zack Britton pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the year.

Chad Green came in for German, after he pitched 6 and 2/3 great innings.

He gave up just four hits and walked one, giving up a lone run. He threw 99 pitches and struck out five, throwing first pitch strikes to 14 of the 25 batters he faced.

German got nine swings and misses, and worked seven ground-balls and eight fly-balls. The young right-hander picked up his fourth win of the season, and sits near the top of the American League in ERA at 1.75.

Jonathan Loaisiga was brought up Monday night and was expected to start Tuesday, but was pushed back and will start on Wednesday.  Felix Pena will likely start for the Angels. Game time is at 10:05PM (ET) on MLB Network, YES, and Fox Sports Go.

 

Gio Urshela Leads New York Yankees Past Angels in 14 Innings

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New York Yankees, Gio Urshela

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

Five lame hits

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

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

It would seemingly stay 2-2 forever.

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

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

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

About time it HAPPened

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

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

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

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