Seattle Mariners

Yankees: A fourth team is now firmly in the AL Wild Card race

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The Wild Card spots in the National League are virtually decided already, with the Los Angeles Dodgers comfortably taking the first one a while ago, and the St. Louis Cardinals set to take the second one. However, the picture in the American League is much murkier, and the New York Yankees have a lot of work to do if they want to secure their ticket to the postseason.

The AL East is looking to sweep the Wild Card: the Tampa Bay Rays already took the division, but the Yankees (89-67) have the first berth as of right now, with the Boston Red Sox (88-68) holding the second one. The Toronto Blue Jays (87-69) are just a game behind the Red Sox, but there is a fourth team with very good chances.

The Seattle Mariners (87-70), to the surprise of virtually everyone, is right in the thick of things. They are just 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot, held by the Red Sox, and already started their crucial matchup against the Oakland Athletics with the right foot, defeating them on Monday night.

The Mariners will have an eye in the Yankees-Blue Jays series

The Mariners could take advantage of the matchup between the Yankees and the Blue Jays, because one of them will lose in the next few days. The key for Seattle is to keep winning and complete the sweep of the A’s.

The Mariners have won two games in a row and have played excellent baseball recently, taking eight games of their last 10. Mitch Haniger is carrying the offense, but this time, he has gotten help from struggling outfielder and uber-prospect Jarred Kelenic, who seems to have figured things out (.250/.350/.615 with five home runs in his last 15 contests).

Daniel Kramer, the Mariners’ beat reporter for MLB.com, had this to say about Seattle’s chances: “Every time anyone counts the Mariners out, they take a proverbial shove and go out and keep winning. The math might not be on their side, but at this point, it’s very clear that they are going to take this thing down to the very last day of the season.”

The Yankees will certainly need to be careful and win at least four or five of their remaining six games, three against the Blue Jays, and three against the Rays. If they start losing, Toronto, Boston, and even Seattle could overtake them in the Wild Card standings.

The New York Yankees Launch Four for the Win, Sweep Mariners

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

Everything about today’s pitching match up screamed pure poetry. The battle revolved around James Paxton and Justus Sheffield, who made his major league debut with the New York Yankees last year and was traded for Paxton as a package deal after the 2018 season. Before today’s game, Sheffield only had pitched 7.0 innings this season, accumulating a 6.43 ERA and a 6.35 FIP. Although this is an extremely small sample size to criticize, Sheffield hasn’t had much success outside of Triple-A.

In 4.1 innings pitched, Sheffield was responsible for giving up 6 hits, 5 runs and struck out 5 batters on 92 pitches. He now has racked up a 7.94 ERA, 6.56 FIP, and a 2.29 WHIP. The Paxton blockbuster deal was well worth the price of admission. Speaking of the man himself, Paxton collected another solid performance on Wednesday afternoon. In 5.0 innings pitched, he was accountable for giving up 1 hit, 2 runs and striking out 4 batters on 86 pitches. However, Paxton ran into some issues with his pitch location later down the road, walking 5 batters and raising his BB/9 from 3.30 to 3.53.

Gary Sanchez positioned the Bronx Bombers with an early, 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st. Sanchez ripped a blast into deep left field, traveling 434-feet with an exit velocity of 112.0 MPH. Paxton dealt with flawless precision through the 1st 3 innings, recording 3 strikeouts in the process. Sanchez possessed another trick up his sleeve, throwing out two different base runners in back-to-back innings. The Kraken truly displayed his arm accuracy and strength, which is nothing new to the average Yankees fans.

Paxton was responsible for allowing a 2-run mammoth off the bat of Kyle Seager in the bottom of the 4th, evening the score up to 2-2. The tie was not prolonged, as the Yanks powered in a 4-run, 5th inning. Mike Ford, who has been a scorching-torch with the bat as of late, broke the tie by drilling a solo shot to right field, traveling 356-feet with an exit velocity of 94.8 MPH. “The Machine,” known as DJ LeMahieu, cashed in an RBI single to left field.

Aaron Judge rounded off the 5th inning rally, hammering a towering, 2-run moonshot to right field. This preposterous no-doubter traveled 376-feet, 106.5 MPH and possessed a ridiculous 42-degree launch angle. Everyone recognizes just how muscular Judge is, but obliterating a 376-foot homer at a 42-degree launch angle is just absurd and requires strength beyond the average human’s comprehension.

Chad Green relieved Paxton in the bottom of the 6th, racking up a solid 3 strikeouts in 2.0 innings pitched. Adam Ottavino also took the slab in the bottom of the 8th, allowing no hits on 1.0 inning pitched. In the top of the 9th, LeMahieu recorded and annihilated his 23rd homer on the season to deep right field, traveling 421-feet with an exit velocity of 108.6 MPH.  The Seattle Mariners acquired their final run in the bottom of the 9th. Dylan Moore cashed in an RBI single to left field.

The former Mariner, known as Corey Gearrin, closed out the game and granted the New York Yankees their first sweep since the Baltimore series in mid-August. The Pinstripes now own an 88-47 (.652) record, which is the best in the American League and the majors as a whole. They are also 20-8 and have crushed 66 homers in August. I forgot to mention that I was noticed by Senpai today. I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty big deal.

New York Yankees: Main Focus Heading into the End of Season

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New York Yankees, Gleyber Torres

The New York Yankees are heading to Seattle after a series win against the best team in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They came off a rough series in Oakland and got swept out of the city. For players weekend, the Yankees headed to Los Angeles for 3-game weekend series, which many thought would be a World Series preview. Aaron Judge homered in every game and the starting pitching proved they can help this team win big games. Paxton, German, and even Sabathia had strong starts, keeping the team in the game. Hopefully, the Yankees will have a healthy rotation and bullpen for the playoffs.

What should be the Yankees main focus for the next few months?

The Yankees’ starting pitching earned run average of 4.72 (Baseball-Reference). That ranks near the lower half of the league. However, if the offense continues to mash, this will not be a problem as long as the ERA stays where it is.

The Yankees have nearly had their whole 25-man roster on the injured list at some point during the season. The main focus has to be: get healthy. With Severino and Betances on their way back from gruesome injuries and setbacks, they will certainly help with the Yankees’ pitching inconsistency problems. Also, Luke Voit is on his way back which will push Mike Ford back to the minors. The problem is: the Yankees have constantly been awaiting the return of their key players all season. This will take time. The Yankees will have a very potent offense and an improved pitching staff when everyone comes back from injury. Especially, with home-field advantage, it will be an unprecedented series against the Houston Astros.

New York Yankees: J.A Happ Produces a Quality Start in Monday’s Victory Over the Mariners

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New York Yankees, J.A. Happ

Well, this article is going to begin rather awkwardly. If you haven’t obtained the opportunity to read my article from earlier, I’ll fill you in. J.A. Happ has severely struggled this season for the New York Yankees, which isn’t a surprise to anyone. Happ has had major issues remaining consistent and has performed at a mediocre level at best. However, he proved many individuals wrong on Monday night, including myself.

While wins and losses don’t signify any importance, especially when a pitcher’s stats are below average, Happ bounced back from his last outing and pitched adequately. Through 5 solid innings of work, Happ gave up 2 hits, 3 runs, walked 3 and struck out 7 on 95 pitches. Although his 2.69 BB/9, 2.15 HR/9 and 20.3 % HR/FB remain a constant concern, this was an excellent performance from Happ, compared to a signification amount of starts in the past.

The offense, on the other hand, powered in 5 runs, including a pair of home runs collected by Mike Ford and a solo shot collected by Gleyber Torres. The Bronx Bombers released their inner domination in the top of the 2nd. Torres led the charge at T-Mobile Park, absolutely obliterating a solo homer to deep center field, traveling 438 feet with an exit velocity of 108.5 MPH. If that’s not the pure definition of a moonshot, I’ll just stand in my corner and remain speechless. Austin Romine recorded the 2nd run of the inning, driving in an RBI single to left field. Ford, easily the MVP of Monday night’s game, hammered a 2-run blast to right field, traveling 339 feet with an exit velocity of 91.0 MPH.

Happ endured a minor blow in the bottom of the 2nd, giving up a 3-run homer off the bat of Dylan Moore, cutting the deficit to a 1-run ballgame. The Yankees tacked on their last run of the game in the top of the 4th. Ford absolutely destroyed his 2nd home run of the game to deep right field, traveling 399 feet with an exit velocity of 97.9 MPH. The Mariners recorded 1 more run in the bottom of the 7th. Nestor Cortes Jr. was responsible for giving up a solo homer off the bat of Mallex Smith, cutting the deficit yet again to a 1-run ballgame.

Tommy Kahnle and Aroldis Chapman completed the job per usual in the 8th and 9th innings. Kahnle flashed his filthy, unhittable changeup, while Chapman pumped gas and utilized his disgusting slider. Combined, they allowed no hits and struck out 4 on 23 pitches.

With a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners, the New York Yankees possess an 86-47 (.647) record, which is the best in the American League and tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best in the MLB. On Tuesday night, Masahiro Tanaka will battle Yusei Kikuchi (both Japanese-born players) and on Wednesday night, James Paxton will battle Justus Sheffield (poetry at its finest.)

New York Yankees: Can J.A. Happ Bounce Back Tonight?

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New York Yankees, J.A. Happ

After taking a 3-game series from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees turn their attention to the Seattle Mariners.  The Yankees have more than ample opportunities to acquire home-field advantage from the Houston Astros, and even from the Dodgers if they remain focused and slug their way to a championship appearance.

For tonight’s contest, J.A Happ will be facing Matt Wisler, in hopes of raising his record to 11-8 and providing the New York Yankees with another dub in the win column.  We all know the struggles Happ has endured this season, but just exactly how mediocre has he been this season?

Happ has a solid 10-8 record, but pitching records hardly signify anything in today’s game of baseball. The reason being? For example, if a pitcher goes a phenomenal 9 innings and allows 1 run, but his offense is completely lackluster and provides no run support, is that the pitcher’s fault? Can he control the offense and their production abilities? If you said no, you’d most certainly be correct.

Now that we have ruled pitching records out of the equation, let’s focus on some of the other stats that he has collected this season. In just 129.0 innings pitched,  Happ has a 5.58 ERA, (big yikes) 5.69 FIP (big yikes V2) and a 1.37 WHIP. He also obtains a mediocre 7.33 K/9 and a decent at best 2.58 BB/9, but most alarming is his sky-high and insufficient 2.16 HR/9 and 20.3 % HR/FB. Among pitchers who have thrown at least 100 or more innings this season, Happ is the worst in the majors for home runs per 9 innings and the 4th worst for a home run to fly ball ratio.

The problem doesn’t just reside in the number of home runs and fly balls he has allowed, but also his fastball velocity (26th percentile) and curve spin (14th percentile) are not fantastic by any standards. When comparing his 2018 and 2019 rankings, Happ’s fastball velocity is down by 12 percentile. While his curve spin has improved by 2 percentile this season, his fastball spin, K%, and xBA were significantly better last season. Even when comparing more simplified stats, it’s blatantly obvious just how poor Happ has pitched this season.

  • 2018: 3.65 ERA / 3.98 FIP / 1.13 WHIP / 9.78 K/9 / 1.37 HR/9 / 13.4 % HR/FB
  • 2019: 5.58 ERA / 5.69 FIP / 1.37 WHIP / 7.33 K/9 / 2.16 HR/9 / 20.3 % HR/FB

His home / away splits are exceedingly similar. Interestingly enough, Happ has a lower HR/9 at Yankee Stadium than on the road. Just as DJ LeMahieu proved this season that he is not a product of Coors Field, Happ, and his home run rate is not a product of Yankee stadium. Other than the fact that his fastball spin and velocity are down, Happ is simply leaving too many meatballs over the heart of the plate. If he can pitch around the strike zone and advance deeper into counts, he will be much more sufficient.

New York Yankees: Things to Watch for the West Coast Trip

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The New York Yankees will head out to the west coast for a nine game set where they’ll face the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Seattle Mariners.

Oakland Series

The Yankees will face the Athletic’s twice in their road trip where they’ll start off with a four-game set and then play them again at home for a three-game set following the Seattle series. The Yanks will face always dominate Mike Fiers who has an 11-3 record and is credited to a 3.46 ERA. Besides that game, the Yankees should have a pretty easy series against the A’s.

Los Angeles Series

This will be a tough series as the Yankees will take on the other best team in baseball. Scorching hot Cody Bellinger just passed the 40 home run mark for this season and seems to not be slowing down at all. This series is one of the most anticipated all year as these are two teams that could be seen facing it off in the World Series.

The Yankee rotation will have a challenge matching the strong and consistent Dodger rotation. The Dodgers’ team ERA is ranked number one among all MLB teams at 3.34 while the Yankees are ranked 15th at 4.47. However, the Yankees have the stronger bullpen. This series will come down to the battle of the lineups.

Seattle Series

The Seattle Mariners have not shown much since before the All-Star break. This should also be no problem for the Yankees and the team should expect a series win here. However, Daniel Vogelbach and Domingo Santana are a problem in the Mariners lineup who can do some damage at the plate. Ultimately, I believe this Mariners team is no match to the Yankees lineup.