Tagged: Garrett Richards

Yankees Put Angels Away Early To Win 5th Straight

GAME 56

YANKEES 8, ANGELS 2

There a various scouting reports about certain pitchers that say, “You had better get to him early.” The 2015 version of the New York Yankees obviously are taking those assessments seriously because they did it again at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

Brian McCann slugged a two-run home run and Brett Gardner laced a two-run single as New York scored six runs in the first inning to dump Los Angeles to win their fifth straight game.

The Yankees sent 11 men to the plate and knocked out right-hander Garrett Richards (5-4) after only two-thirds of inning.

McCann’s home run was his ninth of the season. Chase Headley also scored on a wild pitch by Richards and Mark Teixeira lofted a sacrifice fly as Richards was charged with six runs on five hits and two walks.

Right-hander Adam Warren (4-4) was the beneficiary of those runs. He started off pitching three perfect innings and ended up throwing 6 2/3 innings of two-run baseball. He gave up only four hits, walked three and struck out two to even his season record.

In his past five starts, Warren is 2-3 but he has yielded only 10 runs on 23 hits and nine walks with 22 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings for a 2.70 ERA.

The Yankees added a single run in the second inning after Teixeira and McCann stroked one-out singles off Cesar Ramos. Carlos Beltran slapped a bloop single to right to greet left-hander Hector Santiago to score Teixeira.

They added a run in the eighth inning off right-hander Cam Bedrosian after they loaded the bases with one out and Bedrosian walked Teixeira. It was Teixeira’s second RBI of the game and the 45th of the season, which leads the American League.

The Angels scored a run in the fifth off Warren as Matt Joyce doubled and C.J. Cron was hit by a 0-2 pitch. After Carlos Perez advanced Joyce to third on a flyout, Johnny Giavotella lofted a fly ball that left-fielder Ramon Flores caught at the base of the wall for a sacrifice fly that scored Joyce.

Millville, New Jersey native Mike Trout added the Angels’ second run leading off the sixth inning with an opposite field blast to right off Warren for his 15th home run of the season.

Left-hander Justin Wilson pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the Yankees but the toast of the paid crowd of 40,086 was left-hander Chris Capuano, who pitched a perfect ninth inning and struck out two.

On Friday evening, the Yankees led the Angels 8-1 in the ninth and right-hander Esmil Rogers and right-hander Dellin Betances combined to give up six earned runs before they could get the final three outs to win the game 8-7.

Capuano had other ideas and the Yankees were able to nail down the victory in front of a national television audience without any ninth-inning drama.

The Yankees ran their season record to 31-25 and they Yankees increased their lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East to 1 1/2 games. The Angels fell to 28-28.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • McCann, 31, had a stretch in which he hit four home runs in four consecutive games from May 25 through May 29. But McCann was 2-for-14 (.143) with no homers since then. His 2-for-5 game raised his batting average to .255 and he now has nine home runs and 35 RBIs. McCann has hit 26 of his 32 home runs with the Yankees at home.
  • Teixeira’s two RBIs extended his RBI streak to five straight games of at least one RBI. His one-out single in the second inning extended his hitting streak to seven games. During that stretch Teixeira is 7-for-27 (.260) with three homers and 10 RBIs.
  • Warren finally got some run support after losing to the Oakland Athletics 2-0 in his last start. Warren has been the team’s most consistent pitcher behind right-hander Michael Pineda over the past month and any thoughts the Yankees might have had to moving him to the bullpen are currently on hold.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

The offense chased Richards in the first inning and Warren pitched his fifth consecutive quality start. The defense also was superb with Didi Gregorius turning in a gem taking away a ground-ball hit from Albert Pujols with a diving grab in the first inning. Headley made a diving stop of a liner off the bat of Trout in the fourth and Flores held Giavotella to just a sac fly in the fifth with a great grab at the wall in left. So the Yankees turned in a complete spanking of the Angels. No negatives here.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance on Sunday to sweep the three-game weekend series against the Angels.

Left-hander CC Sabathia (2-7, 5.45 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Sabathia, 34, gave up two runs on nine hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. He has not won a game at Yankee Stadium since Sept. 20, 2013, a span of six starts.

Veteran left-hander C.J. Wilson (3-4, 3.55 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Wilson, 34, yielded five runs in six innings in loss to the Rays on Tuesday and he has 5.48 ERA in his past four starts.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the YES Network.

 

Yanks Thank Heaven After Halos’ 9th-Inning Scare

GAME 55

YANKEES 8, ANGELS 7

It is always considered a moral strength for those who have so much to do charitable acts of kindness for those who have so little. But some of the New York Yankees pitchers on Friday took that sentiment too seriously.

The Yankees scored eight runs for Nathan Eovaldi while right-handers Esmil Rogers and Dellin Betances gave most of them back but New York managed to hold on to beat Los Angeles by a single run in front of 40,310 paid at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees took an early and decisive lead on right-hander Jered Weaver and the Angels on a pair of two-out, two-run homers by Stephen Drew and Mark Teixeira in the second and third innings, respectively.

They added another run off Weaver (4-5) in the fifth  –  again with two out  –  on an RBI single by Alex Rodriguez that scored Brett Gardner, who had tripled earlier in the frame. It was Rodriguez’ 1,997 career RBI, which allowed him to pass Barry Bonds for second place on the all-time RBI list.

The Yankees added a pair of runs in the fifth to chase Weaver from the game.

Brian McCann led off with a double and moved to third on a groundout. He then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat Didi Gregorius. Drew followed with solo home run, his second of the game and his seventh of the season.

Weaver, 32, left he game and was charged with a season-high seven runs on nine hits and no walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Eovaldi (5-1), meanwhile, was cruising through the first five innings, holding the Angels scoreless on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts until he completely lost command of the strike zone in the sixth inning.

He walked three of the first four batters he faced, throwing five strikes and 12 balls, which ended his evening.

Left-hander Chasen Shreve came on and allowed an RBI infield groundout to Kirk Nieuwenhuis before ending the threat by striking out Erick Aybar.

Shreve and rookie left-hander Jacob Lindgren pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, respectively, while the Yankees added a run in the seventh off left-hander Edgar Ibarra on a double by Rodriguez, his third hit of what was a four-hit night, and an RBI single by pinch-hitter Chris Young.

Then the real drama began when Rogers was summoned by manager Joe Girardi to get the final three outs after Angels manager Mike Scioscia had removed Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Aybar from the lineup.

Johnny Giavotella opened the “House of Horrors” inning with a single and Tyler Featherston, who had just entered the game for Aybar and was 1-for-29 on the season, doubled to left.

Grant Green, who had replaced Trout in the batting order, then hit a pop-up between newly inserted second baseman Jose Pirela and Chase Headlley, who had been shifted from third base to first base.

Neither player made the catch and the ball just landed harmlessly between them to score Giavotella.

Rogers then uncorked a wild pitch to allow both Featherston and Green advance and later walked Efren Navarro, who had replaced Pujols, to load the bases. Kole Calhoun then lined a single up the middle to score Featherston.

Girardi replaced Rogers with Betances, who entered the game with 0.00 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings.

David Freese greeted the right-hander with a two-run single to center. Matt Joyce walked to reload the bases and Chris Iannetta drew a bases loaded walk to bring the Angels to within two runs at 8-6.

After Betances was able to strike out Niewenhuis for the first out, Giavotella rolled into a fielder’s choice to short that allowed Joyce to score to narrow the margin to a single run.

Beatances then righted the ship just in time to fan pinch-hitter Carlos Perez with the potential tying run on third to gain credit for his second save of the season, though he would likely tell you that he did not deserve it.

Rogers was charged five runs on four hits and a walk facing five batters and he did not record a single out.

Betances ended up giving up his first earned run of the season on the Giavotella fielder’s choice.

Girardi appeared to lose some more of what little hair he had and the hair he did have grew visibly grayer in the ninth. But, in the end, the Yankees were able to send the Angels to their third consecutive defeat while the Yankees won their fourth straight game.

The Yankees lead the second-place Tampa Bay Rays by a half game in the American League East and have a 30-25 season record. The Angels dropped to 28-27.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Drew entered the game with the lowest batting average of any qualifying player in Major League Baseball at .165 and yet he was 3-for-11 in the three-game series against the Seattle Mariners. His 2-for-4 night with two homers and three RBIs give him a .173 average with seven homers and 19 RBIs. Drew is just very lucky that Pirela is batting a weak .237 and top prospect Rob Refsnyder is scuffling on defense at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees dropped second baseman Brian Roberts on July 28, 2014 after he hit just .237.
  • Texeira is on a real roll during the Yankees’ four-game winning streak. In those games, Teixiera is only 4-for-16 (.250) but he has three homers and eight RBIs. Teixiera is now batting .240 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs. The 17 homers are second in the majors to Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners, who has 18. The 43 RBIs lead the American League.
  • Rodriguez’s 4-for-5 night raised his batting average from .270 to .284. He now only needs nine more hits to reach the 3,000 hit mark of his career. On May 5, Rodriguez was batting .227. Since then he is 32-for-95 (.337) with five homers and 12 RBIs.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Eovaldi, 25, was largely very good on Friday. His split-finger fastball was a devastating pitch for him and kept the Angels off balance. However, he had a 5-0 lead heading into the sixth inning and imploded. He has pitched into the seventh inning in only four of his 11 starts and he is going to have to do better than he did against the Angels. He is 5-1 but it has more to do with his run support than his pitching.
  • Rogers, 29, actually has been worse as a right-hander out the bullpen than David Carpenter, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday. With his dreadful showing on Friday, he is 1-1 with a 6.39 ERA in 31 innings over 17 games. With Carpenter gone, the Yankees have only two right-handers in the bullpen (Rogers and Betances). It appears that with starter Ivan Nova on the way back that right-hander Adam Warren is headed back to the bullpen real soon. It also may be a good idea for Rogers to keep his bags packed.
  • Betances was bad but I actually fault more both Headley and Pirela for allowing that pop-up to drop. That also is a product of Girardi shifting players out of position. It also is not wise to rest a Gold Glove first baseman (Teixeira) when your second baseman (Pirela) is wearing a glove for no particular reason. Still, Headley needed to take charge to call that ball and he did not. It is just a microcosm of the mental and physical errors this team has made on defense. It just has to stop.

BOMBER BANTER

McCann was able to start on Friday because both an MRI and CT scan done on his sore right foot on Thursday were negative. McCann said that the soreness in his foot ran up to his calf and forced him to leave Wednesday’s game in the second inning. However, the 31-year-old catcher said he was fitted we new orthodics for his right arch and he was able to play on Friday. He was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and he scored a run.  . . .  The Yankees said on Friday that Michael Pineda’s turn in the rotation will be skipped, citing they want to cut the right-hander’s workload after he pitched just 76 1/3 innings last season. Pineda, 26, will not pitch again until June 12 against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Pineda is 7-2 with a 3.33 ERA this season. Girardi told reporters that Pineda was injured and that it only was a concern about the 70 1/3 innings he already has logged.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game home series with the Angels on Saturday.

Warren (3-4, 3.75 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Despite the fact that Warren held the Oakland Athletics to just two runs in seven innings on Sunday, he lost because the Yankees did not score him any runs. Warren is 1-3 in his past four starts despite posting a 2.70 ERA in that span.

The Angels will counter with hard-throwing right-hander Garrett Richards (5-3, 3.26 ERA). Richards is 2-1 despite yielding 13 runs (11 earned) in his past 18 1/3 innings over his past three starts.

Game-time will be 7:15 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by FOX Sports.

 

Yankees Overcome Angels On Wild Pitch In Eighth

GAME 25

YANKEES 3, ANGELS 2

On a night where Masahiro Tanaka was not at his best  –  yet still plenty good enough  –  the Yankees struggled to get their offense going against the Angels. It was one of those “just get ‘er done” situations and the Yankees did just that on Sunday night.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom the eighth inning Jacoby Ellsbury scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch as New York somehow took a series victory over Los Angeles in front of a national television audience and a paid crowd of 40,028 at Yankee Stadium.

Mark Teixeira led off the seventh inning with his second home run of the season to tie the game.

It remained that way until Angels right-hander Michael Kohn (1-1) opened the eighthly walking Ellsbury and  –  one batter later  –  he walked Carlos Beltran.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia then summoned left-hander Nick Maronde from the bullpen to pitch to Brian McCann but catcher Chris Iannetta was charged with a passed ball that allowed Ellsbury and Beltran to advance a base.

Then Maronde uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Ellsbury and the Yankees to score the game-deciding run without the benefit of a hit.

David Robertson pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez with the potential game-tying run at second, to earn his fourth save and his second in two days against the Angels.

Tanaka entered the game having only issued two walks in 29 1/3 innings but he ended up matching that total by the second inning against the hot-hitting Angels.

The Angels did finally break through against Tanaka in the fourth inning as Erick Aybar led off with a double and one out later the usually in command Tanaka hit Ian Stewart with a pitch. Iannetta then worked a walk to load the bases and J.B. Schuck scored Aybar on a fielder’s choice groundout.

Right-hander Garrett Richards, meanwhile, was mowing down the Yankees, yielding only one hit in the first four innings.

The Yankees were able to tie the game in the fifth when Teixeira drew a leadoff walk and one out later Brian Roberts hit an opposite-field double to left to advance Teixeira to third. Ichiro Suzuki then scored Teixeira on an infield groundout for his first RBI of the season.

Tanaka, however, was unable to hold the lead when David Freese jumped on Tanaka’s first offering in the sixth and deposited it in the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center.

Though Tanaka was not at his best, he left with one out in the seventh inning having given up just two runs on five hits and four walks while he struck out 11 on his magical split-finger fastball in the dirt that the Angels could not seem to resist.

Adam Warren (1-1) came in the seventh and held the Angels to one hit in 1 2/3 innings to get credit the victory.

Richards left with the game tied after seven innings and he was charged with two runs on three hits and two walks while he ended up with seven strikeouts.

With the victory the Yankees improved their season record to 15-10 and they have moved to a 2 1/2-game lead in the American League East over the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels fell to 11-13.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • It must be nice to be so good that in a game where you issue four walks and you hit a batter while yielding only two runs and striking out 11 is considered a bad outing. But that is what some observers might have thought about Tanaka on Sunday. It was a chilly and windy night in the Bronx. So Tanaka had some command issues probably associated with trying to grip the ball. But he was still very good. In five starts covering 35 2/3 innings, Tanaka has given up 10 runs (nine earned) on 27 hits and six walks while he struck out 46. His ERA is a sparking 2.27 and you might as well face it but he IS the ace of the pitching staff already.
  • Robertson is falling into the closer’s role nicely after the retirement of the legendary Mariano Rivera. In the past two days Robertson has held one run leads facing some pretty tough hitters. The Angels have hit more home runs than any team in baseball. Yet, Robertson gave up a hit and a walk but fanned four in those two innings of work. Give him credit. He is doing the job.
  • Teixeira’s home run was significant not only because it tied the game. It also was his first homer from the left side of the plate this season. It was a no doubter, too. It landed well into the second deck in the right-field bleachers. The left side is the side where Teixeira might have trouble hitting after undergoing right wrist surgery last season. It appears that the wrist is getting better as the season moves along.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • It was hard to tell if the Yankees were that bad or if it was Richards making them look that way. Believe me, it was Richards, who was throwing 97-mile-per-hour fastballs with movement. Nonetheless, nobody looked worse that Alfonso Soriano, who was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a groundnut into a double play. He stranded four runners.
  • The pitching on both sides was so good that the teams combined to go 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees were 0-for-5. Kelly Johnson reached third base on a wild pitch with one out in the third inning but Suzuki struck out and Ellsbury flied out to end the treat. That kind of summed the Yankees’ futility early in the game.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees played Sunday with two starters not in the lineup. Brett Gardner was held out of the game due to a sore left foot he incurred when he was struck by a pitch from Angels right-hander Ernesto Frieri in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game. X-rays taken on the foot were negative but Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Gardner still had some lingering soreness.  Suzuki started in left field for Gardner. Girardi also planned to play rookie Yangervis Solarte at second base but he had to scratched just before the game because of a sore right shoulder. Solarte injured the shoulder diving for a ball in Friday’s game and he did not look good in batting practice on Sunday. So Roberts started at second base and Solarte is listed as day-to-day.  . . .  Right-hander Michael Pineda threw a bullpen session on Sunday and he will throw a simulated game on Tuesday in order to keep him sharp during his 10-game suspension for using pine tar. Pineda is scheduled to pitch Monday in Anaheim, CA, against the Angels.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a day off on Monday before welcoming back old “friend” Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.

Left-hander CC Sabathia (3-2, 4.78 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Sabathia, 33, is coming off two straight victories, including holding the Boston Red Sox to two runs on three hits and three walks while fanning eight in six innings on Thursday. Sabathia seems to have recaptured his old mojo after a horrible 2013 season.

The Mariners will start right-hander Chris Young (0-0, 3.50 ERA). Young, 34, surrendered three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out six in seven innings of a no-decison against the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

Rookie Murphy’s 3 RBIs Helps Yankees Drop Halos

GAME 24

YANKEES 4, ANGELS 2

When backup catcher Francisco Cervelli was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 15 and the Yankees recalled 22-year-old John Ryan Murphy instead of Austin Romine it raised a lot eyebrows since Romine had more major-league experience. But after Saturday’s game at Yankee Stadium the promotion of Murphy seems to make perfect sense now.

Murphy stroked a two-run single in the second inning and then blasted his first major-league home run in the fifth as he led New York to a nail-biting victory over the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim in front of a national TV audience on FOX Sports 1 and a paid crowd of 40,908.

Murphy was making only his ninth major-league start and his third of the season to allow starting catcher Brian McCann to rest during the day game after playing Friday night. Murphy made the most of it, too.

With the game tied at 1-1 after left-hander Hector Santiago balked in a run and runners on second and third in the second inning, Murphy slapped a 2-2 delivery from Santiago to the opposite field for a single that scored two runs and give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

However, Yankees left-hander Vidal Nuno was unable to hold the lead for long.

Albert Pujols greeted him with single to lead off the fourth inning and Howie Kendrick followed by drawing a four-pitch walk. Erick Aybar then hit a grounder to Kelly Johnson at third.

Johnson retired Kendrick with a throw to Brian Roberts at second but Kendrick upended Roberts and Roberts’ throw to first landed in the Yankees’ dugout for an error that allowed Pujols to score while Aybar was awarded second base.

Chris Iannetta followed with a RBI double to center to score Aybar that again tied the game at 3-3.

With two outs, David Freese singled and J.B. Schuck lofted a shallow sinking fly ball to center that Jacoby Ellsbury made a spectacular diving catch on to keep the Angels from taking the lead.

Nuno was removed from the game with one out and one on in the fifth inning. Besides the two runs in the fourth, he also yielded a one-out solo home run to Mike Trout in the first inning.

Nuno was charged with three runs on five hits and two walks while he struck out four in 4 1/3 innings.

Murphy untied the game leading off the bottom of the fifth with a long drive into the left-field bleachers on the first offering from Santiago (0-4).

After Murphy’s home run, Santiago was tagged with back-to-back singles by Ellsbury and Derek Jeter. Santiago retired Carlos Beltran on a flyout and then was removed from the game, ending up being charged with four runs on six hits and a walk while striking three in 4 1/3 innings.

The Yankees bullpen was able to keep the hot-hitting Angels scoreless the rest of the way. But the Angels did have several excellent chances to score.

Dellin Betances (1-0) replaced Nuno in the fifth and he pitched 2 innings of scoreless baseball with three strikeouts to earn his first major-league decision.

Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton and David Robertson shut out the Halos for the final 2 2/3 innings to preserve the victory. Robertson was credited with third save in as many chances this season.

The Angels did have two runners and one out in the seventh inning after a Collin Cowgill single chased Betances and Kelley walked the first batter he faced in Trout.

However, Kelley was able to retire Pujols on a flyout and he struck out Kendrick to end the inning.

The Angels then threatened in the eighth when Iannetta stroked a one-out single and Ian Stewart laid down a bunt single against a exaggerated shift. But Freese flew out and Thornton relieved Kelley and got pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez to line out to right to end that rally.

Robertson yielded a one-out single to Trout and Trout was able to steal second. But Robertson got Pujols on another routine flyout and he struck out Kendrick on a 3-2 fastball to save the game.

With the victory the Yankees improved their season record to 14-10. They now lead the American League East by two games over the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels, who have not been above .500 since they won their first game of the season in 2013, fell to 11-12.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • For years the Yankees have had a “defense-first” approach with their backup catchers. Murphy’s recall from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre indicates that philosophy has changed. Murphy batted .269 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs in 108 games in two minor-league stops in 2013. He has now passed Romine in the pecking order and if he keeps hitting he may eventually make Cervelli trade bait. Murphy is 4-for-13 (.308) with a homer and three RBIs in six games.
  • Betances, 26, shut the door on the Angels and was very impressive in his two innings of work. With Trout on second after Betances was called for a balk, Betances retired Pujols on a groundout and then induced a weak infield popup from Kendrick to end the fifth. Betances finished by striking out three of the final four batters he faced with his mid-90s fastball and a knee-buckling curveball.
  • Robertson passed his first big test after coming off the disabled list with a strained groin on Tuesday. After striking out Cowgill to open the ninth, Trout singled and reached second on a stolen base after a fan interfered with Mark Teixeira’s attempt to catch a foul ball off the bat of Pujols. But Robertson retired Pujols on a fly ball and fanned Kendrick with a flourish to gain a well-earned save.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Despite the fact that Yangervis Solarte has been hitting well, manager Joe Girardi elected to started the lefty-swinging Johnson at third against the lefty Santiago and Johnson went 0-for-3 and stranded four runners in the game. Johnson is 3-for-16 (.115) with one RBI in his past 10 games and his season average has sunk to .213.
  • Beltran had his four-game hitting streak stopped as he was 0-for-4 on Saturday. Despite his poor showing, Beltran still leads the Yankees with five homers and he is tied with Solarte for the team lead in RBIs with 13.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees on Saturday continued to shuffle their bullpen in the wake of the suspension of right-hander Michael Pineda. The Yankees selected the contract of right-hander Chris Leroux from Scranton and optioned right-hander Shane Greene back to the same club. In addition, to make room of the 40-man roster for Leroux, the team released left-hander Nik Turley. Leroux, 30, was 0-2 with a 12.79 ERA in two appearances with the RailRiders. Greene, 25, had no record with a 6.75 ERA in two appearances with the Yankees.  . . .  Yankees infielder Brendan Ryan, 32, will begin a rehab stint on Sunday with High-A Tampa in the Florida State League. Ryan has been shelved since March 4 with a cervical spine nerve injury. The Yankees hope to be able to activate him off the disabled list within a week.

ON DECK

The Yankees will try to win the rubber game of the three-game weekend home series against the Angels on Sunday.

Japanese sensation Masahiro Tanaka (3-0, 2.15 ERA) will take the mound for the Yankees. Tanaka held the Boston Red Sox to just two runs on seven hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings on Tuesday. Tanaka, 25, has 35 K’s in 29 1/3 innings this season.

The Angels will start Garrett Richards (2-0, 2.52 ERA). Richards surrendered just one run on one hit and four walks with six strikeouts in six innings in a no-decision on Monday against the Washington Nationals.

Game-time will be 8:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by ESPN.

 

Nova, Granderson Outshine Halos’ Rookie

GAME 115

YANKEES 9, ANGELS 3

Redemption.

That is a word that can apply to both Ivan Nova and Curtis Granderson. Nova is the rookie who was sent down to the minors and who is trying desperately to stay. Granderson is the veteran who had a horrible initial season with the Yankees but is making everyone forget because of his sterling 2011 season.

Both Nova and Granderson played key roles Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium as New York raced to an early and lead and coasted to victory over Los Angeles.

Nova (11-4) pitched his third consecutive solid game with six strong innings and Granderson provided the bulk of the offense with a pair of home runs and four RBIs as the Yankees defeated a pitcher making his major-league debut against them for the first time since July, 2004.

Nova, 24, gave up three runs on five hits and three walks over six-plus innings to take the lead in victories among all rookie major-league pitchers. In his three starts since he was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Nova is 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA. With Manager Joe Girardi looking to remove one starter from what is a six-man rotation at the moment, Nova is staking a claim for one of those five spots.

Granderson and the Yankees opened the scoring early on 23-year-old Garrett Richards, who was called up from Double-A Arkansas to make his debut. But jitters and a sellout crowd of 46,967 may have played a part as he walked Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter to begin the game. Two outs later, Granderson connected with a fastball from the right-hander and he deposited it into the bleachers in right-centerfield for his 30th home run of the season, which ties his career high set with the Detroit Tigers in 2009.

Richards then appeared to settle down for two innings. But the Yankees added a pair of runs in the fourth when Robison Cano opened the frame with a triple and Nick Swisher drove him in with a single. Eric Chavez then followed with a double off the wall in right-center to score Swisher.

Granderson added a run in the fifth with a one-out solo home run off Richards again, this time it landed in the second deck down the right-field line. Granderson now has has a career-high 31 home runs and 91 RBIs on the season.

Richards (0-1) pitched five innings, giving up six runs on six hits and two walks and he struck out two.

Nova was touched for a solo home run off the bat of Peter Bourjos in the fifth and he was chased in the seventh after he gave up a walk to Torii Hunter, a single to Mark Trumbo, an RBI single to Vernon Wells that scored Hunter and a walk to Alberto Callaspo to load the bases. Before the sixth inning, Nova had recorded 14 of his 18 outs on ground balls.

Rafael Soriano was summoned from the bullpen to replace Nova. He did allow Trumbo to score but the Yankees gladly gave up the run to complete a Jeter to Teixeira double play. Soriano then retired Jeff Mathis on a flyout to end the threat.

The Yankees meanwhile tacked three more runs on the board off reliever Joel Pineiro. Cano struck the big blow in the seventh with his 19th home run of the season, a two-run lined shot to the opposite field in left-center.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record to 70-45. They also gained a full game on the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East as the Minnesota Twins defeated Jon Lester and his teammates 5-2 at Target Field. The Yankees now trail by 1 1/2 games. The Angels, meanwhile, fell to 64-53.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Nova was unable to locate his slider at all. So he was forced to rely on his sinking fastball and curveball exclusively. Catcher Russell Martin said Nova’s stuff was the worst he has had since he was recalled but the decision to scrap the slider showed how much Nova has matured as a pitcher in a short time. His effort means Girardi must decide to trim a starter from between Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett.
  • Granderson showcased his unbelievable revival season to a national TV audience on ESPN. Though most pundits believe Adrian Gonzalez of the Red Sox is the front-runner for the A.L. MVP award, Granderson is giving the first baseman a run for his money with his magnificent season. To have 31 homers, 91 RBIs, a major-league-leading 104 runs scored and a .275 average with 22 stolen bases in early August is not too shabby.
  • Cano is beginning to rediscover his home run stroke. He has three home runs in his last seven games and he is 10-for-28 (.357) with seven RBIs over that span. Five of his 10 hits have been for extra bases. Cano is batting .343 in August and has raised his average to .299.
  • Soriano is proving his arm is sound after returning from two months on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation. In his five appearances, Soriano has not given up a hit or a run in his five innings of work. He also has not walked a batter and struck out five. His presence deepens the bullpen and takes some pressure off David Roberston and Mariano Rivera.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

There is not much to criticize tonight. Nova pitched well, the offense got untracked early and there were some exceptional defensive plays that helped the Yankees maintain their lead. Breaking their three-game losing streak was very much needed.

BOMBER BANTER

Alex Rodriguez will get back into action on Friday as the designated hitter at a minor-league game in Tampa, FL. Rodriguez, who is recovering from right knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, will either play for the Class A Advanced Yankees or the Gulf Coast League Yankees and then play third base in a game on Saturday. The Yankees hope to activate Rodriguez on their road trip to Kansas City that begins on Monday.  . . .  For the third consecutive game, Chavez was inserted as the designated hitter against a right-handed starter instead of Jorge Posada. With Andruw Jones drawing the DH duties against left-handers, it appears Posada, who is hitting .167 in August after hitting .217 in July, is without a defined role on the team.  . . .  Despite blowing his fifth save of the season on Sunday and losing his second game of the season on Monday, the Yankees are not concerned about Rivera. Despite the back-to-back setbacks, Rivera is 1-2 with a 2.23 ERA and 29 saves in his 46 appearances.

ON DECK

The Yankees will try to win the rubber game of theie three-game home series against the Angels on Thursday.

Bartolo Colon (8-6, 3.33 ERA) will get the start for the Yankees. Though Colon lasted only 4 2/3 innings on Friday against the Red Sox, he gave up only two runs on six hits in a game the Yankees won 3-2. Colon beat the Angels on June 5 in Anaheim, giving up three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He is 7-5 with a 3.25 ERA against them since 2001.

Colon will be opposed by Angels rookie right-hander Tyler Chatwood (6-8, 4.10 ERA). Chatwood has given up 11 runs over 11 2/3 innings in his last two starts. He has just one win since June 25. He has never faced the Yankees before.

Game-time will be at 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be televised by the YES Network.