Tagged: Nathan Karns

McCann’s Walk-Off 3-Run Homer Eclipses Rays

GAME 80

YANKEES 7, RAYS 5 (12 INNINGS)

Extra innings is a just a war of attrition and in the top of the 12th on Friday it looked as if the Yankees had just run out of ammunition to battle the Rays. The bullpen had coughed up two runs and it seemed the game was well in hand with the visitors.

But Brian McCann was not ready to give up in an important divisional game.

McCann blasted a three-run home run in the bottom of the 12th off right-hander Steve Geltz to cap an improbable four-run rally that handed the Yankees their first walk-off victory of the season in front of a paid crowd of 43,141 at Yankee Stadium.

With the victory the Yankees claimed first place in the tightly bunched American League East, one game ahead of the second-place Baltimore Orioles and two games ahead of the Rays, who have now lost six consecutive games.

Right-hander Chasen Shreve (6-1), who had a hand  –  along with Adam Warren  –  in allowing the Rays to score two runs in the 12th, was credited with the victory in relief. Geltz (1-4) took the loss.

Brett Gardner opened the 12th by drawing a walk. Alex Rodriguez followed with a one-out single and Mark Teixeira, whose three-run home run in the eighth sent the game into extra innings, laced an RBI single to score Gardner.

McCann then laced a 1-0 fastball from Geltz deep into the right-field bleachers for his 13th home run of the season and his 10th at home.

His teammates streamed out of the dugout and Gardner doused him with bucket of water after he touched home plate. It culminated in an unlikely victory on a night the Yankees had to battle from behind from very the first inning.

The Rays took an early lead against right-hander Masahiro Tanaka when Grady Sizemore led off with a double. Joey Butler drew a walk and Evan Longoria slashed a double to left to score Sizemore.

James Loney, who was activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, then plated Butler on a sacrifice fly.

The Rays added a run in the fifth on a leadoff triple off the bat of Kevin Kiermaier and a sac fly by Rene Rivera.

The Yankees, however, were unable to solve right-hander Chris Archer, was entered the game 5-0 with a 2.02 ERA in seven starts against the Yankees in his career.

In 6 2/3 innings, Archer shutout the Yankees on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.

But with one out in the eighth inning the Yankees mounted a rally against right-hander Kevin Jepsen.

Chase Headley hit an opposite-field single to left and Rodriguez followed with a bloop opposite-field single to right to set the stage for Teixeira.

Teixeira laid into a 1-0 change-up and drove into the second deck of the right-field bleachers for his 20th home run of the season. His four-RBI night gives him 58 on the season, which now leads the American League.

The victory improved the Yankees’ season record to 42-37. Tampa Bay fell to 42-40.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • The stuffing of the All-Star ballot box by the Kansas City Royals may rob McCann of a much-deserved trip to the All-Star Game. McCann is hitting .264 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs. Salvador Perez of the Royals is batting .263 with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs. By any measure you want to use McCann is better than Perez. But the hicks in the sticks of K.C., who booed Robinson Cano for not selecting singles hitter Billy Butler for the Home Run Derby two years ago, are now keeping more deserving players off the All-Star team. Let’s hope the commissioner shoves it up that city’s rectum by taking the fan vote away for good. You abuse it, you lose it!
  • Teixeira’s magical season continues and the injury to Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers certainly will improve Teixeira’s chances of making the All-Star team. Royals fans had Eric Hosmer starting at first base despite the fact he is hitting .286 with only eight home runs and 40 RBIs. But Cabrera overtook him in the voting and the league is under no obligation to take Hosmer at all. So Teixeira has a great chance to start at first. Suck it, Kansas City!
  • After the first inning Tanaka actually pitched exceptionally well. After two shaky outings, Tanaka was charged with just one run on four hits with no walks and five strikeouts in the five innings after the first. Hopefully, this is a sign he has regrouped.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • One of the things that Archer does to the Yankees is to elevate his pitches. The Yankees just do him a great favor by swinging at them despite the fact they are balls. In addition to his eight strikeouts (some on the high fastball), Archer also induced nine air outs. If the Yankees lay off that pitch Archer ends up walking about six more hitters and he loses. But the Yankees never adjusted.
  • Chris Young was the hottest hitter on this team a week ago. But being forced to start against right-handers in the absence of both Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran has exposed some weaknesses. He was 0-for-5 on Friday with two strikeouts and he also hit into a double play. Ouch!

ON DECK

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

Right-hander Michael Pineda (8-5, 4.08 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Pineda yielded three runs (two earned) on seven hits and struck out eight in eight innings in a loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday.

The Rays will counter with right-hander Nathan Karns (4-4, 3.21 ERA). Karns gave up two runs on nine hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in a loss to the Cleveland Indians on Monday.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by FOX Sports 1.

 

McCann’s Blast Beats Rays As Yankees Claim First

GAME 20

YANKEES 4, RAYS 1

Brian McCann signed with the New York Yankees because Yankee Stadium was perfectly suited to his swing. He entered play on Monday having hit 20 of his 24 home runs with the Yankees at home.

Make it 21 out of 25.

McCann connected for a one-out solo shot into the second deck in right-field to break a 1-1 tie and New York went on to end Tampa Bay’s five-game winning streak to take sole possession of first place in the American League East.

McCann’s second home run of the season came off right-hander Brandon Gomes (0-1) and was immediately followed by a double by Carlos Beltran. One out later, Stephen Drew doubled off left-hander Everett Teaford for an RBI double that gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

Justin Wilson (1-0) relieved starter Adam Warren in the sixth inning and pitched an inning to get credit for the victory.

As it did the previous night against the Mets, the Yankees bullpen consisting of Wilson, David Carpenter, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller shut down the Rays on one hit and one walk and four strikeouts over the final 3 1/3 innings.

The Yankees bullpen came into the game in second place in the America League in ERA and first in strikeouts.

Miller pitched the final inning to earn his eighth save in as many opportunities. He is the first Yankees pitcher to have recorded eight saves in the team’s first 20 games.

The Yankees’ two-run sixth broke up a pitcher’s duel between Warren and Rays right-hander Nathan Karns.

Karns shut out the Yankees on just two hits in the first four innings and recorded the first two outs in the fifth before walking Drew. Didi Gregorius followed with an infield single and Jacoby Ellsbury chased Karns by fighting through a eight-pitch at-bat to draw a walk that loaded the bases.

Rays manager Kevin Cash then brought in Gomes and the veteran reliever walked Brett Gardner on a 3-2 pitch to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

However, the Rays fought back in the sixth inning when David DeJesus led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and took third on a flyout by Steven Souza Jr.

With the infield drawn in, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a ground ball to Drew at second base. Drew fired a one-hop throw to McCann at home but DeJesus touched the plate before McCann could apply the tag to tie the game at 1-1.

Some curious strategy by Cash allowed the Yankees to add a run in the eighth inning off a noticeably struggling Teaford.

McCann led off with a single and, two outs later, Drew singled to right. Then Gregorius drew a walk to load the bases. As the inning unfolded, Cash did not have anyone warming up in the Rays bullpen.

It proved costly because Teaford then hit Ellsbury with a 1-1 pitch to force in another run.

The Yankees came into the game tied with the Rays at 11-8. Now they are 12-8 and the Rays fell to 11-9.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • McCann entered the contest hitting .232 and ended up going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. McCann also showed that he is willing to hit against the overshift that opponents have been using against him. Leading off the eighth, he first attempted to bunt the ball towards third base and ended up hitting a single that way on the next pitch for a single.
  • Warren actually pitched his best game of the season and it is unfortunate he could not stay in long enough to have earned the victory. Warren yielded just one run on five hits and no walks and he struck out six in 5 2/3 innings. He is now 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA after four starts. Warren had absolutely no command issues and pitched out of a tough jam in the first when Souza hit a one-out single and Cabrera followed with a bloop ground-rule double. Warren fanned Evan Longoria, who entered the game on a 7-for-7 hitting streak, and then retired James Loney on a groundout to end the threat.
  • The Yankees bullpen is simply one of the best collections of power arms the Yankees have had. Wilson, Carpenter, Betances and Miller all throw in the mid-90s or better and opposing teams are quickly learning they will lose if they do not have the lead by the sixth inning. Betances and Miller are quickly making Yankee fans see there has been no dropoff after the retirement of Mariano Rivera and the free-agent departure of David Robertson.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

I can’t complain about anything when the team gets good pitching and some timely hitting. They also scored two runs without having to swing the bat which proves they are finding all kinds of ways to win games. It looks as if all those so-called experts who were predicting gloom for the Yankees this season were dreadfully wrong.

BOMBER BANTER

Mark Teixeira was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday. Teixeira, 34, was 8-for-24 (.333) with five homers and 10 RBIs in his past seven games. His hot hitting fueled the Yankees to a 5-2 record for the week. It was the fifth time Teixeira has won the award.  . . .  Ellsbury returned the lineup on Monday after missing Sunday’s game against the Mets with a tightness in his right hip. Ellsbury was 1-for-3 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. He also stole a base and drove in a run.

ON DECK

The Yankees, who are 4-0 against the Rays this season, will look to continue their matter over them on Tuesday.

The Yankees will call up right-hander Chase Whitley from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to allow right-hander Masahiro Tanaka to have an extra day of rest while the Yankees are in the middle of playing 30 games in 31 days. Whitley, 25, is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three starts with the RailRiders.

The Rays will throw right-hander Jake Odorizzi (2-1, 1.65 ERA). Odorizzi’s lone loss came at the hands of the Yankees on April 18 at Tropicana Field. In his last start he gave up one run on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of a no decision against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

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.

 

A-Rod, Bullpen Spark Yankees Over Sloppy Mets

GAME 19

YANKEES 6, METS 4

When Yankees manager Joe Girardi takes out his starting pitcher holding a lead and brings in a reliever the opposing manager should just make plans for the next game because the one in which his team is playing is pretty much over.

And so it was on Sunday night for manager Terry Collins and the Mets.

Alex Rodriguez hit the 659th home run of his career and he added an RBI double, the Mets threw the ball around Yankee Stadium as if it was a hand grenade for four errors and the Yankees vaunted high-octane bullpen did the rest as the Yankees won the home portion of the Subway Series two games to one.

Left-hander Chasen Shreve (1-0), who came on in the fifth inning for right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, got credit for the victory and left-hander Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save in seven chances.

All told, the bullpen crew of Shreve, Chris Martin, Justin Wilson, Dellin Betances and Miller shut out the Mets on no hits and one walk while they fanned four batters over the final 4 2/3 innings.

The Mets took an early lead on Eovaldi when Curtis Granderson hit Eovaldi’s ninth pitch for his first home run of the season to start the game. The Mets later added a run on a Juan Lagares single and a two-out double by Daniel Murphy.

Rodriguez halved the lead in the bottom of the first by lacing a 2-2 curveball onto the top of the wall in right-center and it bounced into the Yankees’ bullpen for Rodriguez’s fifth home run of the season and his first since April 19.

The Yankees then went double happy on left-hander Jonathan Niese (2-1) to take a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the game.

John Ryan Murphy doubled to left with one out and with two out the Yankees then strung together four straight RBI hits, two of them doubles.

Gregorio Petit doubled to left to score Murphy, Brett Gardner doubled to right to score Petit and Chris Young singled to right to plate Gardner.

Rodriguez then singled through the left side of the infield. But left-fielder Michael Cuddyer threw a lawn-dart that allowed Young to score and Rodriguez to take second. It took first baseman Lucas Duda’s retrieval of the slow rolling ball at shortstop to throw out Rodriguez at third with the second baseman, Murphy, covering to end the four-run inning.

The Mets added a pair of runs with two out in the third inning as Duda singled, Cuddyer doubled him in and he moved to third on a throwing error by Stephen Drew. Murphy then drove in Cuddyer with a single.

But when Girardi took out Eovaldi with one out and a runner on in the fifth, the Mets’ offense went perceptibly south immediately.

The Yankees got to Niese again in the fifth as Gardner reached on an disputed infield single. First-base umpire Adam Hamari had ruled that shortstop Wilmer Flores’ throw had beaten Gardner but it was challenged and overturned by replay.

Young then reached on a hard-hit ball that Murphy played into an error that allowed Gardner to advance to third. Rodriguez then hit what looked to be routine double-play grounder but Flores stepped on second to retire Young and then fired the relay to first base into the stands for the team’s fourth error of the night, which allowed Gardner to score.

Niese, who entered the game on a streak of six games of yielding two earned runs or less, was charged with six runs (four earned) on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts in five innings.

Eovaldi struggled in his fourth start, surrendering four runs on seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

With the victory the Yankees improved to 11-8 and they are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays in first place in the American League East. The Mets fell to 14-5, which remains the best record in baseball.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Rodriguez shook off a slump that had lasted more than a week to homer, double, drive in two runs and score one run. He hit the ball well in each of his four at-bats and he is now batting .267 with five homers and 13 RBIs.
  • Of the five relievers Girardi used, Betances was absolutely dominant in his one inning of work in the eighth. He struck out Lagares, Duda and Cuddyer in succession but his nasty curve broke so much it got past Murphy for a wild pitch so Cuddyer reached on a wild pitch. At that point, Betances had faced eight Mets batters in his career and he had struck out all eight of them. However, Daniel Murphy was able to ground out to second to break the string.
  • Very quietly John Ryan Murphy is developing into an excellent young catcher at age 23. Murphy, filling in for starter Brian McCann, was 2-for-3 with a double and he scored a run. With limited plate appearances, Murphy is batting .313 this season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • After going eight games without making an error earlier in the week the Yankees committed two on Sunday and they were charged with four errors in the three-game series. Drew was charged with a throwing error in the third and Chase Headley also made an errant throw in the fifth. The Yankees need to clean up this sloppy play soon. They were lucky that the Mets were even worse.
  • Beltran is drawing a cascade of boos every time he makes an out. On Sunday, Beltran was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and he also hit into a double play. The 38-year-old outfielder is now batting .161 with no homers and seven RBIs. After being benched on Saturday it looks as if Girardi’s patience with him is quickly running out.

BOMBER BANTER

Jacoby Ellsbury sat out Sunday’s game against the Mets with tightness in his right hip. The 31-year-old outfielder received treatment for the injury and Girardi told reporters that he hoped to have him back in the lineup on Monday. Ellsbury is batting .282 with a homers and two RBIs in 17 games.  . . .  The Yankees will recall right-hander Chase Whitley from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre and he will start on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays to allow right-hander Masahiro Tanaka to have an extra day of rest between starts. Whitley, 25, is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three starts for the RailRiders.

ON DECK

The Yankees will begin a three-game home series against the Rays on Monday.

Right-hander Adam Warren (1-1, 5.40 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Warren gave up four runs on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers to get his first victory on Wednesday.

Right-hander Nathan Karns (1-1, 5.32 ERA) will pitch for the Rays. Karns was pounded for five runs on seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts in six innings in a no-decison against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.

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

 

A-Rod’s MVP Throwback Evening Shocks Rays

GAME 10

YANKEES 5, RAYS 4

In 2007, Alex Rodriguez hit 54 home runs and drove in 156 runs in leading the Yankees to the playoffs in what was his third season as the American League’s Most Valuable Player. On Friday, the Rays got a glimpse of what that A-Rod could do.

Rodriguez homered twice and drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the eighth as New York came from behind to defeat Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.

Losing pitcher Kevin Jepsen (0-1) said it best after the game: “That guy just killed us tonight.”

Right-hander Dellin Betances and left-hander Andrew Miller combined to pitch 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to close out the Rays. Betances (2-0) earned the victory while Miller notched his third save in three opportunities.

Rodriguez, 39, staked the Yankees to an early lead with a 471-foot blast into left-center off starter Nathan Karns to lead off the third inning. Two innings later, Stephen Drew touched Karns for a two-out home run to right-center.

However, Yankees starter Adam Warren was unable to hold the 2-0 lead for long.

Evan Longoria started a rally in the fourth inning with an infield single and Desmond Jennings followed with a walk. Rookie Allan Dykstra then launched a high-arcing blast that hit the foul pole in right for a three-run homer, the first of his career.

Four pitches later Logan Forsythe lined a solo shot into left to give the Rays a lightning-quick 4-2 lead.

But Rodriguez was just getting started.

Right-hander Ernesto Frieri entered the game in the sixth and he issued a one-out walk to Brian McCann. Rodriguez then followed with a line-drive rocket into the stands in left for the 558th home run of his career, his 49th against the Rays and his fourth of the season.

Carlos Beltran opened the eighth against Jepsen by singling against the shift into left-center. Manager Joe Girardi sent Brett Gardner in to pinch-run for Beltran.

With two out and Rodriguez at the plate, Gardner stole his first base of the season. Rodriguez followed it with a lined single to center that scored Gardner with what proved to be the game-winning run.

The Yankees managed only five hits in the game. Rodriguez collected three of them and three of them were home runs.

“He was really good. Without Alex, we’re going to lose that ballgame,” Girardi told reporters. “Four RBIs, two home runs, a big hit in the eighth inning to put us ahead. Just a great night for Alex.”

With the victory the Yankees are 4-6 on the season. The Rays dropped to 6-5.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • It looks as if Girardi might have to move Rodriguez up in the batting order. With his 3-for-4 night, he is now leading the Yankees in batting (.344), home runs (4) and RBIs (11). After the hip surgeries and the suspension it was not clear what the Yankees had in A-Rod. I think we have a good idea now. He looks like the three-time MVP he always has been.
  • After the bullpen’s meltdown at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Wednesday it was good to see both Betances and Miller come in and combine for 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Miller looked especially sharp after giving up a leadoff infield single to Forsythe. He struck out the side to earn his third save.
  • Drew is only hitting .167 but he does have three homers and seven RBIs. His home run in the fourth inning was the 100th of his career and it is starting to look as if he will be able to contribute offensively at the low end of the batting order.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Warren started off well but hit a brick wall in the fourth inning. Girardi yanked him after he allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in four innings. In his two starts, Warren has yielded six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and four walks in 9 1/3 innings. After pitching so brilliantly this spring, Warren appears lost as a starter. If he continues to struggle look for Esmil Rogers to make another bid to be the No. 5 starter that he lost to Warren this spring.
  • Chase Headley had a night at the plate he would love to put behind him. He was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts (two of them looking) and in his final at-bat he laced a hard-hit ground ball that shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera turned into a double play. Headley is batting .204 on the season.
  • The Yankees are not saying anything publicly, but they are concerned that Didi Gregorius is putting too much pressure on himself. His base-running gaffes, some shaky fielding and his slow start with the bat have them worried. Gregorius, 25, was 0-for-4 on Friday and he is now hitting .152.

BOMBER BANTER

Girardi told reporters on Friday that because the Yankees have started a stretch of 30 games in the next 31 days they are considering using a sixth starter to take some strain off their rotation. Girardi said that Rogers and right-handers Chase Whitley and Bryan Mitchell, who are at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, are viable options as starters. “I wouldn’t really call it a six-man rotation. I’d call it more of inserting a sixth man one time through, and my guess is you might see it,” Girardi told reporters. “Weather could play a role, so you just have to wait and see, but it’s something that’s in the back of our minds. We’ve kind of prepared ourselves for it.”

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their weekend road series with the Rays on Saturday.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (1-1, 7.00 ERA) will make his third start of the season for the Yankees. His is coming off a 14-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, when he gave up four runs in 5 innings.

The Rays will start right-hander Jake Odorizzi (2-0, 0.61 ERA), who has given up just one run in 14 2/3 innings this season. He held the Toronto Blue Jays to one run on two hits in 8 innings on Monday.

Game-time will be 7:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by Fox Sports 1.

 

O’s Score 5 in Sixth As Yankees’ Bullpen Implodes

GAME 9

ORIOLES 7, YANKEES 5

Nathan Eovaldi struck out nine batters in five innings and provided the bullpen a 3-2 lead on Wednesday but the Orioles scored five runs in the sixth inning as Baltimore handed New York a difficult defeat at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Jonathan Schoop, who batted .209 last season, greeted right-hander David Carpenter (0-1) with a first-pitch home run into the bleachers in left-center to erase a 3-2 lead and end Eovaldi’s bid for his first victory with the Yankees.

Alejandro De Aza followed with a single and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Everth Cabrera. Adam Jones was walked intentionally and Carpenter was replaced by left-hander Justin Wilson with left-handed hitters Travis Snider and Chris Davis due up.

However, Delmon Young pinch-hit for Snider and he delivered an RBI single to score De Aza and Davis followed with a two-run double. One out later, Caleb Joseph, who batted .207 last season, completed the five-run onslaught with an RBI single off right-hander Chris Martin.

Right-hander Brad Brach (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to get credit for the victory. Zach Britton pitched the ninth to earn his second consecutive save against the Yankees and his third of the season.

The Yankees fell to 3-6 on the season while the Orioles improved to 5-4.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • The Yankees finally are beginning to get some offense from Carlos Beltran. The 38-year-old outfielder gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the third inning when he followed a two-out double by Jacoby Ellsbury and a walk to Chase Headley with a two-run double to center off Orioles starter Bud Norris. Beltran is 4-for-15 (.286) in his past four games with two doubles and two RBIs.
  • The Yankees continue to consistent at-bats from Alex Rodriguez, who homered with one out in the fourth inning to give Eovaldi and the Yankees a 3-1 lead. It was Rodriguez’s second home run of the season and he finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk and he now hitting .286 on the season.
  • Eovaldi was far from perfect against the O’s but he battled hard to yield just two runs on eight hits and three walks. He pitched only one clean inning but his nine strikeouts prevented the Orioles from scoring any more runs. Though the 25-year-old right-hander needs to work on his command, he showed a lot of grit and deserved a better fate.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The bullpen entered the evening with a 1.73 ERA, which ranked second in the American League. But it blew up in a hurry. Carpenter, 29, was the main culprit. Remember that Carpenter was 4-1 with a sparkling 1.78 ERA in 56 games with the Atlanta Braves in 2013. But he slipped to a 6-4 mark with a 3.54 ERA in 65 games last season. His line on Wednesday was three runs on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning. Ouch!
  • Wilson, 27, is a similar story. He was 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 58 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013 but he fell back to 3-4 with a 4.20 ERA in 70 games last season. Wilson yielded two runs on two hits while not retiring a batter. Double ouch!
  • Stephen Drew was only starter who did not get a hit or drive in a run in the game. He was 0-4 with two strikeouts and he grounded into a double play. After showing signs last week he may be coming back with the bat after his disastrous 2014 season, he is now batting .148.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees made yet another roster move to bolster the bullpen. The team recalled right-hander Branden Pinder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and they optioned right-hander Joel De La Cruz to Double-A Trenton. De La Cruz, 25, did not appear in a game. Pinder, 26, was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three games with the RailRiders. He pitched in the eighth inning on Wednesday and yielded no runs on one hit. The Yankees also announced that right-hander Kyle Davies, 31, cleared waivers and he was optioned to Scranton. Davies had been designated for assignment on Monday when the Yankees recalled De La Cruz.  . . .  Minor-league right-hander Wilking Rodriguez received an 80-game suspension without pay on Wednesday for a violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Rodriguez, according to the commissioner’s office, tested positive for Furosemide, a performance-enhancing substance. Rodriguez, 25, was 1-0 with 0.00 ERA and two saves with the Yankees this spring and he was assigned to Scranton.

ON DECK

The Yankees have Thursday off and will begin a weekend series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.

Right-hander Adam Warren, 27, will open the series for the Yankees. Warren surrendered two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

The Rays will start 28-year-old right-hander Nathan Karns, who is 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA in two starts. Karns held the Miami Marlins to two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks in seven innings in a victory on Sunday.

Game-time will be 7:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

Pineda, Eovaldi Sharp As Yankees Outshine Rays

GAME 8

YANKEES 4, RAYS 3

Right-handed starters Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi held Tampa Bay scoreless through five innings  –  combining to strike out seven batters  –  while Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with his first RBI of spring as New York rolled to victory on Monday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.

Pineda, 26, made his first start of the spring and held the Rays to a first-inning single by Desmond Jennings and he fanned two in 25-pitch outing in which he threw 17 strikes.

Eovaldi, 25, entered in the third inning and yielded three hits with no walks and five strikeouts in his second outing in Grapefruit League play.

Pineda (1-0) got credit for the victory and reliever Chris Martin hurled a scoreless eighth inning while fanning two batters to earn a save. Rays starter Nathan Karns (0-1) was tagged for two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk in three innings to take the loss.

With the victory the Yankees improved their spring record to 5-2.

FIELD FOCUS

Pineda’s major-league career has been a series of giant strides forward with periods of two steps back. He hopes 2015 just moves him forward after having his 2012 and 2013 seasons wiped away after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

Last season Pineda was supposed to be healthy and ready to show the Yankees for whom they had traded after Pineda’s rookie season in 2011, when he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA with the Seattle Mariners.

After a promising 2-2 record with a 1.83 ERA in his first four starts last season, Pineda found himself suspended by Major League Baseball for 10 days after being ejected from a late April game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park with pine tar on his neck.

While Pineda was preparing to return from the suspension he severely tore the teres major muscle in his surgically repaired shoulder. He was shelved until the middle of August. Once again, Pineda showed the Yankees what they missed most of the year.

Pineda ended up 3-3 with a 1.91 ERA in those final nine starts. What sets Pineda apart from a lot of pitchers is that he can strike out a lot of batters (8.43 per nine innings) and at the same time his control is so precise (0.83 walks per nine innings). Both marks are Yankee records.

So 2015 begins with Pineda again primed for a big season and the Yankees are holding their breath that he can stay healthy enough to make 33 starts.

His first step on that road was Monday and Pineda looked very sharp in his first game action of the spring.

“This is what I want. I’m working hard everyday to be healthy and make it a good year, and help my team,” Pineda told reporters.

“I thought he looked great,” catcher Brian McCann told reporters. “The ball’s coming out with the same velocity, with some cut. He threw a couple of change-ups that were really nice that had some good action. His slider was there as well.”

So with his first test out of the way, Pineda can now look to take more small incremental steps throughout the rest of the spring. He hopes all is pointing forward because he refuses to takes any more steps back.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Seeing Pineda pitch well and watching Eovaldi record five strikeouts in his outing had to be encouraging for manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild. The pair are two important pieces in the Yankees’ rotation plans for the 2015 season. Pineda could pair with staff ace Masahiro Tanaka to form the best tandem in the American League East. Eovaldi somehow only struck out 142 batters in 199 2/3 innings despite having electric stuff. Seeing Eovaldi strike out five means that he is elevating pitches as Rothschild has urged him to do.
  • Rodriguez began his day getting rousing cheers from Yankee fans and derisive jeers from Rays fans as he stepped in for his first at-bat. By the end of the day, Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with an RBI. It was his RBI single in the second inning off Karns that opened the scoring for the Yankees. In the early going, A-Rod is 4-for-9 (.444) with two walks in four games. Though it remains unlikely that Rodriguez will win any job other than as the right-handed part of a platoon designated hitter situation, the 39-year-old three-time American League Most Valuable Player is playing as if he wants to push Girardi into giving him a larger role.
  • Hot-hitting first-base prospect Greg Bird, 22, and outfielder Slade Heathcott added RBI singles off right-hander Kirby Yates in the seventh inning to extend the Yankees lead to 4-1. Bird is 5-for-10 (.500) with three doubles, a homer and four RBIs. Both Bird and 22-year-old outfield Aaron Judge are serving notice to Girardi that they want to play in the majors and soon. Neither will make the team but both are making great impressions with the coaches and their teammates.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Right-hander Diego Moreno, 27, blew the shutout and yielded three runs on two hits and a walk in the eighth inning. Eugenio Velez and Jake Elmore each collected RBI singles in the inning.
  • Carlos Beltran, 37, extended his hitless string this spring after going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Beltran is 0-for-7 overall and his swing looks slow and mechanical. The Yankees are counting on Beltran to produce power and production from the No. 3 spot in the order.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees trotted out a lineup that could be a preview of their starting lineup when the season opens. The lineup featured outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury (CF), Brett Gardner (LF) and Beltran (RF) in the top three spots with first baseman Mark Teixeira, McCann (C), Rodriguez (DH) and Chase Headley (3B). It also had Stephen Drew (2B) and Didi Gregorius (SS) in the bottom two spots.  . . .  Right-handed pitcher Luis Severino was diagnosed with strep throat on Monday. The 21-year-old No. 1 prospect in the organization struck out three batters in 1 1/3 innings of work on Saturday. On Sunday he complained of flu-like symptoms and was sent to a local hospital for tests. It is unclear if Severino will miss his next assignment.

ON DECK

The Yankees will travel to Sarasota, FL, for their first meeting of the season with the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.

Right-hander Chase Whitley, 25, will make his first start and his second appearance for the Yankees. Right-hander Esmil Rogers is also scheduled to pitch. The Yankees plan to send their starting infield of Teixeira, Drew, Gregorius and Headley.

The Orioles plan to counter with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast on a delayed basis by MLB Network at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

 

Yankees Break Tie In Eighth To Overtake Nationals

GAME 7

YANKEES 3, NATIONALS 2

Kyle Roller, Aaron Judge and Cole Figueroa stroked consecutive two-out singles in the eighth inning with Figueroa scoring Roller with the tie-breaking run as New York defeated Washington on Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.

Right-hander Wilking Rodriguez (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn the victory. Mitch Lively (0-1) took the loss. Jared Burton pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up a save.

With the victory the Yankees are now 4-2 in Grapefruit League play.

FIELD FOCUS

If you walk up to Yankee special instructor Reggie Jackson and ask him who he believes is the team’s best young hitting prospect he does not hesitate to tell you that it is infielder Jose Pirela.

Pirela, 25, put those hitting talents on display on Sunday

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound native Venezuela opened the third inning with a double in the right-field corner and he scored on Brett Gardner’s two-out infield single to tie the game a 1-1.

He came up again in the fourth with two out and Brian McCann on third and Chris Young on first and chopped a infield single to give the Yankees a temporary 2-1 lead.

In his first week of spring games, Pirela is batting .455 (5-for-11) including a double, a triple and three RBIs. If you think that possibly could be just an aberration think about this: Pirela batted .305 with 10 home runs and 60 RBIs in 130 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

He earned a September call-up to the Yankees last season and all he did was bat .333 in 24 at-bats and three RBIs.

Pirela is not rated among the Yankees’ top prospects and yet there is a scenario where he might leave spring training as part of the 25-man roster.

With backup middle infielder Brendan Ryan shelved so far this spring with a mid-back strain he suffered working out with weights, Pirela would stand to make the team as its middle infield reserve.

The knock on Pirela has always been his defense. Scouts do not see him as a potential starter because of that reason. That reputation largely was sewn because Pirela committed 37 errors in 111 games at shortstop in 2011 wit Double-A Trenton.

But Pirela has cut down on his errors in the past three seasons. He was charged with 11 in 2012, 16 in 2013 and 11 last season though he played first base, second base, shortstop and 45 games in the outfield.

The Yankees see Pirela as a “super sub” player along the lines of Jerry Hairston Jr. But the Yankees mostly need him as infielder for now. His bat, though, will always be his main calling card.

“I’m very thankful to the Yankees for this opportunity,” Pirela told reporters. “They’ve given me plenty of opportunities. I just want to continue doing my job and I just hope to keep getting a chance to show what I can do.”

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • The Yankees trotted out their late-inning relievers in Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. Both looked relatively sharp. Miller, a 29-year-old left-hander, was making his second appearance of the spring and he threw a perfect inning with one strikeout. Betances, 26, made his spring debut and gave up a leadoff double to Clint Robinson but retired the next three hitters, the last two by strikeout. Manager Joe Girardi said no decision has been made on who the team’s closer will be or if the team will employ Miller and Betances as co-closers.
  • Although he was charged with an unearned run in the seventh inning on a RBI groundout by Derrick Robinson, right-hander Luis Severino showed off his 97-mile-per-hour fastball to fan three of the seven batters he faced. Severino, 21, is ranked as the team’s top prospect. Despite being a power pitcher who has fanned 225 batters in 221 2/3 innings, Severino also has only walked 54 batters over that time, which just a bit over two every nine innings. There is a chance Severino could make his major-league debut at some point this season.
  • Adam Warren, 27, made his second start of the spring and he looked pretty good despite surrendering a leadoff homer to Michael Taylor on his first offering of the game. Warren yielded just the one run on four hits and no walks with one strikeout in three innings.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • It is early but starting center-fielder and leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury is just 1-for-12 (.083) after going 0-for-3 on Sunday  –  all three were weak groundouts, including one in the third inning with Pirela on third and one out. Gardner followed with his RBI single to get Ellsbury off the hook. It would be nice to see Ellsbury get untracked before spring training ends.
  • Carlos Beltran is 0-for-5 in his first two games of spring. Beltran, 37, is recovering from right elbow surgery last September and it is obvious his timing is off in the early going. The Yankees are counting on the perennial All-Star outfielder to produce big numbers batting third for the team this season.

BOMBER BANTER

It’s official: Masahiro Tanaka will make his first start in a spring exhibition game on Thursday night as the Yankees play host to the Atlanta Braves. Girardi made the announcement on Sunday. Tanaka, 26, has been monitored closely this spring after he suffered a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow last July. Though Tanaka opted to rehab the elbow rather than undergo Tommy John surgery he has reported no issues with his elbow this spring.  . . .  CC Sabathia threw a bullpen session on Sunday and it appears he is just a week away from his first Grapefruit League start. Sabathia had surgery on his right knee last season and the Yankees are being cautious with the 34-year-old left-hander. Sabathia told reporters there is no doubt he will be ready for the start of the season.

ON DECK

The Yankees will play host to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Right-hander Michael Pineda will make his first start of the spring for the Yankees. Pineda, 26, was 5-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 13 starts in a season cut short by a pulled muscle in Pineda’s right shoulder.

The Yankees are also scheduled to play their starting infield of Mark Teixeira, Stephen Drew, Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley.

The Rays will counter with right-hander Nathan Karns, who was 9-9 with a 5.08 ERA at Triple-A Durham last season.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast live by the YES Network and on a taped basis by the MLB Network at midnight.