Tagged: Nationals

Teixeira Impales Rodney, Mariners With Missive

GAME 91

YANKEES 2, MARINERS 1

As a closer for both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners, Fernando Rodney has earned 13 career saves against the Yankees and all 13 were punctuated with his trademark  –  but annoying  – shooting of an arrow gesture after the final out.

On Sunday, Mark Teixeira shot a figurative arrow through Rodney’s and the Mariners’ hearts.

Teixeira launched a high-arcing home run into the right-field bleachers off Rodney (2-4) with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie as New York took two of three games from Seattle in front of a sweltering paid crowd of 42,926 at Yankee Stadium.

Teixeira’s home run, his 23rd of the season, handed a victory in relief to right-hander Dellin Betances (6-2) and left-hander Andrew Miller tossed a perfect ninth, striking out two, to earn his 20th save in as many chances this season.

The early innings of the contest were marked by a fierce pitcher’s duel between 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia of the Yankees and 2010 American League Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez of the Mariners.

The left-handed Sabathia and the right-handed Hernandez matched zeroes until the top of the fifth inning when former Yankee Jesus Montero and Chris Taylor opened the frame with a pair of opposite-field singles.

After Mike Zunino successfully laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners, former Yankee Austin Jackson laced a lined single to center to score Montero. But Sabathia was able to limit the damage by striking out Kyle Seager and former Yankee Robin$on Cano with Taylor on third.

The Yankees, meanwhile, were able to tie the contest in the bottom of the sixth after Brett Gardner started the inning by drawing a walk. One out later, Teixeira grounded a hit-and-run single just past Taylor into center-field to advance Gardner to third.

With two out, Carlos Beltran, who had just been activated from the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day, slapped an opposite-field single to left to score Gardner with the tying run.

Hernandez, 29, was charged with just the one run on five hits and three walks while he fanned five batters in six innings. “King Felix” is 5-1 with a 1.38 ERA in his eight starts at the new Yankee Stadium.

Sabathia, 34, in one of his better outings of the season, also yielded one run on six hits and one walk as he struck out seven in six innings.

“CC pitched extremely well,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon told reporters. “His command was exceptional. He did a tremendous job. So did Felix. He was one pitch away from getting out of that [sixth] inning.”

Despite leading Major League Baseball with 48 saves last season and being chosen as an American League All-Star, Rodney has blown four saves and entered the contest with a 5.45 ERA. As a result, he had lost his closing duties to rookie right-hander Carson Smith.

McClendon opted to use the 38-year-old right-hander with one out in the eighth inning. Rodney was able to retire Alex Rodriguez on an infield popup and he had Teixeira down on a 1-2 count.

But he threw a 98-mile-per-hour fastball over the heart of the plate and Teixeira was able to make good contact with it.

“[I] just put a good swing on it. He threw the pitch earlier, the pitch before, right by me and I just knew I had to get ready a little bit earlier,” Teixeira told reporters. “The second one I was ready for.”

With the victory the Yankees earned the 50th victory with 41 losses. They hold a four-game lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. The Mariners dropped to 42-50.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Teixeira entered the contest 20-for-66 (.303) with a league-best six home runs off Hernandez. He was 2-for-3 with two singles against Hernandez on Sunday and is now hitting .319 off him. In addition, his 23rd home run surpasses the 22 he hit all of last season. Teixeira’s 3-for-4 day raised his season average to .249. To top off his day he made an outstanding grab of a foul ball in the second row of the stands off the bat of Nelson Cruz in the eighth inning.
  • Give Sabathia a lot of credit for holding the Mariners to one run on a day the Yankees were facing a tough right-hander in Hernandez. He entered the game 4-8 with a 5.47 ERA. But since May 28 when he was 2-7 with a 5.67 ERA, Sabathia is 2-1 with a 4.70 in his past eight starts. More importantly, the Yankees are 5-3 in those contests. So the 34-year-old veteran is keeping the Yankees in position to win his starts.
  • Beltran’s RBI single to tie the game in the sixth was a testament to a good veteran hitter not trying to do too much and shooting an outside curveball the opposite way. Though Beltran has been a huge disappointment to the Yankees between his injury-plagued 2014 season and his .262 average with just seven homers and 30 RBIs this season, he still adds a solid switch-hitter to lengthen the lineup for the second half of the season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Jacoby Ellsbury entered the day with a plus-.300 career average against Hernandez but he ended up grounding out weakly to first all three times he faced him. He ended the day 0-for-4 and his average has slipped to .302. He is 1-for-17 (.059) in his past four games dating back to July 12.

BOMBER BANTER

Once again, when the Yankees have a choice between a up-and-coming homegrown player and a veteran free agent they side with the veteran. When the Yankees activated Beltran from the disabled list on Sunday they surprisingly optioned second baseman Rob Refsnyder, 24, to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre despite the fact that Stephen Drew, 32, is batting .181 after hitting .162 last season. Refsnyder hit .167 with a homer and two RBIs in four games including his first major-league home run on July 12 that allowed the Yankees to beat the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park last Sunday.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have Monday off before welcoming the Orioles to Yankee Stadium for a crucial three-game series.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 4.50 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Eovaldi, 25, has not lost a game since June 16 and he won his last start by holding the Red Sox to three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in five innings last Sunday.

Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen will start for the Orioles. Chen allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits with seven strikeouts in eight innings in tough-luck loss to the Washington Nationals last Sunday.

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

 

Tanaka Bests Scherzer As Yanks Push Streak To 7

GAME 58

YANKEES 6, NATIONALS 1

With Masahiro Tanaka and Max Scherzer locked into an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel on Tuesday the question among the paid crowd of 36,613 at Yankee Stadium was “Which one of them would blink first?” In the bottom of the seventh inning it was Scherzer.

Stephen Drew hit a pair of solo home runs, the Yankees scored four runs in the seventh and Tanaka outpitched his counterpart as New York downed Washington to stretch their winning streak to seven games.

Tanaka (4-1) cruised through seven innings having held the Nationals to a solo home run by Bryce Harper, who launched his 20th of the season with two out in the fourth inning that tied the game at 1-1.

Tanaka yielded just the one run on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts throwing just 87 pitches to earn his second straight victory since being activated from the disabled list on June 3.

Scherzer (6-5), meanwhile, entered the seventh inning having held the Yankees to a solo home run by Drew that opened the bottom of the third inning. It was Drew’s eighth home run of the season and it was his 1,000th career hit.

Scherzer had a very close call with one out in the sixth inning when the Yankees had Mark Teixeira on third after a double and Brian McCann at first on a single. Carlos Beltran then hit a sinking line drive to Michael Taylor in center-field.

Taylor dove and appeared to have caught the ball rolling forward. However, second-base umpire Lance Barksdale ruled that Taylor trapped the ball. So Taylor threw the ball in to second baseman Danny Espinosa and Espinosa flipped the ball to shortstop Ian Desmond, who touched second base to retire McCann on what was scored a fielder’s choice.

However, Teixeira failed to make any attempt to score from third despite the fact that Taylor was on the ground in center-field. Didi Gregorius struck out to end the threat and the game remained tied.

Teixeira and the Yankees earned some redemption in the seventh inning when rookie Ramon Flores stroked a one-out single to right, one of three hits Flores’ had on the night. Brett Gardner followed with an bloop opposite-field single to left to advance Flores to second.

One out later, Alex Rodriguez hit a ground ball to the right of Desmond between second and third. Desmond dove to stop the ball and he elected to try to force out Flores at third. But the ball struck Flores and rolled away in foul territory to allow him to score what proved to be the game-winning run.

Scherzer was removed from the game and replaced by former Yankee left-hander Matt Thornton.

The Nationals elected to walk Teixeira intentionally to load the bases and pitch to McCann. However, McCann ruined the strategy by lacing a lined single down the right-field line that scored Gardner and Rodriguez while Teixeira advanced to third.

Beltran capped the uprising by lining a single to left. Fortunately, this time Teixeira did not stay at third and he was able to score on the hit.

Scherzer, who entered the game with a 1.85 ERA, was charged with four runs on eight hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Teixeira’s run was charged to Thornton.

Drew added his second home run of the game and his fourth in his past three games while leading off the eighth inning off right-hander Taylor Hill.

Right-hander Dellin Betances, left-hander Chasen Shreve and left-hander Andrew Miller combined to pitch two scoreless frames to preserve the victory for Tanaka.

The Yankees are now 33-25 on the season and  –  combined with the Tampa Bay’s 8-2 defeat by the Los Angeles Angels  –  they have now moved to a 2 1/2 games up on the second-place Rays in the American League East. The Nationals have now lost 8 of their past 10 games and are 30-28.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • In his two starts since coming off the disabled list, Tanaka has yielded two runs on eight hits with no walks and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings for a sparkling 1.29 ERA. Those two outings lowered his season ERA to 2.48. For those of you who are thinking that Tanaka’s right elbow is being held together with balsa wood and duct tape, you may want to rethink that belief. Tanaka has re-established himself as an ace for the hottest team in baseball.
  • Drew is having a very confounding season. Even with his two-homer night he is still only hitting .175. But the 32-year-old second baseman now has nine home runs and 21 RBIs. In addition, he has been the team’s best fielder in terms of sabermetrics. The question is when backup infielder Brendan Ryan comes off the disabled list will the Yankees send hot-hitting Jose Pirela back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre? Drew appears to be saving his job.
  • Flores, 23, came up when fellow rookie Slade Heathcott suffered a knee injury on May 27. One thing he has proven since he arrived is that he can play the outfield. He already has thrown two runners out at the home plate and he also made some excellent catches. On Tuesday, he was 3-for-4, scored the game-winning run and he added another sensational catch. In the eighth inning he made a diving catch of a sinking fly ball off the bat of Espinosa for the first out in the eighth inning.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

The way the Yankees have been playing I may have to retire this blog category. When you combine good pitching, good defense and some timely hitting off a very tough pitcher in Scherzer you having the makings of great victory. The Yankees are playing with such confidence now that they are showing that they very well may be the class of the A.L. East.

BOMBER BANTER

Sorely in need of some right-handed bullpen help the Yankees have signed veteran Sergio Santos to a minor-league contract. Santos, 31, recorded a 4.73 ERA in 12 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. He elected to become a free agent rather than accept an assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Santos saved 30 games with the Chicago White Sox in 2011. He has been limited to just 65 innings since then due to a rash of injuries.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to sweep their third consecutive series with a victory over the Nationals on Wednesday.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (5-1, 4.16 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Eovaldi, 25, was sailing along against the Angels on Friday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk through five innings. But he walked the bases loaded in the sixth and had to be removed even though he ended up getting credit for the victory.

The Nationals will send left-hander Gio Gonzales (4-3, 4.57 ERA) to the mound. Gonzales, 29, lost to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, yielding two runs on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts in six innings.

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

 

Yankees Sweep Angels To Extend Win Steak To 6

GAME 57

YANKEES 6, ANGELS 2

Since 2000 there is only one team in baseball that has a winning record against the New York Yankees and it is the Los Angeles Angels led by manager Mike Sciosia. But after what happened to the Angels this weekend, that record will not stand too much longer.

Brett Gardner, Chris Young and Jose Pirela each hit home runs and left-hander CC Sabathia threw six solid innings on Sunday as New York completed its first sweep of Los Angeles in the new Yankee Stadium in front of a paid crowd of 43,178.

The victory allowed the Yankees to extend their winning streak to six games.

Sabathia (3-7) entered the game with a 5.45 ERA and in the first inning he allowed consecutive solo home runs to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. For Pujols it was the 535th of his career and it allowed him to pass Jimmie Foxx for 17th place on the all-time home run list.

However, Sabathia recovered to retire 17 of the next 20 batters he faced until he was ejected from the game in the sixth by home-plate umpire Dan Bellino for arguing balls and strikes. Bellino subsequently also ejected Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

But relievers Justin Wilson, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller combined to pitch three scoreless and hitless innings while striking out five batters to nail down the victory for Sabathia.

Trailing 2-0, the Yankees scored a run off left-hander C.J. Wilson (3-5) in the third inning after Pirela led off with a double, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on a groundout by Didi Gregorius.

The Yankees tied it and later took the lead off Wilson in the fifth when Young led off with his seventh home run of the season and his first since May 2. In fact, Young entered the game mired in a 5-for-46 (.109) slide that dropped his season average from .306 to .220.

One out later, John Ryan Murphy reached on an opposite-field bloop single and Gregorius followed a lined single to right. Gardner then put the Yankees ahead to stay with a long blast to right on a 2-0 fastball. It was Gardner’s fifth home run of the season.

Pirela led off the seventh inning with a deep drive into the left-field bleachers for his first major-league home run and it extended the Yankees’ lead against Wilson and the Angels to 6-2.

Wilson was charged with six runs on seven hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings. Wilson entered the contest with a 2.44 ERA in 44 1/3 prior innings at the ballpark.

Sabathia, 34, ended his day giving up two runs on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in six innings.

However, it was his sixth strikeout in the fifth inning that allowed the veteran left-hander to reach a rare milestone. When he struck out Johnny Giavotella looking for the second out of the fifth, Sabathia became the 31st pitcher in Major League Baseball history to reach 2,500 strikeouts. Sabathia, already baseball’s active leader in strikeouts, also became only the ninth left-hander to reach the mark.

With one out and one on in the sixth inning, Sabathia threw a 1-1 slider to Kole Calhoun that Bellino called a ball. Television replays clearly showed that the ball was over the plate and crossed above Calhoun’s right knee.

On the next pitch, Calhoun rapped into an inning-ending double play. As Sabathia left the mound he asked Bellino where the previous pitch was. Bellino said down and, when Sabathia countered by saying the pitch was not down, Bellino ejected him. Girardi hopped over the dugout railing to get between Bellino and Sabathia to pick up the argument and he also was ejected.

It was Sabathia’s first ejection since 2006 and the first of the season for Girardi.

With their victory, the Yankees are now 32-25 and they maintained their 1 1/2-game lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. The Angels have now dropped five straight games and they are 28-29.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • You have to give Sabathia credit for keeping his composure after allowing two first-inning home runs. It was his first victory since May 16 against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium and his first at Yankee Stadium since Sept. 20, 2013. There is no doubt that Sabathia is no longer the ace that he was. But he proved on Sunday that he can provide the Yankees with quality starts.
  • Gardner’s three-run blast was his first home run since he launched another three-run blast on May 25 against right-hander Jeremy Guthrie to cap an eight-run first inning against the Royals at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won that game 14-1. Gardner was a pain in the Angels’ backsides the entire series. He had hits in each game and was 5-for-13 (.385) with a walk, a triple, a homer and five RBIs. Gardner had been slumping ever since taking over for the injured Jacoby Ellsbury in the leadoff spot on May 20.
  • Pirela, 25, has always been considered the best pure hitter among all the team’s prospects. That is why it was odd after he batted .305 in 2014 in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and he hit well in spring training that he only was hitting .200 on May 25. Since then, Pirela is 5-for-11 (.455) and has raised his season average to .268. Pirela was 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, two runs scored and an RBI. He still is very weak defensively, but with Stephen Drew batting .168 he deserves to start against left-handers as he did on Sunday.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Former Gold Glove winner Chase Headley committed his 13th error of the season in the third inning. However, it was later erased by a boneheaded attempt to move up to second base by Trout on a fly ball to right by David Freese. Beltran caught the fly and threw out Trout at second before Erick Aybar could cross home plate, which means his run did not count. So the way I look at it there is nothing to really complain about because the Angels were outsmarted and outscored in the series 22-11. (Right-hander Esmil Rogers handed them five of those runs on a platter in Friday’s nail-bitter.)

ON DECK

Fresh off their two consecutive series sweeps of the Seattle Mariners and the Angels, the Yankees will take Monday off before opening a two-game home series with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (3-1, 2.76 ERA) will make his second start after being activated from the disabled list. Tanaka was brilliant in limiting the Mariners to one run on three hits with no walks and six strikeouts in seven sharp innings of a 3-1 victory on Wednesday.

The Nationals will counter with right-hander Max Scherzer (6-4, 1.85 ERA). Scherzer is coming offa loss to the Toronto Blue Jays last Tuesday in which he was touched for four runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings.

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

 

Bronx Bombers Deal Royal Beating To Kansas City

GAME 45

YANKEES 14, ROYALS 1

After losing 10 of their past 11 games the Yankees went into Monday’s Memorial Day matinee just hoping to show some kind of life for a team that was 21-12 on May 11. Well, they quickly proved to the Royals that they were far from dead.

The Yankees jumped on Jeremy Guthrie for 11 runs with no outs in the second inning and Nathan Eovaldi pitched a solid seven-plus innings as New York ended a frustrating six-game losing steak by pounding Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

After averaging just over three runs in their past 11 games, the Yankees received three-run home runs from Brian McCann, Brett Gardner and Stephen Drew, while also adding a pair of two-run homers by Chase Headley and rookie Slade Heathcott.

Guthrie (4-3) pitched to 13 batters in the first inning and three more in the second before departing charged with a career-worst 11 runs on nine hits (four of them homers) and three walks with one strikeout.

Headley started the Bronx bombing with a two-run shot after Gardner had led off the first with a double. Three batters later, McCann hit a hit-arcing fly ball that ticked off right-fielder Paulo Orlando’s glove and into the first row for a three-run home run.

Later in the inning, Gardner lined a round-tripper of his own to tack on three more runs, which made the score 8-0.

After McCann walked to open the second, Garrett Jones singled and both runners advanced on a fielding error in right by Orlando. Drew then ended Guthrie’s second-shortest career outing with a long blast into the second deck that padded the lead to 11-0.

Eovaldi (4-1), who was one of the worst-supported pitchers in the National League in 2014 when he was pitching for the Miami Marlins, was able to breeze his way through the Royals’ high-octane offense. He was charged with one run on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

The Royals’ lone run came in the fifth inning on a one-out double by Alcides Escobar and a two-out bloop RBI single off the bat of pinch-hitter Jarrod Dyson.

The Yankees added a single run in the fifth off left-hander Franklin Morales on a one-out walk to Gardner, a wild pitch that allowed Gardner to take second and an RBI double by Headley.

They added two more in the seventh off right-handed closer Greg Holland on a leadoff walk to Didi Gregorius and the first major-league homer from Heathcott.

The 14 runs matched their season high the Yankees scored against the Boston Red Sox in a 14-4 victory on April 12. The five home runs also tied a season high set in an 11-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on May 11, which ended up being the beginning of a dreadful 11-game slide that started the next day.

With the victory the Yankees improved to 23-22 and they climbed to within a half-game of the first-place Rays in the American League East. Both teams are tied in the loss column. The Royals, who entered the day with the best record in Major League Baseball, dropped to 28-16.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Gardner, Headley, McCann and Drew each drove in three runs. The Yankees now lead the majors with 48 runs scored in the first inning. They have not scored more than 25 runs in any other frame. This is the power and offense the Yankees need consistently and they also need to be able to put teams away once they do get out to early leads. Lately they have been coughing up leads and never getting them back.
  • Even with the early 8-0 and 11-0 leads, there was still pressure on Eovaldi to pitch well and go seven innings since the past three days the starters only were able to pitch 6 2/3 innings. So give Eovaldi credit for continuing to pitch into the eighth inning. Eovaldi kept the hot-hitting Royals off-balance with a mixture of a lot of off-speed pitches. He had an especially sharp slider.
  • Ostensibly, Heathcott was brought up to bolster the bench with Jacoby Ellsbury on the disabled list with a sprained knee. But the 24-year-old Texas native is 5-for-12 (.417) with a double, a homer and three RBIs in four games (three starts). Heathcott was the team’s first-round pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft but he has been hampered throughout his minor-league career with serious shoulder and knee injuries. He likely will get a lot more playing time going forward. It also is no coincidence that Jones, 33, is 6-for-11 (.545) with a homer and three RBIs since his three-run pinch-hit homer on May 22. Jones was hitting .150 with no homers and one RBI before that home run. Heathcott still could make Jones expendable when Ellsbury returns.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

I would hard-pressed to come up with anything negative. I could say they did not get the shutout but that would be quibbling. This is a game the Yankees really needed to stop the major bleeding this team inflicted upon itself during the previous 11 games. The thing now is to back it up with another victory, then another and another, etc.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees on Monday selected the contract another rookie, left-handed reliever Jacob Lindgren, from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and optioned right-hander Branden Pinder to the same the club. They also made room on the 40-man roster for Lindgren by shifting backup infielder Brendan Ryan from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list. Lindgren, 22, made his major-league debut against the Royals and pitched two scoreless innings of relief. Lindgren, a starter for Mississippi State, was the team’s first selection in the second round (55th overall) in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft. He is the first Yankee draft pick to play in the majors within 12 months of being drafted since Deion Sanders did it in 1989.  . . .  McCann was 1-for 3 with a homer, two walks, two runs scored and three RBIs on Monday despite being unsure if he would even be ready to play. McCann left Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers in the eighth inning with tightness in his right calf and foot. McCann, 31, was able to play because the tightness turned out to be just cramps and nothing serious. Meanwhile, outfielder Carlos Beltran, 38, missed another game with flu-like symptoms. He is day-to-day, manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Monday.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game home series with the Royals on Tuesday.

Right-hander Adam Warren (2-3, 4.26 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Warren, 27, took a tough loss on Wednesday to the Washington Nationals. He was charged with yielding just two runs on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

The Royals placed left-hander Danny Duffy on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with left biceps tendinitis and they will start left-hander Jason Vargas (3-1, 5.26 ERA) when they activate him off the disabled list on Tuesday. Vargas was on the DL with a left flexor strain and has not pitched since May 5.

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

 

Volquez Propels Royals To Shutout Over Yankees

GAME 39

ROYALS 6, YANKEES 0

Edinson Volquez threw seven shutout innings and Salvador Perez homered and drove in two runs as Kansas City blanked New York on Sunday to take the three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

Volquez (3-3) yielded just three hits, issued no walks and fanned five.

Perez opened the scoring for the Royals with a solo home run with one out in the second inning off left-hander Chris Capuano (0-1), who was making his season debut after coming off the disabled list earlier in the day from a right quad strain.

The Royals added three runs in the fourth off Capuano and right-hander Esmil Rogers on consecutive RBI hits by Kendrys Morales, Perez and Omar Infante.

Capuano was charged with four runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 3-plus innings.

The loss dropped the Yankees’ season record to 22-17, but they remain a game ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. The Royals improved to 24-14.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

There were no positives at all for the Yankees.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The right elbow injury to Chase Whitley forced the Yankees to rush Capuano from his minor-league rehab and it appears he is going to have to build back his stamina. He did look fine in his first three innings but he began the fourth with back-to-back walks to Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer, which led to the three-run inning.
  • It appears that beginning on May 12 the Yankees have fallen back into their offensive woes of 2013 and 2014. In their past six games they have lost five of them and they scored only six runs in those games. Part of the issue is the Yankees have been placed on a killer schedule of 30 games in 31 days with most of those on the road. This team needs rest and they need to get back home to get the offense going again.
  • The Yankees are going to have to make a decision soon about Stephen Drew. He was 0-for-4 and is batting .177 on the season. When a team is struggling to score runs he sticks out like a sore thumb. His days in pinstripes may be numbered if he does not turn it around like right now.

BOMBER BANTER

First baseman Mark Teixeira left the game in the seventh inning with a right big toe contusion. X-rays taken after the game were negative for a fracture. Teixeira was hit on the right foot by a 3-0 pitch from Volquez in the fourth inning but remained in the game until Garrett Jones replaced him defensively in the seventh. Teixeira said he plans to play in the Yankees’ next game on Tuesday.  . . .  When the Yankees activated Capuano, 36, from the disabled list on Sunday the team optioned right-hander Bryan Mitchell back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Mitchell, 24, was recalled on Saturday but did not appear in a game.

ON DECK

The Yankees will get a much needed day of rest on Monday before opening a series with the Washington Nationals on Monday at Nationals Park.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (3-1, 4.14 ERA) will start for the Yankees. Eovaldi suffered his first loss last Monday against the Rays, surrendering four runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

He will be opposed by left-hander Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.25 ERA). Gonzalez did not get a decision on Tuesday in giving up five runs on nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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.

 

Young’s Homer Boosts Yankees Past Nationals

GAME 34

YANKEES 4, NATIONALS 3

Chris Young blasted a two-run homer in the eighth inning off Nationals closer Drew Storen to propel New York to a come-from-behind victory over Washington on Saturday at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Young’s third home run of the spring, which all came off the Nationals, followed a one-out single by Didi Gregorius.

Storen (0-1), who has been hampered all spring with blister on his right foot, took the loss.

David Carpenter (2-0) pitched one-third of an inning in the seventh to get credit for the victory. Right-hander Dellin Betances earned a save by striking out the side in the ninth despite making things interesting by yielding a single and a walk in between.

The Yankees concluded their exhibition season with a 17-16-1 record.

FIELD FOCUS

Chris Martin pitched a perfect inning of relief in sixth with two strikeouts. Just the fact he is even pitching on a major-league roster is a miracle in and of itself.

Martin was named a member of manager Joe Girardi’s seven-man bullpen on Friday. But there was a time the 6-foot-8 right-hander was just a regular working stiff at an appliance warehouse.

Down in Arlington, TX, Martin was loading 650-pound refrigerators onto dollies for delivery. The only doubleheaders Martin knew were the shifts he previously worked at the lawn and garden section at Lowe’s warehouse and then evenings at UPS.

Before all this Martin, 27, was drafted as a senior from Arlington High School by the Detroit Tigers in 18th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft. Instead of signing Martin opted to attend McLennan Community College in Waco, TX.

That following year, the tall right-hander was chosen in the 21st round by the Colorado Rockies. Again, Martin opted to stay in school.

However, that fall, Martin severely injured his shoulder. On the advice of Dr. Keith Meister, the team physician for the Texas Rangers, Martin tried resting the shoulder. But with the pain too great, Martin underwent surgery in 2007 to repair the labrum and release the shoulder capsule.

When the shoulder healed, Martin tried out with the Fort Worth Cats of the United Baseball League. When the shoulder still didn’t feel right, Martin quit baseball and went to work at Lowe’s and then at night with UPS for the insurance benefits.

Martin later caught up with former Arlington alum Jordan Bostwick, who graduated a year after Martin. Bostwick urged Martin to come to work for him at Texas Appliance in Arlington.

In June 2010, Bostwick broke out a left-handed catcher’s mitt during a lunch break and had Martin play catch with him. Martin’s pitches busted the seams off the mitt and nearly broke Bostwick’s right thumb.

More importantly, Martin informed Bostwick his shoulder felt really good.

Soon Martin signed a contract for $800 a month with the Grand Prairie Airhogs, an independent team operated by former major-league slugger Pete Incaviglia.

The radar readings of Marin’s pitches were hitting 95 miles per hour. Martin went on to a 4-0 record with a 1.95 ERA in 13 games with the Airhogs.

Incaviglia called the Boston Red Sox on behalf of Martin and the Red Sox signed him for $1,100 a month after a tryout arranged at Martin’s expense in Fort Myers, FL. After stops in Class-A Greenville and Salem, Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket, Martin was dealt to the Rockies in December 2013.

Martin made his major-league debut with the Rockies against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 26 of last year.

He ended up with an ERA of 6.89 in 16 games with the Rockies before his contract was purchased for $75,000 by the Yankees in January.

Martin was among a large group of non-roster pitchers trying to making the Yankees’ bullpen this spring. At best, he was a long-shot. He ended spring training on Saturday with a 0-1 record and 4.09 ERA in 11 appearances. But the Yankees were enamored more by his 18 strikeouts with only one walk.

So Martin now will have a chance to open the season in the major leagues in 2015. It does not appear he will be making those shifts to load refrigerators in Texas anymore.

Instead he will be living out a dream that looked to be over just a short time ago.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Despite the fact starter Nathan Eovaldi gave up three runs on three hits in the first inning, he settled in nicely afterwards. Eovaldi, 25, held the Nats to just one hit over the next four frames. In five innings, Eovaldi struck out six while walking three. He ended his spring with a 1-1 record with a 1.93 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.
  • Stephen Drew ruined right-hander Doug Fister’s six-inning outing by lashing a two-out, two-run home run in the fifth inning to draw the Yankees to within a run of the Nationals at 3-2. It was Drew’s third homer of the spring and he ended up batting .259 with three homers and nine RBIs. On March 12, Drew was hitting .077. From then on he was 16-for-34 (.471).
  • Betances earned a save by striking out the side in the ninth. But he also yielded a one-out single to Reed Johnson and a one-out walk to Pedro Severino. Betances topped out at 95 mph on the radar gun, which is still a bit off the 97 mph he was throwing at last season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The offense is still pretty inconsistent. The Yankees did not get their first hit until the fourth inning and they managed just six hits overall. Fortunately, home runs by Drew and Young bailed them out. The Yankees got great pitching from Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Eovaldi and Adam Warren this spring. It would a shame not to give those guys the support they deserve.
  • Alex Rodriguez started at designated hitter and batted seventh in the game. But A-Rod probably would like to forget about it because Fister fanned him twice and reliever Craig Stammen did it once  –  all three strikeouts came on sharp curveballs.
  • Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner set the table exactly as Girardi would have liked in the fourth when Ellsbury reached after being hit by a pitch from Fister. Gardner followed with a sharp single to left. But Carlos Beltran grounded into a force play and Mark Teixiera rapped into a 4-6-3 double play. The RBI guys are paid to produce and Beltran and Teixeira must do it consistently if the Yankees are to contend at all.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees elected to retain John Ryan Murphy as their backup catcher to Brian McCann as they designated for assignment Austin Romine on Saturday. Murphy came off the bench in seventh inning to catch and was 0-for-1 to end the spring with a .238 average. Romine was 6-for-35 (.171) with 10 strikeouts. Romine was out of options so now any team may claim him. If he is not claimed he would remain with the Yankees and be sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  . . .  In other roster moves, the Yankees added backup infielder Gregorio Petit to the 25-man roster and they placed infielder Brendan Ryan (calf strain), left-hander Chris Capuano (quad strain) and right-hander Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery) on the 15-day disabled list. Infielder Jose Pirela was placed on the 7-day concussion DL.

ON DECK

The Yankees will rest on Sunday and prepare to open the season on Monday at Yankee Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Tanaka, 26, will start for the Yankees after ending up 1-2 with a 3.07 ERA in four spring starts. It is the first time since 2008 that a pitcher other than CC Sabathia has started the season for the Yankees.

Right-hander Drew Hutchison will pitch for the Blue Jays. Hutchison, 24, was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in four spring outings. He surprisingly won the starting assignment over former Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey and veteran left-hander Mark Buehrle.

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

 

Strasburg Pitches Nats Past Yanks In Spring Finale

GAME 33

NATIONALS 8, YANKEES 2

Stephen Strasburg held the Yankees to one run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings and Bryce Harper stroked an RBI triple to spark a three-run first inning as Washington downed New York on Friday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.

Strasburg (2-1) walked one and struck out six to get credit for the victory.

Left-hander CC Sabathia (0-3) yielded three runs on three hits and two walks in the first inning. But Sabathia recovered and ended up yielding no runs on just two hits and a walk in his remaining 4 1/3 innings of work.

Mike Carp hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning off right-hander Nick Goody to put the game out of reach.

The Yankees completed their Grapefruit League schedule with a 16-16-1 record.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • At first glance Sabathia’s 0-3 record and 8.10 ERA this spring is a bit alarming. However, Sabathia was a totally different pitcher after the first inning. He retired 12 of the final 15 batters he faced, striking out two. At least it is something to build upon for his next scheduled start on April 9 at Yankee Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays.
  • It also should not surprise anyone that the two Yankee RBIs against the Nationals came from Chase Headley and Rob Refsnyder. Headley laced a two-out RBI double into the right-center gap off Strasburg in the fourth inning. Refsnyder added a two-out RBI double of his own in the ninth inning. Headley led all of the Yankee roster players in batting this spring with a .321 average and he drove in eight runs. Refsnyder led all players with 16 or more at-bats in hitting for a .372 average.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The Yankees did not play well at all in the final week of the spring. They entered the week 15-12 and ended up 16-16. The major reason why was they did not hit well as a team. That pretty much was an ongoing theme of the spring. In their four losses this week they scored five runs on just 15 hits. You can’t sugarcoat it. This team is just dreadful offensively.
  • One of the biggest culprits this spring was Brett Gardner. The 31-year-old outfielder was 9-for-56 (.161) with no homers, three RBIs and 16 strikeouts. The odd thing is that Gardner was coming off his best season in terms of homers (17) and RBIs (53).
  • With such bullpen stalwarts as David Robertson, Shawn Kelley and David Phelps gone and Adam Warren being moved into the rotation due to the injury to Chris Capuano, it stood to reason the bullpen might need time to gel. But it is a source of concern leaving camp because Dellin Betances (6.14 ERA), Chasen Shreve (4.67), David Carpenter (4.70) and Chris Martin (4.50) all had some shaky moments this spring.

BOMBER BANTER

Because of the struggles of Betances, manager Joe Girardi again on Friday refused to name a closer. It is looking as if the right-handed Betances and left-hander Andrew Miller will share the role and will be used depending on specific ninth inning matchups. “I really think that if you do it that way and as long as you’re prepared, it has a chance to be advantageous to you,” Girardi told reporters.  . . .  Right-hander Ivan Nova threw a 45-pitch bullpen session on Friday without any setbacks. Nova, 27, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, will remain in Florida to continue his rehab and is expected to be able to return sometime in June.  . . .  In a bit of a surprise, Slade Heathcott was named on Friday as the winner of the James P. Dawson Award as the the Yankees’ outstanding rookie of the spring, Heathcott, 24, was 11-for-31 (.355) with a homer and seven RBIs in 21 games. I think Refsnyder was a much better hitter and should have won the award.

ON DECK

The Yankees are now in Washington, DC, for the final exhibition game on Saturday against Nationals at Nationals Park.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will start for the Yankees after going 1-1 with 0.66 ERA in four games (three starts) this spring.

The Nationals will start right-hander Doug Fister, who was 0-0 with 7.02 ERA in five spring starts.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast for free on MLB.com.

Nats Rally For 3 Runs In Seventh To Nip Yankees

GAME 22

NATIONALS 7, YANKEES 6

Jose Lobaton stroked a one-out, two-run double in the seventh inning off right-hander Kyle Davies to cap a three-run rally that gave Washington a victory over New York on Monday at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, FL.

The Yankees blew leads of 3-0 and 6-4 during the afternoon as the result of some shaky pitching from Chasen Shreve, Jose Ramirez and Davies.

Five of the Yankees’ runs came as the result of home runs by Chris Young and Brian McCann.

McCann capped a three-run inning in the third by connecting for a two-run home run off starter Doug Fister.  It was his second home run of the spring.

After the Nationals took the lead with four runs in the fourth inning, Young tied the game in the fifth with his first home run of the spring, which also came off Fister.

In the sixth inning, Young connected again for a two-run shot to left off right-hander Casey Janssen.

Right-hander Craig Stammen (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh inning to get credit for the victory. Veteran right-hander Heath Bell earned a save. Davies (0-1) took the loss.

The Yankees have now lost their last two road contests and their Grapefruit League record fell to 12-9.

FIELD FOCUS

In his first full season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Young was considered one of the best young power hitters in the game after he hit 32 homers in 2007. He also stole 27 bases that season so the D-backs were thrilled to have a young player who could combine power and speed.

However, as the seasons wore on in the Arizona desert, Young could not get his batting average over the .257 he hit in 2010. The strikeouts also hovered around 140 per season and after a injury-marred season in 2012, Young was sent packing to Oakland.

After hitting .200 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs for the Athletics. Young ended up with the Mets. Met fans soon unleashed a chorus of boos at him when he hit .205 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs in 88 games.

Young found himself without a job at midseason until the Yankees called and asked him to audition for a job with them in the final month. Young responded by hitting three home runs and driving in 10 runs in just 23 games. More noteworthy, Young batted .282.

The Yankees decided to keep Young and he has already been named as the team’s fourth outfielder. Capable of playing all three outfield spots, Young provides insurance to the Yankees should center-fielder Jacoby Ellsbury been unable to recover from an oblique injury enough to play Opening Day.

He also can spell 37-year-old right-fielder Carlos Beltran, who is coming off an injury-plagued 2014 season.

Young proved what he is capable of at Space Coast Stadium on Monday. Two at-bats in consecutive innings and two home runs. Young is now batting .265 with two home runs and four RBIs but his value is much more than those numbers.

The Yankees need his power from the right side of the plate. He provides some speed to the lineup and he is also above-average fielder. At age 31, Young may have a role suited for him and the Yankees.

It looks like it will be beneficial to both.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Starter Bryan Mitchell looked pretty good in his outing against the Nationals. He yielded two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two in 3 1/3 innings. Mitchell actually was not on the mound when those two runs scored. Shreve allowed a two-out, bases-loaded single to the pitcher Fister in the fourth inning. He is still a longshot to be the team’s fifth starter, but Mitchell, 25, might be a valuable fill-in starter should the Yankees need to call him up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
  • McCann is showing that he has got his timing down at the plate. In his past four games, McCann is 5-for-10 (.500) with two homers and five RBIs. McCann, 31, will likely bat fifth in the Yankee lineup and he will be expected to hit for power and drive in runs. McCann also would like to hit better than the .232 average he ended up with in 2014.
  • Rob Refsnyder is showing that batting over .300 at Triple-A last season was not a fluke. He was 2-for-2 on Monday including a lined double off Fister and he scored two runs. Refsynder, who will turn 24 on March 26, is batting .346 this spring. The converted second baseman is still working on his defense but he can flat-out hit.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Shreve stinks, period. In three consecutive outings the 24-year-old left-hander has yielded six runs (five earned) on seven hits in just two innings. There had been talk that Shreve possibly would join Andrew Miller and Justin Wilson as a third lefty in the bullpen. After Monday, it is safe to say that Shreve will be back at Scranton trying to figure out what went wrong and how he can fix it.
  • Davies, 31, was once a potential fifth starter candidate but he likely will not make the team at all. The non-roster right-hander has not pitched in the majors since 2011, when he was 1-9 with a 6.75 ERA with the Kansas City Royals. This spring he is 0-1 with 5.14 ERA and he did himself no favors giving up three runs on three hits and a walk in the seventh inning to the Nationals.

BOMBER BANTER

Ellsbury, 31, told reporters that his strained right oblique is feeling better and he still believes that he can be ready to play on Opening Day. Ellsbury has not played in an exhibition game since March 15 when he felt a twinge throwing in the outfield before a game with the Philadelphia Phillies. “I guess all I can tell is just how I feel each and every day,” Ellsbury told reporters. “But until I swing a bat, until I throw, until I do really explosive stuff, that will be the real test. But it does feel better each and every day.”  . . .  Manager Joe Girardi said on Monday that infielder Jose Pirela was still feeling some neck soreness but was no longer feeling dizzy. Pirelli, 25, crashed into the wall at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, FL, in the first inning of a game against the Mets. Pirelli left the game and he will undergo a concussion protocol. It is unclear when he will be able to return to action. Pirela is batting .370 this spring with no home runs and five RBIs.

ON DECK

The Yankees return to George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL, to host the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.

Right-hander Esmil Rogers will have likely his last shot to claim the No. starting spot in the Yankee rotation. Rogers, 29, is 0-0 with a 2.89 ERA in five appearances (three starts) this spring.

The Tigers will start right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in four spring starts. But he is coming off five shutout innings in his last start.

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.

 

Mets Sink CC, Yankees With Home Run Barrage

GAME 21

METS 7, YANKEES 0

The Mets hit three home runs off left-hander CC Sabathia and right-hander Matt Harvey shut out the Yankees over 5 2/3 innings as the Bronx Bombers’ crosstown rival handed them an embarrassing loss at sold-out Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, FL.

Juan Lagares opened the bottom of the first inning with an inside-the-park home run. Lucas Duda added a two-out solo shot to right-center in the same inning. Two innings later, David Wright tagged Sabathia with a one-out, two-run blast to make it 4-0.

Sabathia (0-2), making only his second start of the spring, left in the third inning after having given up four runs on five hits and no walks and he struck out four batters.

However, Harvey (1-0) was impossible for the Yankees to solve. He yielded just two hits with no walks and fanned four in 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory.

Eric Campbell added to assault on the Yankees with a two-out solo homer in the ninth off left-hander Chasen Shreve.

With the loss, the Yankees’ spring record falls to 12-8.

FIELD FOCUS

From 2008 through 2010, right-hander Scott Baker was sitting atop the world with the Minnesota Twins.

During those three seasons, the right-hander was a combined 38-22 with a 4.11 and he was clearly the ace of the young Twins’ staff. But in 2011, Baker  –  sporting an 8-6 record and sparkling 3.14 ERA after 21 starts  –  had his season ended with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.

He missed the entire 2012 season and Twins cut him loose, unsure about his future recovery and unwilling to pay him a multiyear deal.

So Baker has bounced around from the Chicago Cubs in 2013 to the Texas Rangers in 2014, making only 28 appearances in those two seasons. But the Yankees decided to take an chance on the 33-year-old veteran and they signed him to a minor-league contract on Jan. 30.

Baker was invited to spring training and he has a chance to earn $1.5 million if he makes the major-league roster. Baker was immediately thrown into the mix of potential starters for the spring but his importance grew larger when No. 5 starter Chris Capuano suffered a Grade 2 quad strain on March 11.

He may soon be paying a big dividend to the Yankees with what he did on Sunday.

Baker, making only his third appearance, entered the game in the fourth inning and promptly began mowing down the same Mets hitters that had no trouble hitting Sabathia and Shreve. He ended up being the highlight of the day for the Yankees.

Baker pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up just a scratch looping single to Travis d’Arnaud to leadoff the seventh inning. He walked none and fanned two in needing only 53 pitches (37 of them strikes) to retire 13 batters.

It gives manager Joe Girardi some pause before just handing the fifth starter spot to right-hander Adam Warren, who is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA. Warren has been battling with Baker along with right-handers Esmil Rogers, Chase Whitley and Bryan Mitchell.

But Baker may have something to say about it.

After a rough start against the Houston Astros on March 7, Baker has been sensational. He has yielded just one run on three hits in 7 1/3 innings with no walks and five strikeouts.

If Sunday’s game is any indication, Baker may just be of some help to the Yankees in 2015. The question now is just a matter of when that will be.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • There were no positives. The Yankees might have been better off skipping the long bus ride from Tampa, FL, and just forfeited the game considering the fact they mustered no runs on three singles, hit into three double plays and their pitchers gave up four home runs.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The party line on the Yankees is that Sabathia’s velocity is up to as high as 93. They also are saying that his right knee is healthy and that is the important thing. But after two outings Sabathia also has been hammered for six runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings and he is 0-2. “For him it’s just just getting back to the consistency and getting him some work,” Girardi told reporters. Fine. We will see if Girardi is saying that in May. We need to start seeing results. Results, period.
  • Girardi brought the starting infield of Mark Teixeira, Stephen Drew, Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley. Teixeira was 1-for-3 and even stole a base off Harvey. But the rest were a combined 0-for-8 with a walk for Headley. They also combined for three strikeouts. Granted, Harvey is a tough pitcher but the regulars are not getting it done with the bat this spring and it is very troubling.
  • The lefty Shreve, 24, came over with David Carpenter from the Atlanta Braves in the trade for left-hander Manny Banuelos and he has been touted as potential third left-hander in the bullpen. Girardi may want to revisit that idea because Shreve was lit up after there were two outs in the ninth inning for a solo home run by Campbell, a single by Kirk Niewenhuis and RBI double by light-hitting Ruben Tejada. In his past two outings, Shreve has given up five runs (four earned) on six hits in just 1 2/3 innings. Shreve may need some time refining his craft at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

BOMBER BANTER

On Thursday, Girardi elected to try infielder Jose Pirela in center-field in game against the Philadelphia Phillies. In the ninth inning, Pirela dropped a routine fly ball for a three-base error that allowed two additional runs to score in the inning. Girardi decided again on Sunday to try Pirela in center and he lasted one batter. Pirela, 25, failed to catch a fly ball off the bat of Lagares and ended up crashing into the wall. He sustained a concussion and had to be removed from the game. A CT scan and MRI conducted at Tradition Medical Center came back with no anomalies but Pirela will not be able to resume baseball activities until he completes the concussion protocol and it is unclear how long he will be out. Blame this on Girardi. Pirela has no business playing center.  . . .  Right-hander Dellin Betances threw a bullpen session in Tampa and told reporters that he will throw his first back-to-back outings of the spring on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers and Wednesday against the Mets.

ON DECK

The Yankees will travel to play the Washington Nationals on Monday at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, FL.

Mitchell, 23, will get the start for the Yankees. He is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two appearances this spring.

Right-hander Doug Fister will pitch for the Nationals. He faced the Yankees earlier in the spring and pitched two shutout innings. He is 0-1 with a 3.24 ERA in three starts overall.

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

 

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.