Tagged: Rafael Montero

Mets’ Power Hands Tanaka First Spring Defeat

GAME 25

METS 7, YANKEES 2

Juan Lagares stroked a two-run homer and John Mayberry Jr. added a solo shot of his own as the Mets completed a sweep of their home-and-away with the Yankees on Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.

Right-hander Rafael Montero (1-0) held the Yankees to one run on three hits and no walks while he struck out four in four innings of work to get credit for the victory.

Masahiro Tanaka (1-1) took the loss yielding three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. He threw 49 of his 57 pitches for strikes.

Of more concern to the Yankees was that the two pitchers being considered as the team’s closer, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, combined to give up two runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.

With the loss the Yankees’ spring record dropped to 13-10.

FIELD FOCUS

At one time, Andrew Bailey, 30, was considered as one of the best young relievers in baseball.

He burst onto the scene in 2009 with the Oakland Athletics recording 26 saves in 30 opportunities with a 1.84 ERA. As a result, Bailey was named American League Rookie of the Year.

In his three seasons with Oakland, he saved 75 games and it looked as if Bailey would join the elite club of good young closers like Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves.

However, injuries have plagued the 6-foot-3, 240-pound right-hander since the Boston Red Sox traded for him as a their choice to replace Jonathan Papelbon as the team’s closer.

He had surgery on his right thumb before the 2012 season and ended up a disappointing 1-1 with a 7.04 ERA. Bailey was a bit better in 2013. He was 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA but he was only able to save six out of 13 chances before succumbing to major right shoulder surgery in July.

The Red Sox decided rather than pay him in 2014 they opted not to tender him an offer and released him.

The Yankees signed him last winter to a one-year deal with a option, knowing Bailey would not be able to pitch at all in 2014. Now perhaps the Yankees’ patience with Bailey will pay off.

Held back early in the spring, the Voorhees, New Jersey native has made three appearances, including a scoreless inning of work against the Mets on Wednesday.

Bailey has no record with 0.00 ERA in those outings. He has given up two hits and a walk with four strikeouts in three innings. If Bailey continues to look good the Yankees might have found some experienced bullpen help.

Given the struggles of Betances and Miller, Bailey also possibly could be shifted back into a closer’s role down the road. Of course, the Yankees could also allow him to build up his arm strength and stamina at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

If Bailey continues to progress he possibly could make a big impact on the team’s bullpen in 2015. the only question is what his role might be.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Despite the fact he got knocked around a bit Tanaka was still impressive in outing on Wednesday. Tanaka told reporters through an interpreter after the game that he was working on throwing his two-seam fast ball more. That pitch was the one the Mets were whacking all over the park. His splitter and slider were devastating enough to strike out seven. So give Tanaka a mulligan for this outing.
  • While a lot of the regulars have been struggling at the plate, Chase Headley has not been one of them. Headley had another good day at the plate  –  going 2-for-3 and driving in one of the Yankees’ two runs with a two-out RBI double in the third inning. Headley is now 12-for-38 (.316) overall with two homers and four RBIs. He has been a real surprise this spring.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Betances, 26, has been plagued all spring with reduced velocity on his fastball and he has been paying a dear price for it. In his past four outings, Betances has yielded single runs in each on six hits and two walks in just 3 1/3 innings. Even more telling is that he has only four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings this spring. It is looking more and more that Betances will not be named as the team’s closer.
  • Miller, 29, has been slightly better although he was ineffective on Wednesday. Miller is 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA and he has fanned eight in 6 1/3 innings. If the decision had to be made today, manager Joe Girardi likely would name Miller as the closer. But keep in mind that Miller has never been closer either and has just one career save.
  • It is one step forward and two steps back for Brett Gardner this spring. He was 0-3 with two strikeouts against the Mets and he is batting a woeful .140 this spring. With Jacoby Ellsbury out Gardner has been batting leadoff and he has not succeeded in getting on consistently at all.

ON DECK

The Yankees will travel to Port Charlotte, FL, on Thursday to take on the Tampa Bay Rays.

Right-hander Adam Warren (2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in his four starts) will have a chance to lock up the No. 5 starting spot with a good outing.

The Rays will counter with right-handed reliever Kevin Jepsen, who has no record and a 1.80 ERA in five relief appearances this spring.

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

 

Flores’ Walk-Off Blast Propels Yanks Over Tigers

GAME 23

YANKEES 9, TIGERS 8

In a pattern that is all to familiar the “Baby Bombers” once again snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Tuesday.

Ramon Flores laced a three-run homer just barely over the right-field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring New York all the way back from an 8-2 deficit to a walk-off victory over Detroit at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

Flores, with the Tigers one pitch away from victory, connected on an inside fastball off right-hander Rafael Dolis (0-2) for his second home run of the spring to cap a four-run rally in the final frame.

Trailing 8-5, Aaron Judge started the rally by drawing a walk and stealing second base. John Ryan Murphy followed with a one-out RBI single.

Ali Castillo drew a two-out walk and Flores sent what was left of the crowd of 10,921 happy with his game-winning shot.

Diego Moreno (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to get credit for the victory.

The Yankees improved their Grapefruit League record to 13-9.

FIELD FOCUS

When discussing the Yankees talented young players it is as if Flores is an afterthought.

That is probably because the 5-foot-10, 190-pound outfielder is not blessed with tremendous power (36 career home runs in the minors) or blazing speed (59 stolen bases). His career minor-league average is a rather ordinary .271.

But somehow when you put it all together Flores remains a viable young prospect at 22. (He will turn 23 on Thursday.)

His dramatic home run against the Tigers on Tuesday is not real surprising in that Flores has two home runs and five RBIs this spring despite the fact he is hitting just .172 (5-for-29).

Flores was considered one of the hottest prospects in the Yankees’ organization after his 2012 season as he hit a combined .303 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs in 132 between Class-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton.

But he has been kind of running in place since then. He batted just .260 at Trenton in 2013 and had an injury-plagued season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2014.

Though he will not make the 25-man roster this spring, Flores remains a pretty important player for the Yankees heading in the 2015 season. The reason is that should any of the Yankees’ outfielders sustain an injury, Flores likely would one of the first players the Yankees would look to call up.

That suits Flores just fine. He would love to get a chance to prove what he can do in the majors. He really opened some eyes on Tuesday.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Give the young Yankees credit for bringing the Yankees back from a 8-2 deficit as the game entered the bottom of the seventh. The Yankees managed to bat around against left-hander Kyle Ryan and the Tigers. Chris Young doubled, Didi Gregorius slashed an RBI double and Slade Heathcott was hit by a pitch. Jonathan Galvez drew a walk to load the bases. Francisco Arcia drove in a run with a RBI groundout and after, another walk loaded the bases, Kyle Higashioka drew a bases-loaded walk off right-hander Buck Farmer, who had replaced Ryan. This three-run rally set up the game-winning rally in the ninth.
  • Gregorius’ RBI double in the seventh came off a left-hander. The knock on Gregorius is that he was incapable of hitting lefties. But manager Joe Girardi is giving Gregorius the chance to prove he can hit them. Thus far, the 25-year-old shortstop is 4-for-13 (.308) against left-handers this spring and he is (5-for-20) .250 against right-handers. It is now appearing that Girardi will not use a platoon of Gregorius and Brendan Ryan at shortstop.
  • Brett Gardner took a more aggressive approach on the bases on Tuesday and he ended up with his first two stolen bases of the spring. However, Gardner was also cut down in the first inning trying to take third on a fly ball off the bat of Chase Headley. Center-fielder Anthony Gose stunned Gardner on a perfect throw to Nick Castellanos at third for a double play.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Esmil Rogers was making his last start as a contender for the No. 5 starter position and things did not go well for the 29-year-old right-hander. He was tagged for six runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts in three innings. The reason only one run was earned was due to his own error in the second inning on high chopper off the bat of Jose Iglesias. That opened the floodgates to a two-run single by Ian Kinsler and a two-run double by J.D. Martinez.
  • Stephen Drew actually did get a single in the fourth inning off starter Anibal Sanchez, which is wonderful because Drew entered the contest batting .161. But Drew either is crazy or he was not paying attention when Gose cut down Gardner. Trying to stretch the single into a double, Drew ended up a dead duck at second on a perfect throw from Gose. It was not a very bright play, Drew.

ON DECK

The Yankees will play host on Wednesday to the New York Mets.

Masahiro Tanaka will start his third contest of the spring. He is 1-0 with 0.00 ERA. His positioning also has him lined up to open the season for the Yankees on April 6 at Yankee Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Mets will counter by starting right-hander Rafael Montero, who is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two appearances this spring. This will be his first start.

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

 

Tanaka Stays Perfect With 4-Hit Shutout Of Mets

GAME 39

YANKEES 4, METS 0

Throughout Wednesday’s game at Citi Field in Flushing, NY, you could honestly hear crickets because the paid crowd of 35,577 and the bats of the New York Mets were silenced by a pitcher who is legend in the making.

Masahiro Tanaka, in only his eighth major-league start, shut out the Mets on just four hits in a masterpiece of a complete game as the Yankees snapped a six-game losing streak to the Mets in the Subway Series and also ended their current four-game skid.

Tanaka (6-0) did not walk a batter and struck out eight in an 114-pitch effort that extended his streak to 42 games without losing a regular-season start that dates back to Aug. 18, 2012 in the Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Tanaka even capped his night by getting his first major-league hit in the top of the ninth inning against right-hander Jose Valverde.

Yangervis Solarte and Mark Teixeira backed Tanaka with a pair of solo home runs and Brian Roberts hit a pair of triples to spoil the major-league debut of Mets right-hander Rafael Montero (0-1).

The Yankees broke through on Montero with two outs in the second inning when Montero issued a walk to Solarte and Roberts followed with a sinking line drive to left that Eric Young Jr. allowed to skip by him for a triple that scored Solarte.

Solarte, a 26-year-old rookie who entered the game leading the American League in batting with a .336 average, added to his own miraculous rookie season by lining his fourth home run of the season into the right-field bleachers with two out in the fourth inning.

Teixeira blasted his eighth home run of the season and his third in his past five games to pad the Yankees’ lead to 3-0.

Montero yielded three runs on five hits and two walks while he struck out three in six innings of work.

The Yankees “stole” a run with two out in the seventh inning off right-hander Carlos Torres when Brett Gardner narrowly beat out a infield single. He then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a infield dribbler off the bat of Derek Jeter that he legged out for an RBI single.

But Tanaka appeared in such command that he really only needed one run.

The quote of the night came from Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy, who had on elf the four hits Tanaka gave up. He told reporters after the game:

“I knew what was coming and I could not hit it.”

Tanaka became the first Yankee rookie pitcher to throw a shutout since Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez did it on Sept. 14 1988 against the Boston Red Sox.

He also silenced a Mets offense that had pounded the Yankees for 21 runs on 24 hits the past two nights across town at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY.

“I think you could argue that he’s been as valuable as anyone on our team, with what he’s done so far this year,” manager Joe Girardi told reporters.

With the victory the Yankees improved to 20-19 and they are tied with the Red Sox for second place in the American League East, one half-game behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles. The Mets dropped to 19-20.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Tanaka’s brilliance against the Mets was tied a lot to his pitch selection. He and catcher Brian McCann noticed that the Mets were not swinging much at Tanaka’s devastating split-finger fastball on two-strike counts so they used Tanaka’s slider and two-seam fastball instead. Tanaka’s shutout lowered his season ERA to 2.17 and he now has struck out 66 and walked seven in 58 innings. WOW!
  • Solarte is long past just being lucky. This youngster is the real deal. His 1-for-3 night kept his average at .336 with four home runs and a team-leading 23 RBIs. “It’s become a running joke, pretty much, in our dugout about [Solarte being] the best player I’ve ever seen at this point,” Roberts told reporters. “It’s a great story. It’s fun to watch.”
  • Roberts was actually shortchanged in his 2-for-4 night because he hit a blistering liner off Torres’ left wrist in the seventh and then hit a scalding liner to center in the ninth that was caught by Curtis Granderson. On May 1, Roberts was hitting .213. Since then he is 12-for-40 (.300), raising his season average to .243.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Tanaka pitched just like an ace should. He stopped a losing streak, gave the shell-shocked bullpen a rest and picked up a team that was scuffling to win lately. There is nothing to complain about.

BOMBER BANTER

CC Sabathia visited Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, AL, on Wednesday and the orthopedist found some “degenerative changes” in the left-hander’s troublesome right knee, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters. Sabathia was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 11 and he later had fluid drained from the knee. Andrews has prescribed a cortisone and stem cell injection that will be administered on Thursday. Although there is no structural damage to the knee there still is no set timetable for Sabathia’s return.  . . .  Outfielder Carlos Beltran sat out Wednesday’s game after having a cortisone injection for a bone spur in his right elbow earlier this week. The Yankees will re-evaluate Beltran’s elbow in a few days. They are hoping the veteran can avoid having surgery.

ON DECK

The Yankees will complete their Subway Series with Mets on Thursday with a chance of earning a split.

The Yankees will call up right-hander Chase Whitley to make his major-league debut in place of Sabathia. Whitley, 24, is 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He has a career minor-league ERA of 2.64.

The Mets will counter with a rookie right-hander named Jacob deGrom, who also will be making his first start in the majors. DeGrom, 25, is 4-0 with a 2.58 ERA in seven starts at Triple-A Las Vegas. He will be starting in place of right-hander Dillon Gee, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lat strain.

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.