Tagged: Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Severino Quiets Tribe To Collect His First Victory

GAME 122

YANKEES 6, INDIANS 2

In his first three Major-League starts right-hander Luis Severino received a total of two runs of support in the 17 innings he had pitched. Despite giving up a run in the first inning on Saturday, the 21-year-old rookie got five runs of support in the first two innings of the game.

He pretty much took control of things from there.

Severino pitched six solid innings to notch his first Major-League victory and Brett Gardner and Brian McCann both homered in the first inning as New York downed Cleveland on Jorge Posada Day with a paid crowd of 47,031 on hand at Yankee Stadium.

Severino (1-2) held the Indians to one run on just three hits with three walks and six strikeouts in a workmanlike 100-pitch outing.

The only run he gave up was when fellow rookie Francisco Lindor laced his eighth pitch of the game into the right-field porch for his sixth home run of the season to give the Indians an early 1-0 lead.

It did not last long, however, as Gardner lined right-hander Danny Salazar’s seventh pitch off the top of the right-field wall for his 12th home run of the season. It came with Jacoby Ellsbury on first on a single and it gave Severino a 2-1 lead that he never relinquished the rest of the afternoon.

One out later, McCann crushed a 0-1 fastball into the bleachers in right-center for his 22nd home run of the season.

The Yankees added a pair of runs in the second inning after Stephen Drew and John Ryan Murphy opened the frame with singles to put runners at first and third with no outs.

Salazar then botched a potential double-play ball off the bat of Ellsbury by throwing wide of second base for an error. Ellsbury got credit for an RBI and Murphy was safe at second. After Murphy advanced to third on a fly ball by Gardner, Carlos Beltran scored him on a sacrifice fly that made it 5-1.

After entering the game pitching at least seven innings in his previous seven starts with a 1.45 ERA in that span, Salazar (11-7) was charged with five runs on eight hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Severino got some help in keeping the Indians from mounting a comeback in both the third and sixth innings.

After Jason Kipnis drew a one-out walk and Lindor singled to advance him to third, Michael Brantley hit a hard one-hopper to rookie first baseman Greg Bird. Bird whirled and threw the ball high and wide to shortstop Didi Gregorius at second base.

Second base umpire Dan Iassogna ruled that Gregorius kept his foot on the base to retire Lindor. But, inexplicably, Kipnis elected to stay at third base on the play.

Indians manager Terry Francona asked Iassogna, the crew chief, to review the play using replay but the crew chose only to discuss it amongst themselves. Francona was ejected from the game by Iassogna during an ensuing argument.

In the sixth inning, Severino appeared to be wobbling as he approached the 100-pitch mark by issuing two-out walks to Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte, However, he got out of the inning when Gregorius ranged to grab Roberto Perez’s ground ball and he retired Almonte at second base on a throw from the seat of his pants.

The Indians added a run in the eighth inning off right-hander Dellin Betances on a two-out bloop single by Chisenhall that scored Lindor, who led off the frame with a double.

The Yankees got that run back against right-hander Jeff Manship on a one-out double by Gregorius, a single by Drew and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Murphy.

The victory snapped a slight two-game skid and gave the Yankees a season record of 68-54. They remain a half-game ahead of the second-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Indians, who are in last place in the American League Central, dropped to 57-65.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Severino actually pitched much better in his previous three starts than he did on Saturday. But run support is essential to his success. Fortunately, Severino got it and he still was able to keep the Indians from coming back despite the four walks he issued. He is 1-2 with a 2.74 ERA and manager Joe Girardi announced on Saturday that he will remain in the rotation for now.
  • In only the second game he used it, McCann was able to hit a home run with a new batting stance that puts a lot more weight on his front foot to prevent him from flying open too early with his right shoulder. It also was fitting on Jorge Posada Day that McCann (who was the designated hitter) and Murphy each got a hit and drove in a run.
  • Gardner’s homer was a product of the short porch in right-field, but it still counts and it was a bit overdue. That was Gardner’s first home run since July 28 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX. Gardner is batting .274 with 12 homers and 54 RBIs on the season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • My only issue was the lineup Girardi chose to use against the Indians after they had lost the first two games of the series. With Mark Teixeira still nursing a sore right shin, he elected to bench Alex Rodriguez, which left Beltran hitting third, McCann fourth and the rookie Bird fifth. On Friday, Girardi benched both Ellsbury and Gregorius against a right-handed pitcher and the team lost. The Saturday moves did work but this resting philosophy with the Blue Jays breathing down the Yankees’ necks is just a bit silly.
  • Odd stat of the day: The Indians collected as many hits off Betances and left-hander Andrew Miller in the final two innings than they did against Severino in six. Linder doubled and Chisenhall singled off Betances in the eighth and Miller was touched by a leadoff single by Perez in the ninth. It is rare the “Twin Towers” give up any hits at all much less as many as the starter.

BOMBER BANTER

Right-hander Michael Pineda will come off the 15-day disabled list to start for the Yankees on Wednesday against the Houston Astros to push Masahiro Tanaka’s next start back to Friday, Girardi told reporters on Saturday. Pineda yielded one run on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings in his second rehab start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. He has been on the DL since July 30 with a right forearm flexor strain. Girardi said he had no plans to remove anyone in the rotation. So it appears the Yankees will use a six-man rotation in the final month.  . . .  Posada was honored before Saturday’s game by having his No. 20 officially retired and a plaque placed in Monument Park. Posada played for the Yankees for 17 seasons and hit .273 with 275 homers and 1,065 RBIs. He was part of five world championship teams and was a five-time All-Star. On Sunday, the Yankees similarly will honor one of his battery-mates, left-hander Andy Pettitte.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to split the four-game series against the Indians with a victory on Sunday.

Left-hander CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.24 ERA) will go to the mound for the Yankees. Sabathia, 35, gave up four runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in a no-decision that the Yankees won against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

Right-hander Trevor Bauer (9-10, 4.62 ERA) will pitch for the Indians. Bauer, 24, was shelled for five runs on six hits and one walk in just 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. In his previous start on Aug. 13, he gave up six runs in 3 1/3 innings to the Yankees at Progressive Field.

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

 

Birdman! Rookie Swats Pair As Yanks Sweep Twins

GAME 119

YANKEES, TWINS 3

Just six days ago the Yankees raised eyebrows when they called up 22-year-old first baseman Greg Bird. After the performance he put on Wednesday in place of the injured Mark Teixeira it is now clear just why they called him up.

Bird not only hit one two-run blast for his first Major-League home run, the rookie added another two-run homer that proved to be the game-winner as New York completed a sweep of Minnesota in front of a paid crowd of 38,066 at Yankee Stadium.

With right-hander Nathan Eovaldi pitching a perfect game through five innings, Bird provided him with some early support by connecting in the fourth inning on a 0-1 change-up from right-hander Ervin Santana and launching it into the second deck of the right-field bleachers to score Carlos Beltran, who had singled, to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Eovaldi and the Yankees, it was not enough.

The Twins not only broke up the perfect game in the sixth inning. They also sent nine men to the plate and took the lead.

Chris Herrmann started the uprising with a one-out bloop single behind third base. Shane Robinson followed with a hard-hit single to left and Aaron Hicks advanced both base-runners on a groundout.

Eovaldi walked Brian Dozier to load the bases and Joe Mauer followed with a two-run single to right. Eovaldi then walked Miguel Sano to reload the bases and Trevor Plouffe scored Dozier on an infield roller between home plate and third base.

Santana was sailing despite giving up the two-run homer to Bird in the fourth. He held the Yankees to two runs on five hits and no walks with four strikeouts through 5 2/3 innings until he walked Beltran in the sixth inning.

That allowed Bird to come up to the plate. Santana threw him 1-0 fastball and Bird laced it on a high line drive into the Yankees bullpen in right-center to allow the Yankees to reclaim a 4-3 lead.

After Bird rounded the bases and headed into the dugout most of the Yankees fans were on their feet urging the rookie to take his first Yankee Stadium curtain call. After some fevered encouragement from his teammates, Bird came out to tip his cap to the crowd quickly.

“We’re just trying to win games here and anything I can do to help, that’s all I’m trying to do. Nothing more, nothing less,” Bird told reporters.

Eovaldi (13-2) ended up collecting his eighth victory in a row and he is undefeated his past 11 starts. He was charged with three runs on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Santana (2-4) pitched 7 2/3 innings but took the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

With the Yankees bullpen without the services of Andrew Miller after he pitched in two consecutive games, left-hander Chasen Shreve and right-hander Dellin Betances combined to preserve the victory for Eovaldi by each pitching one scoreless inning.

Betances threw perfect ninth and struck out two batters to earn his eighth save of the season in 11 chances. His two strikeouts gave him 101 on the season and he became the first Yankees relief pitcher to ever strike out 100 or more batters in two consecutive seasons.

With the three-game sweep the Yankees also completed the season series with the Twins at 5-1. Since 2002, the Yankees have a record of 69-27 against the Twins  –  a .281 winning percentage for the Twins. That percentage is the worst in baseball for any team against any opponent (minimum 50 games).

The Yankees also also have won six of their past seven games and they are now 67-52 this season. Coupled with the loss by the second-place Toronto Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies the Yankees have extended their lead in the American League East to two games.

The Twins fell to 59-61.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • I could tell when I saw Bird’s spring during the exhibition season that he was going to be something special. You can see why he has a combined minor-league average of .282 with 48 home runs in just over 1,200 at-bats. His swing is similar to former Blue Jays first baseman John Olerud and he might end up as a similar type of hitter. The question will be what do the Yankees do with Bird as long Teixeira is playing first base and Alex Rodriguez is the designated hitter?
  • Eovaldi was simply lights out for five innings and then he ran into a lot of bad luck. Only one of the four hits was hit hard. But he did make things worse by walking Dozier and Sano. Now that Eovaldi is succeeding with his split-finger fastball, he is becoming a very good pitcher. Despite the great run support he has received, Eovaldi has earned his 13 victories.
  • Betances stepped back into the closer’s role and did not miss a beat. If Betances had pitched better during spring training and early in the season, he would have likely been the closer. But you can’t argue with Miller’s 27 saves in 28 chances. Of the two I suspect teams fear Betances more. But they both are pretty devastating.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Rodriguez ended an 0-for-18 slide on Tuesday with a grand slam home run that proved to be the game-winning hit. But on Wednesday it was back into a funk for the DH. He was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. His season average has now dipped to .259.
  • John Ryan Murphy has been hitting well (.282) when he starts to give Brian McCann a rest. But Wednesday was not one of those days. He was 0-for-3 and struck out all three times.

BOMBER BANTER

Right-hander Michael Pineda will make a second rehab start on Friday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Wednesday. Pineda, 26, has been on the 15-day disabled list since July 30 with a right forearm strain. He is 9-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 19 starts. Girardi said the he hopes this will be Pineda’s final rehab start and they would to activate him before Sept. 1.

ON DECK

The Yankees will play host to the Cleveland Indians for a four-game weekend series that begins on Thursday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (5-4, 3.57 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Nova defeated the Blue Jays on Friday, limiting them to three runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in seven innings.

Right-hander Josh Tomlin (0-1, 2.84 ERA) will be making only his second start of the season for the Indians coming off shoulder surgery. Tomlin yielded two runs on five hits with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Twins on Saturday.

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

 

A-Rod’s Slam Delivers Knockout Blow To Twins

GAME 118

YANKEES 8, TWINS 4

Great Major-League players soar to amazing peaks and yet they also can sink to some really deep valleys. The valley Alex Rodriguez was in entering Tuesday’s game was approaching the width of the Grand Canyon, having not gotten a hit in 18 at-bats and riding a 3-for-39 slide until he came to the plate in the seventh inning.

All of that changed with one big swing.

Rodriguez laced a 1-0 fastball into the Yankees bullpen in right-center for his 25th career grand slam to lead New York to a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Minnesota in front of 38,007 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez’s 25th home run of the season and his first since his 40th birthday on July 27 came off right-hander T.J. Graham (0-1), who had inherited a bases-loaded, one-out jam from left-hander Ryan O’Rourke.

O’Rourke entered the seventh protecting a 4-1 Twins lead but Chase Headley led off with a pinch-hit single and Brendan Ryan drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. One out later, O’Rourke also walked Brett Gardner on a 3-2 pitch to set the stage for Rodriguez’s heroics.

Rodriguez already had passed former Yankee great Lou Gehrig for the most career grand slams with No. 24 on Sept. 20, 2013 against the San Francisco Giants. No. 25 put the Yankees in the lead for the first time since the fourth inning and received a fevered request for a curtain call from the crowd, which Rodriguez obliged.

The Yankees added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off Graham to pad their lead to four runs. Headley keyed the rally with a two-run double and Jacoby Ellsbury added an RBI single.

Rookie right-hander Nick Rumbelow (1-0), who was just called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the day, allowed an RBI single in the seventh but completed the inning by striking out Aaron Hicks to earn his first Major-League victory.

Left-hander Andrew Miller pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out three to earn his 27th save in 28 chances this season.

The game began as a pitcher’s duel between Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia and Twins right-hander Mike Pelfrey.

Sabathia opened the game by throwing 4 1/3 innings of perfect baseball and he held a 1-0 lead after a one-out ground-rule double in the fourth off the bat of Carlos Beltran and the first Major-League RBI on a single by Greg Bird, who was in the lineup replacing an injured Mark Teixeira.

However, Sabathia allowed a one-out free pass to Trevor Plouffe in the fifth. One out later, Eduardo Escobar singled to right and Kurt Suzuki followed with a double down the left-field line that scored Plouffe.

However, Escobar was thrown out at the plate on a perfect relay from Garder in left to shortstop Didi Gregorius to catcher Brian McCann, who tagged Escobar for the final out of the inning.

The game remained tied until the top of the seventh when Sabathia issued a leadoff walk to Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano hit his next offering into the first row of the left-field bleachers for his ninth home run of the season and his third against the Yankees.

After Sabathia retired the next two batters, Escobar and Suzuki chased him from the contest with a pair of singles. Shane Robinson then greeted Rumbelow with an RBI single that extended the Twins’ lead to 4-1.

Sabathia, 35, was charged with four runs on five hits and three walks and he struck out five batters in 6 2/3 innings. Sabathia has not won a game since July 8 at home against the Oakland Athletics, a stretch of six starts.

Pelfrey, 31, was charged with one run on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

The Yankees have rebounded from a five-game losing streak to have posted five victories in their past six games. They are now 66-52 on the season and they have maintained their one-game lead in the American League East over the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.

The Twins have fallen under .500 to 59-60.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Sabathia did pitch well but the Yankees never seem to score runs until after he leaves the game. It happened again on Tuesday. Though Sabathia is 4-9 with a 5.23 ERA, he has a 3.38 ERA in his past three starts. He also pitched deep into the seventh inning on a night the Yankees needed length from their starter after rookie right-hander Bryan Mitchell left Monday’s game with a nasal fracture in the second inning.
  • Rodriguez has always seemed to thrive on the big stage in the Bronx, NY, and he did again on Tuesday. It is not clear of his prolonged slump is over but he came up with a huge game-winning hit just when it was needed. With Teixeira nursing a bruised right shin the Yankees need Rodriguez to provide power and drive in runs. Though his season average has fallen to .261, he is second on the team in homers (25) and third in RBIs (67).
  • Headley came off the bench in the seventh and provided a single that began the four-run uprising in the inning and then he added a two-run double in the eighth to extend the lead to 7-4. Since the All-Star break, Headley os batting .327 with one home run and 20 RBIs. His clutch hitting has been overshadowed by McCann, Teixeira, Rodriguez and Beltran but he has been producing a lot under the radar.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Just as they did last night with right-hander Kyle Gibson, the Yankees allowed Pelfrey to lull their bats to sleep with a steady diet of breaking pitches. Fortunately for the Yankees, the Twins eventually have to use their bullpen and it is a powder keg just awaiting a spark. In the past two nights, the Yankees are 12-for-32 (.375) against Twins relievers and they scored 10 runs on them in seven innings.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees placed Mitchell, 24, on the seven-day concussion disabled list after he sustained a small nasal fracture on a line drive off the bat of Eduardo Nunez in the second inning of Monday’s 8-7 victory in 10 innings. In addition the Yankees also optioned right-hander Caleb Cotham, 27, to Scranton and recalled Rumbelow and selected the contract of left-hander Chris Capuano from the same club. Manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Tuesday that it is possible that Mitchell could pitch in seven days depending how his recovery goes.  . . .  Teixeira, 35, was held out the lineup on Tuesday with a sore right leg after he fouled a pitch off himself in the sixth inning on Monday. Both X-rays and a CT scan indicate Teixeira has a deep shin bone bruise. But Girardi said it is unlikely to result in Teixeira being placed on the disabled list. Bird, 22, started in his place on Tuesday and was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

ON DECK

The Yankees can sweep the Twins in their three-game home series with a victory on Wednesday.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (12-2, 4.26 ERA) will start for the Yankees riding an eight-game winning streak. Eovaldi yielded four runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in a victory against the Cleveland Indians on Thursday.

The Twins will counter with veteran right-hander Ervin Santana (2-3, 5.66 ERA). Santana, 32, was rocked for five runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings in a no-decision against the Texas Rangers on Friday.

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.

 

Yankees Down Twins In 10th On Nunez’s Misplay

GAME 117

YANKEES 8, TWINS 7 (10 INNINGS)

On a night where the team was literally battered, bruised and besieged leave it to a former New York Yankees shortstop to provide the Yankees with the mistake that handed them a hard-fought 10-inning walk-off victory at Yankee Stadium on Monday.

Chase Headley’s hard-hit bases-loaded grounder clanked off Eduardo Nunez’s glove just enough to allow Greg Bird to score the winning run as New York came back from a 7-5 deficit to beat Minnesota on what was Frank Sinatra Night.

And in true Sinatra-like fashion, the Yankees did their way.

Facing Twins closer Glen Perkins, Bird opened the inning with a line-drive double in the gap in right-center. The only reason Bird was in the game is starting first baseman Mark Teixeira was forced to leave the game in the sixth with a bruised right leg.

Brian McCann, who had driven in five runs on the night with a two-out three-run homer and a two-out two-run single earlier, delivered a double off the glove of left-fielder Eddie Rosario, which should have scored Bird easily with the winning run.

However, Bird went back to tag up at second base and was unable to score because Rosario got the ball in quickly.

With Bird at third and McCann on second, the Twins intentionally walked Carlos Beltran, who had tied the game up with one out in the sixth inning with a two-run home run. Twins manager Paul Molitor then replaced right-fielder Torii Hunter with infielder Eduardo Escobar and positioned him to give the Twins five infielders.

Headley then slapped a 1-2 pitch on two hops to Nunez at shortstop. But Nunez  –  who basically punched his ticket out of New York because of chronic fielding issues  –  allowed the ball to carom off his glove.

Nunez inexplicably threw to first base to retire Headley after Bird already had scored the decisive run.

I want to wake up in a city
That doesn’t sleep
And find I’m king of the hill
Top of the heap

The Yankees’ walk-off victory allowed them to extend their lead in the American League East over the idle Toronto Blue Jays to a full game.

But getting from Point A (the game) to Point B (the victory) proved extremely difficult despite the fact that McCann provided rookie right-hander Bryan Mitchell an early 3-0 lead on a night that CC Sabathia was scheduled to pitch but didn’t because Yankees manager Joe Girardi wanted to give all his starters an extra day of rest.

So the Yankees opened the first with Jacoby Ellsbury reaching on a single and Alex Rodriguez drew a one-out walk. One out later, McCann launched a 0-2 fastball off right-hander Kyle Gibson deep into the right-field bleachers for his 21st home run of the season.

The Twins got one of the runs back in the second inning when Rosario and Kurt Suzuki hit a pair of two-out singles and Nunez capped it by lining a wicked line drive that struck Mitchell in the face and the ball caromed into center-field to score Rosario.

Mitchell immediately fell to the ground with blood pouring profusely from his nose. Mitchell was able to walk off the mound with a towel covering his face with what later was diagnosed as a nasal fracture.

Girardi called upon rookie right-hander Caleb Cotham to replace Mitchell and Cotham was able to strike out Aaron Hicks to end the inning with Suzuki on third and Nunez on second after a stolen base.

But the Twins took advantage of the inexperienced Cotham in the third inning. Brian Dozier led off with a single and, one out later, Miguel Sano stroked his eighth home run of the season into the left-field bleachers.

Forced to leave Cotham in because the Yankees were a man short in the bullpen with Mitchell starting, Trevor Plouffe exploited it by singling to right and Hunter reached on a fielder’s choice in which shortstop Didi Gregorius mishandled his ground ball for an error and it allowed Plouffe to reach third.

Rosario followed with an RBI single to center and the Twins took a 4-3 lead.

But the Yankees reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the frame after Ellsbury singled, Brett Gardner walked and Rodriguez hit a hard-hit grounder that caromed past Plouffe into left-field for an error. Ellsbury, however, was thrown out at home plate on a throw from Rosario. It was his 11th outfield assist of the season.

Because the Twins were running the bases every chance they got in the game, Rodriguez decided to steal a base on a befuddled Gibson. That proved to be a very smart move.

One out later, McCann dumped a bloop single to right that allowed both Gardner and Rodriguez to score. The Yankees reclaimed the lead 5-4.

But it did not last for even one hitter in the fourth. The Twins again exploited Cotham when Hicks led off with his eighth home run of the season into the Yankees bullpen in right-field.

Two batters later Cotham left in favor of left-hander Chasen Shreve after being charged with four runs on six hits in just two innings.

But the normally reliable Shreve was ambushed in the fifth inning when Plouffe led off by cracking a 1-2 pitch that also landed in the Yankees bullpen for his 18th home run of the season.

Plouffe extended the Twins’ lead to 7-5 with two out in the sixth. After Joe Mauer and Sano reached on two-out singles off left-hander Justin Wilson, Plouffe followed with an RBI single to left.

But the seesaw game swung back again in the sixth inning after Teixeira battled Gibson to draw an 12-pitch walk. Bird pinch-ran for Teixeira after the veteran first baseman fouled a pitch off his right leg earlier in the at-bat.

Molitor replaced Gibson with left-hander Brian Duensing. After Duensing struck out McCann, Beltran tied it 7-7 with his 13th home run of the season and his third homer in his past four games.

Gibson, who entered the contest with an ERA over 10.00 in four career starts against the Yankees, was charged with six runs on four hits and three walks and struck out two in five-plus innings.

The game remained tied despite the fact the Yankees loaded the bases with one out against first left-hander Ryan O’Rourke and then right-hander Casey Fien. The Yankees had McCann and Beltran up with the bases loaded but McCann was retired by Fien on a weak infield popup and Beltran struck out swinging.

But the Yankees bullpen trio of right-hander Adam Warren (seventh), right-hander Dellin Betances (seventh, eighth and ninth) and left-hander Andrew Miller (10th) held the Twins to one hit and one walk and struck out five in the final four innings to set up the walk-off victory in the 10th.

Miller (1-2) was credited with his first victory of the season in relief. Perkins (1-4) took the loss.

The Yankees improved their season record to 65-52. The Twins dropped to 59-59.

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • McCann had himself a MVP-like night after going 3-for-5 with a single, double, home run, a run scored and five RBIs. The five RBIs tied a career high, which he has done six times. You think that was good? Well, how about his work behind the plate? McCann threw out three Twins base-runners to become the first Yankees catcher to do that since Jose Molina did it 2011 against the Boston Red Sox. McCann threw out Dozier in the fourth, Hunter in the fifth and Nunez in the seventh.
  • Beltran’s hot streak in August continued in a big way on Monday. He was only 1-for-4 but that one was a game-tying home run. This season eight of Beltran’s 13 home runs have either tied or given the Yankees a lead. Beltran is batting .317 with five homers and nine RBIs halfway through the month. It appears Beltran is tired of being platooned with Chris Young and he now has become a must-start every day.
  • Let’s give a shout out to Brian Cashman for having the foresight to release “Eduardo Scissorhands” (Nunez) on April Fool’s Day of 2014. That seems appropriate since Nunez committed 42 errors in 270 games with the Yankees between 2010 and 2013.  Now he is the Twins’ problem and his shaky fielding handed the Yankees a victory. “It’s all my fault,” Nunez told reporters. “The pitcher did his job. I have to do my job and make the play. It’s all on my back. This game. I think I lost the game.” Well said, Scissorhands!

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • I have no idea what the Yankees see in Cotham, 27. He looked tentative on the mound and he seemed absolutely afraid to throw a pitch in the strike zone. It might get hitters to swing out of the zone at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but not in Major League Baseball. There is a strong possibility that Cotham will be shipped back to Scranton now that he is sporting a 7.36 ERA in just two games.
  • Rodriguez’s struggles continue and they are getting worse. He was 0-for-4 with a walk, which means he is now in a 3-for-37 (.081) skid since Aug. 6. His season average has sunk 19 points from .281 to .262 and he struck out 10 times in those 37 at-bats. He was rested on Saturday so that is not an excuse. Perhaps he needs to be lowered in the order. That is what got him going early in the season.

BOMBER BANTER

X-rays of Mitchell indicated a small nasal fracture but the team is also going to monitor the 24-year-old right-hander for concussion symptoms. He is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list prior to Tuesday’s game.  . . .  Precautionary X-rays taken on Teixeira’s right leg just above his knee were negative. Teixeira, 35, was unable to put any pressure on the leg after the game and he is listed as day-to-day.  . . .  As part of a salute to the late Frank Sinatra on Monday, his son Frank Jr. sang the national anthem before the game and the first 18,000 fans (21 and over) were given free Frank Sinatra music download cards.

ON DECK

A battered and tired Yankee team will resume its three-game home series with Twins on Tuesday.

Sabathia (4-9, 5.23) will pitch for the Yankees with that extra day of rest. Despite giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks in six innings against the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday, the Yankees gave him just one run of support and he took the loss.

Veteran right-hander Mike Pelfrey (6-7, 3.70 ERA) will pitch for the Twins. He held Texas Rangers to one run on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in seven innings of a 11-1 victory on Wednesday.

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

 

Tanaka Goes Route As Yankees Cool Jays Again

GAME 115

YANKEES 4, BLUE JAYS 1

Going into Saturday’s game at Rogers Centre the New York Yankees knew they would be without both right-hander Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller because they had both pitched in the previous two games the team won. So the question was: Who would close for the Yankees?

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka provided the answer. He would.

Tanaka threw his first complete game of the season and Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira both hit solo home runs as New York knocked off Toronto for the second straight day and extended their American League East lead over the Blue Jays to 1 1/2 games.

Tanaka (9-5) held the powerful Blue Jays to one run on just five hits and three walks while struck out eight batters in a sparkling 112-pitch outing. It was Tanaka’s first victory of the season over the Blue Jays in three starts.

“Up to this point, I think today was one of the most important games that I’ve pitched in,” Tanaka told reporters through an interpreter. “My mindset was, I wanted to go as deep into the game as possible. I was really satisfied that I was able to do that.”

Beltran, who was the big hero in Friday’s 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Blue Jays with a pinch-hit three-run home run in the eighth inning, got the Yankees’ offense rolling right away against right-hander Marco Estrada (10-7).

With two out in the first inning, Beltran lined a 3-2 fastball into the right-field bleachers for his 12th home run of the season.

Meanwhile, Tanaka looked every bit the $155-million ace the Yankees signed as free agent last season through the first four innings until he temporarily lost command of the strike zone in the fifth.

Ryan Goins drew a leadoff four-pitch walk and Ben Revere followed it with a hard-hit single to left. Tanaka then walked Troy Tulowitzki on four pitches to load the bases with no outs.

Josh Donaldson scored Goins with a sacrifice fly to left but Tanaka was able to wriggle out of further trouble by striking out Jose Bautista swinging and retiring Edwin Encarnacion on a infield popup.

He did not allow another hit except a two-out single by Encarnacion in the eighth inning.

Estrada, at the same time, recovered from the first-inning to hold the Yankees to just one hit  –  a one-out triple by Jacoby Ellsbury in the third  –  until there were two outs in the sixth inning.

Teixeira entered the day struggling in August, batting .182 during the month and 2-for-21 (.095) in his past five games. But he was able to connect on a 1-0 fastball and hit it into the second deck down the right-field line for his 31st home run of the season.

Teixeira’s tie-breaking home run was all Tanaka really would need but Teixeira also added a one-out RBI single in the eighth off right-hander LaTroy Hawkins after Beltran had doubled off the top of the wall in right-center.

Ellsbury closed out the scoring in the ninth with an one-out RBI single off left-hander Aaron Loup.

“Right now, the most important thing is winning,” Beltran told reporters. “It doesn’t matter how we win, we just have to go out there with the mentality of not being able to think of our personal numbers, what we’re doing. We have to think about how we can win this ballgame. Right now, we’re doing good.”

Another sellout crowd of 46,630 saw the Yankees win their third straight game after they had lost the previous five games. Their season record is now 64-51. The Blue Jays dropped to 64-54.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Tanaka, 26, has been somewhat disappointing this season between stretches of inconsistency and a stint on the disabled list. But on Saturday he looked every bit the ace pitcher the Yankees wanted him to be. Despite the three walks, Tanaka kept Toronto’s hitters off-balance by using his slider more than usual and not giving them fastballs in the strike zone. Tulowitzki, Donaldson and Bautista were a combined 1-for-8 with two strikeouts and only two balls reached the outfield.
  • Beltran’s hot month of August continued on Saturday as he was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a home run, two runs scored and one RBI. He now has a hitting streak of 10 games and he is 12-for-32 (.375) with four homers and seven RBIs in that stretch. He is now batting .271 on the season.
  • Teixeira’s home run and two RBIs were his first of each since he homered in the first game of the series against the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 7. He ended his day 2-for-4 with a run scored and he drove in the tie-breaking run and added a key insurance run. Despite the slump Teixeira is batting .261 with 31 homers and 79 RBIs this season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

I would really have to nitpick to find a downside to this game. After losing in 10 innings 2-1 to the Blue Jays on Aug. 7 on a Bautista home run, Bautista said the Blue Jays did more than beat the Yankees. They made a “statement.” Well, after losing the first two games of this series I wonder what has become of Bautista’s “statement?” You may want to put a lot of ketchup on that serving of crow, Jose!

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees bolstered their bullpen on Saturday by recalling right-hander Caleb Catham from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and designating left-hander Chris Capuano for assignment for a second time. Cotham, 27, will be beginning his third stint with the Yankees this season. In 31 games between Double-A Trenton and Scranton, Cotham is 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA and two saves. Capuano, 36, had not appeared in a game since the Yankees selected his contract from Scranton on Aug. 12. He was 0-4 with a 6.97 ERA in 16 games (four starts) with the Yankees.  . . .  Rookie Greg Bird started at first base on Saturday to allow Teixeira to serve as the designated hitter and he singled with two out in the eighth inning off Hawkins for his first Major-League hit. In the sixth inning, Bird, 22, hit a mammoth drive into the right-field seats, which would have been a two-run home run. But it was ruled a foul ball and a review of the play confirmed the call.  . . .  Right-hander Ivan Nova will make his next start despite soreness in right ring finger. Nova, 28, thought he had fractured the finger after he attempted to grab a come-backer off the bat of Tulowitzki in the third inning of Friday’s 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays. Nova still was able to pitch seven innings and got credit for his fifth victory of the season.

ON DECK

After being swept by the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium last weekend the Yankees will have a chance to return the favor to the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Rookie right-hander Luis Severino (0-1, 2.45 ERA) will make his third career start for the Yankees. Severino, 21, has not yielded more than two runs or pitched less than five innings in his first two starts. However, he is still seeking his first Major-League victory.

The Blue Jays will counter with right-hander Drew Hutchison (11-2, 5.26 ERA). Judging by the ERA you can tell that Hutchison, 24, is living off the run support the Blue Jays are providing him. In five starts in July, Hutchison recorded a 6.93 ERA and yet he was 1-1 in those starts.

Game-time will be 1:07 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the YES Network.

 

Yanks Explode To 5-Game End Skid, Down Tribe

GAME 113

YANKEES 8, INDIANS 6

As it has been for most of the season, if the New York Yankees are in a hitting slump all they have to is start right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to break them out it. That is just what happened on Thursday night at Progressive Field.

Brian McCann blasted a three-run homer and Brett Gardner had three hits and drove in three runs to back Eovaldi as New York ended a poorly timed five-game losing streak with a victory over Cleveland.

McCann’s 20th home run of the season came with two out in the first inning off right-hander Trevor Bauer (9-9) and scored Jacoby Ellsbury and Gardner, who have both struggled to get on base throughout the Yankees latest skid.

They added a run on a solo home run by Stephen Drew with one out in the second inning.

Eovaldi (12-2) did not pitch sharply but he was the beneficiary of the same run support he has been getting all season. The Yankees average just over seven runs per start for Eovaldi.

The Yankees finally chased Bauer in the fourth inning on a leadoff single by Didi Gregorius, an RBI double by Drew and a one-out double by Gardner.

Bauer was charged with six runs on seven hits and two walks while he fanned one in 3 1/3 innings.

The Indians managed to hang close by scoring two runs in both the third and six innings off Eovaldi.

Michael Brantley hit a sacrifice fly in the third to score the Indians’ first run and Carlos Santana followed with an RBI single to halve the Yankees’ lead to 4-2.

Former Yankee farmhand Abraham Almonte stroked an RBI double in the sixth and Lonnie Chisenhall ended Eovaldi ‘s night with an RBI single one out later to bring the Indians to within two runs at 6-4.

Eovaldi yielded four runs on seven hits and three walks and struck out four batters in 5 1/3 innings to win his eighth game in a row and he now is undefeated in his past 10 starts.

Right-hander Adam Warren rescued Eovaldi by coming on the sixth inning and inducing an inning-ending double play off the bat of Giovanny Urshela.

The Yankees added solo run in both the sixth and eighth innings and they came on RBI singles by Gardner.

The Indians hung close by scoring a run off left-hander Justin Wilson when right-hander Dellin Betances uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh inning. But Betances got out of the jam by striking out Almonte swinging.

The Indians added a run in the ninth off left-hander Andrew Miller on a two-out RBI single by Yan Gomes. But Miller struck out Chisenhall looking to record his 24th save after blowing his hist first save of the season against the Indians on Tuesday.

With the victory the Yankees improved their season record to 62-51. They are a half-game behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Indians fell to 53-60.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • America may run on Dunkin’ but the Yankees run on Ellsbury and Gardner. After the both of them stinking it up for a week, the pair reached base in a combined 7 times in 10 plate appearances. Gardner was 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three RBIs. Ellsbury was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.
  • McCann’s 20th home run puts him in rare company. He becomes only the fifth catcher since 1900 to hit 20 or more home runs in nine straight seasons. The other four are Yogi Berra, Mike Piazza, Gary Carter and Johnny Bench. The home run was McCann’s eighth on the road this season. He is now batting .242 with 20 homers and 69 RBIs on the season.
  • Drew entered the game batting .190 but managed to go 2-for-3 with a homer, four runs scored and two RBIs. Drew’s home run was his second of the series against the Indians and his 15th of the season, which leads all second baseman in the American League.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Eovaldi once again got hurt by his high pitch count. Between inconsistency in throwing strikes and the Indians putting 10 base-runners on against him in 5 1/3 innings, he was not able to either allow the bullpen to rest or to keep the Indians from getting back into the game. It does not matter now but it could hurt a lot in a potential playoff game.
  • Alex Rodriguez is swinging at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone and it shows that he is pressing. Rodriguez was 0-for-4 with a walk and he struck once and hit into a double play in another at-bat. In his past six games, Rodriguez is 2-for-25 (.080) with six strikeouts. His season average has dipped to .268.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees on Thursday optioned right-hander Nick Goody to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and selected the contract of first baseman Greg Bird. Bird, 22, was batting a combined .277 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs between Double-A Trenton and Scranton. Bird made his Major-League debut on Thursday starting at first base in place of a resting Mark Teixeira and he was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.  . . .  Right-hander Michael Pineda is scheduled to make his first rehab start on Sunday for Trenton and he hopes to make it back into the rotation before Sept. 1. Pineda was placed on the disabled list since July 30 with a right flexor forearm muscle strain. He is 9-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 19 starts this season.

ON DECK

Because of their home meltdown against the Blue Jays last weekend the Yankees open a very important three-game weekend road series at Rogers Centre starting on Friday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (4-4, 3.42 ERA) will start the opener for the Yankees. Nova won three games in a row and stymied the Blue Jays for five innings before surrendering a grand slam to Justin Smoak in the sixth on Saturday.

Left-hander David Price (11-4, 2.35 ERA) will pitch for the Blue Jays. Price shut out the Yankees on three hits and three walks while striking out seven in a victory against the Saturday.

Game-time will be 7:07 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

 

McCann Keys 9-Run Seventh As Yanks Rip Bosox

GAME 105

YANKEES 13, RED FLOPS 3

Despite the fact it is August and the Yankees were facing the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday there seemed to be a subdued dynamic borne out of two teams headed in decidedly different directions, The Yankees have been shooting upward while the Red Flops are just playing out the string of what has been a disastrous season.

That scenario played out as the Yankees turned a 4-3 lead into a 13-3 rout in just one inning.

Brian McCann hit a three-run home run as part of a nine-run inning and drove in four runs and Masahiro Tanaka won his eighth game as New York showed its immense superiority over Boston in front of 48,522 happy fans and a national television audience.

For the Yankees it marked the seventh time this season they have scored 13 or more runs and there are three teams tied for the next most at three. They also have outscored their opposition 59-17 in their past four victories.

Until the seventh inning, the Yankees’ right-hander Tanaka and rookie left-hander Henry Owens were locked into a close battle in Owens’ Major-League debut.

The Yankees took an early lead against Owens (0-1) in the first inning on a one-out single by Chris Young, a walk to Alex Rodriguez and an RBI single by Mark Teixeira.

Tanaka threw four strong innings, yielding only a double by Mike Napoli with two out in the second inning when Young allowed the ball to drop thinking center-fielder Jacoby Ellsbury would catch it.

But in the fifth, Tanaka allowed a one-double to Napoli and a bunt single by Alejandro De Aza. Rookie Blake Swihart followed with an RBI single and Jackie Bradley Jr. plated De Aza on a sacrifice fly.

Owens, meanwhile, sailed into the sixth inning having retired 14 of the next 15 hitters and the past 12 in a row after Teixeira’s first-inning RBI single.

But Young opened the sixth with a single to left and Rodriguez doubled to the left-center. Red Flops manager John Farrell, who ended up not exactly celebrating much of his 53rd birthday, removed Owens in favor of left-hander Robbie Ross Jr.

But Teixeira greeted Ross with an RBI single up the middle to score Young and McCann followed with a RBI double off the wall in right-center. Carlos Beltan gave the Yankees an additional run on an RBI groundout.

Owens was charged with three runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts in five-plus innings.

The Red Flops did draw to within one run when Pablo Sandoval opened the seventh with a home run off Tanaka, which ended his evening.

Tanaka (8-4) was charged with three runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in six-plus innings to notch his fourth victory in his past five starts.

Justin Wilson came on to retire one batter before rookie Rusney Castillo singled and stole second on a 1-1 pitch to Bradley that was called a strike.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi opted to replaced the lefty Wilson with the right-handed Dellin Betances against the lefty-swinging Bradley in the middle of the at-bat. But Betances uncorked a wild pitch to allow Castillo to reach third and he ended up walking Bradley.

However, Betances struck out Brock Holt to preserve the 4-3 lead and keep Girardi from being raked over the coals in the media.

The Yankees then went to work by sending 13 batters to the plate off right-hander Jean Machi, left-hander Craig Breslow and right-hander Alexi Ogando.

It all started with a careless throwing error on shortstop Xander Bogaerts that allowed Ellsbury to reach first. Young drew a walk and Rodriguez chased Machi with an RBI single that extended the Yankees’ lead to 5-3.

McCann then blew the game wide open with a long three-run blast into the right-field bleachers off Breslow for his 18th home run of the season. But the Yankees were not satisfied with beating their rivals; they wanted to humiliate them.

Beltran doubled into the gap in right-center and Chase Headley scored him with a double of his own. One out later, Brendan Ryan walked and Ellsbury singled to drive in Headley.

Farrell replaced Breslow with Ogando to face the righty-swininging Young but Young delivered a three-run homer, his 13th of the season, that landed well into the left-field bleachers to make it 13-3.

By drilling the Red Flops the Yankees improved their season mark to 60-45 and they lead the second-place Toronto Blue Jays by 5 1/2 games in the American League East. The Red Flops fell to a dismal 47-60 mark and they are 14 games back in last place.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • McCann was 2-for-5 with a single, a home run, one run scored and four RBIs. McCann is simply a different player at home. He is batting .298 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs at Yankee Stadium and he is hitting a lousy .218 with six homers and 27 RBIs on the road. His low road average is one reason he is hitting just .252 on the season.
  • Teixeira entered the day having homered four times in his past five games but against the Red Flops he settled for a pair RBI singles. His 2-for-5 night raised his season average to a season-high .268 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs.
  • Young has been the unsung hero of this team as the fourth outfielder. He is hammering left-handers to the tune of .371 but his 13th home run and his three RBIs came off a right-handed pitcher in Ogando. In limited play, Young is batting .268 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs. For that reason we might want to overlook the fielding mistake he made in the second inning.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Watching the Yankees scored nine runs (eight earned) off the Red Flops bullpen was just pleasing to see. Many pundits predicted disaster for the Yankees this season and chose the Red Sox to win the division. It would be nice to gather up all that excrement they spewed and have them eat it all.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees made only one trade-deadline deal and that was to acquire outfielder Dustin Ackley from the Seattle Mariners. Five days later, Ackley is on the 15-day disabled list. The Yankees placed the 27-year-old veteran on the DL on Tuesday with a right lumbar back strain that will sideline him until at least early September. Ackley said the injury did not occur when he was with the Mariners and that he first felt the pain in his back on Friday in Chicago. An MRI showed a herniated disk and he was given an epidural to relieve the discomfort. To replace Ackley on the roster the Yankees recalled right-hander Caleb Cotham from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  . . .  The Yankees announced on Tuesday that outfielder Mason Williams will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. William, 23, hurt his right shoulder diving back into first base in a game against the Tigers in Detroit on June 19. The surgery is scheduled for Friday. Williams batted .286 with a home run and three RBIs in eight games with the Yankees.

ON DECK

With one thrashing out of the way, the Yankees would like to demolish the Red Flops again on Wednesday.

They have their No. 1 pitching prospect, right-hander Luis Severino, scheduled to make his Major-League debut in starting this game. Severino, 21, was quickly promoted from Double-A Trenton to Triple-A Scranton and he has been dominating there in his 11 starts. He was 7-0 with a microscopic 1.91 ERA.

The Red Flops will counter with right-handed knuckleballer Steven Wright (4-4, 453 ERA). The 30-year-old right-hander is coming off a two-run, six-hit effort in seven innings on Friday in which he defeated Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox.

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

 

Drew’s 4 RBIs Leads Assault As Nova Tames Chisox

GAME 104

YANKEES 12, WHITE SOX 3

The past two seasons the offense for the New York Yankees struggled to score even three runs a game because injuries decimated the roster. The 2015 version is healthy and  –  as the Chicago White Sox found out on Sunday  –  they are firing on all cylinders.

Stephen Drew drove in four runs and Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Teixeira each homered to back a strong six innings from right-hander Ivan Nova as New York captured the rubber game of weekend series at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Yankees put the game out of reach by scoring five runs in the fourth and three runs in fifth against right-hander Jeff Samardzija (8-6), who ended up leaving in the fifth inning in what was his shortest outing of the season.

The stage was set when Ellsbury led off the game with his fourth home run of the season to give the Nova (4-3) and the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.

The Yankees turned the game into a rout starting with what looked to be a routine popup in shallow center by Brian McCann that became a single that dropped between three White Sox fielders with one out in the fourth inning.

Carlos Beltran followed by drawing a walk and Chase Headley hit a lined single to right to load the bases. Didi Gregorius then looped a two-run, opposite-field single to left.

Drew singled to reload the bases and Ellsbury hit a sacrifice fly that scored Headley and Brett Gardner rolled a two-run single to center to extend the lead to 6-0.

Teixeira opened the fifth by launching his 29th home run of the season and his third in the weekend series.

Later in the inning, after two were out, Samardzjia finally succumbed to the 100-degree heat and a rising pitch count by hitting Headley with a pitch and walking Gregorius.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura replaced Samardzjia with right-hander Scott Carroll and Drew greeted him with a two-run double to left.

Samardzjia was charged with a season-high nine runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Nova, meanwhile, was able to hold the White Sox down despite coming off an outing in which he left after five innings with arm fatigue.

Nova kept the White Sox off the board until the sixth, when Adam Eaton drew a walk to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a groundout by Jose Abreu. He then scored on a two-out single by Melky Cabrera.

Nova yielded just the one run on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.

The Yankees scored three more runs off Carroll in the seventh on a two-run triple by Drew and an RBI groundout by Ellsbury.

In their past three victories, the Yankees have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 46-14.

The victory improves the Yankees’ season record to 59-45 and they hold a six-game lead over both the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The White Sox dropped to 50-53.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Drew is doing a great job of recreating the Phoenix rising from the ashes. He was 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and three RBIs on Sunday. Drew has lost playing time this season to Gregorio Petit, Jose Pirela, Rob Refsnyder and Brendan Ryan and seemed destined to be released by the team. But he lately has been hitting the ball well as a platoon second baseman. On July 22, Drew was hitting .179. Since that time, he is 11-for-31 (.355) with a homer and seven RBIs. That has raised his season average to .199.
  • The bottom of the order did the most damage to the White Sox with Headley batting seventh, Gregorius eighth and Drew ninth. That trio combined for seven of the 11 hits, eight of the 12 runs scored and seven of the 12 RBIs. Pitchers are finding out lately that those supposed soft spots in the batting order are no longer there. Samardzija expended so much energy dodging Alex Rodriguez, Teixeira, McCann and Beltran that the bottom of the order ended being his downfall.
  • Nova bounced back nicely after leaving his last start after just 75 pitches due to concerns about his arm after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. Nova has now won his past three starts and he has a 2.65 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 17 innings in that span. With Michael Pineda on the disabled list, it is good to see Nova begin to start to get a good groove going heading down the stretch.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Normally reliable left-hander Chasen Shreve gave up a pair of solo home runs to Alexei Ramirez and Geovany Soto in the seventh inning but the Yankees were already leading 12-1. Other than that there was nothing to say about this victory. The offense is just devastating and it is carrying this team for the first time in three seasons.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees placed rookie right-hander Diego Moreno on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday due to discomfort in his right elbow. Moreno, 28, was impressive in throwing 5 1/3 innings of scoreless and hitless relief against the Texas Rangers last week to win in his Major-League debut. However, he was tagged for four runs in three innings in an 8-2 loss to the White Sox on Saturday. He reported the discomfort to the Yankees on Sunday and he is scheduled to visit Dr. Christopher Ahmad in New York on Monday. The Yankees recalled right-hander Branden Pinder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Moreno’s place on the roster.

ON DECK

The Yankees will try to keep their bats hot despite a day off on Monday before opening up a three-game home series with the Boston Red Flops on Tuesday.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-4, 3.80 ERA) will open the series of the Yankees. Tanaka gave up four runs on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts in a loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.

The last-place Red Flops will have left-hander Henry Owens make his Major-League debut against the Yankees. Owens, 23, is 3-8 with a 3.16 ERA in 21 starts at Triple-A Pawtucket this season. The only reason he is pitching is because the Red Flops are now 13 games out and in last place in the division. So much for the pundits who predicted they would win the division. Hah!

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.

Tex’s Six RBIs Blow Away Chisox in Windy City

GAME 102

YANKEES 13, WHITE SOX 6

After the Yankees landed in Chicago at 4 a.m. after their long flight from Dallas most all of the players were pretty tired after a grueling four-game series in the Texas heat. But Mark Teixeira was not one of those players because he was rested on Thursday.

He definitely was wide awake playing against the White Sox on Friday at U.S. Cellular Field.

Teixeira blasted a pair of homers, including his 10th career grand slam, and drove in six runs to lead New York to a rout of Chicago and allow right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to notch his 11th victory of the season.

The Yankees jumped on rookie left-hander Carlos Rodon (4-4) for eight runs in three-plus innings and they scored five runs and sent 10 men to the plate in both the second and fourth innings to post an early 11-2 lead.

Eovaldi (11-2), who has been getting 7.09 runs of a support per start, was able to pitch into the sixth inning to earn his sixth consecutive victory over his past eight starts to lead the Yankees starters in wins.

Eovaldi yielded three runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

The Yankees scored a single run in the first on a two-out double by Alex Rodriguez. Teixeira then drew a walk and Carlos Beltran followed with an RBI double.

They added five runs in the second keyed by a two-out RBI single from Rodriguez and Teixeira’s grand slam home run to center.

The White Sox drew to within four runs in the third inning on a one-out single by Adam Eaton and two-out, two-run home run by Jose Abreu, his 18th of the season.

But the Yankees chased Rodon and put the game away in the fourth starting with a leadoff double by Chris Young and Young later scored on a pair of wild pitches by Rodon with Rodriguez at the plate.

Rodriguez ended up drawing a four-pitch walk and White Sox manager Robin Ventura replaced Rodon with right-hander Matt Albers.

Teixeira then greeted the veteran right-hander by blasting a 2-2 pitch into center-field for his second home run of the evening and his 28th of the season.

With the home run Teixeira also became the Major League leader among switch-hitters who have hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a game. It was the 14th time the 35-year-old first baseman had done it to pass former teammate Nick Swisher, who was tied with Teixeira at 13.

The Yankees then reloaded the bases on Albers and Brendan Ryan stroked an RBI single and Didi Gregorius followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 11-2.

Rodon was charged with a career-high eight runs on seven hits and four walks with four strikeouts. He also threw three wild pitches in what also was the shortest outing of his career.

The Yankees added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings on RBI singles by Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury, respectively, as each member of the Yankees starting lineup collected at least one hit.

In their past two victories the Yankees have outscored their opposition 32-10 and rapped out a total of 37 hits.

The Yankees have now won a Major-League-best 17 games after the All-Star break and their overall record improved to 58-44.

They lead the second-place Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays by six games in the American League East. The White Sox dropped to 49-52.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • It took this season to remind Yankee fans how valuable Teixeira was before injuries ruined the past two seasons of his career. Teixeira was 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs, two walks, two runs scored and six RBIs. Teixeira is now batting .269 with 28 homers (tied for third in the American League) and 73 RBIs (tied for first in the A.L.). You can’t do much better than what he has done, especially when you factor in his defense at first base (only two errors).
  • Teixeira was batting fourth between Rodriguez and Beltran. Those 3-4-5 hitters combined to go an unbelievable 8-for-10 with five walks, seven runs scored and eight RBIs. Rodriguez was 2-for-2 with three walks, four runs scored and one RBI. Beltran was 3-for-4 with a single and two doubles, a run scored and one RBI.
  • Ryan, 33, has been amazing ever since he was inserted as the starting second baseman against left-handers. On Friday, the career .234 hitter was 3-for-6 including a double and an RBI. In his past three starts, Ryan is 6-for-16 (.375) and he has driven in four runs. The hot streak will not last but Ryan’s bat is helping lengthen the Yankees’ lineup along with Headley and Gregorius.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The White Sox obviously used the the same game plan all teams use against Eovaldi by shortening their swings in order to foul off multiple pitches to drive up his pitch count. It has not worked in beating him. But it has kept him from pitching six innings in 13 of his 20 starts. It took Eovaldi 117 pitches to make it through 5 2/3 innings and the Yankees would prefer he go deeper into games.

BOMBER BANTER

Outfielder Dustin Ackley made his debut with the Yankees on Friday after being acquired in a trade-deadline deal with the Seattle Mariners for right-hander Jose Ramirez and outfielder Ramon Flores. Ackley, 27, pinch-hit for Beltran in the seventh inning and played left-field. He ended up going 0-for-2. Ackley will fill the role that was held by Garrett Jones, who was designated for assignment on Friday. He will backup Teixeira at first base and play some outfield. He is hitting .213 with six homers and 19 RBIs. Though Ackley primarily was a second baseman early in his career, he likely will not play there much because he only played one game there in the past two seasons.  . . .  The Yankees announced on Friday that the team’s No. 1 prospect, right-hander Luis Severino, will make his Major-League debut as a starter next week in the Boston Red Sox series at Yankee Stadium. Severino, 21, is 7-0 with a 1.91 ERA in 11 starts at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. He is coming off a career-high 10-strikeout performance while pitching one-hit ball over six innings on Wednesday for the RailRiders. Severino will take the place of right-hander Michael Pineda, who was placed in the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm flexor strain. General manager Brian Cashman said that Severino could get a extended look.

ON DECK

The Yankees can clinch a series victory if they are able to defeat the White Sox in the second game of their weekend set on Saturday.

Right-hander Bryan Mitchell (0-0, 2.89 ERA) will make his second career Major-League start and his first of the season. Mitchell, 24, is replacing Pineda for this start after being called up from Scranton on Thursday. Mitchell was 5-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 15 starts for the RailRiders this season.

The White Sox will counter with left-hander John Danks (5-8, 4.87 ERA). Danks, 30, is coming a disastrous outing in which he gave up six runs on nine hits and one walk in 4 1/3 innings to the Red Sox. He is 2-3 in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by WPIX.

 

Down 5-0, Yankees Rally With 21 To Rout Rangers

GAME 99

YANKEES 21, RANGERS 5

From May 22 through May 25 the Texas Rangers outscored New York 30-15 in a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium. So the Yankees entered this four-game series at Globe Life Park looking for a little bit of payback.

On Tuesday night they got exactly that  –  and then some.

After yielding five runs in the first inning, New York erupted to score 11 runs in the second en route to a crushing defeat of Texas in front of a national TV audience on FOX Sports 1.

Chris Young led the assault with his second grand slam of the season and he knocked in a career-high five runs. Brett Gardner also homered and he joined Didi Gregorius and Brendan Ryan in driving in three runs apiece as the Yankees put up the most runs in a game since they scored 22 against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 25, 2011.

Rookie right-hander Diego Moreno (1-0), who was just called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the day, pitched 5 1/3 innings of no-hit relief to earn his first Major League victory.

Moreno came in relief of left-hander Chris Capuano, who was making a spot start to allow Masahiro Tanaka to get an extra day of rest. But Capuano was unable to make it out of the first inning after walking Delino DeShields and retiring Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre on routine flyouts.

Capuano walked Prince Fielder, Elvis Andrus followed with an RBI single and Mitch Moreland drew a walk to load the bases. Then Ryan Rua hit a bloop two-run single and Shin-Soo Choo followed with an RBI double.

The 36-year-old veteran than walked Robinson Chirinos to reload the bases and DeShields notched an RBI by drawing Capuano’s fifth walk of the inning.

Capuano gave way to Moreno after giving up five runs on three hits and five walks in a disastrous 42-pitch outing.

However, in the second inning the Yankees were able to tee off on left-hander Martin Perez (0-2), who was making only his third start after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season.

Young led off with a double and scored on Chase Headley’s RBI single. John Ryan Murphy singled and Perez loaded the bases by hitting Gregorius with a pitch.

Ryan followed with a two-run double and Jacoby Ellsbury and Gardner stroked consecutive RBI singles before Alex Rodriguez blasted a RBI double high off the left-field wall to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead.

Rangers manager Jeff Banister replaced Perez with veteran left-hander Wandy Rodriguez. After Rodriguez struck out Mark Teixeira, Young walked and Headley laced his second RBI single of the inning.

After Murphy struck out, Gregorius cleared the bases with a three-run triple and Ryan capped the 11-run explosion with an RBI double.

Perez was charged with eight runs on seven hits and he struck out one in his one-plus inning.

Rodriguez, however, was not much better because the Yankees opened the third inning by loading the bases singles by Gardner and Rodriguez and a walk to Teixeira. Young then blasted a 3-1 offering into the first-row of the left-field bleachers for his 12th home run of the season to extend the lead to 15-5.

After Rodriguez walked Headley he was replaced by right-hander Phil Klein having yielded seven runs on six hits and three walks in one inning.

Gardner completed the Yankees’ onslaught in the ninth with a two-run homer, his 11th of the season, off infielder Adam Rosales, who was used a pitcher in a mop-up role by the Rangers for the second time this season.

Adam Warren pitched three perfect innings to earn his first save of the season and the fifth of his career.

The 11 runs the Yankees scored in the second inning were the most runs the team has scored in an inning and the most they scored in any inning since they scored 12 runs in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles on July 30, 2011. The most runs the Yankees have scored in an inning was the 14 they scored in the fifth inning against Washington on July 6, 1920.

With the victory the Yankees increased their Major League-best July record to 16-5 and they are 57-42 on the season They also maintained their seven-game lead over the second-place Orioles in the American League East.

The Rangers are 47-52.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Young, 36, has been bashing left-handers all season and he did it again on Tuesday. He was 3-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, scored four runs and drove in five. Young is 36-for-97 (.371) with seven homers and 19 RBIs against lefties this season and he is batting .263 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs overall.
  • Gregorius, 25, had another record-breaking night after he drove in a career-high four runs on Monday. He was 4-for-5 with three singles, a double, two runs scored and three RBIs. It was the first four-hit game of his career. In the first two games of the series, Gregorius is 7-for-9 with a homer and seven RBIs. He is now batting .257 on the season.
  • Moreno, 28, was one of two players the Yankees acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in February, 2012 in a trade for right-hander A,J. Burnett. He was making only his third Major League appearance. He did not give up a hit and only walked Choo with two outs in the third. He struck out five and recorded six groundball outs. Unfortunately, he likely will be sent back down on Wednesday so the Yankees can call up another fresh arm from Scranton.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Why should there be a negative after a 21-5 victory? Consider this: The decision to rest Tanaka an extra day by manager Joe Girardi was odd enough. The decision to start Capuano was even odder because Warren was much better as a starter. But Capuano finally proved that he may need a fork stuck in him because he is done. After this outing, Capuano is 0-4 with a 6.97 ERA. There is simply no excuse for walking five batters in an inning. He has got to go.

BOMBER BANTER

In order to make room on the 25-man roster for Moreno, the Yankees optioned right-hander Nick Goody back to Scranton. Goody, 24, was just called up to the team on July 25 and he did not appear in a game for the Yankees in that span. Moreno was 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA in 26 games at Scranton.  . . .  After leaving Monday’s game after 75 pitches with arm fatigue, right-hander Ivan Nova told reporters that he will not miss his next scheduled start on Sunday. Nova was concerned about his arm because he was making only his sixth start after coming back from Tommy John surgery last season.

ON DECK

The Yankees have already clinched a series tie and they can claim a victory in the four-game series against the Rangers on Wednesday.

Tanaka (7-3, 3.64 ERA) will start for the Yankees, The Yankees have won his past five starts and he is 3-0 in that stretch. He yielded three runs on five hits and struck out seven in 7 2/3 innings to beat the Orioles on Thursday.

The Rangers will start right-hander Colby Lewis (10-4, 4.49 ERA). Lewis held the Angels to two runs on five hits and one walk with nine strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings in a victory on Friday.

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