Yankees take series from the Twins

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins today by the score of 4-3.  A.J. Burnett pitched well once again and the Yankees did just enough offensively to win the game.  Burnett pitched six innings giving up two runs on five hits.  He walked a couple and struck out five.  The formula of JoSoMo did it's job.  Joba Chamberlain gave up a run but it was unearned and Rafael Soriano gave up a hit in the eighth inning and Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save. 

The offense saw Brett Gardner get an RBI single, Derek Jeter have two hits and a walk and Nick Swisher hit a sacrifice fly.  Andruw Jones had an RBI double and Robinson Cano had a hit.  The Yankees only managed five hits but it was enough to win.  The Yankees will now head up to Boston for their first roadtrip of the year.  It will be a quick three game series before they return home on Tuesday to start another homestand. 

The pitching matchups for this series are Phil Hughes vs. John Lackey on Friday afternoon at 2:05PM.  Ivan Nova vs. Clay Bucholz on Saturday afternoon at 1:05PM and C.C. Sabathia vs. Josh Beckett on Sunday night at 8:05PM.  That is the Sunday Night Espn game. 

Nick Swisher had a hard take out slide today on the second baseman and the Twins second baseman broke his fibula.  Swisher showed remorse after the game.  He said "It's sad, I didn't mean to do that."  Swisher got to talk to him and he said it isn't your fault don't worry.  Swisher said it eased his mind and Ron Gardenhire the Twins manager also gave him a pass. 

A.J. Burnett has become a Mr. April of sorts.  He is now 7-0 with a 3.91 ERA with the Yankees in 12 starts.  He needs to be better in the other months, he was 4-0 last April before it fell apart.  He has been using the changeup more which has become an effective pitch for him.  Soriano said his arm was looser in this game and the results were there. 

It should be an interesting weekend up in Boston.  I am excited for this series and it is always fun when it is Yanks/Boston, lets hope for a Yankees sweep and have the Nation really panicking then. 

Yankees vs. Twins the Rubber Game

The Yankees and Twins were rained out last night.  The rainout turned this series into a three instead of four game series.  Freddy Garcia was scheduled to pitch and now will be skipped.  A.J. Burnett will face Francisco Liriano at 1:05 on the Yes Network.
Here is the Yankees lineup:Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Andruw Jones, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.  The bench players were going to get in last night but with the rainout the regulars got their rest without missing a game.  Garcia will have 16 days off but nothing they can do.  He may pitch sim games and will be available out of the pen. 

Mets show fight in come back but end up losing to Phillies

The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies tonight by the score of 10-7.  The Mets were down 7-0 in this game and showed a lot of fight by coming back and tying the game but then they ended up losing 10-7.  Mike Pelfrey was the starter and got knocked around once again.  He is being counted on as the ace until Johan Santana comes back if he does at all.  Pelfrey isn't pitching like an ace though.  He hasn't pitched well in two starts so far this season. 

Pelfrey pitched two innings giving up eight hits and seven runs with six of them being earned.  He walked and struck out one batter.  He is going to need to pick it up for this team to have a chance in the NL East and wildcard race.  The bullpen wasn't great either, if they would of shut down the Phillies then the Mets would of maybe been able to steal a win in this game. 

The Mets offense is performing really well.  They have a lot of talent in the lineup even without Jason Bay.  The Mets are also doing it with aggressive baserunning and getting hits, walks, extra base hits but not waiting for the two or three run homerun.  It is something that Terry Collins has preached and it has worked so far.  The Mets are now 3-2 on the season and will play the rubber game of this series and last game of the opening roadtrip.  The Mets can go 4-2 and make it a really good roadtrip tomorrow afternoon.  The Mets will play their home opener on Friday afternoon with R.A. Dickey making the start against the Washington Nationals. 

Mets/Phillies Game Two of Three game Series

The Mets and Phillies will play game two of three in Philadelphia tonight.  The Mets have gotten out to a fast start which is exactly what they needed.  The Mets lost on Opening Day and have since won three games in a row.  The pitching matchup for tonight is Mike Pelfrey vs. Joe Blanton. 

Here is the lineup for tonight:Reyes, Harris, Wright, Beltran, Pagan, Davis, Emaus, Thole, Pelfrey. 

Phillies Lineup:Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Ben Francisco, Orr, Schneider, Joe Blanton

Here are some notes, Terry Collins said tonight that he needs to get Francisco Rodriguez into a game since he has had three games off.  Carlos Beltran will most likely get a rest tomorrow since it is a day game after a night game.  He expects Mike Pelfrey to pitch better tonight and feels that he only made one real mistake in the first game and it was a grand slam. 

He wants to keep playing everyone to make sure all 25 guys are sharp.  He feels that David Wrights hot start has something to do with Beltrans presence in the lineup behind him. 

Yankees vs. Twins Game Three of series

The Yankees will face old friend Carl Pavano tonight.  Old enemy to most fans as his four years was a waste.  The Yankees will send Freddy Garcia to the mound to make his Yankees debut.  The Yankees will rest Derek Jeter, Russell Martin and Jorge Posada tonight.  Here is the lineup:  Brent Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez(dh), Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Eric Chavez(3b), Edward Nunez(ss), Gusto Molina(c).

Here is the Twins Lineup tonight:Span, Nishioka, Young, Morneau, Kubel, cuddyer, Valencia, Brutena, Cassila. 

The game is weather permitting I guess because right now in New Jersey it is raining pretty good.  I think they will get the game in tonight though because tomorrow is a day game and then each team is heading out of town.  The game is scheduled for 7:05PM on the YES Network.  There is a chance that there could be a delay tonight, we will have to wait and see. 

Mark Teixeira helped Harlem RBI with donating one million dollars.  He is the fourth Yankee to hit four homeruns in his first five games.  The other ones are Alex Rodriguez, Moose Skowron and Mickey Mantle. 

Yankees lose a tough one

The Yankees had no business losing this game but they did 5-4 in ten innings.  The Yankees had a 4-0 lead with two outs in the eighth inning but Soriano had no control and David Robertson couldn't clean up his mess.  Boone Logan got charged with the loss as he couldn't get anyone out.  The only reliever who did a good job was Luis Ayala.  The question though was what was Joe Girardi doing taking C.C. Sabathia out and bringing Rafael Soriano in.  Sabathia I know he wants to protect him early on but he retired 17 straight batters and had only thrown 104 pitches to that point, I think I would of brought him out for the eighth and then took him out at the first sign of trouble if there was any.  I think once the Twins saw him out of the game they were like ok we can do something here.  Soriano of course is to blame also because he still should be able to protect a four run lead.  If he even gave up a couple of runs that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world as long as he got to the ninth inning with the lead and Mariano Rivera could close the game out. 

Mariano Rivera never got that chance because Soriano walked three batters in 2/3 of an inning and had to be taken out with the bases loaded and one run already in.  Dave Robertson got unlucky as he gave up a bloop double that tied the game because it was on a 3-2 count and the runners were going on the pitch.  The Yankees still had a chance to win the game but they couldn't do anything offensively and Boone Logan couldn't get anyone out in the tenth inning.  Luis Ayala did a good job at holding the Twins to only the one run but the Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the tenth inning.  The Yankees offense after hitting two homeruns early got completely shut down the rest of the way. 

The offense now two games in a row has shutdown after scoring early, it didn't cost them last night but it did tonight.  The offense if they could of tacked on a couple of more runs then the game probably would of been out of reach but when it is 4-0 even though it seems in control especially in Yankee Stadium that lead isn't big enough.  Joe Girardi was asked all about his decisions after the game and he said Soriano is the eighth inning guy and with a four run lead that isn't too much.  The question though is what is too big of a lead for him to come into the game is it five runs, six runs??  We know it isn't four because he said so.  Soriano is new to the team and maybe he wanted to show confidence in him but he definitely left himself open for criticism and lots of second guessing.  It is early in the year and the Yankees are 3-2 with the Red Sox being 0-4 so it isn't the end of the world. 

The two teams will play game three of four tomorrow night with Freddy Garcia making his debut against ex Yankee Carl Pavano.  If the Yankees come back and win tomorrow this will all be forgotten and then they can try and win the series on Thursday afternoon with A.J. Burnett going up against Francisco Liriano who was mentioned in trade rumors going to the Yankees over the winter and spring. 

Mets at Phillies Game One of Three Game Series

The Mets head to Philadelphia tonight to battle the Phillies their arch rival.  The Phillies are one of only three undefeated teams left in the majors.  They swept the Houston Astros to begin the year.  Here are the lineups for each team tonight.  Chris Young will make his first start of the season against Cole Hamels who is the Phillies fourth starter because their rotation is that good.  He would be the number one or two on almost every other team. 

Mets Lineup:Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Scott Hairston, Ike Davis, Brad Emaus, Mike Nickeaus, Chris Young.

Phillies Lineup:Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Ben Francisco, Wilson Valdez, Cole Hamels. 

The Mets will try to gain a little confidence and send a message early on this season and the Phillies will try to show that they are the best team and continue to be undefeated.  The Mets said today that Jason Bay will not becoming off the DL which isn't good news for the Mets.  The Mets also are looking at maybe playing Daniel Murphy a little more at second base. 

The game will be at 7:05PM on SNY.  The Mets will try to win their third straight game after losing the first game of the season and then blowing a save in the second but coming back to win the game.  The Mets have showed a toughness early on that has been lacking in recent years.  That is most likely a byproduct of the new manager Terry Collins. 

Yankees Vs. Twins Game Two of Four Game Series

The skies have cleared and we will have baseball in the Bronx tonight.  The Yankees and Twins will square off in Game Two of their four game series.  C.C. Sabathia vs. Brian Duensing is your pitching matchup for this evening.  Here is the Yankees lineup for tonight.  It is the first time this season there is a change in the lineup as it is also the first time they have faced a lefty starter. 

Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Russell Martin, Andruw Jones, Curtis Granderson. 

The game is scheduled for 7:05PM on the YES Network.  The Yankees have started off the season 3-1 and play game five of a seven game homestand tonight.  The Yankees will make their first roadtrip of the year on Friday when they head up to Boston to take on the Red Sox for three games over the weekend.  The Yankees will then have off on Monday and begin another homestand on Tuesday.  The Yankees play 18 home games in April which is the most they have ever played. 

Ivan Nova got the win for the Yankees last night pitching six innings and giving up three runs.  He had a lot of trouble last year with getting past the fifth inning so this was a step in the right direction.  The Yankees have scored 27 runs in 33 innings this season.  The Yankees have hit 11 homers which is one shy of the franchise record through four games of the season which was set in 2003. 

Nova became the first Yankees rookie to win a start within the first four games of a season since Al Leiter did it in 1988 at the age of 22.  Elias gets credit for that information, Nova is 24 years old.  Mark Teixeira has reached base safely at least twice in each game, he is usually a slow starter but changed his offseason and spring training routine and it is working so far. 

Enjoy the game everyone and I will be back later with postgame news, notes and reactions.  The Yankees will look to keep their hex over the Twins alive and win their second straight after losing their first game on Sunday after winning two straight to open the season. 

Yankees Postgame Notes

Joe Girardi officially named Joba Chamberlain as his seventh inning guy after the game.  He said "Right now that is what we are doing.  We love the way he threw the ball in spring training and he has the ability to get lefties out as well as righties."  Girardi said about the bullpen "That is what you want to have, and we have that luxury." 

Alex Rodriguez said some of the situations that Nova faced tonight were pretty hairy.  He was facing Joe Mauer in the fifth inning with the tying run on second base.  Nova said "You have to be careful with him"  He was but not so careful that he walked him or that he wasn't going to challenge him.  The thing that you have to love about Nova is he has that confidence about him that he is going to go out there and challenge people, it isn't quite cockiness but it is similar.  It is good to see from a young guy though instead of just trying to nibble around guys and being scared and then it ends up turning worse because you put too many guys on and run the pitch count up. 

Mark Teixeira got hit in the foot again in the first inning and had the same reaction I am sure that many of the fans and the coaches had.  He said oh no not again.  The pain wasn't too bad and he said that he is fine.  It actually caught him closer to the toes which apparently is better.  Alex Rodriguez two RBI gave him 1,835 for his career and tied him with Rafael Palmeiro for 14th on the all-time list.  He hit his 615th career homerun.  He said "I just got a good pitch to hit and smoked it." 

Posada is adjusting well to the new DH role, he has three homeruns in his last six at-bats.  It really is becoming unreal that the Twins just can't beat the Yankees especially in the Bronx.  They will try again tomorrow night.  C.C. Sabathia vs. Brian Duensing tomorrow night, enjoy your night everyone and we will be back at it tomorrow night.

JoSoMo leads Yankees to victory

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins by the score of 4-3 tonight.  Ivan Nova pitched well going six innings and giving up three runs on six hits.  He walked one and struck out three, he had a low pitch count and could of pitched the seventh if the lead was more.  The Yankees though have the formula now that it could be six inning games.  They have Joba Chamberlain in the seventh, Rafael Soriano in the eighth and Mariano Rivera in the ninth.  I like to call them JoSoMo and that is the second time in four games that formula has worked perfectly.  It will continue as Joe Girardi said tonight that Joba Chamberlain would be the seventh inning guy and we already knew that Rafael Soriano was the eighth inning guy and Mariano Rivera the ninth as the closer. 

The Yankees offense has been on fire early on hitting 11 homeruns which is one shy of the team record.  Jorge Posada hit another two run homer his third in the last two games as he has looked like he is taking to the new DH role.  Alex Rodriguez continues to be on fire, he has been all spring and carried it into the regular season.  He hit a two run homerun tonight also.  The only part of the order not doing its job is the top with Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter struggling but they will get it together and then really watch out.  The Yankees offense is hard to navigate with all the switch hitters and when you can have Russell Martin hitting ninth, he has been an all star in the past that is pretty amazing.  Martin has looked great not only at the plate but behind it as well and he has a couple of stolen bases, the Yankees haven't had a catcher that could run in a long time. 

The Yankees will play the Minnesota Twins tomorrow night with C.C. Sabathia taking on Brian Duensing.  The games is at 7:05PM on the YES Network.  The Yankees just own the Twins in the Bronx, the Yankees are 10-1 over them at the New Yankee Stadium and under Ron Gardenhire they just haven't been able to win there at all.  The Yankees are 26-4 in their last 30 regular season games in the Bronx.  The Yankees also have won 18 of their last 20 games over the Twins. 

Arod said this about Nova "He did exactly what we expect him to do.  Tonight he made some pitches where last year, I think maybe the game could have got away from him."  The Yankees felt best about the fact that Nova didn't unravel late in his start, maybe now that he got past that fifth inning hump it will be in the past and he can consistantly work into the sixth and seventh innings. 

Yankees/Twins Game Four of Season and One of Series

The New York Yankees will take on the Minnesota Twins tonight from Yankee Stadium.  The game is at 7:05PM on the YES Network.  Ivan Nova vs. Scott Baker is the pitching matchup.  The Yankees have had their way with the Twins in the Bronx since Ron Gardenhire became the Twins manager.  The Yankees are 9-1 over the Twins in the New Yankee Stadium.  The Yankees have hit nine homeruns in the first three games which is a franchise record.  The previous record was eight which was set in 1932 and 1984.  Mark Teixeira will try and become the first Yankee to hit a homerun in his first four games.  The Yankees are 2-1 on the season and will play a four game series vs. the Twins before heading to Boston for three games and then returning home. 

Here are the pitching matchups vs. the Twins.  C.C. Sabathia vs. Brian Duensing on Tuesday, Freddy Garcia vs. Carl Pavano on Wednesday and A.J. Burnett vs. Francisco Liriano on Thursday afternoon.  All the games will be on YES with Thursday being at 1:05PM and the other games at 7:05PM. 

Here is the lineup for tonight, it remains the same as the first three games of the season.  Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin. 

Yankees go for the sweep

The New York Yankees are looking for the sweep Sunday afternoon.  They will look to open the season 3-0 for the first time since 2002.  Phil Hughes and Max Scherzer are the pitchers.  Here is the Yankees lineup which remains unchanged from the first two games.  Gardner, Jeter, Teixeira, Rodriguez, Cano, Swisher, Posada, Granderson, Martin.  The game is at 1:05 on YES, enjoy the game.

Mets at Marlins-The Rubber Game

Here is the Mets lineup for Sunday afternoon.  R.A. Dickey makes his first start and the Mets go for the series win and head to Philly with some confidence.  Reyes, Harris, Wright, Davis, Pagan, Duda, Murphy(2b),y Thole, Dickey.

Yankees News and Notes Saturday 4/2/11

The New York Yankees had a lot to be happy about after Saturday afternoons win. They are 2-0 for the first time since 2005. Here are some news and notes from after the game. Joe Girardi on A.J. Burnett "I thought he threw the ball well. Stamina was somewhat of an issue. His ears have been clogged. he's had a hard time breathing. That's why we only let him go five innings." As a Yankee Burnett is undefeated in April 6-0 with a 3.99 ERA. He has made 11 April starts. Teixeira is usually the opposite having terrible Aprils. He had two homeruns all of April last year well he already has two in two games this year. He changed his offseason routine to try to get off to a better start and so far it is working. Teixeira said "Just swinging more and working out a little less. I've always been a guy who hits the weights really heavy. Because of that, I've always had great second halves and stayed strong during the whole year. But I was swinging a little more this offseason and trying to get my swing right." Teixeira is the first player to hit a three-run homerun or a grand slam in his teams first two game's since 2002 when Barry Bonds was doing it for the San Francisco Giants. The Yankees have scored 16 runs in their first two games. Alex Rodriguez said the good news for them is that everyone in the lineup is swinging well. A-rod needs 16 homeruns to tie Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth on the all-time homerun list. He hit number 614 today. Derek Jeter is 72 hits from reaching the magical number 3,000 and becoming the first Yankee to do so. He is tied with Al Simmons for 35th on the all-time hits list. Mariano Rivera has saved the first two games which is the first time that has happened since 2000. Russell Martin had his first Yankees homerun. Rodriguez said he has been impressive.

Mets battle their way to a win in extra innings

The New York Mets defeated the Florida Marlins by the score of 6-4 Saturday night. Jon Niese made the start and gave up two runs in the first inning. He settled down after that and ended up pitching seven innings without giving up another run. Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect eighth inning. Francisco Rodriguez blew the save in the ninth inning and Blaine Boyer ended up with the save in the tenth inning. The Mets battled back to tie the game at two in the sixth inning and they took the lead in the ninth inning on a Josh Thole RBI single. The Mets came right back after the blown save to score three runs in the tenth inning. Willie Harris had a big two run double. Boyer didn't make it easy but he did secure the save after giving up a run, the last out was a hard shot up the middle that Reyes made a nice play on and ran to second to get the last out. The Mets and Marlins will play the rubber game of the three game series Sunday afternoon with R.A. Dickey on the mound. The Mets will have off Monday and then head to Philadelphia for three games. They would love to head their with some confidence.

Yankees pound away on the Tigers as A.J. battles

The New York Yankees won their second straight game on Saturday afternoon defeating the Detroit Tigers 10-6. The game wasn't as close as it seems. The Yankees scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back. Burnett pitched five effective innings, he was battling a bad cold and lost his stamina in the fifth inning but after giving up two runs was able to fight through it and earn the win. Mark Teixeira, Russell Martin and Alex Rodrigez all had homeruns. Texieira hit his second three run homer in as many games as he looks to have a hot start to the season for the first time in his career. A-rod also had a double as he continues to hit like he did all spring in Florida. The Yankees bullpen gave up runs late but it was Luis Ayala and Boone Logan who were just getting some work. Mariano Rivera had to pick up an easy three pitch one batter save. The Yankees will be looking for the sweep Sunday afternoon when Phil Hughes takes the mound. Hughes will go up against another young right handed pitcher in Max Scherzer. The Yankees offense will try and continue their hot start. The Yankees are notoriously slow starters and this is the first time since 2005 they are 2-0 to open the season.

Mets at Marlins Game Two

The Mets will try to avoid a losing streak. Here is  their lineup tonight at Florida.  Reyes, Pagan, Wright, Beltran, Davis, Duda, Emaus, Thole, Niese.  The Mets need more then 4 1/3 innings from the starter.  The offense was facing one of the best so I wouldn't worry about them as much.

Yanks vs. Tigers Game Two

Here is the Yankees lineup this afternoon.  Gardner, Jeter, Teixeira, Rodriguez, Cano, Swisher, Posada, Granderson, Martin.  A.J. Burnett on the mound with his first shot at forgetting last year.  He was battling a cold but should be good to go.

Mets lose to Marlins as Pelfrey struggled

The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins on Friday night by the score of 6-2. Mike Pelfrey who is being counted on as the ace didn't resemble anything close to that on Opening Night. He pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up four runs, he looked pretty good for the first three innings but then gave up a grand slam to John Buck and couldn't get out of the fourth inning. The Mets offense didn't do much at all as they didn't even record a hit until the seventh inning where they scored two runs. The Mets pitching looks like it will be their downfall but on this night their pitching and their offense were to take equal blame. It is only one game but the Mets want to get off to a good start and try to erase the negative thoughts most have of them. They will play game two of their three game series Saturday night at 7:10PM. Jon Niese will take on Ricky Nolasco. The Mets have a chance to turn it around quickly as they will play the next day and on Sunday afternoon. The Mets need to get a good pitching performance and hope that their offense will perform better. Josh Johnson does deserve some credit as he is one of the best pitchers in the league and lots of hitters struggle against him. Ricky Nolasco is good but he isn't an ace or unhittable.