New York Yankees lose Game two of doubleheader in heartbreak fashion

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday in Game two of their doubleheader.  The game took place at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia and the final score was 2-1.  Masahiro Tanaka started for the Yankees and pitched great, Chad Green gave up the game in his one inning.  The Yankees offense managed just five hits. 

Tanaka pitched five innings giving up three hits and no runs or walks with four strikeouts.  Green took his first loss of the season pitching an inning and giving up two hits and two runs with two strikeouts. 

Max Fried won his fifth game of the season pitching six innings and giving up four hits and a run with a walk and five strikeouts.  Marc Melancon pitched an inning giving up a hit and he saved his fifth game of the season. 

Aaron Judge had a hit, Gio Urshela drew a walk and Miguel Andujar had two hits.  Erik Kratz had a hit, Gary Sanchez had a hit and Tyler Wade had an RBI.  Kratz hit a double and the Yankees were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. 

Ronald Acuna Jr. had a hit, Dansby Swanson had a hit and Freddie Freeman had a hit and two RBI.  Marcell Ozuna had a hit, Austin Riley had a hit and Freeman hit a homerun.  The Braves were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base.  d’Arnaud had a passed ball. 

In the fifth Wade had a sac fly to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth Freeman hit a two-run homerun giving the Braves a 2-1 lead and that would be the final score.  The Yankees are off on Thursday and then will begin a five game series with the Mets on Friday with a doubleheader. 

Mets vs. Nationals the Rubber Game

The New York Mets will take on the Washington Nationals this afternoon at Citi Field.  It will be the final game of the three game series.  The Mets will be looking for their second series win out of three on the season.  The Mets won their opening series two games to one over the Marlins and then lost two out of three to the Phillies.  Chris Young and Jason Marquis are the starters in todays afternoon contest.  The game is at 1:10PM on SNY.  Here are some notes and the lineup for today.

Carlos Beltran said after the game that he was elated to have a night like he did last night and it proves all the hard work has paid off.  He said he is going to stick to the plan and not play today, that it isn't about one game in April it is about making it through the whole year.  He will not play any day games after night games and take every few days off. 

His legs feel great and he will keep working on his lower body which will keep his swing intact.  In Port St. Luice yesterday Jason Isringhausen pitched in a game and Randy Niemann told Terry Collins that he is ready.  There is no timetable for him to get on the roster but I would guess it could happen soon.  Jason Bay and Ronny Paulino will take batting practice today and Paulino is done with his suspension so he will have to be placed on the DL before todays game. 

Jose Reyes got his first two RBI of the year last night and also finally got a hit with runners in scoring position.  He had been 0-10 before last nights hit with RISP.  He is hitting 297 but with only a 316 on base percentage which isn't good enough for Sandy Alderson the GM.  He wants him to get on base more frequently.  I would guess that he is going to get traded at the deadline, maybe to a team like the Red Sox who could use an upgrade at shortstop. 

Mets Lineup:Jose Reyes, Willie Harris, David Wright, Ike Davis, Angel Pagan, Lucas Duda, Brad Emaus, Josh Thole, Chris Young. 

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. 

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/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. 

Angels at Yankees-ALCS Game 6 weather permitting

The Yankees will play the Angels tonight weather permitting at 7:57PM on FOX. The Yankees remain one win from a 40th pennant and first World Series trip since 2003. They were nine outs away from it on Thursday in Anaheim after a thrilling six-run rally, but could not hold a two-run lead and now have to win one of the next two games at Yankee Stadium to advance. The odds are certainly in their favor; 19 of the 28 teams to hold a 3-2 lead since 1985 have gone on to win the series. Here are the pregame notes and lineups via the Lohud Yankees Blog. MLB and the Yankees and Angels are in discussions and there should be an announcement on the game by 5, if they postpone it, the game will be tomorrow night. Poor as the conditions may be in the Bronx, the Yankees are always happy to be home. They were a major-league best 57-24 record at home this season, including a 36-10 mark since June 30. They lost consecutive home games only once in that stretch and have won all four postseason games there so far this year. The Yankees have really taken advantage of the New Park this season and are fit so well for it. The Yankees bullpen was supposed to be a strength in the postseason but it hasn’t felt that way lately. Phil Hughes has allowed three earned runs, nine hits and has a WHIP of 2.36 in 4 2/3 innings during the playoffs while Joba Chamberlain has a 3.38 ERA and has seen opponents hit. 500 off him over 2 2/3 innings. I wonder if they should use Robertson more often as he has been the best guy other then Melky Cabrera has five hits in the past two games and has upped his ALCS average to .381 (8-for-21). Cabrera also has three walks and four RBI, meaning that he might be flip-flopped in the lineup with … Nick Swisher continues to be a black hole in the lineup during the postseason. Joe Girardi has said he may sit Swisher tonight, but if he doesn’t, look for him to at least be dropped even lower in the batting order. Swisher is 2-for-17 with 16 LOB in the ALCS and 3-for-29 in the playoffs with only one RBI. I personally would play him in center and try to create runs at the bottom of the order instead of having Swisher continue to kill the offense. The Angels four first-inning runs in Game 5 marked the first time they’d scored in any of the opening three innings of any postseason game this year. The four runs also equaled the total runs they scored in all of Games 1 and 2 combined. Derek Jeter will play in his 47th LCS game tonight, moving him past David Justice and into second place on the all-time list (Manny Ramirez has 49). Jeter isn’t just showing up either; he’s on a nine-game postseason hitting streak that dates back to 2007. Alex Rodriguez had a down night, relatively, in Game 5, since he didn’t drive in a run for the first time in eight postseason games this year. He did go 1-for-3, though, with a double and run scored as well as two walks (one intentional). A-Rod has a hit in 10 straight playoff games. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) No Angels lineup yet and I am headed out, hope to have a good postgame recap later if they plan and they win hopefully, could be a long night.