New York Yankees news and notes

The New York Yankees have been pretty quiet so far this offseason.  They did sign Chris Young to a one year 2.5 million dollar deal before last week GM meetings took place.  David Robertson did turn down the qualifying offer last Monday as expected.  He seems to have a lot of suitors but it doesn't mean he won't return to the Yankees.  I would still bet on that happening although I didn't think Robinson Cano would leave last year either. 

The Yankees did make a minor trade last week and also signed a very minor player also last week.  They traded fan favorite Francisco Cervelli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for left handed reliever Justin Wilson.  I think this was a good move because they had a surplus of catchers and Cervelli is a career backup with a big injury history.  They are very high on their minor league catchers such as John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine and then Gary Sanchez is considered their number one prospect and this should open up the AAA starting catcher spot for him.  Romine and Murphy will battle it out for backup catcher in spring training although Romine is out of options.  It appears that Murphy has the edge for the spot but we will have to wait and see.  As for Wilson he has very good stuff and is young and controllable right now.  The Yankees do have some left handed relievers in the minors they are very high on.  Wilson though is more of a proven commodity, I wouldn't rule out Jacob Lindgren making the team along with Wilson.  Wilson was 3-4 with a 4.20 ERA 70 appearances last season with the Pirates.  He is 6'2  and in three major league seasons is 9-5 with a 2.99 ERA. 

The other minor move that they made was picking up Jose De Paula on a one year split contract.  He will receive 510,000 if he appears in the majors and 175,000 in the minors.  He was with AAA Fresno in the San Francisco Giants organization last season.  De Paula went 4-3 with a 4.21 ERA.  He has never appeared in the majors but the Yankees like his stuff and he will have a chance to compete for a starting spot.  If not he will be AAA insurance.  This is one of those moves that can't hurt, if it works out great and if not then you didn't lost much. 

The Yankees are talking with Robertson and they have made offers to Chase Headley and Brandon McCarthy from what I understand but they are in wait and see mode.  It appears that if Headley doesn't resign with them then Martin Prado will be their third baseman with Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela battling it out for second base.  If no McCarthy the Yankees could look at other middle tier alternatives such as Jason Hammell. 

The New York Yankees win the first game of their last series of the season

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.  The game took place at Fenway  Park in Boston, Massachusetts and the final score was 3-2.  Chris Capuano started and pitched great and David Robertson bounced back with the save.  Francisco Cervelli led the offense with a couple of hits. 

Capuano pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up four hits and an unearned run.  He walked none and struck out five and earned his third win of the season.  Shawn Kelley pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run, Adam Warren pitched an inning striking out two and Robertson saved his 39th game of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit with two strikeouts. 

Steven Wright lost his first game of the season pitching five innings and giving up four hits and two runs with none being earned.  He walked two and struck out four.  Matt Barnes pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts and Heath Hembree pitched two innings giving up a hit and striking out one. 

Eury Perez had a hit, Cervelli had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Chris Young had a hit and drew a

walk.  John Ryan Murphy had a hit, Austin Romine had a hit and Brendan Ryan drew a walk.  Zelous Wheeler


had an RBI, Antoan Richardson had a hit and Murphy hit

double.  The Yankees were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Perez stole a base, Young and Pirela each committed an error and Young had an outfield assist. 

Xander Bogaerts had a hit, Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and Allen Craig had a hit.  Rusney Castillo had two hits and an RBI, Bryce Brentz had a hit and an RBI and Castillo hit a homerun.  The Red Sox were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left and left three men on base.  Castillo had a stolen base, Betts committed an error and Butler had two passed balls. 

In the second Brentz hit an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.  In the third Cervelli hit an RBI single and Murphy grounded out scoring a run to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  In the sixth Wheeler hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.  In the seventh Castillo hit a solo homerun to make it 3-2.  The final score was 3-2.  The Yankees won the first game of a three game series, they will play the second game on Saturday afternoon. 

 

 

The New York Yankees are swept in a short two game series in Baltimore

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland and the final score was 5-3.  Michael Pineda made the start and pitched well, the bullpen had a bad eighth inning and the offense didn't do much as usual. 

Pineda pitched five innings giving up one run on two hits.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out four.  Dellin Betances pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up two hits and a run with four strikeouts and Shawn Kelley took the loss, his fourth of the season.  Kelley pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and three runs and walked a batter. 

Chris Tillman pitched seven innings giving up two runs on five hits.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out three.  Darren O'Day pitched an inning giving up a walk and struck out one and he won his fourth game of the season.  Zach Britton saved his 25th game of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a strikeout. 

Brett Gardner had a hit, Mark Teixeira had a hit and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Chase Headley had a hit and an RBI, Stephen Drew had a hit and Francisco Cervelli had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk.  Drew and Beltran each hit a double and Cervelli hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Cervelli had a stolen base.

Nick Markakis had a hit, Chris Davis drew a walk and Adam Jones had a hit and three RBI.  Nelson Cruz had a hit, Steve Pearce had a hit and Ryan Flaherty had an RBI.  Jonathan Schoop had a hit and an RBI, Hundley had a hit and Cruz hit a double.  Schoop and Jones each hit a homerun and the Orioles were 2-3 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base. 

In the third Cervelli hit a two run homerun to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.  The Orioles cut the lead to 2-1 in the fifth on a Flaherty sacrifice fly.  In the eighth Schoop hit a solo homerun to tie the game at two and then Jones hit a three run homerun to give the Orioles a 5-2 lead.  The Yankees scored a run in the ninth on a Headley RBI groundout and the final score was 5-3.  The Yankees lost both games to the Orioles and will now have the day off on Thursday.  They will begin a three game series in Tampa Bay on Friday night. 

The New York Yankees lose second straight to the Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 5-4.  Shane Greene started and was ok, the bullpen wasn't great.  The Yankees offense had seven hits but no one had more than one. 

Greene pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and three runs.  He walked two and struck out two.  David Huff pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits, Dellin Betances pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up an unearned run, two walks and he struck out one and Adam Warren struck out the only batter that he faced.  David Robertson lost his third game of the season pitching an inning and giving up two hits and a run.  He walked none and struck out none. 

J.A. Happ pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up four hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts.  Brett Cecil pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Aaron Sanchez pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run.  Sanchez won his first game of the season, Casey Janssen pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and earned his 16th save of the season. 

Brett Gardner had a hit, Derek Jeter had a hit and Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk.  Carlos Beltran had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Brian McCann had a hit and an RBI and Chase Headley had a hit and an RBI.  Francisco Cervelli had a hit and an RBI, Zelous Wheeler had a hit and Headley and Cervelli each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 2-5 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Betances committed an error, Wheeler had an outfield assist. 

Jose Reyes had two hits, Melky Cabrera had two hits and Jose Bautista had an RBI and drew a walk.  Dioner Navarro had a hit and an RBI, Dan Johnson had a hit and drew a walk and Colby Rasmus had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks.  Munenori Kawasaki had two hits and an RBI, Juan Francisco had a hit and an RBI and Anthony Gose had a hit.  Tolleson had a hit, Cabrera and Rasmus each hit a double.  Francisco hit a homerun and the Blue Jays were 2-13 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Gose and Bautista each had a stolen base. 

In the first Bautista had an RBI groundout to give the Jays a 1-0 lead.  In the fifth Francisco hit a solo homerun to give the Jays a 2-0 lead.  The Yankees came back in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game on back-to-back homeruns.  Headley and Cervelli hit the homeruns.  Rasmus hit an RBI double in the sixth to give the Jays back the lead at 3-2.  McCann hit an RBI single in the sixth to even the score at three.  Kawasaki hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to give the Jays a 4-3 lead.  Beltran hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at four.  In the ninth Navarro hit an RBI single to give the Jays a 5-4 lead which would be the final score.  The Blue Jays after losing 17 straight at Yankee Stadium took the final two games of the series.  The Yankees finished their homestand 7-3 and will head to Texas to begin a three game series on Monday night. 

The New York Yankees win the series over the Texas Rangers

The New York Yankees defeated the Texas Rangers on Thursday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 4-2.  Brandon McCarthy started for the Yankees and pitched well, the bullpen was pretty good.  The offense only managed six hits but it was enough. 

McCarthy pitched six innings giving up four hits and a run with two walks and five strikeouts.  McCarthy earned his fifth win of the season.  Adam Warren pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run, Matt Thornton threw one pitch and retired the only batter that he faced and Dellin Betances pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.  David Robertson saved his 25th game of the season pitched a scoreless inning.  He walked one and struck out two. 

Colby Lewis lost his eighth game of the season pitching 6 1/3 innings and giving up four hits and three runs.  He walked three and struck out two.  Ryan Feierabend pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts and Roman Mendez pitched 2/3 of an inning. 

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Brett Gardner had a hit and an RBI and Carlos Beltran had a hit and drew a walk.  Brian McCann had a hit and an RBI, Chase Headley had a hit and an RBI and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and drew a walk.  Francisco Cervelli had a hit and an RBI, Gardner, Cervelli and McCann each hit a double.  The Yankees were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Ellsbury had a stolen base. 

Shin-Soo Choo had a hit and drew a walk, Elvis Andrus had a hit and an RBI and Jim Adduci drew a walk.  J.P. Arencibia had a hit and an RBI, Leonys Martin drew a walk and Rougned Odor had two hits.  Odor hit a double, Arencibia hit a homerun and the Rangers were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

In the third Andrus hit an RBI single and the Rangers took a 1-0 lead.  The Yankees tied the game in the fourth on a Headley RBI single.  The Yankees took the lead in the fifth inning on a Cervelli RBI double and a Gardner sacrifice fly.  They had a 3-1 lead which got trimmed to 3-2 on an Arencibia solo homerun in the seventh inning.  The Yankees had a 3-2 lead and added an insurance run in the eighth on a McCann RBI double.  The Yankees took a 4-2 lead and that would be the final score.  The Yankees took three out of four in the series and have won six of seven on the homestand.  They will now start a three game series at home against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. 

The New York Yankees win a rain shortened game over the Texas Rangers

The New York Yankees defeated the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 2-1.  David Phelps started and pitched well.  The rains came in the fifth inning and the grounds crew just couldn't get the tarp on in time.  The field was soaked and deemed too dangerous to play in and the game was called after a long delay.  Francisco Cervelli had two hits and Brett Gardner a hit and an RBI. 

Phelps pitched five innings giving up five hits and a run.  He walked none and struck out three to earn his fifth win of the season. 

Yu Darvish pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out five and lost his sixth game of the season. 

Gardner had a hit and an RBI, Chase Headley had a hit and Cervelli had two hits.  Headley hit a double and Cervelli hit two doubles.  Gardner hit a homerun and the Yankees were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base. 

Alex Rios had a hit, Adrian Beltre had a hit and Leonys Martin had two hits.  Gimenenez had a hit, Martin hit a triple and the Rangers were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base.  Rios was caught stealing and Beltre committed an error. 

All the runs of the game were scored in the third inning.  The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on a ground ball double play.  Cervelli scored on a balk to tie the game for the Yankees and then Gardner hit a solo homerun to give them a 2-1 lead and that would be the final score.  The two teams will finish their four game series on Thursday afternoon.   

The New York Yankees lose a tough one in extras to the Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Minnesota Twins on Saturday afternoon.  The game took place at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the final score was 2-1 in 11 innings.  David Phelps started and pitched great.  The Yankees offense didn't do much, Francisco Cervelli had two hits but was also the goat as his error lost the game in the 11th. 

Phelps pitched seven innings giving up three hits and a run with two walks.  He struck out three batters.  Shawn Kelley pitched two innings giving up two hits and striking out four and Matt Thornton took his second loss of the season.  Thornton pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up two hits and an unearned run.  He walked one and struck out one. 

Yohan Pino pitched six innings giving up three hits and a run with two walks.  He struck out three batters.  Matt Guerrier pitched an inning giving up a hit, Casey Fien pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Glen Perkins pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.  Jared Burton pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Brian Duensing pitched an inning giving up a hit and picking up his second win of the season. 

Derek Jeter, Brian Roberts and Jacoby Ellsbury each had a hit.  Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Carlos Beltran had a hit and drew a walk and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit.  Cervelli had two hits and an RBI, the Yankees were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Suzuki and Jeter each had a stolen base, Cervelli committed an error and Thornton had a pickoff. 

Brian Dozier had a hit, Kurt Suzuki had two hits and drew a walk and Chris Colabello had a hit.  Josh Willingham had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Trevor Plouffe drew a walk and Sam Fuld had two hits.  Colabello hit a double, Willingham hit a homerun and the Twins were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Fuld was picked off and Plouffe committed an error. 

In the fifth Cervelli hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied the game in the seventh on a Willingham solo homerun.  The Twins won the game 2-1 in the 11th on a Cervelli throwing error.  The Twins had bases loaded one out and grounded out to the pitcher who threw home for the force and then Cervelli threw it into right field.  He should of held on to it and tried to get the last out on the next batter.  The final game of the series is on Sunday afternoon and the Yankees will look to take the series three out of four.   

The New York Yankees win a thriller over the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.  The game took place at

Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 3-2 Yankees.  It was a very good

game with good pitching and some very good defense.  Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and

pitched well and their bullpen got some huge outs including out of a huge mess in the eighth

inning.  Carlos Beltran carried the offense with his three hits. 

Nova pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up two runs on eight hits.   He walked none and struck out four

and earned his second win of the season.  Matt Thornton pitched to one batter and retired him and

David Phelps gave up a hit and a walk and hit a batter in 1/3 of an inning.  He also struck out a batter

and Shawn Kelley saved his third game of the season pitching a perfect inning with two strikeouts. 

Felix Doubront lost his second game of the season.  He pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up seven hits

and three runs with three walks and two strikeouts.  Chris Capuano pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a

hit. 

Brett Gardner had a couple of hits, Beltran had three hits and two RBI and Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit. 

Brian McCann had a hit and drew a walk, Yangervis Solarte had a hit and drew a walk and Kelly

Johnson drew a walk.  Francisco Cervelli had an RBI, Ellsbury, McCann and Beltran each hit a

double.  Beltran hit a homerun and the Yankees were 0-10 with runners in scoring position and left

seven men on base.  Gardner had an outfield assist. 

Grady Sizemore had two hits, Xander Bogaerts had a hit and Mike Napoli had two hits and an RBI. 

Daniel Nava drew a walk, Ryan Roberts had two hits and Jackie Bradley Jr. had a hit.  Jonathan

Herrera had a hit and an RBI, Napoli hit a double and hit a homerun.  The Red Sox were 2-3 with

runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Bradley had an outfield assist. 

In the second Herrera hit an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.  The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in

the third on a Beltran homerun.  In the fourth Cervelli hit into a double play but the call was

challenged and was overturned allowing a run to score.  The Yankees had a 3-1 lead but Cervelli did

get hurt on the play and was taken out of the game.  In the sixth Napoli hit a solo homerun and that

would be the final run of the game.  The Yankees won the game 3-2.  The Yankees won three out of

four games in the series and will have their first off day on Monday.  The Yankees will remain at

home to play the Chicago Cubs in a brief two game series. 

 

New York Yankees are shutout in Toronto but Michael Pineda has a strong debut

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.  The game

took place at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada and the final score was 4-0 Blue Jays.  Michael

Pineda made his season debut and Yankees debut and was great.  David Phelps struggled in relief. 

The Yankees offense had plenty of chances but couldn't cash in. 

Pineda pitched six innings giving up five hits and a run.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out five, he was a hard luck loser.  Vidal Nuno walked the only batter that he faced and Phelps pitched two innings giving up three hits and three runs.  He had three strikeouts. 

R.A. Dickey started for the Blue Jays and picked up the win.  He pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up five hits and no runs with a walk and six strikeouts.  Aaron Loup pitched to one batter and retired him, Brett Cecil pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and Sergio Santos picked up his second save pitching 1 1/3 innings and giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, Derek Jeter drew two walks and Francisco Cervelli had two hits.  Yangervis Solarte had two hits, Brian Roberts drew a walk and Cervelli hit a double.  The Yankees were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base.   

Melky Cabrera had two hits and an RBI, Colby Rasmus had a hit and Jose Bautista had a hit and two RBI.  Adam Lind had a hit and drew a walk, Josh Thole had a hit and an RBI and Robert Goins had a hit.  Jonathan Diaz had a hit, Lind, Goins, Diaz and Rasmus each hit a double and Cabrera and Bautista each hit a homerun.  The Blue Jays were 2-5 with runners in scoring position and left four  men on base.  Thole was caught stealing  and Rasmus had an outfield assist. 

In the second inning Thole hit an RBI single to give the Jays a 1-0 lead.  That score would hold until the eighth inning.  In the eighth the Jays would score three insurance runs to take a 4-0 lead and that would be the final score.  Cabrera hit a solo homerun and Bautista hit a two run homerun.  The two teams will play the rubber game of the three game series on Sunday afternoon.  CC Sabathia will make the start for the Yankees looking to bounce back from his poor first start.  The Yankees will then head home for their home opener on Monday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles.  They will be looking to even their record at 3-3 on Sunday. 

New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox 3-2

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night.  The game took place at Jet

Blue Park in Fort Myers, Florida and the final score was 3-2.  David Phelps started for the Yankees

and pitched well.  The Yankees bullpen was outstanding and Ichiro Suzuki had a couple of RBI. 

Phelps pitched six innings giving up two runs on four hits.  He got into trouble in the sixth as he tired but was able to get through it and preserve the lead.  He walked two and struck out three.  Chris Leroux pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings, Fred Lewis gave up a hit in 2/3 of an inning and had a strikeout and Matt Daley pitched one perfect inning. 

Suzuki had a hit and two RBI, Dean Anna had a hit and Eduardo Nunez had a hit.  Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Cervelli had a hit and an RBI and Zoilo Almonte drew a walk.  Adonis Garcia had a hit, Zelous Wheeler had a hit and drew a walk and Wheeler hit a double and Cervelli hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-2 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  The Yankees will play the Pittsburgh Pirates at home on Friday night. 

New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers play to tie

The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers played to a tie on Wednesday afternoon.  The final score

was 7-7.  The game took place at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.  Hiroki Kuroda started for the

Yankees and really struggled.  Francisco Cervelli hit two homeruns in the game and the Yankees

made a late rally to tie the game.  They did play ten innings.

Kuroda pitched  3 2/3 innings giving up ten hits and six runs with a strikeout.  Chase Whitley pitched to one batter and retired him, Shawn Kelley pitched a perfect inning and Jose Campos gave up a hit in one inning with a strikeout.  Fred Lewis gave up a hit in one inning, Danny Burawa pitched a perfect inning and Robert Coello gave up an unearned run and a walk in one inning.  Yoshinori Tateyama pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out a batter. 

Zoilo Almonte had two hits and two RBI, Yangervis Solarte had a hit and drew a walk and Adonis Garcia had a hit.  Alfonso Soriano had a hit, John Ryan Murphy had an RBI and Kelly Johnson had a hit.  Jose Pirela had a hit and drew a walk, Zelous Wheeler had a hit and two RBI and Cervelli had two hits and two RBI.  Austin Romine had a hit, Jose Gil had a hit.  Wheeler and Gil each hit a double and Cervelli hit two homeruns.  Almonte also hit a homerun. 

The Yankees were 3-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Johnson committed two errors and Cervelli committed an error.  Romine had a passed ball and Williams had an outfield assist.  The Yankees will play a split squad on Thursday afternoon.  They will be at home to face the Baltimore Orioles and the other half of the team will be in Clearwater to face the Philadelphia Phillies.  The half of the team that is leaving to play in Panama will be leaving tomorrow night at 6PM. 

The New York Yankees are defeated by the Baltimore Orioles under the lights in Tampa

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.  The game took

place at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.  The final score was 3-2 and David Phelps started for

the Yankees.  Phelps was hit pretty hard but he battled and didn't give up much.  Francisco Cervelli

hit a homerun for the Yankees. 

Phelps pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up five hits and a run.  He walked one and struck out two.  Matt Thornton faced one batter and retired him, Brian Gordon pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Chris Leroux pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts.  Chase Whitley took the loss pitching an inning and giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout.  Cesar Cabral pitched an inning walking one and Preston Claiborne pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. 

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Carlos Beltran drew a walk and Brian Roberts had a hit and drew a walk.  Scott Sizemore seeing his first action of the spring had a hit, Cervelli had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Brendan Ryan had a hit.  Russ Canzler had a hit, Francisco Arcia had a hit and Yangervis Solarte had a hit and an RBI. 

Cervelli hit a homerun, the Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second on a Cervelli solo homerun and Solarte RBI single.  Jemile Weeks grounded out scoring a run in the top of the third for the Orioles.  The Yankees lead was cut in half to 2-1.  In the seventh the Orioles scored the final two runs of the game.  Quintin Berry hit and RBI single and Julio Borbon grounded out to score another run. 

The Yankees travel to Port Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon to face the Tampa Bay Rays.  Adam Warren will start the game.   

The New York Yankees suffer more injuries and keep fighting, defeat the Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 6-4 on Friday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The Yankees starting battery left the game due to injuries. They lost what had become their starting catcher Francisco Cervelli to a broken hand after taking a ball off of it. Ivan Nova left just a little while later after experiencing pain in his elbow. Nova is set to undergo an MRI and the Yankees should know in the next day or two what is going to happen with him. 
Ivan Nova pitched two innings giving up giving up four hits and two runs. He walked none and struck out two. David Phelps pitched four strong innings in relief. Phelps is on the same day as Nova so he could slide right into the rotation if Nova has to go on the disabled list. Phelps got the win giving up two hits and a run with two walks and nine strikeouts. Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless inning, David Robertson pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run and Mariano Rivera earned his eighth save of the season. Rivera pitched an inning giving up three hits and striking out two.

Brett Gardner had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Jayson Nix drew two walks and Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk. Vernon Wells had two hits and an RBI, Chris Stewart drew two walks and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and drew a walk. Eduardo Nunez had an RBI and made a couple of defensive gems, Lyle Overbay had a hit and an RBI and Ben Francisco drew a walk. Travis Hafner drew two walks, Cano hit a double and Overbay hit a triple. Gardner hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. Stewart had a passed ball.

In the second the Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead on a Encarnacion solo homerun. The Yankees tied the game at one in the second on a Nunez RBI groundout. Rasmus hit an RBI single in the third to give the Jays a 2-1 lead. In the third Wells hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at two. Overbay hit an RBI triple in the fourth to make it 3-2 and a wild pitch would make it 4-2 Yankees. Encarnacion hit his second homerun of the game in the sixth to make it 4-3 and the Yankees would get a run to make it 5-3 in the seventh. The Jays would get a homerun from Bautista in the eighth to make it 5-4 and then Gardner would hit a homerun in the eighth to make it 6-4 which would be the final score.

The Yankees have won the first two of this four game series. The Yankees record improved to 13-9 and the Jays record fell to 9-14. The two teams will play game three of the four game series on Saturday afternoon.

The New York Yankees comeback but then fall in extra innings

The New York Yankees were defeated by the score of 6-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night. The game went 12 innings. Phil Hughes pitched well for the Yankees and their bullpen pitched well until the 12^th inning. Robinson Cano and Francisco Cervelli each hit a homerun for the Yankees runs. 
Hughes pitched seven innings giving up two runs on six hits. He struck out six batters and didn’t walk anyone. Boone Logan faced two hitters and retired them both, Joba Chamberlain pitched 11/3 innings giving up two hits and striking out one and David Robertson gave up a hit in his one inning of work. David Phelps took the loss pitching two innings giving up four hits and four runs with three earned and a walk and two strikeouts.

Brett Gardner had a hit, Vernon Wells drew two walks and Cano had a hit and an RBI with a walk. Kevin Youkilis had a hit, Ben Francisco had a hit and drew a walk and Cervelli had a hit and an RBI. Ichiro Suzuki had a hit, Eduardo Nunez had a hit and Travis Hafner drew a walk. Cano and Cervelli each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Nunez committed an error and Cervelli had two errors, both were catchers interference.

Patrick Corbin started for the Diamondbacks and pitched seven innings giving up two hits and a run with three walks and seven strikeouts. David Hernandez pitched an inning giving up a hit and two walks with two strikeouts, J.J. Putz got charged with a blown save pitching an inning giving up two hits and a run and Matt Reynolds pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Heath Bell got the win pitching an inning giving up two hits and striking out one and Tony Sipp pitched an inning with a strikeout.

Gerald Parra had a hit, Martin Prado had a hit and an RBI and Paul Goldschmidt had three hits. Miguel Montero had a hit, Cody Ross had three hits and an RBI and Eric Chavez had two hits, three RBI and drew a walk. Gregorius had two hits and an RBI, he hit a double and Montero, Ross, Parra and Chavez each hit a double. Gregorius and Prado each hit a homerun. The Diamondbacks were 3-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Pollock had a stolen base

Gregorius hit a solo homerun in the third inning giving the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. Prado hit a solo homerun in the sixth to make it 2-0 Diamondbacks. Cano hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth to make it 2-1. Cervelli hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at two. The Diamondbacks scored four runs in the 12^th inning to win the game 6-2.

The Yankees failed to sweep the series but they took two out of three. The Yankees record fell to 8-6 and the Diamondbacks record improved to 8-6. The Yankees will head to Toronto to begin a three game series with them on Friday night. The Diamondbacks will head to Colorado to take on the Rockies on Friday night.

The New York Yankees salvage the final game of the series in Detroit

The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers by the score of 7-0 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and pitched great and David Robertson and Mariano Rivera closed the game out. Jayson Nix, Kevin Youkilis and Francisco Cervelli led the offense. 
Sabathia pitched seven innings giving up four hits and no runs. He walked three and struck out four and earned his first win of the season. Robertson pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out two and Rivera pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out one.

Brett Gardner had a hit, Robinson Cano had a hit and Youkilis had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Travis Hafner had two hits, Vernon Wells had a hit and drew two walks and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and an RBI. Cervelli had two hits and two RBI and Nix had three hits and two RBI. Youkilis, Cervelli and Wells each hit a double. Nix hit a homerun and the Yankees were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Justin Verlander took the loss pitching 7 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Phil Coke pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs and Octavio Dotel pitched an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a walk.

Austin Jackson drew two walks, Torii Hunter had two hits and Prince Fielder had a hit. Matt Tuiasosopo had two hits and drew a walk, Brayon Pena had a hit and Omar Infante had a hit. Santiago had a hit and the Tigers were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

In the second inning Cervelli hit an RBI double and Nix hit a two run homerun. The Yankees had a 3-0 lead until the eighth inning. Suzuki hit a sacrifice fly and Cervelli an RBI single to make it 5-0 Yankees. In the ninth inning Youkilis hit a two run single to make it 7-0 and that was the final score.

The Yankees ended their two game losing streak and improved their record to 2-4. The Tigers are now 3-3. The Yankees will head to Cleveland and take on the Indians in a four game series beginning on Monday afternoon. The Yankees will face the Indians at 4:05PM on Monday. The Tigers will have the day off on Monday.

The New York Yankees avoid the sweep behind a dominant Andy Pettitte

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 4-2 on Thursday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees and pitched great and Mariano Rivera got into his first game and earned his first save of the season. Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli each hit a homerun. 
Pettitte pitched eight innings giving up one run on eight hits. He walked one and struck out three, Rivera pitched one inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a strikeout. Pettitte earned his first win and Rivera his first save of the season.

Gardner had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Robinson Cano drew a walk and Kevin Youkilis had a hit. Travis Hafner had a hit, Ichiro Suzuki drew a walk and Eduardo Nunez had two hits. Lyle Overbay had a hit and two RBI and Francisco Cervelli had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Nunez and Youkilis each hit a homerun and Gardner and Cervelli each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Gardner and Nunez were each caught stealing.

Ryan Dempster pitched five innings giving up five hits and three runs with four walks and eight strikeouts and he took the loss. Junichi Tazawa pitched one inning giving up a hit and Clayton Mortensen pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run.

Shane Victorino had a hit, Dustin Pedroia drew two walks and Mike Napoli had a hit. Jonny Gomes had a hit, Will Middlebrooks had two hits and an RBI and Jackie Bradley Jr. had a hit and an RBI. David Ross had a hit and Jose Iglesias had two hits. Bradley and Gomes each hit a double and the Red Sox were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Victorino had an outfield assist.

In the second Overbay hit a two run single to make it 2-0 Yankees. In the third inning the Yankees took a 3-0 lead on a Gardner solo homerun. In the seventh the Red Sox got on the board with a Bradley RBI double. The Yankees got the run right back in the bottom of the seventh on a Cervelli solo homerun to make it 4-1. The Red Sox scored a run in the ninth on a groundout after a walk and a double and the final score was 4-2.

The Yankees record improved to 1-2 and the Red Sox are 2-1. The Yankees will head to Detroit to begin a three game series. The Yankees and Tigers will play on Friday afternoon. The Red Sox will head north to take on the Blue Jays in Toronto on Friday night.

The Yankees spring off day notes

There wasn’t much coming out of Yankees camp because they had a true off day. There were no sim games, no regular games, no workouts. Brian Cashman their general manager was busy jumping out of a plane though to help raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Foundation. Cashman had so much fun jumping the first time he did it again and that may have not been the best idea. Cashman broke a fibula and dislocated his right ankle. He is in the hospital now and was scheduled to have a couple of surgeries. He seems to be in good spirits though and he isn’t a player to it shouldn’t affect his ability to do the job. 
Francisco Cervelli throwing the ball has really been an early spring thing to watch. He is 5 for 6 throwing out runners and was 9-14 during winter ball. He seems to be the early favorite for the starting catcher role. He could be a guy who was so down after getting cut on the last day last year to being the starter this year. It is amazing how baseball and life work. Tony Pena the catching coach and bench coach was raving about Cervelli today.

Derek Jeter says he is just doing what he is told to do. He said he doesn’t know when he will get into a game yet and when he is told that is what he will do. He said his job is to be ready for April 1^st and that is what he is focused on and states he will be ready. He said that he feels good but they don’t want to push him and he is going to go by what they say. Jeter could get into a game by next week but we will wait and see what happens. It appears he will be the number two hitter in the lineup as long as he is playing. It appears that Ichiro and Gardner are battling for the leadoff spot with them both having good springs. Gardner is having a great spring though. I think which every one doesn’t leadoff will probably bat ninth. It could be like a double leadoff guy, we will see what happens though.

The New York Yankees defeat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 in grapefruit league opener

The New York Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 8-3 on Saturday afternoon in Orlando, Florida. David Phelps got the start for the Yankees and pitched two scoreless innings picking up the win. He was the only major league pitcher to pitch for the Yankees in the game. Zoilo Almonte was impressive with a homerun and throwing out a runner at third from right field. Francisco Cervelli threw a runner out at second as the battle for starting catcher began. Robinson Cano also hit a homerun in the game. 
Phelps pitched two innings giving up three hits and no runs. He didn’t walk a batter or strikeout a batter. Brett Marshall pitched two innings giving up a hit, a run, a walk and striking out two, Nik Turley pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Mikey O’Brien pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout. Kelvin Perez pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Branden Pinder pitched a perfect inning and Chase Whitley pitched an inning walking one.

Paul Maholm started for the Braves and pitched two perfect innings. Jordan Walden the former closer of the Angels really got hit. He pitched one inning giving up three hits and four runs with one of them being earned. Anthony Varvaro pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Yohan Flande pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run and J.R. Graham pitched an inning giving up a hit and walking two. Walden took the loss.

Eduardo Nunez had a hit, Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI as he hit a homerun and Mark Teixeira had an RBI. Juan Rivera had a hit and drew a walk, Austin Romine had a hit and two RBI and Francisco Cervelli drew a walk. Zoilo Almonte was the star with a hit and two RBI and he had an outfield assist. The Yankees were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Melky Mesa had a stolen base. Almonte threw a guy out at third from right field and Cervelli threw out a runner trying to steal second base. Corban Joseph committed an error.

Reed Johnson had a hit, Freddie Freeman had a couple of hits and Evan Gattis had two hits and two RBI for the Braves. Todd Cunningham, Christian Bethancourt and Jose Yepez each had a hit and Chris Johnson had an RBI. Gattis and Bethancourt had a double and Gattis also hit a homerun. The Braves were 0-7 with seven runners left on base. Cunningham was caught stealing, Freeman, Johnson and Uggla each committed an error. Bethancourt had a passed ball.

The Yankees scored four runs in the third on a two run homerun by Almonte a Teixeira RBI groundout and a wild pitch to score a run. Atlanta scored in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Johnson and the Yankees got the run right back in the fifth. Cano hit a solo homerun to make it 5-1 Yankees. Gattis hit a two run homerun in the sixth to cut the Yankees lead to 5-3 but the Yankees scored three runs in the seventh to make it 8-3 and that would be the final score. Jose Pirela had an RBI single and Romine had a two run single.

The Yankees are 1-0 in the grapefruit league and the Braves are 0-2. The Yankees will play their first home game of the schedule on Sunday afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Braves will play at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Yankees Saturday notes as they get ready for position players to report on Sunday

CC Sabathia threw his first bullpen of the spring along with Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. Sabathia said he did feel a little nervous because it was the first time doing it since his offseason elbow surgery. He said after the first couple of pitches though he felt good. He threw 29 pitches which were all fastballs and changeups. He said he will start throwing breaking balls in the next couple of days off of flat ground and then carry that into the next bullpens. Joe Girardi said today that he will probably miss the first turn through the rotation with games beginning a week from today. Mariano Rivera will probably also miss the first few games and not pitch until March. That is fine though with the extra time in camp. 
The Yankees have no idea who will start the game a week from today but it could be David Phelps or Adam Warren. Joe Girardi said he expects everyone to be in camp tomorrow and he also said so far no one has gotten injured.

Derek Jeter will address the media tomorrow in his annual start of spring training press conference. Rivera said he felt good again today and he has no doubt he will be able to pitch. He said he put a lot of work in during the year and he trusts god first and then himself. He is on a normal spring routine, he may actually be getting work in earlier then usual and he is wearing a brace but he is fine.

Francisco Cervelli said the Yankees told him he could play in the WBC if he wanted. He said he has a job that he can win and that has been his dream and he wants to make sure he is in camp and gives it his all. He said he talked to the manager of Italy back in December and told them he wasn’t going to play.

Spring training will get more lively tomorrow and there will be much more going on. The full squad reports and then in a week the games will begin. It has been pretty quiet the last couple of days but that is all about to change.

Yankees first official workout notes

The Yankees started their quest for championship #28 this morning as they held their first workout of the season. There are no players that reported late so all the pitchers and catchers are in camp, position players will report Sunday and then the ballpark will really come alive. Francisco Cervelli met the media today, Mariano Rivera did the same and Andy Pettitte was a big topic about not playing in the World Baseball Classic and possibly playing past this season. 
Cervelli denied the allegations against him. He said that he was recommended to go to the Biogenesis clinic by someone but wouldn’t say who. He said it wasn’t a teammate or his agents. He did say he went there and just listened and didn’t leave with anything. Cervelli also said look at him and his numbers, does it look like he is taking steroids. I guess you have to believe him, there is no reason not too and honestly I don’t think people care that much about him. He isn’t really a story, Cervelli has a chance to be the starting catcher this year and he is a Yankee but he really isn’t a big deal.

Mariano Rivera reported on time this year, he said he feels like a 9 out of 10 but will be a 10 when the season starts. He said he has made a decision on his future but isn’t going to announce it just yet. He did say he will let everyone know in the near future though. It sure sounds like he is going to retire and we should find out soon enough. He said he expects to be how he always is and that he is feeling great and excited to be back.

Andy Pettitte wanted to play in the World Baseball Classic especially with his old manager Joe Torre managing team USA. He said that Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman had concerns though and basically talked him out of it. He said they said we will support you if you do it but we would prefer if you didn’t. He said ultimately it was his final decision but he felt although he would of loved to pitch for his country he had to be loyal to the Yankees. Pettitte also said he isn’t sure if he will continue past this season but won’t make any decisions until the season is completed. He sounded the opposite of Rivera, that he may play again next season.

Phil Hughes threw 40 pitches today in his bullpen and Clay Rapada threw 35. A lot of the pitchers seem ahead of the normal schedule. Hughes said it was his sixth bullpen already. The first workout was smooth, no problems reported.

David Adams who missed most of the last two seasons with an ankle injury will be sidelined now with a back injury. He will be in camp but won’t be cleared for full activity when the first full squad workouts begin.

The Yankees made a trade tonight. They have acquired reliever Shawn Kelley from the Seattle Mariners for Abe Almonte. Almonte was a minor league outfielder who really had no where to go with the Yankees. Kelley is 28 and went 2-4 last season with a 3.25 ERA. He made 47 appearances with the Mariners last season during three different stints with the big club. He averaged more then a strikeout per inning and he also made 14 appearances in AAA where he was 2-0 with six saves and a 0.90 ERA. Alex Rodriguez was placed on the 60 day disabled list to clear room on the 40 man roster and the Yankees 40 man roster now stands at 40.