New York Yankees defeat the Chicago Cubs in a long 18 inning marathon

The New York Yankees defeated the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.  The game took place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois and the final score was 5-4.  Luis Severino started for the Yankees and he pitched great and the offense was led by Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Holliday and Brett Gardner who each had two hits. 

Severino pitched seven innings giving up four hits and a run with a walk and nine strikeouts.  Dellin Betances pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts, Aroldis Chapman blew his first save of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up three hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts and Tyler Clippard pitched a perfect 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.  Adam Warren pitched two innings giving up a hit and he walked two with two strikeouts, Jonathan Holder pitched three innings giving up a hit and a walk with three strikeouts and Chasen Shreve picked up his first win of the season pitching three innings and giving up a hit and three walks and striking out five. 

Jon Lester started for the Cubs and he pitched seven innings and gave up three hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  He walked two and struck out nine.  Justin Grimm pitched two innings and gave up three hits and two runs with a strikeout, Wade Davis pitched a perfect inning with three strikeouts and Carl Edwards Jr. pitched a perfect inning with three strikeouts.  Koji Uehara pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Mike Montomery pitched two innings giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts and Brian Duensing pitched two innings giving up a hit and two walks with two strikeouts.  Pedro Strop took his second loss of the season pitching two innings and giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout. 

Ellsbury had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk, Aaron Hicks had a hit and drew two walks and Holliday had two hits.  Ronald Torreyes had a hit, Starlin Castro had two RBI and Aaron Judge had a hit and an RBI.  Gary Sanchez had a hit and drew two walks, Gardner had two hits and Judge hit a triple and Ellsbury hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Hicks, Holliday, Gregorius each had a stolen base and Ellsbury was picked off. 

Kyle Schwarber had two hits and drew two walks, Kris Bryant had a hit and drew two walks and Anthony Rizzo had a hit, an RBI and drew three walks.  Ben Zobrist had a hit, Addison Russell drew two walks and John Jay had a hit and drew a walk.  Willson Contreras had a hit, Albert Almora Jr. had two hits and an RBI and Javier Baez had two hits and two RBI.  Schwarber and Rizzo each hit a double and Baez hit a homerun.  The Cubs were 2-15 with runners in scoring position and left 18 men on base.  Baez had a stolen base and Bryant and Contreras each committed an error.  Contreras had a pickoff. 

In the first Castro hit an RBI ground out to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the third Baez hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  In the seventh Judge hit an RBI triple to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  In the eighth Ellsbury hit a two-run homerun to extend the lead to 4-1.  In the ninth Almora Jr. hit an RBI single to make it 4-2, Baez hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3 and Rizzo was hit by a pitch to tie the game at four.  In the 18^th inning Castro reached on a fielder’s choice and had an RBI to make it 5-4 and that would be the final score. 

The Yankees swept the three game series and will head to Cincinnati for a two game series beginning on Monday night. 

The Chicago Cubs survive with thrilling game five victory

The Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians on Sunday night.  The game took place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois and the final score was 3-2.  Jon Lester started for the Cubs and he pitched well and Trevor Bauer started for the Indians and he pitched ok, their bullpen was good.  The Cubs bullpen was also good and Addison Russell led the offense with a couple of hits.  Rajai had two hits to lead the Cleveland offense. 

Lester pitched six innings giving up four hits and two runs with no walks and five strikeouts.  He won the game.  Carl Edwards Jr. pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and Aroldis Chapman pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up a hit and he struck out four and got the save. 

Bauer pitched four innings giving up six hits and three runs with no walks and seven strikeouts.  Bauer took the loss.  Mike Clevinger pitched an inning walking two, Bryan Shaw pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up no hits and no runs and he struck out three and Cody Allen pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk and he struck out four. 

Kris Bryant had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Anthony Rizzo had a hit and drew a walk and Ben Zobrist had a hit and drew a walk.  Addison Russell had two hits and an RBI, Jason Heyward had a hit and Javier Baez had a hit.  David Ross had an RBI, Rizzo hit a double and Bryant hit a homerun.  The Cubs were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Bryant and Fowler each had a stolen base and Heyward had two stolen bases.  Contreras had a passed ball. 

Davis had two hits, Francisco Lindor had a hit and an RBI and Mike Napoli had a hit.  Carlos Santana had a hit, Jose Ramirez had a hit and an RBI and Santana hit a double and Ramirez hit a homerun.  The Indians were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Davis had three stolen bases and Lindor was caught stealing.  Perez committed an error. 

In the second Ramirez hit a solo homerun to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Bryant hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  Russell hit an RBI single giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead and Ross hit a sac fly still in the fourth to push the lead to 3-1.  In the sixth Lindor hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-2 and that would be the final score. 

The Cubs survive and force a game six on Tuesday night in Cleveland trying to even the series and push it to the limits with a game seven.   

The Cleveland Indians win game one of the World Series

The Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago Cubs in game one of the World Series on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio and the final score was 6-0.  Corey Kluber started for the Indians and he was awesome.  Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez led their offense with three hits each.  Ben Zobrist led the Cubs with three hits.  Jon Lester pitched just ok for the Cubs. 

Kluber pitched six innings giving up four hits and no runs with no walks and nine strikeouts and earned the win.  Andrew Miller pitched two innings giving up two hits and two walks and he struck out three and Cody Allen pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out the side. 

Lester pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up six hits and three runs with three walks and seven strikeouts and he took the loss.  Pedro Strop pitched 2/3 of an inning and had a strikeout, Travis Wood pitched to one batter and retired him and Justin Grimm pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout.  Hector Rondon pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run. 

Rajai Davis had a hit, Lindor had three hits and Mike Napoli drew a walk.  Carlos Santana drew two walks, Ramirez had three hits and an RBI and Brandon Guyer had an RBI and drew a walk.  Lonnie Chisenhall had a hit, Roberto Perez had two hits and four RBI and Ramirez, Lindor and Davis each hit a double.  Perez hit two homeruns.  The Indians were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Lindor had a stolen base and was caught stealing. 

Kris Bryant drew a walk, Zobrist had three hits and Kyle Schwarber had a hit and drew a walk.  Javier Baez had a hit, Willson Contreras had a hit and David Ross had a hit.  Zobrist, Schwarber and Contreras each hit a double and the Cubs were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. 

In the first Ramriez hit an RBI single to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  Guyer was hit by a pitch and it was 2-0 Indians.  In the fourth Perez hit a solo homerun to extend the Indians lead to 3-0.  Perez hit his second homerun of the game in the eighth to make it 6-0 and that would be the final score of the game. 

The two teams will play game two of the series on Wednesday night before shifting to Chicago for the middle three games of the series over the weekend. 

New York Mets finally lose to the Chicago Cubs

The New York Mets were defeated by the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.  The game took place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois and the final score was 5-1.  Steven Matz started for the Mets and he pitched ok.  Wilmer Flores led the offense with two hits. 

Matz pitched five innings and he gave up four runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts.  Matz lost his sixth game of the season.  Seth Lugo pitched two perfect innings with a strikeout and Erik Goeddel pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts. 

Jon Lester won his 10th game of the season pitching  7 2/3 innings giving up four  hits and a run with three walks and three strikeouts.  Pedro Strop pitched to one batter and struck him out, Carl Edwards Jr. pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and Hector Rondon pitched 2/3 of an inning and saved his 16th game of the season. 

Jose Reyes had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and Neil Walker drew a walk.  Flores had two hits and an RBI, Asdrubal Cabrera had a hit and Michael Conforto had a hit.  Travis d'Arnaud drew a walk, Matz drew a walk and Flores hit a homerun.  The Mets were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Cespedes committed an error  and he had an outfield assist. 

Javier Baez had two hits, Kris Bryant had a hit and Anthony Rizzo had a hit and three RBI.  Willson Contreras had a hit, Addison Russell had a hit and Matt Szczur had three hits.  Albert Almora Jr. had a hit and an RBI, David Ross had an RBI and drew a walk and Contreras hit a double.  Szczur hit two doubles and Rizzo hit a homerun.  The Cubs were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Baez and Bryant each had a stolen base. 

In the third Rizzo hit a three run homerun to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.  In the sixth Ross hit a sac fly to push the lead to 4-0.  Flores hit a solo homerun in the seventh to cut the lead to 4-1 and in the eighth Almora hit an RBI single to make it 5-1 which would be the final score. 

The two teams will play game two on Tuesday night and then finish the series on Wednesday afternoon. 

The New York Mets take game one of the NLCS

The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 4-2 Mets.  Matt Harvey started the game and pitched very well, Travis d'Arnaud and Juan Lagares each had two hits. 

Harvey pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with two walks and nine strikeouts.  Harvey won his first game of the postseason.  Jeurys Familia earned the save pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. 

Jon Lester lost the game pitching 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs with a walk and five strikeouts.  Justin Grimm pitched to one batter and retired him, Clayton Richard to one batter and retired him and Trevor Cahill pitched 2/3 of an inning including a strikeout. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit and two RBI, David Wright drew a walk and Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI.  d'Arnaud had two hits and an RBI, Michael Cuddyer had a hit and Wilmer Flores had a hit.  Lagares had two hits, Murphy and d'Arnaud each hit a homerun and the Mets were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Wright and Lagares each had a stolen base and d'Arnaud committed an error.  Yoenis Cespedes had an outfield assist. 

Kyle Schwarber had a hit and an RBI, Kris Bryant drew a walk and Anthony Rizzo drew a walk.  Starlin Castro had a hit and an RBI, Jorge Soler had a hit and Javier Baez had a hit.  Miguel Montero had a hit, David Ross drew a walk and Castro hit a double and Schwarber hit a homerun.  The Cubs were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Baez had a stolen base. 

In the first Murphy  hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the fifth Castro hit an RBI double to tie the game at one.  In the fifth Granderson hit an RBI single to make it 2-1 Mets.  d'Arnaud hit a solo homerun in the sixth to extend the lead to 3-1 Mets.  In the seventh Granderson hit a sac fly to push the lead to 4-1 Mets.  In the eighth Schwarber hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 4-2 and that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play game two on Sunday night in New York before heading to Chicago for the middle three games of the series. 

MLB Winter Meetings 2014

The MLB winter meetings began officially on Monday although a lot of people got into town Sunday night.  They are being held in San Diego, California this year.  The big news so far is that David Robertson signed with the Chicago White Sox and the White Sox also traded for pitcher Jeff Samardzija.  There have been lots of Jon Lester rumors but nothing as of yet.  First it was reported it was down to the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants but not they are saying there may still be four teams involved.  A decision is expected soon but we will see. 

The Diamondbacks traded catcher Miguel Montero to the Chicago Cubs for a couple of minor leaguers.  The two players are pitchers Jeferson Mejia and Zack Godley. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates resigned left handed starting pitcher Francisco Liriano for three years and 39 millions which is the largest free agent contract in team history.  The Jeff Samardzija trade was also minor league pitcher Michael Ynoa going to the White Sox in the deal and the Athletics getting back infielder Marcus Semien, right hander Chris Bassitt, catcher Josh Phegley and first baseman Rangel Ravelo. 

We learned that the Yankees never even offered Robertson a contract.  Once they signed Miller they were out on Robertson never considering having two high priced relievers.  They feel that with Miller and Betances in the back end they are fine and that they also have Justin Wilson, Shawn Kelley and Adam Warren if he isn't in the rotation.  The Yankees also have lefty first round pick from last year Jacob Lindgren just about ready to contribute.  They may still sign a traditional closer for a year or two who costs less then Robertson but if not may just mix and match with Betances and Miller at the end of games. 

 

MLB hot stove news and notes

The Baltimore Orioles lost Nelson Cruz to the Seattle Mariners just the other day.  They have now lost long time right fielder Nick Markakis.  He signed with the Atlanta Braves for four years and around 45 million dollars.  Nelson Cruz signed with the Mariners for four years and 58 million.  The trade front has been pretty active and will be more active next week during the Winter meetings in San Diego, California.   The Toronto Blue Jays who have been very busy this off-season continue to be.  They traded pitcher J.A. Happ to the Seattle Mariners for Michael Saunders.  Saunders is a 28 year old outfielder who played in only 78 games last season.  He batted 273 with a 791 OPS and eight homeruns.  He has battled injuries over the past three seasons.  Happ is 32 years old and went 11-11 last season with a 4.22 ERA in 28 starts. 

The Jon Lester sweepstakes have really heated up and appear close to coming to an end.  The Los Angeles Dodgers have become a very late entrant and may be pushing hard for him.  The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are believed to be the two other front runners although there are other teams in the mix as well.  There were reports that this should get done this week but now today they are saying not until the winter meetings next week most likely.  There hasn't been much talk about the other top pitcher Max Scherzer, there were some rumors about the Yankees the other day but nothing has come out of that. 

The other big pitcher that has been getting the spotlight the last couple of days is lefty reliever Andrew Miller.  It looks like it is down to just a couple of teams with the New York Yankees and Houston Astros appearing to be the favorites.  There have been conflicting reports about the Astros and Red Sox being out of it though.  I am guessing the Yankees do end up signing him.  He may get four years and around 40 million though and most believe the Yankees don't want to go to four years but maybe three and an option year.  I also wonder if this would put them out with David Robertson or if they are trying to sign both and have a super bullpen.  Can you imagine if they have Robertson, Miller, Betances and then have the next  tier like Justin Wilson, Shawn Kelley and Adam Warren.  That would be a pretty sick bullpen and shorten games to six innings and take stress off of their injury plagued starters. 

How about the Atlanta Braves and Justin Upton??  He appears likely to be traded and maybe the Seattle Mariners are a team that would match up.  They are looking for another bat to put with Robinson Cano and Cruz.  There were reports today that the Detroit Tigers are shopping David Price and Rick Porcello so stay tuned for that next week also.  The Yankees may be talking to teams about trading for a shortstop so also look for that.  Chase Headley reportedly has a four year and 65 million dollar deal in hand from a mystery team.  If that is true he will be gone from the Yankees and they will have Martin Prado as their third baseman and two rookies battling for second in Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela. 

I would expect a flurry of trades next week during the winter meetings.  I also forgot about a big trade that happened during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Josh Donaldson was traded to the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and three prospects.  The Jays have some lineup now with Russell Martin, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Donaldson and now Michael Saunders also.  There was a report that Donaldson and GM Billy Beane were at war by the end of the year and that may be a big reason he traded him. 

The Kansas City Royals win a wild Wild Card game

The Kansas City Royals defeated the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 9-8 in 12 innings.  It was the American League wild card game with the winner advancing to take on the Anaheim Angels in the American League Division Series.  James Shields started for the Royals against Jon Lester for the Athletics and at the end neither was a factor.  The offenses played well with the Athletics using power and the Royals using their speed. 

Shields pitched five innings giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and six strikeouts.  Yordano Ventura pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs, Kelvin Herrera pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up four hits and a run with three strikeouts and Wade Davis pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.  Greg Holland pitched an inning with three walks and a strikeout, Brandon Finnegan pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and three strikeouts and Jason Frasor pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one. 

Lester pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and six runs with two walks and five strikeouts.  Luke Gregerson pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts, Sean Doolittle pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run and he blew the save.  Dan Otero took the loss pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up three hits and two runs with a strikeout, Fernando Abad pitched to one batter and retired him and Jason Hammel gave up a hit without retiring a batter. 

Alcides Escobar had two hits, Nori Aoki had an RBI and Lorenzo Cain had two hits and two RBI.  Eric Hosmer had three hits, an RBI and drew two walks, Billy Butler had two hits and two RBI and Colon had a hit and an RBI.  Alex Gordon drew a walk, Salvador Perez had a hit and an RBI and Omar Infante had two hits.  Mike Moustakas had a hit, Josh Willingham had a hit and Cain hit a double.  Hosmer hit a triple and the Royals were 7-15 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Aoki, Escobar, Cain, Gore, Gordon, Dyson and Colon each had a stolen base.  Hosmer was caught stealing and Perez had a passed ball. 

Coco Crisp had two hits and an RBI, Sam Fuld had two hits and drew a walk and Josh Donaldson had two hits and drew a walk.  Brandon Moss had two hits, five RBI and drew a walk, Josh Reddick had two hits and drew two walks and Stephen Vogt drew a walk.  Alberto Callaspo had a hit and an RBI, Derek Norris had a hit and an RBI and Eric Sogard had a hit.  Moss hit two homeruns and the Athletics were 4-9 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. 

Moss hit a two run homerun in the first to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead.  Butler hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to make it a 2-1 game.  In the third Cain hit an RBI double and Hosmer hit an RBI single giving the Royals a 3-2 lead.  In the sixth Moss hit a three run homerun, Norris hit an RBI single, Crisp hit an RBI single to give the Athletics a 7-3 lead.  In the eighth Cain hit an RBI single, Butler hit an RBI single and a wild pitch scored another run to make it 7-6.  In the ninth Aoki hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at seven.  In the 12th Callaspo hit an RBI single to give the A's a 8-7 lead and then Colon hit an RBI single in the 12th to tie the game and Perez hit an RBI walk-off single to give the Royals a 9-8 win.  The Royals advance to the ALDS to play the Anaheim Angels in Anaheim beginning on Thursday night. 

 

MLB Trade Deadline Transactions

Here is the rundown of the crazy trade deadline moves that went down.  It was one of the busiest in history which makes it fun for those of us in the baseball world. 

I will start with the team that I cover the New York Yankees.  They made a trade with the Boston  Red Sox which is crazy enough.  It was the first trade between the arch rivals since 1997.  Stephen Drew came to the Yankees to play second base and audition for what will be a vacant shortstop next year.  The Yankees sent Kelly Johnson to the Red Sox.  The Yankee also acquired Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks for AA prospect Peter O'Brien. 

The Boston Red Sox were the most active team.  They traded pitchers Felix Doubront, Jon Lester and John Lackey.  They traded Lester and Jonny Gomes to the Oakland Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes.  They traded Lackey and minor league pitcher Corey Littrell to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Joe Kelly and outfielder Allen Craig.   The Red Sox also traded reliver Andrew Miller to the Baltimore Orioles for Eduardo Rodriguez a minor league pitcher. 

The Marlins acquired Jarred Cosart, Enrique Hernandez, Austin Wates from the Houston Astros for Jake Marisnick, Colin Moran, Francis Martes and a 2015 competitive balance pick. 

Atlanta Braves acquired James Russell, Emilio Bonifacio from the Chicago Cubs for Victor Caratini

Washington Nationals acquired Asdrubal Cabrera from the Cleveland Indians for Zach Walters. 

The Seattle Mariners acquired Chris Denorfia from the San Diego Padres for Stephen Kohlscheen and Abraham Almonte. 

Minnesota Twins acquire Tommy Milone from the A's for Sam Fuld. 

Brewers acquire Gerardo Parra from D-backs for Mitch Haniger and Anthony Banda.

Wow what a day, at least you have the complete list to refer to now.  I even needed a list as I couldn't remember them all.  It should be a fun final couple of months and now we have to watch the waiver wire to see if anyone will get through and more trades happen in August. 

The New York Yankees lose late to the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 2-1.  It was a great pitching duel as Masahiro Tanaka and Jon Lester did battle.  They both pitched great but Tanaka gave up a late solo homerun to lose the game.  The Yankees offense didn't do much against Lester at all. 

Tanaka pitched a complete game giving up two runs on seven hits.  He walked one and struck out eight, he lost his third game of the season and second in a row. 

Lester pitched eight innings giving up one run on five hits and the one run was unearned.  He walked two and struck out six and earned his ninth win of the season.  Koji Uehara saved his 17th game of the season pitching a perfect inning with two strikeouts. 

Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk, Derek Jeter had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits.  Brian Roberts had a hit and the Yankees were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Gardner was caught stealing and Ellsbury had an outfield assist. 

Brock Holt had a hit, Dustin Pedroia had three hits and David Ortiz had a hit.  Mike Napoli had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, David Ross had a hit and an RBI and Ortiz and Holt each hit a double.  Ross and Napoli each hit a homerun and the Red Sox were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Drew committed an error. 

In the third Ross hit a solo homerun to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.  The Yankees came right back and tied the game on a Jeter RBI groundout in the bottom of the third.  In the ninth Napoli hit a solo homerun to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead and that was the final score. 

The two teams have split the first two games of the series and the rubber game will be played on Sunday night.   

The New York Yankees salvage the final game against the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees salvage the final game against the Boston Red Sox


The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon. The final score was 4-3 and the game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched well. Mariano Rivera pitched two innings picking up the win. Robinson Cano had three hits; Ichiro Suzuki and Alex Rodriguez each had two hits.

Kuroda pitched six innings giving up two runs and five hits. He walked two and struck out six. Shawn Kelley pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out one and Rivera pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with three strikeouts. Rivera blew his seventh save of the season but picked up his fifth win of the season.

Suzuki had two hits, Vernon Wells had a hit and Alfonso Soriano had a hit. Cano had three hits and two RBI, Rodriguez had two hits and drew a walk and Mark Reynolds had a hit and an RBI. Chris Stewart had a hit, Reynolds and Cano each hit a double and the Yankees were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Jon Lester pitched eight innings giving up three runs on ten hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Brandon Workman took his third loss of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up a run and a hit with a strikeout.

Jonny Gomes had two hits, David Ortiz had two hits and Mike Carp had two hits and an RBI. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had an RBI; Will Middlebrooks had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Jackie Bradley Jr. had a hit and drew a walk and Ortiz hit two doubles and Carp hit one. Middlebrooks hit a homerun and the Red Sox were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

In the second Carp hit an RBI double giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. In the fourth Reynolds hit an RBI double to tie the game at one. Cano hit a two run double in the fifth to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. Saltalamacchia hit an RBI groundout in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2 Yankees. In the ninth Middlebrooks hit a solo homerun to tie the game at three. In the bottom of the ninth Suzuki hit a single, stole second, advanced to third on a fly ball and scored the winning run on a wild pitch. The Yankees escaped with a 4-3 win and avoided the four game sweep. The Yankees record improved to 76-67 and the Red Sox record dropped to 87-58.

The Yankees will begin a three game series in Baltimore on Monday night. The Yankees trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 2 ½ games for the final playoff spot with 18 games to play. The Yankees and Rays will meet three more times at Yankee Stadium

The New York Yankees have a rough Opening Day as they lose 8-2 to the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox by the score of 8-2 on Monday afternoon. It was the first Opening Day at home that they lost since 1986, they had won 14 of those in a row. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and he wasn’t very good, Joba Chamberlain also had a bad outing in relief. The Yankees offense left a lot of runners on base, Francisco Cervelli provided their only RBI. 
Sabathia pitched five innings giving up four runs on eight hits, he walked four and struck out five. Sabathia took the loss. David Phelps pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two walks, it was his throw day and he is still in line to start on Saturday in Detroit. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit, Shawn Kelley pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Chamberlain pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Cody Eppley pitched to one batter and retired him.

Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk, Robinson Cano had a hit and Kevin Youkilis had a hit. Vernon Wells drew a walk, Ben Francisco drew a walk and Travis Hafner had a hit. Ichiro Suzuki had a hit, Cervelli had a hit and two RBI and drew a walk and Youkilis hit a double. The Yankees were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Jon Lester started for the Red Sox and pitched five innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. Koji Uehara pitched a perfect inning, Andrew Miller walked two and struck out two in 2/3 of an inning and Andrew Bailey struck out the only batter that he faced. Junichi Tazawa pitched one inning giving up a hit and Joel Hanrahan pitched a perfect inning.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and two RBI, Shane Victorino had two hits and three RBI and Dustin Pedroia had two hits and an RBI. Will Middlebrooks drew a walk, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a hit and drew three walks and Jonny Gomes had two hits and drew a walk. Jackie Bradley Jr. had an RBI, drew three walks and made a run saving catch in the outfield. I would say it was a good debut for a kid that hadn’t played a day over AA in his career. Jose Iglesias had three hits and an RBI , Saltalamacchia hit a double and Ellsbury a triple. The Red Sox were 6-18 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.

The Red Sox took a commanding 4-0 lead in the second inning. Saltalamacchia walked, Gomes had an infield single, Bradley walked and Iglesias had an RBI infield single. Victorino had a two run single and Pedroia had an RBI single. In the bottom of the fourth Cervelli hit a two run single to make it a 4-2 game. In the seventh the Red Sox added to their lead with a run on a Bradley ground out. It was 5-2 and the Red Sox scored three runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Ellsbury hit a two run single and Victorino hit an RBI single. The final was 8-2 Red Sox.

The Yankees are 0-1 and the Red Sox are 1-0, the two teams will have an off day on Tuesday. They will play on Wednesday night at 7:05PM with Hiroki Kuroda matching up against Clay Bucholz. The finale of the three game series will be on Thursday night when Andy Pettitte goes up against Ryan Dempster.

Yankees Saturday night postgame notes

Here are the Yankees postgame notes.  They are courtesy of the Lohud Yankees blog and my own thoughts mixed in as always. 

David Phelps continued to make a positive impression despite taking this 4-1 loss to the Red Sox. The rookie went a career-high 6 2/3 and gave up just three runs and seven hits. He struck out seven and walked none in what will likely be his final start before CC Sabathia comes off the DL. Joe Girardi said he hopes that will be Friday night in Cleveland.  Girardi is cautious but Sabathia said emphatically he will be starting that game.  I guess anything can happen before then but I would be shocked if he wasn't pitching on Friday. 
But Phelps can still be an asset in the bullpen. He’s 3-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 24 outings overall. In his five starts, including two since Sabathia went down with his elbow problem, Phelps is 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA. Someone will have to go to make room for Sabathia, but Phelps is pitching better than Joba Chamberlain and Cody Eppley right now.  I think Eppley might be the odd man out, Joba is secure they know he is coming off tommy john and will give him some time to get the rust off. 
“We like what he does,” Girardi said about Phelps. “He’s a guy that’s somewhat of a swing guy for us. If we need him to start, he can start. If we need him to give us an inning in the bullpen, a couple of innings in the bullpen, he can do that. If we need him to give long relief, he can do that.  I like what he does also, he is like Ramiro Mendoza used to be and even Alredo Aceves who is now the Red Sox closer. 
“He’s a valuable guy on your team because he can do so many different things, and he’s had success in all areas.”
Phelps was done in by an opposite-field, two-run homer in the first by Adrian Gonzalez.
“It was right where we wanted it,” Phelps said. “The ball was down and off the plate. … It’s incredibly frustrating.”
Jon Lester’s inconsistency has been problematic for Boston, but the Yankees managed just five hits off the lefty. He’s still only 7-10 with a 5.03 after back-to-back starts with one run allowed.  He may be turning it around but it looks to be too late especially if the rest of the staff and especially Josh Beckett. 
“When you look up at the numbers, you kind of step back because you know that’s not the type of pitcher he really is,” said Nick Swisher, who had two of his three hits off Lester. “Tonight you got the best Jon Lester that we’ve seen in a while.”
The Yankees finished 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s hard to win a game when you do that,” Girardi said.
Curtis Granderson seems to be breaking out of his slump, coming through with a homer and two hits for the second consecutive game. Both homers were off left-handers. He has hit 11 of his 32 off lefties.
Derek Jeter lost his 13-game hitting streak. He batted .367 over that stretch.
Robinson Cano is struggling right now. He went hitless for the fourth consecutive game with an at-bat, his worst stretch since a four-game hitless run in 2008. His career high is five straight. That was in 2005.  It just seems like that can't happen to Cano but it does happen to them all.  Cano will get hot again and then you will think he can never get out. 
The Yankees need to come up with an answer for Pedro Ciriaco. He had a four-hit game against them at Fenway last month and he went 4 for 4 in this game. He’s batting .517 against them in seven games, going 15 for 29. He’s batting .276 in 28 games against other teams.  That is just weird, I have heard of Yankee killers but this is just nuts, he hits 241 points higher against them then any other team. 
“He’s on fire against us,” Phelps said. “It’s one of those things.”
Sunday night baseball on ESPN with feature a pitching matchup between Hiroki Kuroda, who has been very good, and Josh Beckett, who has not.  It is the rubber game and the Red Sox have to win series if they are going to make a run at the playoffs at all

The Yankees offense gets shutdown as the Red Sox even the series

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox by the score of 4-1 on Saturday evening. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. David Phelps started for the Yankees and pitched well in what should be his final start before ace CC Sabathia returns next week. The Yankees offense didn’t do much against Jon Lester. Nick Swisher has been red hot and he led the Yankees offense. Lester started for the Red Sox and was great and Pedro Ciriaco led the Sox offense. He is hitting over 500 against the Yankees this season.  Phelps pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up three runs and seven hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven in the longest outing of his young career. Phelps lost his fourth game of the season. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout, Cody Eppley pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout. Clay Rapada pitched 2/3 of an inning retiring both batters and Derek Lowe faced one batter and retired him. Lester won his seventh game and pitched seven innings giving up five hits and a run with two walks and four strikeouts. Andrew Bailey pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Craig Breslow pitched 2/3 of an inning retiring both batters and Alfredo Aceves pitched one inning giving up a hit and striking out one for his 25^th save.
Derek Jeter drew a walk, Swisher had three hits and Eric Chavez had a hit. Curtis Granderson had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and Granderson hit a double and hit a homerun. The Yankees were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Suzuki had a stolen base and Andruw Jones committed an error.
Carl Crawford had a hit, Dustin Pedroia had a hit and Adrian Gonzalez had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Scott Podsednik had a hit, Ciriaco had four hits and Nick Punto had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Punto, Pedroia and Ciriaco each hit a double. Gonzalez hit a homerun and the Red Sox were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Crawford, Ciriaco and Punto each had a stolen base.
The Red Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Gonzalez hit a two run homerun. In the fourth Granderson hit a solo homerun to make it a 2-1 game. In the fifth Punto hit an RBI double and it was 3-1 Red Sox. The Red Sox would score the final run of the game in the ninth inning as Eppley threw a wild pitch allowing Podsednik to score. The Yankees just couldn’t get anything going against Lester all day and then the bullpen.
The Yankees record fell to 71-49 and the Red Sox record improved to 59-62. The Yankees still lead the AL East by 5 ½ games depending on the outcome of the late games tonight. The Red Sox trail the Yankees by 12 ½ games. The two teams will play the rubber game of the three game series on Sunday night. The Yankees won 6-4 on Friday and then the Red Sox evened the series on Saturday evening.

The Yankees battle back and then lose to the Red Sox

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox by the score of 8-6 on Saturday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. There was a two hour rain delay to start the game and CC Sabathia the Yankees starter seemed to suffer from it. He wasn’t very good especially in the first inning. Curtis Granderson had a bad misplay in the ninth inning which ended up costing the Yankees the game. Jon Lester started for the Red Sox and was ok. Adrian Gonzalez led the Red Sox offensive attack. 
Sabathia pitched six innings giving up eight hits and six runs with two walks and six strikeouts. David Phelps pitched two innings giving up a hit and striking out three and Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout. He really shouldn’t of given up any runs but Grandersons miscue wasn’t an error. Phelps has been impressive retiring 22 of the last 23 batters he has faced with 12 strikeouts. Lester pitched six innings giving up four hits and four runs with two walks and six strikeouts. Matt Albers pitched an inning striking out one, Vincente Padilla pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with two strikeouts and Andrew Miller earned his third win of the season pitching to one batter and retiring him. Alfredo Aceves earned his 22^nd save of the season pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had an RBI, Mark Teixeira had two hits and two RBI and Andruw Jones drew a walk. Jayson Nix had a hit and two RBI, Russell Martin drew two walks and Ichiro Suzuki had a hit. Chris Stewart had a hit and an RBI and Raul Ibanez had a hit. Stewart, Nix and Teixeira each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and they left one man on base.

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Pedro Ciriaco had three hits and an RBI and Dustin Pedroia had a hit, an RBI an drew a walk. Gonzalez had three hits and four RBI, Cody Ross had a hit and Will Middlebrooks had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Daniel Nava had a hit, Gonzalez and Middlebrooks each hit a double and Ciriaco hit a triple. Gonzalez also hit a homerun. The Red Sox were 3-5 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Ciriaco had a stolen base.

In the first inning the Red Sox took a 3-0 lead. Gonzalez had an RBI double and Middlebrooks had a two run double. The Yankees scored a run in the third on a Stewart solo homerun. It was 3-1 Red sox and then they scored three runs in the fifth inning. Gonzalez hit a three run homerun to make it 6-1 Red Sox. The Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nix hit a two run homerun and Jeter hit an RBI groundout to make it 6-4. Teixeira hit a two run homerun to tie the game at six in the eighth inning. The Red Sox scored twice in the ninth to take the 8-6 lead and they held on to win the game. Ciriaco hit an RBI triple and Pedroia hit a sacrifice fly. The triple was a misplay by Granderson which should have been an easy out and the Yankees should have been tied going into the bottom of the ninth.

The two teams split the first two games and will play the rubber game on Sunday night. The Yankees have won six of the eight games this season between the two teams. The Yankees still hold an 11 game lead over the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. The Yankees have a nine game lead over the second place Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees take the series in Boston behind a strong Nova

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 7-3 on Sunday night. The game took place at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched very well. The bullpen was able to mix and match to close it out. Jon Lester started for the Red Sox and didn’t pitch great. Derek Jeter and Andruw Jones led the Yankees offense. Pedro Ciriaco led the Red Sox offense. 
Nova pitched six innings giving up six hits and two runs with one earned run. He walked two and struck out ten. Nova is now 10-3 on the season. Cody Eppley pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two walks, Clay Rapada pitched to one batter and struck him out and Dave Robertson pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two walks and a strikeout. Rafael Soriano struggled in a non save situation but pitched a scoreless inning. He walked two and struck out the side.

Lester lost his sixth game of the season pitching 4 1/3 innings giving up nine hits and five runs with four of them being earned. He walked two and struck out six. Scott Atchison pitched two innings giving up three hits and two runs with a strikeout. Mark Melancon pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and he struck out three and Alfredo Aceves pitched an inning giving up a hit and walking one.

Jeter had three hits, Curtis Granderson had two hits and Mark Teixeira had two hits and an RBI. Alex Rodriguez had a hit and an RBI, Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk. Cano extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Nick Swisher had two hits, an RBI and drew two walks, Jones had two hits and three RBI and Nix had a hit. Chris Stewart had an RBI, Teixeira, Nix, Swisher and Cano each had a double. Rodriguez had a triple and Jones hit a homerun. The Yankees were 3-14 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base. Jeter committed an error.

Daniel Nava drew a walk, Ciriaco had three hits and drew a walk and David Ortiz had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Nick Punto had two hits and drew a walk, Cody Ross drew a walk and Jarrod Saltalamacchia drew a walk. Mauro Gomez drew a walk and Alex Aviles had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Ortiz and Aviles each hit a double. The Red Sox were 2-14 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. Ciriaco had a stolen base and Saltalamacchia had a passed ball.

The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Teixeira had an RBI double and Swisher grounded into a force out scoring a run. Ross reached on an error by Jeter scoring a run to make it 2-1 in the bottom of the first inning. In the second Stewart hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Yankees. In the bottom of the third Ortiz hit an RBI double to make it a 3-2 game. In the fifth Rodriguez had an RBI triple and Jones had an RBI single to make it 5-2. Jones hit a two run homerun in the seventh to give the Yankees a 7-2 lead. Aviles hit an RBI double in the eighth to cut the lead to 7-3. The final score was 7-3 as the Yankees closed out the series and the first half.

The Yankees improved their record to 52-33. They finish the first half with the best record in baseball. The Red Sox record dropped to 43-43 and they are ten games back of the Yankees in the loss column. The Yankees will have four days off and start the second half at home against the Anaheim Angels.

Jon Lester speaks out about the Red Sox collapse and locker room

Here is a link to a story in Boston.com from today.  Peter Abraham who is an old friend, he used to be the beat reporter for the Yankees and the Journal News.  He also had a famous blog, Lohud Yankees that a lot have tried to copy off of or at least get inspiration from. I am included in that list and now he does a great job with boston.com and the Red Sox.  It is amazing how the mighty have fallen quickly.  I wouldn't count them out just yet but they sure are going through a lot with their manager and general manager gone and the criticism the players are getting.  Lester comes out and defends what was going on in the locker room but also admitted it, I wonder how this is all going to play out with the fans.  It will be an interesting winter up in Boston, that is for sure. 
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/10/more_from_jon_l.html