New York Yankees lose to the Baltimore Orioles as a late rally falls short

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 5-3.  James Paxton started for the Yankees and pitched well, the bullpen wasn’t great and Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu each had two hits to lead the offense. 

Paxton pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  He walked one and struck out five.  Paxton took the loss in the game.  Adam Ottavino pitched to one batter and got him out, Chad Green pitched an inning giving up tow hits and a run with two strikeouts and Jonathan Holder pitched two innings giving up three hits and two runs with one of them being earned and he struck out two. 

Nate Karns started for the Orioles and he pitched two innings.  He gave up one hit and no runs with three walks and a strikeout.  Jimmy Yacabonis won the game and pitched three innings giving up three hits and a run with two walks and two strikeouts, Miguel Castro pitched two innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and Mychal Givens pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out three.  Richard Bleier pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs and Mike Wright earned his first save of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two. 

Aaron Judge had a hit and drew a walk, Giancarlo Stanton had a hit and drew two walks and Luke Voit had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Miguel Andujar had a hit, Gary Sanchez had a hit and Torres had two hits.  Troy Tulowitzki had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks.  LeMahieu had two hits and an RBI, LeMahieu hit a double and Tulowitzki hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  LeMahieu, Sanchez and Voit each committed an error. 

Dwight Smith Jr. had two hits and an RBI, Trey Mancini had a hit and Joey Rickard drew a walk.  Rio Ruiz had a hit, Cedric Mullins had a hit and Jesus Sucre had three hits and three RBI.  Richie Martin had a hit, Ruiz and Sucre each hit a double.  The Orioles were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Smith and Martin each had a stolen base. 

In the fourth LeMahieu hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth Smith hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.  Martin stole a base and a run scored on a Sanchez throwing error to give the Orioles a 2-1 lead.  In the seventh Sucre hit an RBI single and the lead was pushed to 3-1.  In the ninth Sucre hit a two-run double to extend the lead to 5-1.  In the bottom of the ninth Tulowitzki hit a solo homerun and Voit hit an RBI single cutting the lead to 5-3 but that would be the final score. 

The rubber game of the three game series will be on Sunday afternoon.   

The plan for Phil Hughes

The Yankees came up with this plan for Phil Hughes, he won't make his first start of the season until April 15th. On April 5th he will throw 90-100 pitches in a extended spring start. This is basically the equivalent of a minor league spring training game. He will fly to Boston after the game to join the rest of the team. April 10th- He will make another extended spring start in the middle of a series in Tampa against the Rays. He will most likely be backed off to about 70 pitches, it is just like the other pitchers were in their last starts. April 15- He will make his season debut at home against the Angels. He will be stretched out just like the rest of the other pitchers at that point. Joe Girardi said they chose to do it this way because it will help to further control his innings. The innings he pitches in extended spring won't count against his total for the season. He said he was only throwing 50 pitches at times when the other guys were throwing 50 and they feel this is a good way to get him up to where he should be. He said the innings don't count because it is a controlled environment. If he throws 20 pitches in a inning and they want to stop the inning they can. In a real game you can't do this. Why wouldn't the Yankees option him to the minors and bring him up when needed. "There is a situation that might arise where you need him to make a spot start, or you get rained out and they want to play a double header. If he were optioned they would have to wait 10 days before calling him up. This seems like a pretty reasonable plan, I guess I like this plan. I think it will work out fine, I was thinking send him down but with Girardi explaining this I can understand what they are thinking. The notes come from Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees blog and Journal News.

Jose Reyes closer to returning

The New York Mets defeated the Florida Marlins by the score of 7-6 today. They also got good news when Jose Reyes took live batting practice and looked good. He is likely to run the bases next and then play in a minor league game. The Mets won't say if he will be ready for opening day or not, I am not sure if they really know. Jon Niese got the start and pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up 6 hits and 4 runs, 3 of them were earned. He had 3 walks and 3 strikeouts.Bobby Parnell pitched 1 inning giving up 2 hits and 1 run. Jenrry Mejia pitched a inning giving up a hit and a run, Pedro Feliciano pitched a inning giving up a hit and 0 runs with 2 strikeouts. Fernando Nieve pitched a inning giving up a hit and 0 runs with a strikeout. Pedro Feliciano wants to be the 8th inning guy but he is too valuable as a lefty specialist. Jeff Francoeur led the offense with 3 hits, Daniel Murphy had 2 hits. Angel Pagan had a hit and rbi, Gary Matthews Jr. had a hit, rbi and walk. Henry Blanco had 2 hits and 2 rbi, Ruben Tejada had 2 hits a rbi and walk. The team will have information about the final pitching staff on Thursday. Pedro Feliciano said after the game that he feels he will get the job as the setup man, that he isn't comfortable being just a lefty specialist. Johan Santana will pitch in a minor league game tomorrow.

New York Mets Recap

The New York Mets defeated the Florida Marlins by the score of 5-2 in Jupiter tonight. Oliver Perez got the start and pitched pretty well. He went 4 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. He walked 1 and struck out 2. Ryota Igarashi pitched an inning giving up 1 hit and 1 walk. He also had 2 strikeouts. Francisco Rodriguez pitched an inning and got the win. He gave up 2 hits but no runs or walks. He didn't strike out a batter. Pedro Feliciano pitched 2/3 of an inning, giving up 2 hits and 0 runs. He had a strikeout. Hisanori Takahashi pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits with a walk and strikeout. David Wright had a hit and Fernando Martinez had a hit and rbi. Jason Bay had 2 hits and 2 rbi. Jeff Francoeur had a hit and 2 rbi, Ruben Tejada and Alex Cora each had a hit. The Mets will take on the Twins tomorrow from Tradition Field. The game is at 1:10PM on SNY. Fernando Martinez continues to have a great spring. He is 15 for 27 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homeruns and 11 rbi. Hisanori Takahashi has pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings this spring.

Grapefruit League Game 14-Yankees at Phillies

Here is the lineup for todays game and then some notes. Gardner(CF) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Thames(LF) Cervelli(C) Pena(SS) Russo(2B) Phillies Lineup: Rollins(SS) Victorino(CF) Werth(RF) Howard(1B) Francisco(LF) Ransom(3B) Castro(2B) Ruiz(C) Blanton(P) Andy Pettitte is starting for the Yankees. He is expected to go 4 innings then Damaso Marte for an inning and Joba for 4. Joe Girardi has told him it is time to step it up. He said he told all the pitchers to now worry about results, not so much about working on things. Phil Hughes used his changeup in key spots last night and Girardi said that it shows him he has confidence in it.

• Brett Gardner cut his hair short again, maybe he is hoping for good luck or something.

• Jason Hirsh threw in the bullpen this morning.

• Here are the players that will come off of the bench for the Yankees: Mike Rivera(C), Juan Miranda(1B), Reegie Corona(2B),Eduardo Nunez(SS),Jorge Vazquez(3B), Jaime Hoffman(LF), Reid Gorecki(CF), David Winfree(RF), Jon Weber(DH).

• Here is what Joe Girardi said about Joba "I told him, just pitch. Do what you have to do. We're not expecting you to work on things anymore, we are expecting you to compete, show us what you got." I think those are pretty strong words for him and if he struggles once again I think he will be in the bullpen sooner then later. Joe Girardi said yesterday he would like to figure this out by next week and will start eliminating candidates 1 or 2 at a time.

New York Yankees Recap and postgame Notes

The New York Yankees were beat badly once again today. The final score was 11-0, Sergio Mitre got the start and pitched well going 3 innings giving up 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and he had 3 strikeouts. Chad Gaudin pitched 2 innings giving up 3 hits and 3 runs with a walk and 2 strikeouts. The real Kei Igawa decided to show up, he gave up 4 hits and 5 runs in 1 inning of work. Ryan Pope pitched a perfect inning and D.J. Mitchell gave up 4 hits and 3 runs in 1 inning. The offense was pretty silent once again. Jesus Montero continued to make the most of his appearances going 1 for 1 with a double. He is hitting 667 so far in the spring. This guy really is the real deal, he can just flat out hit and that will carry him to the majors. The Yankees aren't going to be able to keep him down for too long. Robinson Cano was 2 for 3 being the only Yankee with a mulitple hit game. Brett Gardner had a bunt single, that is a good sign because he needs to do more of that and utilize his running game. Mark Teixeira and Marcus Thames each went 1 for 3, Ramiro Pena and Brandon Laird each went 1 for 2. There weren't many postgame notes from this one as it was a long day and a long trip. Joe Girardi said he spoke with Francisco Cervelli and that he sounded pretty good, he will see a neurologist tomorrow. That is a big test and if he is cleared he should be back by mid week. Brett Gardner said he has always been challenged since he got drafted and that just makes him better and more eager to win a job. He said competition makes him better and he guesses the others better also. The Yankees have a split squad affair tomorrow, they will play in Bradenton against the Pirates and at home against the Phillies. I will have the lineups and some notes up tomorrow morning.

Mets split split squad

The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins 4-2 at Tradition Field and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 in Jupiter. Jon Niese pitched 2 2/3 innings allowing a run and striking out five. Jenrry Mejia retired all 7 batters he faced and had 4 strikeouts. Ryota Igarashi pitched 2 innings and allowed a solo homerun. Pedro Feliciano allowed a hit but no runs in a inning. Bobby Parnell pitched 2 innings allowing 4 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks. He also had 2 strikeouts. He was in the upper 90's all day but just didn't look comfortable according to Matthew Cerrone. The offense saw Angel Pagan, Wilmer Flores, David Wright, Jason Bay and Rod Barajas each had a hit. Jason Bay had the lone rbi. The other runs were unearned. The game in Jupiter against the Cardinals had Fernando Nieve get the start and pitch 3 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks. Bobby Livingston pitched 2 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs with a strikeout. Nelson Figueroa finished off the game with 4 innings of 1 hit ball, he had 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. That is a very impressive performance by him. Gary Matthews Jr., Alex Cora, Fernando Tatis and Chris Coste all had hits. Fernando Martinez,Ruben Tejada and Sean Riggans each had 2 hits. Frank Catalanotto had a hit in his only at bat. The rbi's were 2 for Catalanotto, 1 for Jeff Francouer, 1 for Fernando Martinez, 1 for Fernando Tatis and Sean Riggans. The Mets will play the Nationals tomorrow in Viera.

Yankees lose to the Rays

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays today by the score of 12-7. It was their 2nd exhibition loss in a row. Phil Hughes got the start and wasn't great but he wasn't terrible either. He gave up a solo homerun which was wind aided. He didn't give up any other hits in 2 innings and gave up a walk. Joba Chamberlain followed him and got lit up. He did lose 8 pounds and said he was probably only at 60 or 70 percent. He said you would of had to chop his legs off for him not to be out there though. He gave up 5 runs and 3 hits with 3 walks in 1 1/3 innings. Kevin Whelan gave up 2 hits, a run and 2 walks without recording an out. Kei Igawa, yes he is still around pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts. Dave Robertson also pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Hector Noesi gave up a hit and a run in one inning of work and Grant Duff gave up 2 hits and 3 runs in one inning. He also had 2 walks and a strikeout. Dustin Moseley gave up 2 hits and a run in 2/3 of an inning. He also had 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Jeremy Bleich faced one batter and got him out. Derek Jeter and Eduardo Nunez each had a hit and Nunez had a rbi. Curtis Granderson went 0-3 but had 2 good at bats against lefties. He is happy he is facing them and getting more oppurtunities. Greg Golson had a rbi and Juan Miranda had a hit and a rbi. Kevin Russo had a hit, walk and rbi. Jorge Vazquez had a hit and a rbi, Robinson Cano and Francisco Cervelli were both 2 for 2. The Yankees will remain at George Steinbrenner Field to take on the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow at 1 on the Yes network.

Yankees remain busy

The New York Yankees have aquired Javier Vasquez and Boone Logan from the Atlanta Braves for Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Arodys Viscaino. Mike Dunn was a left handed reliever from the minors who had a cup of coffee in Sept with the Yankees and Arodys Viscaino was a lower level starting pitcher. Javier Vasquez was with the Yankees in 2004 and most people will not forget him giving up the grand slam to Johnny Damon in game 7 of the ALCS but he is now a #4 starter not 1 or 2. He is actually I think a better pitcher then people give him credit for. He has pitched 200+ innings every year since leaving the Yankees and has won a pretty good amount of games, last year being his best season at 15-10 with a sub 3 era. Logan is a left handed reliever who has bad overall numbers but if you look at his numbers against lefties they are pretty good and he will be a lefthanded specialist with Marte as the other leftie who can face more guys. I will get into this trade more later but with Melky gone the Yankees currently don't have a leftfielder so who will they get Holliday, Bay, Damon, DeRosa, Dye?? I think DeRosa makes the most sense fitting into the budget of under 200 million but the Yankees being the Yankees I wouldn't put anything past them.

NLCS Preview continued

I was able to find some more facts about the season series between the Dodgers and Phillies. The Dodgers won the series 4 games to 3. The thing to remember is that Manny Ramirez did not participate in any of these games as he was suspended. The Phillies had 3 players who hit very well against the Dodgers and they were Carlos Ruiz who was 8 for 14 with a homerun and 5 rbi's. Raul Ibanez was 8 for 26 with 1 homerun and 5 rbi's. Jayson Worth was 8 for 26 with a rbi. The Dodgers had James Loney who was 11 for 28 with 2 homeruns and 6 rbi's. Matt Kemp was 9 for 27 with 3 rbi's. Casey Blake was 8 for 24 with a homerun and 4 rbi's. The guys who were cold for the Phillies against the Dodgers were Ryan Howard who was 3 for 28 with 1 homerun and 3 rbi's. Shane Victorino was 3 for 24 with 1 homerun and 3 rbi's, Chase Utley was 4 for 26 with 2 rbi's. Jimmy Rollins was 5 for 28 with a homerun and 2 rbi's. The Dodgers had some cold bats against the Phillies. Rafael Furcal was 6 for 27 with a homerun and rbi, Russel Martin was 5 for 22 with 1 rbi. Pitching wise Clayton Kershaw struggled against the Phillies going 0-2 in 10 1/3 innings giving up 6 earned runs on 8 hits with 10 strikeouts. Brad Lidge struggled for the Phillies against the Dodgers going 0-1 in 3 2/3 innings he allowed 3 runs on 8 hits with 3 strikeouts. Randy Wolf did well against the Phillies going 1-1 in 12 innings he allowed 7 runs on 11 hits with 12 strikeouts. Jonathan Broxton was 2-0 in 3 innings he allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 8 strikeouts. Cole Hamels did well for the Phillies going 1-0 in 16 innings he gave up 1 run on 12 hits with 14 strikeouts. Ryan Madson went 4 innings allowing 0 runs on 4 hits with 4 strikeouts. I hope this gives a good look at the NLCS and what we may see but of course in baseball you just never know. I got these stats off of philly.com but you can also find at baseballreference.com and other sites like these.

Joba rules part II

The plan has been in place since spring training but no one knew what would happen or what the plan was. Joba Chamberlain didn't even know until recently, he is going to make 6 more starts. The debate continues with this guy now just in a different way, it has been proven that young pitchers under 25 should not increase their innings by too much more then 30 year to year. Joba Chamberlain has had some arm issues in the past and he didn't pitch much in college or the minor leagues so that is also why the Yankees want to be extra careful with him. Joba Chamberlain appears to be on pace for about 165 innings this year and then the postseason where the Yankees say don't count, it is just a regular season innings limit. The question is this Joba only threw a little over a 100 innings last year so isn't 165 too many innings?? How did the Yankees come up with this number and if it is so strict why doesn't it matter in the postseason?? I personally believe that he needs to be the 4th starter in the postseason and may only get 2 starts if the Yankees make the world series so it won't be going that much over the limit but still why does it seem to change because it is the postseason?? Did the Yankees factor this in and aren't telling anyone but this is way more then the suggested 30 innings increase that most teams go by. I guess the bottom line is this, if Joba pitches well and helps the Yankees win the world series and is healthy then no one is going to worry about it. I also am going to believe that the Yankees know better then any of us what they are doing, they are the New York Yankees after all.

Yanks open up roadtrip with a bang

The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners 11-1 last night at Safeco Field. CC Sabathia got the start and was pretty dominant going 8 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 10 strikeouts. Brian Bruney finished it off with a perfect inning. This is CC time of the year and in his last 2 starts he has just been great. The offense was led by Hideki Matsui who went 4-5 with 2 homeruns. Derek Jeter had a couple of hits as did Johnny Damon, Big Tex, Robinson Cano and Jerry Hairston Jr. who has done nothing but hit since coming over in a trade. Joe Girardi said after the game that A-rod is a question for tonight but it really might not matter the way Hairston is playing. The Yankees will try and make it two in a row tonight with Andy Pettitte on the mound.

Yanks cap another great homestand with walkoff win

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 4-3 this afternoon in 11 innings. A.J. Burnett got the start and battled his way through 6 innings giving up 3 runs, he had 7 strikeouts with only 2 walks but Jorge Posada really had a tough time catching him today. He gave up a season high 10 hits. Dave Robertson and Phil Hughes each pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Robertson had a strikeout and Phil Hughes had a couple of strikeouts. Chad Gaudin making his Yankees debut got the win with 2 scoreless innings. He really looked good, he has pretty good stuff it is just a matter of him being consistand and having good location. He will get the start on Sunday with Sergio Mitre on Saturday. I know people have been asking why Mitre again and I feel the same way but with Joba being pushed back to Wednesday and it looking like this is what they have to do the rest of the year they need Mitre to be in the rotation and they figure there hitting can cover it up and win some of those games. I am sure also with a 6 game lead it is much easier to do this. I know a lot of people also don't believe in this innings cap but it is proven now in Baseball that you have to be very careful with young pitchers, the guys who pitched a lot of innings the last couple of years were Justin Verlander who had a couple off years after making the world series until this year, Mike Pelfrey who has struggled the Tampa pitchers etc, I think you get the idea. I do want to point out also though this is only the regular season the Yankees said it doesn't matter in the postseason so he will be pitching a game 3 or 4. The offense was led by Robinson Cano hitting a solo homerun and also having a walkoff single which would of been a double if it had to be. Derek Jeter got hit by a pitch in the first inning and had to leave the game, he wants to play tomorrow but I think he may have the day off. Jorge Posada got beat up also today but seems to be ok and the big news from after the game was that Mariano was creaky according to Joe Girardi, he said he isn't worried but of course with a older pitcher you have to be somewhat concerned. The manager said he expects him to be ok for tomorrow but we will have to see. A-rod got hit in the elbow in the 11th and was in obvious pain but stayed in and scored the winning run, he will be off tomorrow as was scheduled anyway but lets see after that, hopefully that will be all he needs. Johnny Damon had a couple of hits a walk and rbi. That was about it for the Yankees offense as they really didn't have a good game today. The Yankees will begin a 4 game series with Seattle tomorrow night.

Yanks avoid the sweep

The New York Yankees defeated the Chicago White Sox today by the score of 8-5. We expected to see a pitchers duel with Mark Buehrle and CC Sabathia but didn't get it. CC Sabathia gave up 4 runs in the third inning but then settled down and gave them 4 shutout innings. Joe Girardi I think pushed the envelope too far and brought him out for the 8th, he gave up a leadoff double and then was pulled. Phil Hughes came on to get 2 outs and then Mariano came on to get the last out but not before giving up a cheap rbi single. CC Sabathia has not pitched like an ace especially lately and that is a cause for concern. I know a lot of people are into this thing with him pitching too many innings over the last couple of years which is true but I don't buy it now because his velocity is still high and his stuff is good but his location has been off. I am expecting him to go on a Burnett run and maybe him pulling out the win today can get him going. He really needs to pitch like an ace the rest of the season and carry the Yankees to the AL east title. The Yankees offense was led by Melky Cabrera who hit for the first Yankees cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995. He also had 4 rbi's. I am really liking Jerry Hairston Jr. as he can play anywhere and can do whatever you want, sacrifice, get a rbi, get some hits. He reminds me of the late 90s teams that had those role players that were so important. Derek Jeter had 2 hits and a rbi and Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira and A-rod all had a hit. Damon also had a rbi. Nick Swisher had a couple of hits and a couple of walks, Jerry Hairston had a couple of hits and a rbi and also a sac bunt. The Yankees now head to Toronto with a off day tomorrow and then face off against Roy Halladay which won't be easy at all, they can't look ahead at the Red Sox though and have to at least get one win in Toronto.

Yankees at Red Sox

The Yankees will finally try and beat the Sox tonight in a very important game in lots of ways. The Yankees want to keep first place first of all, they need to get a win against the Bosox and its huge for Wang. I don't really feel good about this game but I hope the Yankees can hit the knuckler and they better run all day when they get on base no excuses for not running wild on him. Here are the pregame notes and lineup from Peter Abraham's Lohud Yankees Blog. This is the 33rd start Wakefield has had against the Yankees, he is 10-17 against them with a 5.03 era. He has more losses to the Yankees then any other team. Derek Jeter has 423 doubles and needs one more to tie Babe Ruth for fourth place in team history. The Yankees have at least on error in their past 7 games, this is weird to me after setting the record for most games without one. Melky is 4 for 28 since missing time with a shoulder injury. Jose Veras has pitched 23 2/3 innings this year putting 38 runners on base. He has given up 3 homeruns in his last 4 1/3 innings. The Yankees have hit at least one boston batter wiht a pitch in all 6 games this season and in nine straight dating back to last season. Boston's bullpen has allowed one earned run in the last 17 1/3 innings. Yankees lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Big Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF)

Weekly look at the Yankees Minors

AAA-Scranton- They are 26-11 in first place by 4.5 games. Kevin Russo is batting 449, they like this guy and are trying to turn him into a super utility player. Austin Jackson is hitting 342, he doesn't have a homerun and has 13 rbi's. The power is usually the last to come but he is a great athlete and has done a good job in AAA so far and could be with the Yankees at the end of the year or next year. Shelly Duncan is the big power guy down there batting 313 with 11 homeruns and 32 rbi's. I wonder if he may get a shot again at some point, I don't think they will keep Angel Berroa and Ramiro Pena both around forever. Juan Miranda and John Rodriguez both have 6 homeruns. Juan Miranda really doesn't have a place since he plays 1b and Tex is here now for a long time and John Rodriguez is another guy like Shelly Duncan but we will see what the Yankees do. Pitching wise Kei Igawa started bad but is pitching well going 3-0 with a 3.70 era. He has pitched 41 1/3 innings giving up 36 hits with 8 walks and 25 strikeouts. I wonder if someone will want him if he puts up another good year in AAA because this guy won't sniff NY again. Casey Fossum has pitched well since being claimed off waivers for them, he has a 1.78 era in 5 games. Zachary Kroenke is lights out going 3-0 with a 1.08 era, he has pitched 16.2 innings giving up 10 hits, 10 walks and 10 strikeouts. Mark Melancon is 2-0 with a 0.66 era and Dave Robertson is 0-2 but has a 1.54 era. AA-Trenton- Trenton is 16-18 on the year 3 games out of first place. Jorge Vasquez a prospect they signed out of Mexico is hitting 329 with 6 homeruns and 26 rbi's. Colin Curtis is batting 291. Reegie Corona is batting 282. Pitchers- Zach McAllister is 2-1 with a 2.38 era. He has pitched 34 innings with 12 walks and 22 strikeouts. George Kontos was pitching well here and just got promoted to AAA, I will wait a little longer to see how he does there. Wilkins Arias is 0-1 with a 2.95 era, Wilkin De La Rosa is 1-0 with a 2.45 era. He has thrown 11 innings giving up 12 hits with 4 walks and 16 strikeouts. He was pitching so well in A they bumped him up to AA. A-Tampa- The tampa Yankees are 15-21 in last place 9.5 games out of first. Jesus Montero is one of the Yankees brightest prospects he is hitting 318 with 5 homeruns and 25 rbi's, he is a catcher. Austin Romine another catcher is hitting 275 with 3 homeruns and 16 rbi's. Mitch Hilligoss is hitting 316. Austin Krum is hitting 284, he is an outfielder that was drafted last year. Pitchers- Jeremy Bleich is 2-2 with 3.13 era. He has pitched 46 innings giving up 41 hits with 15 walks and 31 strikeouts. Dellin Betances one of the other Yankees top prospect is 2-3 with a 4.19 era. He has pitched 38.2 innings giving up 41 hits with 20 walks and 39 strikeouts. A-Charleston- They are 20-17 and 1.5 games out of first. David Adams is batting 291 with 16 rbi's. Corbin Joseph is batting 321. Pitchers- Manny Banuelos is 1-1 with a 3.38 era. He has pitched 26.2 innings giving up 24 hits with 9 walks and 31 strikeouts. Andrew Brackman is 0-4 with a 4.01 era, he has pitched 42.2 innings giving up 42 hits with 17 walks and 40 strikeouts. Pat Venditte is 2-1 with a 1.06 era. He has pitched 17 innings giving up 13 hits with 1 walk and 26 strikeouts. He has 10 saves.

Minor league recaps

The AAA affiliate Scranton Yankees are off to a 6-0 start. They won their game this afternoon by a score of 5-3. Jason Johnson started and pitched five innings giving up eighthits, two runs, three walks and three strikeouts. Steven Jackson pitched 2 innings giving up two hits and one run. J.B. Cox gave up a hit and thats it in two innings. Mark Melancon pitched two innings giving up one hit and having four strikeouts. Kevin Russo led the offense going four for six. Angel Berroa went one for five with two rbis. Austin Jackson went one for three with two walks. Austin Jackson is batting 480 in the early part of the season. Kevin Russo is batting 406. Shelly Duncan had a rbi, he is batting 300 early in the year. If Xavier Nady is hurt for the long term I wonder if Shelly will get another shot as he had a great spring training. AA-Trenton was rained out A-Tampa was rained out A-Charleston- They won 2-1 today. Brett Marshall started pitching six innings, two hits, one run which was unearned. He had two walks and one strikeout. He is nineteen years old and was drafted last year, he is off to a good start.

Mets vs Reds

Here is the Mets lineup for todays game against the Reds which begins at 12:30. Reyes(ss) Murphy(lf) Wright(3b) Delgado(1b) Beltran(cf) Church(rf) Castro(c) Cora(2b) Perez(p) The Mets are off to a good start going 2-0, Santana was good in the opener and yesterday the Mets scored some runs with help from bad defense by the Reds. The Mets pen was shaky yesterday but held on. Pelfrey did not have a good start, he did finish with 4 scoreless innings but threw way too many pitches. The Mets question this year is how much will they get out of 2,3 and 4 of the rotation?

Mets win opener

The New York Mets won their opener today in Cincinatti by a score of 2-1. The Mets ace Johan Santana went 5 2/3 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts. It wasn't his best performance but it was a terrible day and was effective. The Mets showed off their new look bullpen today and they didn't disappoint. Sean Green, JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez combined to go 3 1/3 hitless innings giving up 0 runs with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. The offense saw Carlos Delgado and Ryan Church go 2-4. Jose Reyes went 1-4 and Daniel Murphy went 1-5 with a homerun and 2 rbi. David Wright went 1-3 with 2 walks and Carlos Beltran was 1-4 with a walk. The Mets are off tomorrow and will be back in action on Wednesday night at 7:05 with Mike Pelfrey on the hill against Edison Volquez. This was a good day for the Mets, but the problem they have is can they get any starting pitching after Johan Santana, lets see what happens on Wednesday.

Mets Recap

The New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles today 4-0. Oliver Perez got the start and went 3 scoreless innings giving up a hit and 2 walks. Bobby Parnell went 2 2/3 innings giving up 5 hits, 0 runs and 2 k's. The Mets also optioned Jon Niese to the minor leagues basically assuring that Livan Hernandez will be the 5th starter. The offense was led by Daniel Murphy who was 2-4 with 2 rbi. Nick Evans was 1-4 and Jeremy Reed was 1-2. Ike Davis was 2-4 with a rbi. The Mets will take on the Braves tomorrow with John Maine getting the start.