The New York Yankees still searching for offense in loss to Houston

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.  The game took

place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas and the final score was 3-1.  Hiroki Kuroda started for

the Yankees and pitched well.  The bullpen was pretty good.  Brian Roberts led the offense with

three hits but the Yankees were 0-10 with runners in scoring position. 

Kuroda pitched six innings giving up two runs on three hits.  He walked one and struck out five, he took his first loss of the season.  David Phelps pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two walks and two strikeouts, Matt Thornton got one out and walked another batter and Shawn Kelley retired the only batter that he faced. 

Cosart got the win for Houston pitching five innings and giving up no runs on four hits.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out three.  Jerome Williams pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk and he struck out two, Kevin Chapman pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks.  Matt Albers pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out four and Josh Fields picked up his first save pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Derek Jeter drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Brian McCann had two hits, Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk and Roberts had three hits.  Beltran hit a double and the Yankees were 0-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Ellsbury had a stolen base and Teixeira committed an error. 

Dexter Fowler had two hits and an RBI four Houston, Grossman and Dominguez had a hit and an RBI.  Fowler hit a triple and a homerun and Dominguez hit a homerun.  The Astros were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Villar had a stolen base. 

In the first inning Fowler hit a leadoff homerun to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.  The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on an error by Teixeira allowing the runner to score from third.  In the seventh the teams exchanged runs to make it a 3-1 game and that was the final score.  The two teams will play the third and final game of the series on Thursday night.  The Yankees will be looking to avoid the sweep and get their first win of the season. 

The New York Yankees lose season opener in Houston

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.  The final score was

6-2 and the game took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.  CC Sabathia started and was

awful in the first two innings, especially the first inning.  He then settled down and pitched four

scoreless innings.  The young guys in the bullpen pitched two great innings.  Derek Jeter had a hit

and got hit in his final opening day of his career.  The Yankees offense wasn't very good but they did

wake up late. 

Sabathia pitched six innings giving up six runs on eight hits.  He walked one and struck out six.  Sabathia did take the loss.  Dellin Betances pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and Vidal Nuno pitched a scoreless inning giving up a hit but striking out the side. 

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Jeter had a hit and was hit by a pitch and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Brian McCann had a hit and an RBI, Mark Teixeira had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Brian Roberts drew a walk.  Kelly Johnson had a hit which was a double, the Yankees were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base.  Beltran committed an error and also had an outfield assist. 

Scott Feldman started for the Astros and pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings.  He gave up two hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  He earned the win, Kevin Chapman pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a run and a walk, Chad Qualls pitched an inning giving up three hits and a run and Matt Albers pitched an inning giving up a hit. 

Dexter Fowler had two hits, Jose Altuve had two hits and two RBI and Jason Castro had a hit and an RBI.  Jesus Guzman had a hit and two RBI, Chris Carter had a hit and L.J.  Hoes had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Jonathan Villar had a hit, Fowler hit two doubles and Guzman and Hoes each hit a homerun.  The Astros were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Altuve had a stolen base.

In the first inning Altuve hit an RBI single, stole second and went to third base on a wild pitch.  Castro reached on a fielder's choice which scored a run and Guzman hit a two run homerun to give the Astros a 4-0 lead.  Hoes hit a solo homerun in the second and Altuve hit an RBI single to give the Astros a 6-0 lead.  The Yankees wouldn't score until the eighth inning.  McCann and Teixeira hit RBI singles.  Alfonso Soriano grounded into a double play to end the inning and the rally and that was it for the Yankees. 

The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Wednesday night.  Jeter will be honored pregame by former teammates Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens.  Hiroki Kuroda will get the start for the Yankees against Jarred Cosart.   

The New York Mets blow a lead and lose to the Washington Nationals

The New York Mets were defeated by the Washington Nationals on Monday afternoon.  It was

Opening Day of the 2014 baseball season.  The Mets lost to the Nationals by the final score of 9-7 at

Citi Field in Flushing, New York.  Dillon Gee pitched well, the bullpen was terrible.  Juan Lagares had

a couple of hits and David Wright had three hits to lead the offense. 

Gee pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up four hits and four runs with two walks and five strikeouts.  Carlos Torres walked the only batter he faced, Scott Rice walked the only batter he faced and Jose Valverde pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out three.  Bobby Parnell pitched an inning blowing his first save.  He gave up two hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout, Jeurys Familia pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout.  Familia took his first loss of the season.  John Lannan pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk. 

Stephen Strasburg started for the Nationals and pitched six innings giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and ten strikeouts.  Drew Storen pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts, Tyler Clippard pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and Aaron Barrett picked up his first win of the season.  He pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.  Jerry Blevins pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts. 

Eric Young Jr. had an RBI, Lagares had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Wright had three hits and two RBI.  Andrew Brown had a hit and three RBI, Ike Davis drew a walk and Travis d'Arnaud drew a walk.  Ruben Tejada had a hit, Brown, Lagares and Wright each hit a homerun.  The Mets were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.  d'Arnaud had a passed ball. 

Denard Span had two RBI for the Nationals.  Adam Laroche had two RBI and drew two walks, Anthony Rendon had two hits and four RBI.  LaRoche and Rendon each hit a homerun.  The Nationals were 3-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

In the bottom of the first Brown hit a three run homerun giving the Mets a 3-0 lead.  LaRoche hit a two run homerun in the second to cut the Mets lead to 3-2.  Young Jr. hit a sac fly in the second to make it a 4-2 game.  In the seventh Rendon hit an RBI double to cut the lead to 4-3.  Span walked to tie the game at four.  In the eighth Lagares hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 5-4 lead.  In the ninth Span hit an RBI double to tie the game at five.  In the tenth inning Ian Desmond hit a sacrifice fly and Rendon hit a three run homerun to give the Nationals a 9-5 lead.  The Mets would try to come back in the bottom of the tenth.  Wright hit a two run homerun to cut the lead to 9-7 but that would be the final score of the game. 

The Mets are 0-1 on the season and the Nationals 1-0.  The two teams will play game two of the their three game series on Wednesday night. 

 

New York Yankees notes as exhibition season ends

The New York Yankees were scheduled to finish their exhibition schedule with a game Saturday

afternoon.  They were set to face off against the Miami Marlins but the game was postponed due to

rain.  The Yankees had two pregame ceremonies, the first to give Masahiro Tanaka the James P.

Dawson award for outstanding rookie in camp and the second for Derek Jeter.  The Jeter ceremony

ended and they immediately called the game.  The Yankees were all packed up and ready to head to

Houston to start the season Tuesday night.  CC Sabathia will make the start and he is eager to erase

his worst year which was last year. 

The Yankees had an interesting lineup put out for the game Saturday and it looks like that will be the lineup on Opening Day.  It was Jacoby Ellsbury, Derek Jeter, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira, Alfonso Soriano, Brett Gardner, Brian Roberts, Kelly Johnson.  I assumed that Gardner would bat ninth to have the double leadoff but I guess Joe Girardi is thinking differently and we will see how it all works out on Tuesday and then moving forward.  It is a pretty good lineup however you look at it and much better than last year. The Yankees have power, speed and on base guys plus switch hitters which should be a huge help to them. 

There were some guys missing on the flight to Houston but they will eventually join the rest of the team.  Yangervis Solarte was just told he made the team and needed to go pack.  Eduardo Nunez in a bit of a shocker was optioned to AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre.  Michael Pineda will pitch in a minor league game on Sunday in prep for his start next Saturday in Toronto.  Brendan Ryan will stay behind to continue to work his way back from a sore back.  Ryan stated that he expects to be down there for at least a couple more weeks.  He said he expects to be activated by May 1st but they told him he is basically starting spring training over again. 

The pitchers who were scheduled today went inside and threw simulated games.  Steinbrenner Field which was formally Legends Field opened in 1996 which was Jeter first season.  He was given a key to the city of Tampa.  He said he lives in Tampa now and can do what he wants now.  He said he isn't sure for how long the key will unlock stuff but it is good to be recognized and he spends a lot of time in Tampa and will continue to do so, probably even more so now after retiring. 

The Houston Astros announced that they will honor Jeter with a pregame ceremony on Wednesday.  Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens will be among those honoring him.  Those two guys are both former teammates of his, Pettitte was a longtime teammate and fellow core four member. 

Solarte came to camp as a 26 year old with no big league experience.  He really opened some eyes and they are now giving him his shot.  He never made a roster before.  The Yankees also have Dean Anna who never even was invited to big league camp before, Dellin Betances who was never more than a September call up.  They also have Vidal Nuno who was nothing more than a September call up as well.  It is nice to see some infusion of young blood and we will now see how they can help and if they can stick with the team.   

The New York Mets drop final game in Montreal

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

place at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada.  The fans once again packed the place, this time to

the tune of 50,000 plus.  If there were ever a chance based on attendance I would say Montreal

would get a team back.  They drew close to 100,000 for the two games there this weekend.  Daisuke

Matsuzaka pitched five scoreless innings and then was optioned to AAA after the game.  The

offense only produced two hits. 

Matsuzaka pitched five scoreless giving up five hits and he struck out eight.  Kyle Farnsworth pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Jose Valverde pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and John Lannan pitched to one batter and retired him.  Cody Satterwhite pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and he also took the loss.  Adam Kolarek pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run. 

Eric Young Jr. had a hit and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had a hit and Ike Davis drew a walk.  Murphy was caught stealing and Curtis Granderson had an outfield assist.   The Mets finished the exhibition schedule and will now head home to New York.  They will open the season on Monday afternoon against the Washington Nationals.  Dillon Gee will get the start as Jon Niese and Matt Harvey are both injured.