The New York Yankees defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a rain shortened game

The New York Yankees defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday afternoon.  The game took place at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida and the final score was 5-4 in five innings.  CC Sabathia started and pitched pretty well in his final exhibition game before the season starts.  Carlos Beltran had three RBI to lead the offense. 

Sabathia pitched four innings giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and two strikeouts.  Nick Goody pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs and Johnny Barbato pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Alex Rodriguez had a hit and Mark Teixeira had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Beltran had a hit and three RBI, Chase Headley had a hit and Starlin Castro had a hit and an RBI.  Castro hit a double and Beltran hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left one man on base. 

In the second Beltran hit a two run homerun giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead.  Castro hit an RBI double still in the second and it was 3-0 Yankees.  In the third Teixeira hit an RBI single to push the lead to 4-0 Yankees.  Beltran hit a sac fly to make it 5-0.  The Pirates got on the board in the fourth on a Jose Osuna two run single.  In the fifth Jacob Stallings hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 5-3 and Starling Marte hit an RBI single to make it 5-4 but that would be how the game ended. 

The Yankees spring record improved to 12-13.  They were also playing a game in Clearwater, Florida against the Philadelphia Phillies but that game got called off in the fourth inning.  Masahiro Tanaka was making his final start before what they hoped would be Opening Day.  He pitched pretty well giving up a run on seven hits in his four innings of work.  He did strike out five without walking a batter.  The Yankees were winning that game 7-1 when it was called. 

New York Mets are shutdown by the St. Louis Cardinals

The New York Mets were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday afternoon.  The game took place at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida and the final score was 3-1.  Bartolo Colon started for the Mets and pitched pretty well.  The bullpen was good and the offense only managed six hits and no player had more than a hit. 

Colon pitched six innings giving up seven hits and three runs with five strikeouts.  Erik Goeddel pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Antonio Bastardo pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk and Hansel Robles retired the only batter that he faced. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit, Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and Neil Walker had a hit.  Alejandra De Aza had an RBI, Juan Lagares had a hit and Wilmer Flores had a hit.  Johnny Monell had a hit, Walker and Granderson each hit a double and the Mets were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

In the first Matt Holliday hit a solo homerun to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.  In the second De Aza tied the game at one with an RBI ground out.  In the fourth Eric Fryer reached on a fielder's choice and a run scored to give the Cards a 2-1 lead.  Randal Grichuk hit an RBI double in the sixth to push the lead to 3-1 and that would be the final score. 

The Mets record fell to 7-14 with around five tie games this spring.  The Mets had some other bad news on Monday as they found out Matt Harvey would miss his start on Tuesday and be in jeapordy for Opening Day.  They are not saying what the exact injury or medical concern is at this point so stay tuned.  The Mets will be home on Tuesday afternoon to take on the Miami Marllins in Port St. Lucie, Florida.   

New York Yankees rally to beat the Detroit Tigers

The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.  The game took place at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida and the final score was 3-2.  Luis Cessa started for the Yankees and continued his impressive spring by pitching well.  The bullpen except for Nick Goody pitched well.  Mark Teixeira hit his first homerun of the spring and Dustin Ackley had two RBI. 

Cessa pitched three innings giving up a hit and a walk with four strikeouts.  Johnny Barbato pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one, Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Goody pitched an inning giving up three hits and two runs with three strikeouts.  Chasen Shreve pitched a perfect inning and Diego Moreno who was optioned to minor league camp after the game pitched two innings giving up a hit and he struck out one.  

Brett Gardner had a hit, Juan Silva had a hit and Carlos Corporan had a hit.  Teixeira had a hit and an RBI, Ackley had a hit and two RBI and Alex Rodriguez had a hit.  Starlin Castro had a hit, Pete Kozma had a hit and Aaron Hicks drew a walk.  Ackley hit a double and Teixeira hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

In the sixth Ian Kinsler hit a solo homerun to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead, Justin Upton also hit a solo homerun to make it 2-0 Tigers.  In the seventh Teixeira hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 2-1.  Ackley hit a two run double in the eighth to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead and that would be the final score.

The Yankees improved their spring record to 11-13 and they will play a split squad on Tuesday.  They will play the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater and the Pittsburgh Pirates at home in Tampa.  Masahiro Tanaka will make his final spring start which could determine if he will be the Opening Day starter next Monday at home against the Houston Astros.  CC Sabathia will also make his final spring start.   

The New York Mets and Washington Nationals play to a tie

The New York Mets and Washington Nationals played to a tie on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida and the final score was 4-4.  I believe this was the third straight tie game for the Mets which is pretty funny.  Steven Matz started and pitched ok despite being wild.  David Wright had a couple of hits and RBI, Neil Walker had a couple of hits and Michael Conforto had a couple of RBI. 

Matz pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with four walks and five strikeouts.  Antonio Bastardo pitched to one batter and retired him, Logan Verrett pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run and Jim Henderson pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  Jerry Blevins pitched 2/3 of an inning walking a batter and Jeurys Familia pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit, Wright had two hits and two RBI and Eric Campbell had a hit.  Yoenis Cespedes drew a walk, Walker had two hits and Conforto had a hit and two RBI.  Amed Rosario had two hits, Johnny Monell had a hit and Matz had a hit.  Travis d'Arnaud drew a walk, Granderson and Monell each hit a double and Walker hit a triple.  Wright and Conforto each hit a homerun and the Mets were 2-5 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Blevins committed an error, Monell had a passed ball and Granderson had an outfield assist. 

In the first Wright hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the second Conforto hit a two run homerun to extend their lead to 3-0.  In the fourth Clint Robinson hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 3-1.  In the fifth Wright hit an RBI single and it was 4-1 Mets.  Matt den Dekker hit an RBI single in the seventh to cut the lead to 4-2.  In the eighth Chris Heisey hit an RBI groundout to make it 4-3 and a throwing error led to another run to tie the game at four which would be the final score. 

The Mets spring record is now 7-13 with I think five tie games.  They will play the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida on Monday afternoon.   

New York Yankees lose to the Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida and the final score was 5-2.  Nathan Eovaldi started for the Yankees and didn't pitch very well, the bullpen was good.  Brett Gardner and Austin Romine each had a hit and an RBI. 

Eovaldi pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and five runs with four of them being earned.  He walked two and struck out five.  Dellin Betances pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one, Andrew Miller 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and Chasen Shreve pitched to two batters retiring them both.  Kirby Yates pitched a perfect inning. 

Gardner had a hit and an RBI, Michael O'Neill drew a walk and Mark Teixeira had a hit.  Tyler Austin had a hit, Brian McCann had a hit and Romine had a hit and an RBI.  Chase Headley drew a walk, Gardner hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Gardner committed an error and Eovaldi had a pickoff. 

In the third Danny Santana hit an RBI double giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Gardner hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  In the sixth Santana hit an RBI double giving the Twins a 2-1 lead.  Brian Dozier hit an RBI single and it was 3-1 Twins and they kept it going in the sixth.  Byung Ho Park hit an RBI single and Eduardo Escobar hit an RBI single to make it 5-1 Twins.  In the ninth Romine hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2 and that would be the final score. 

The Yankees spring record fell to 10-13 with a couple of tie games.  They will play the Detroit Tigers on Monday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.