New York Yankees take rain shortened Opener in Washington

The New York Yankees began the 2020 season with a victory in Washington over the Nationals.  The

game took place at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. on Thursday night.  The Yankees won the rain

shortened contest by the score of 4-1.  The game was stopped in the sixth inning and never resumed

after bad thunderstorms came roaring through.

Gerrit Cole made his Yankees debut and pitched well even though he didn't have his best stuff.  He

pitched five innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and five strikeouts.  Cole did pick up the

win.

Max Scherzer started for the Nationals and he pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up six hits and four runs

with four walks and 11 strikeouts.  Scherzer took the loss.

Aaron Judge had two hits and an RBI, Gleyber Torres drew a walk and Giancarlo Stanton had two

hits and three RBI.  Luke Voit drew a walk, Gio Urshela had a hit and drew a walk and Tyler Wade

had a hit and drew a walk.  Judge hit a double, Stanton hit a homerun and the Yankees were 2-7 with

runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

Adam Eaton had a hit and an RBI, Asdrubal Cabrera drew a walk and Eaton hit a homerun.  The

Nationals left two men on base.

In the first Stanton hit a two-run homerun giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first

Eaton hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 2-1.  In the third Judge hit an RBI double to extend the

Yankees lead to 3-1.  In the fifth Stanton hit an RBI single and it was 4-1 Yankees.  The game would

be stopped in the sixth and never completed so the final score was 4-1 Yankees.

The two teams will play game two of three on Saturday night.

New York Yankees finish exhibition games with a tie against the Phillies

The New York Yankees played the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium and the final score was 2-2.  This was the final exhibition game before the regular season begins on Thursday night. 

Deivi Garcia started for the Yankees and he struggled a bit.  He pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  He walked two and struck out one.  David Hale pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up two hits and three walks with a strikeout, Nick Nelson pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with three strikeouts and Zack Britton pitched an inning giving up a hit.  Brooks Kriske pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts and Tony Zych pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Vince Velasquez pitched five innings giving up four hits and a run with a walk and six strikeouts.  Blake Parker pitched an inning giving up a hit and two walks with a strikeout, Robert Stock pitched an inning with a walk and Ramon Rosso pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout.  Mauricio Llovera pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout. 

Aaron Judge had a hit and an RBI, Clint Frazier drew a walk and Gleyber Torres had a hit.  Aaron Hicks drew two walks, Mike Tauchman had a hit and Mike Ford had a hit and an RBI.  Miguel Andujar drew a walk, Luke Voit had a hit and Erik Kratz had a hit.  Brett Gardner drew a walk, Gio Urshela had a hit and Voit hit a double.  Judge and Ford each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Tauchman was caught stealing and Andujar was picked off.  Garcia committed an error. 

Roman Quinn had a hit and an RBI, Didi Gregorius had a hit and JT Realmuto had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Rhys Hoskins drew two walks, Phil Gosselin had a hit and Scott Kingery drew two walks.  Nick Williams had two hits, Alec Bohm had a hit and Gregorius, Realmuto and Gosselin each hit a double.  The Phillies were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Haseley had an outfield assist and Velasquez had a pickoff. 

In the first Realmuto hit an RBI double giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead.  In the second Quinn hit an RBI single to push the lead to 2-0.  In the fifth Judge hit a solo homerun cutting the lead to 2-1.  In the bottom of the ninth Ford hit a solo homerun to tie the game at two and that would be how it ended as they decided not to play extra innings. 

The Yankees will have a couple of workout days and then start the regular season Thursday night in Washington. 

New York Yankees shutout the New York Mets

The New York Yankees played the New York Mets on Sunday July 20, 2020.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 6-0 Yankees.  This was the second exhibition game and second of three for the Yankees.  It really wasn’t the second but second of Summer Camp leading up to the regular season beginning on Thursday night. 

Jordan Montgomery started for the Yankees and he pitched great.  Montgomery earned the win pitching five shutout innings giving up two hits.  He walked one and struck out six.  Jonathan Loaisiga pitched three innings giving up a hit and he struck out one and Jonathan Holder pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. 

Corey Oswalt started for the Mets and he pitched three innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and three strikeouts.  Oswalt took the loss, Hunter Strickland pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts, Drew Smith pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits and three runs with two walks and a strikeout and Chasen Shreve pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.  Seth Lugo pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Thairo Estrada had a hit, Aaron Judge had two hits and three RBI and Gleyber Torres had a hit.  Giancarlo Stanton had a hit and an RBI, Aaron Hicks drew a walk and Gary Sanchez had a hit and an RBI.  Luke Voit had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks, Brett Gardner had two hits and drew a walk and Gardner hit a double, Judge hit two homeruns and Sanchez, Voit and Stanton each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Matt Duffy committed an error and Montgomery had a pickoff. 

Robinson Cano had a hit, Michael Conforto drew a walk and Amed Rosario had two hits.  Rosario hit a double and the Mets were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Conforto was picked off and Cano committed an error. 

In the first Judge hit a homerun giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Sanchez hit a solo homerun to push the Yankees lead to 2-0.  In the sixth Voit hit a solo homerun giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead.  Judge hit a two-run homerun pushing the Yankees lead to 5-0 and in the seventh Stanton hit a solo homerun making it 6-0 and that would be the final score. 

The Yankees will play their final exhibition game on Monday night against the Phillies at Yankee Stadium.  They will then workout for a couple more days before beginning the season on Thursday night in Washington against the Nationals. 

New York Yankees Summer Camp

The New York Yankees have been engaging in Summer Camp or Spring Training 2.0.  Whatever you want to call it, personally I think they are all kind of lame but it is what it is.  Baseball is back though and two weeks from today the Yankees will be opening up in Washington at 7:00PM.  Cole will be on the mound and it looks like Judge and Hicks will be in the lineup.  It will be a different kind of season with a 60 game sprint but the expectations for the Yankees shouldn't change.  They have a stacked team and should have the motivation to go out and try to win the whole thing.  Yes there will be an asterick this year but who cares if you are the champion you are still the champion and that should be just fine. 

The Yankees have been practicing and playing intrasquad games.  What have I noticed early on, well first of all Cole is maybe even more impressive then we thought.  We obviously all know how great he is as a pitcher.  But he is one heck of a competitor and leader as well.  Just listen to him talk and watch how he operates, it is amazing and just what the Yankees needed to lead their rotation.  James Paxton will be back as well as he had the extra time to heal from back surgery.  Masahiro Tanaka got hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton and suffered a concussion but he is doing well and should be ready to go for Opening day.  All of the pitchers have looked good but of course they are ahead of the hitters at this point. 

The hitters haven't really looked good at all, Thairo Estrada has stood out though as he has hit two homeruns.  Miguel Andujar took Cole deep so that is impressive and I think some people forget about him but he can hit and the Yankees will find at bats for him between outfield, DH, 3B and maybe even some 1B. 

Luke Voit has shed some pounds and looks great.  It will be interesting to see if he just takes the job or will there be any kind of platoon with Mike Ford as he is a lefty.  How about DH, it looks like especially early on it will be all Stanton as he is also healthy and they want to keep him out of the OF but eventually they may want to get other guys in the DH spot. 

It is such a different year because you really can't fool around and try things and say there is always tomorrow.  In baseball it is such a long season and they are used to not getting too high or too low but this year it is different because 60 games is so quick.  You can't afford to get off to a bad start or have a 10 game bad stretch, that could end your season. 

I think the Yankees still have the best team and so much depth that will help them.  I think they will win the division and then the playoffs are a crapshoot but I think they have a great chance to win it all.  Another interesting thing is no fans so there really is no homefield advantage this year.  That will be interesting to see how that affects teams. 

Early Thoughts from New York Yankees Spring Training

Spring Training started about two weeks ago, just about three weeks ago.  The games are being played now and the season is just around the corner.  I have some thoughts from the early days of spring training.  I used to do all the box scores from spring training as I do in the regular season but that got to be too much as there are so many minor leaguers and players being used.  You can always follow me on twitter at gmarchesej for some game recaps etc.

Miguel Andujar has been playing a lot of left field and he looks really good out there.  I am a bit surprised but this is great news for the Yankees as we all know he can hit.  I can also see him playing some third and DH, they say first as well but I just don't see that.

The injury bug has hit again and hit pretty hard.  I think Luis Severino injury hurts but they can withstand it.  I am more sad for him as a player and person since he will be out for so long.  The rotation with Cole, Tanaka, Happ, Montgomery and whoever wins the fifth spot can withstand it especially if Paxton comes back in May and stays healthy the rest of the way.  Remember also that in early June German will be eligible to come back.

The Yankees bullpen still is loaded every with Dellin Betances going to the Mets.  The guys like Ottavino, Britton, Kahnle have all looked good so far this spring.

It looks like Judge and Stanton will start the year on the IL and if that is the case watch for Andujar, Frazier etc,  I believe they can step up and contribute mightily.

Cole, I can't believe I have gone this far without mentioning him.  He is as impressive as they come.  We all know the hype and have heard how great he is.  Now seeing him up close and personal, he really is impressive and not just on the mound.  He is going to be great for a long time.

An interesting thing to watch for is now this year you can have a 26 man roster, who will that extra bench player be.  We know the backup catcher, utility infielder and extra outfielder but will a guy like Tyler Wade make it.  Will Mike Ford as a lefty bat, pinch hitter and extra first baseman make it.  It should be interesting to watch.

I will be back soon with more thoughts and eventually some predictions for the season.  I will also do a Mets blog soon.