The New York Yankees drop game to the Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon.  This was the first game of the grapefruit league season for both teams.  The final score was 6-4 Toronto.  Michael King started for the Yankees and he didn’t pitch very well, the bullpen was pretty good and the hitting was a mixed bag.  They did hit two homeruns but early on weren’t even able to produce a hit. 

King started and he ended up pitching two innings giving up three hits and three runs with two walks and a strikeout.  He took the loss, Asher Wojciechowski pitched an inning giving up three hits and a run with two strikeouts, Kyle Barraclough pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and two strikeouts and Adam Warren pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two.  Lucas Luetge pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two and Nick Goody pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run. 

Anthony Kay started for the Blue Jays and he pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts.  T.J. Zeuch pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run and he picked up the win, Jacob Waguespack pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs and Anthony Castro pitched 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout.  Joey Murray pitched an inning with a strikeout and Bryan Baker pitched an inning with two strikeouts. 

DJ LeMahieu had a hit, Gleyber Torres had a hit and Luke Voit had an RBI.  Miguel Andujar had a hit, Rob Brantly had a hit and two RBI and Mike Tauchman had a hit and an RBI.  Torres hit a double, Brantly and Tauchman each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base. 

Cavan Biggio had a hit and an RBI, Marcus Semien had a hit and drew a walk and Bo Bichette drew two walks.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a hit and an RBI, Forrest Wall had a hit and Vlad Guerrero Jr. had a hit.  Rowdy Tellez had two hits and two RBI, Logan Warmoth had two hits and an RBI and Jonathan Davis had a hit and an RBI.  Tellez, Biggio and Warmoth each hit a double, Warmoth hit a homerun and the Blue Jays were 4-15 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Davis Lopez and Wall each had a stolen base.  Lopez committed an error. 

In the first Tellez hit a two-run double to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.  In the second Biggio hit an RBI double making it 3-0.  In the third Davis hit an RBI single to extend the Blue Jay lead to 4-0 and Gurriel Jr. hit an RBI single pushing the lead to 5-0.  In the bottom of the fourth Voit reached on a fielding error and a run scored cutting the lead to 5-1.  In the bottom of the fifth Brantly hit a two-run homerun followed by a Tauchman solo homerun cutting the lead to 5-4.  In the seventh Warmoth hit a solo homerun making it 6-4 and that was the final in seven innings.  Yes in spring training this year and right now they are able to play 5 or 7 inning games if they don’t want to play nine then in a couple weeks they will all be eighter seven or nine innings. 

The Yankees will remain at home and take on the Detroit Tigers tomorrow.  Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon will get their first action of the spring in the game. 

Pitchers and Catchers

Spring Training 2021 has arrived.  It has been a very long year and continues to be in the Northeast with 

this rough winter weather we continue to have almost daily it seems.  There are signs of hope though with 

the vaccines at least being rolled out although slowly.  There is the hope of spring and summer coming 

especially with pitchers and catchers reporting on Wednesday and the first workouts yesterday.  

Out of Yankees camp I can't say there was anything earth shattering but there was some news from Aaron

Boone and his annual first day of camp media session now being done over zoom.  He did say that Clint 

Frazier right now is the starting left fielder.  It does seem very deserving and he should be but that was 

good to hear anyway.  He played very well last year and seems to have grown up and gotten away from

the constant at least offseason trade rumors.  If he can have another good year it looks like he will have

cemented himself in the Yankees outfield for years to come.  As for the Yankees as a whole it was another 

disappointing year last year falling short of the ultimate goal the World Series.  They have a couple of 

new pitchers but the core remains intact and they are one of the favorites again.  

Corey Kluber and Jaimes Taillon are new to the rotation and Masahior Tanaka, JA Happ and James Paxton

are gone.  Adam  Ottavino is gone from the bullpen and Darren O'Day is now here for the bullpen.  

The Yankees still have Chad Green, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman for the backend of the bullpen.  

Cole remains the ace and if healthy Kluber and Taillon should slot in behind him.  Jordan Montgomery 

should be the fourth starter and one of the young kids figures to be the fifth starter.  They have options 

there with Domingo German back now and also Clarke Shmidt, Michael King, Luis Cessa, Jonathan

Loaisiga is still there as well.  It will be interesting to see how it shakes out but the Yankees have a lot of 

depth.  I will be back with more as the position players report in a few days and then we start getting 

to exhibition games in 9 days.  

New York Yankees outlast Cleveland Indians in wild and crazy game

The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio and the final score was 10-9.  It was a wild and crazy game and the win gave the Yankees the series and now they move on to the ALDS in San Diego.  Masahiro Tanaka started for the Yankees and he didn’t pitch great but was also affected by a long rain delay to start the game and then starting the game and stopping in the first inning for another rain delay.  The offense was led by Gio Urshela who had a couple of hits and four RBI. 

Tanaka pitched four innings giving up five hits and six runs with three walks and three strikeouts.  Chad Green pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up three hits and three strikeouts, Zack Britton pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two runs and two walks with a strikeout and Jonathan Loaisiga pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks.  Aroldis Chapman earned his first win of the postseason pitching two innings and giving up a hit and he struck out four. 

Carlos Carrasco pitched three innings giving up two hits and four runs with three walks and six strikeouts.  James Karinchak pitched getting no outs and giving up a hit and a run with two walks, Phil Maton pitched two innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and Triston McKenzie pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and two runs with two walks and two strikeouts.  Nick Wittgren pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two walks and he struck out three, Brad Hand lost his first game of the postseason and first blown save.  He pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout.  Cal Quantrill pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a walk and he struck out one. 

DJ LeMahieu had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Aaron Judge drew two walks and Aaron Hicks had a hit and drew a walk.  Luke Voit had a hit and drew two walks, Giancarlo Stanton had a hit, two RBI and drew two walks and Urshela had two hits and four RBI.  Gleyber Torres had a hit and drew two walks, Brett Gardner drew two walks and Gary Sanchez had a hit and three RBI.  Voit hit a double, Hicks hit a triple and Stanton, Urshela and Sanchez each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 3-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Sanchez had a passed ball. 

Francisco Lindor had a hit and drew a walk, Cesar Hernandez had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Jose Ramirez had two hits, three RBI and drew a walk.  Carlos Santana drew a walk, Franmil Reyes drew two walks and Josh Naylor had a hit and two RBI.  Jordan Luplow had a hit and two RBI, Roberto Perez had two hits and an RBI and Delino DeShields had a hit and drew a walk.  Hernandez, Naylor, Lindor and Luplow each hit a double.  Ramirez hit two doubles and the Indians were 6-15 with runners in scoring position and left 8 men on base.  Ramirez and DeShields each committed an error. 

In the first Ramirez hit an RBI double, Naylor hit a two-run double and Perez hit an RBI single to give the Indians a 4-0 lead.  In the second Stanton hit a solo homerun cutting the lead to 4-1.  In the fourth Urshela hit a grand slam to make it a 5-4 game in favor of the Yankees.  In the fifth Stanton hit a sac fly extending the lead to 6-4.  In the bottom of the fifth Ramirez hit a two-run double to tie the game at six.  In the sixth Sanchez hit a two-run homerun giving the Yankees back the lead at 8-6.  In the bottom of the seventh Luplow hit a two-run double to tie the score at eight.  In the bottom of the eighth Hernandez hit an RBI single to give the Indians a 9-8 lead.  In the ninth Sanchez hit a sac fly to tie the game at nine and LeMahieu hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 10-9 lead and that would be the final score.  The Yankees won the series and will head to San Diego to start the ALDS on Monday.   

New York Yankees take Game 1 in dominating fashion from the Cleveland Indians

The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio and the final score was 12-3.  Gerrit Cole started for the Yankees and he pitched well.  The Yankees offense was led by Gleyber Torres who had four hits and Brett Gardner who had three hits. 

Cole pitched seven innings giving up six hits and two runs with no walks and 13 strikeouts.  Cole earned his first win of the postseason.  Luis Cessa pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout. 

Shane Bieber pitched for the Indians and he took his first loss of the postseason.  He pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up nine hits and seven runs with two walks and seven strikeouts.  Phil Maton pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up no hits or runs with a  strikeout, Adam Cimber pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and three runs with a  walk and Cam Hill pitched two innings giving up three hits and two runs with two strikeouts.  Oliver Perez pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit. 

DJ LeMahieu had two hits and an RBI, Aaron Judge had a hit and two RBI and Aaron Hicks drew two walks.  Luke Voit had two hits and an RBI, Giancarlo Stanton had a hit and an RBI, Gio Urshela had a hit and an RBI and Torres had four hits, three RBI and drew a walk.  Gardner had three hits and three RBI and Kyle Higashioka had a hit.  Voit and Gardner each hit a double.  Judge, Torres, Gardner and Stanton each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

Cesar Hernandez had a hit, Jose Ramirez had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Josh Naylor had four hits and an RBI.  Tyler Naquin had a hit and an RBI, Delino DeShields had a hit and Naylor hit two doubles.  Ramirez also hit a double and Naylor hit a homerun.  The Indians were 3-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

In the first Judge hit a two-run homerun to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.  In the third Voit hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0.  In the bottom of the third Ramirez hit an RBI double cutting the lead to 3-1.  In the fourth Gardner hit an RBI double to make it a 4-1 game.  LeMahieu hit an RBI single and the lead was pushed to 5-1.  In the bottom of the fourth Naylor cut the lead to 5-2 with a solo homerun.  In the fifth Torres hit a two-run homerun and the lead was 7-2.  Urshela hit a sac fly in the seventh to make it 8-2 and then Torres hit an RBI single and Gardner hit a two-run homerun and it was 11-2.  The Yankees added another run in the ninth on a Stanton solo homerun making it 12-2.  Naquin hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to cut the lead to 12-3 and that was the final score. 

New York Yankees win streak hits nine with win over the Red Sox

 The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.  The game took place at Fenway

Park in Boston, Massachusetts and the final score was 6-5 in 12 innings.  Jordan Montgomery started for 

the Yankees and he didn't pitch very well although he wasn't helped by his defense.  The Yankees bullpen 

pitched well and Aaron Hicks and Gary Sanchez led the offense with two hits each.  

Montgomery pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and seven strikeouts.  

Luis Cessa pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and no runs with a walk and a strikeout, Adam 

Ottavino pitched an inning giving up a hit and Zack Britton pitched a perfect inning with two 

strikeouts.  Chad Green pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two, Aroldis Chapman 

pitched an inning giving up a walk and he struck out two and Jonathan Loaisiga won his third game of 

the season pitching two innings and giving up a hit and an unearned run.  He walked one and struck out 

one.  

Martin Perez started for the Red Sox and he pitched six innings giving up three hits and no runs with a

Darwinzon Hernandez pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with two walks and a 

strikeout, Marcus Walden pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and Ryan Brasier pitched an inning

giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout.  Matt Barnes pitched an inning giving up a  hit and a run

with a strikeout and Ryan Weber pitched three innings giving up three hits and two unearned runs

with three strikeouts.  Weber took his third loss of the season.  

DJ LeMahieu had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Aaron Judge had a hit and Giancarlo Stanton had a 

hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Luke Voit had a hit and an RBI, Gleyber Torres had a hit and Hicks had

two hits.  Gio Urshela had a hit and drew a walk, Sanchez had two hits and three RBI and Clint Frazier

had a hit.  Sanchez, Stanton and LeMahieu each hit a double and Sanchez hit a homerun.  The Yankees 

were 4-15 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Montgomery, Torres and Wade

each committed an error.  

Alex Verdugo had a hit, Tzu-Wei Lin drew a walk and Rafael Devers drew a walk.  Xander Bogaerts 

had two hits and drew a walk, Christian Vazquez had three hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Jackie 

Bradley Jr. had a hit and drew a walk.  Christian Arroyo had three hits and four RBI, Vazquez hit two 

doubles and Arroyo hit a homerun.  The Red Sox were 3-22 with runners in scoring position and left 

15 men on base.  Vazquez had two stolen bases, Bradley Jr. and Martinez each stole a base and 

Bogaerts had two stolen bases.  

In the fourth Arroyo hit a three-run homerun to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.  In the fifth Vazquez hit an 

RBI double to push the lead to 4-0.  In the seventh Sanchez hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 4-2.

In the eighth Stanton hit an RBI double to make it a 4-3 game and in the ninth Sanchez hit a solo 

homerun tying the game at four.  In the 11th Voit hit an RBI single giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead but in 

the bottom of the 11th Arroyo hit an RBI single to tie the game at five.  In the 12th LeMahieu hit an RBI

double to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead and that would be the final score. The two teams will play game

two of three on Saturday night.