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.

New York Yankees lose in heartbreaking fashion in Game 6 as Houston Astros clinch the pennant

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Houston Astros on Saturday night.  The game took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas and the final score was 5-3.  Chad Green was the opener for the Yankees and didn’t pitch well, most of the bullpen behind him pitched well.   Gio Urshela had three hits and Didi had two hits to lead the offense. 

Green pitched an inning giving up two hits and three runs with a walk and a strikeout.  J.A. Happ pitched two innings giving up a walk, Luis Cessa pitched two innings giving up a hit and he struck out one and Tommy Khanle pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and two strikeouts.  Adam Ottavino pitched an inning with a strikeout, Zack Britton pitched an inning giving up a hit and he walked two and Aroldis Chapman took the loss pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout. 

Brad Peacock started for the Astros and he pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts.  Josh James pitched an inning giving up a hit and two walks with a strikeout, Ryan Pressly pitched to one batter and got him out and Jose Urquidy pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up three hits and a run with a walk and five strikeouts.  Will Harris pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit, Joe Smith pitched an inning giving up a hit and a strikeout and Roberto Osuna pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with two strikeouts.  Osuna won the game and he also blew the save. 

DJ LeMahieu had a hit and two RBI, Aaron Judge had a hit and drew a walk and Gleyber Torres had a hit.  Edwin Encarnacion drew a walk, Gregorius had two hits and Gary Sanchez had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Urshela had three hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Brett Gardner had a hit.  Gregorius hit a double, Urshela and LeMahieu each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Sanchez had a passed ball. 

George Springer drew two walks, Jose Altuve had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk and Michael Brantley had a hit and drew a walk.  Alex Bregman had an RBI and drew a walk, Yuli Gurriel had two hits and three RBI and Carlos Correa drew a walk.  Martin Maldonado had a hit, Altuve hit a double and Gurriel and Altuve each hit a homerun.  The Astros were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Correa had a stolen base and Brantley had an outfield assist. 

In the first Gurriel hit a three-run homerun to give the Astros a 3-0 lead.  In the second Sanchez hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-1.  In the fourth Urshela hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 3-2.  In the sixth Bregman hit an RBI ground out to push the lead to 4-2.  In the ninth LeMahieu hit a two-run homerun to tie the game at four.  In the bottom of the ninth Altuve hit a walk-off two-run homerun to win the game and the series for the Astros.  The final score was 6-4. 

New York Yankees win Game 5 to survive and head to Houston

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros in Game 5 on Friday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 4-1.  James Paxton started for the Yankees and he pitched very well.  The Yankees offense struck all in the first inning led by Aaron Hicks three-run homerun. 

Paxton pitched six innings giving up four hits and a run with four walks and nine strikeouts.  Paxton earned the win.  Tommy Khanle pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk, Zack Britton pitched 1 2/3 innings with two strikeouts and Aroldis Chapman earned his first save of the season pitching an inning with a strikeout. 

Justin Verlander pitched seven innings giving up five hits and four runs with no walks and nine strikeouts.  Verlander took the loss and Brad Peacock pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

DJ LeMahieu had a hit and an RBI, Aaron Judge had a hit and Gleyber Torres had a hit.  Hicks had a hit and three RBI, Didi Gregorius had a hit and Torres hit a double.  LeMahieu and Hicks each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-2 with runners in scoring position and left one man on base.  Sanchez had a passed ball. 

George Springer had two hits, Jose Altuve drew two walks and Michael Brantley drew a walk.  Alex Bregman had a hit, Carlos Correa had a hit and drew two walks and Jake Marisnick had a hit.  The Astros were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. 

In the first a wild pitch gave the Astros a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first LeMahieu hit a solo homerun to tie the game and Hicks hit a three-run homerun giving the Yankees a 4-1 lead and that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play game six on Saturday night in Houston.   

New York Yankees drop Game 2 in extra innings to even the ALCS

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Houston Astros on Sunday night.  The game took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas and the final score was 3-2 in 11 innings.  James Paxton started for the Yankees and didn’t have his control and didn’t last long.  The Yankees bullpen pitched well and Aaron Judge produced the only runs with a two run homerun. 

James Paxton pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up four hits and a run with two walks and three strikeouts.  Chad Green pitched two innings giving up two strikeouts, Adam Ottavino pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts and Tommy Khanle pitched 2 1/3 innings with two strikeouts.  Zack Britton pitched an inning with a walk and a strikeout, Aroldis Chapman pitched an inning with a walk and three strikeouts and CC Sabathia faced one batter and got him out.  Jonathan Loaisiga gave up two walks without recording an out and J.A. Happ took the loss pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout. 

Justin Verlander pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts.  Will Harris pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and he struck out two, Roberto Osuna pitched 1 2/3 innings with two strikeouts and Joe Smith pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a walk.  Ryan Pressly pitched giving up a hit and not recording an out and Josh James won the game pitching to one batter and striking him out. 

DJ LeMahieu had a hit and drew a walk, Aaron Judge had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk and Gleyber Torres had a hit.  Edwin Encarnacion drew a walk, Brett Gardner had two hits and Cameron Maybin had a hit and drew a walk.  Judge hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-3 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. 

George Springer had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Michael Brantley had a hit and Jose Altuve had two hits and drew a walk.  Alex Bregman had a hit and drew two walks, Yordan Alvarez drew a walk and Carlos Correa had two hits and two RBI.  Aledmys Diaz drew a walk, Correa hit a double and Springer and Correa each hit a homerun.  The Astros were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. 

In the second Correa hit an RBI double to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Judge hit a two-run homerun to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  In the fifth Springer hit a solo homerun tying the game at two.  In the 11^th inning Correa hit a solo homerun to give the Astros a 3-2 walk-off win.  The series is tied 1-1 and will head to the Bronx for the next three games beginning on Tuesday afternoon.   

New York Yankees take Game 1 of ALCS at the Houston Astros

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros on Saturday night in Game 1 of the ALCS.  The game took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas and the final score was 7-0.  Masahiro Tanaka started for the Yankees and he pitched brilliantly.  The Yankees bullpen finished the job and the offense was led by Gleyber Torres who had five RBI. 

Tanaka pitched six innings giving up one hit and no runs.  He walked one and struck out four and picked up the victory.  Adam Ottavino pitched an inning giving up two hits and no runs, Zack Britton pitched an inning giving up a walk and he struck out two and Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a perfect inning. 

Zack Greinke pitched six innings giving up seven hits and three runs.  He walked none and struck out six and took the loss.  Ryan Pressly pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up four hits and two runs with a strikeout, Josh James pitched 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and Bryan Abreu pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with two walks.  Hector Rondon pitched to one batter and struck him out. 

DJ LeMahieu had two hits and drew a walk, Aaron Judge had two hits and Torres had three hits and five RBI.  Edwin Encarnacion drew a walk, Giancarlo Stanton had two hits and an RBI and Gary Sanchez had a hit.  Gio Urshela had two hits and an RBI, Didi Gregorius had a hit and Torres hit a double.  Torres, Stanton and Urshela each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Judge had a stolen base and an outfield assist. 

Michael Brantley had a hit, Jose Altuve had a hit and Alex Bregman drew a walk.  Yuli Gurriel drew a walk, Kyle Tucker had a hit and the Astros were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base.  Springer committed an error. 

In the fourth Torres hit an RBI double to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead and in the sixth a Torres solo homerun pushed the lead to 2-0.  Stanton hit a solo homerun to extend the lead to 3-0.  In the seventh Torres hit a two-run single and the lead was pushed to 5-0.  In the ninth Urshela hit a solo homerun and Torres hit an RBI ground out to make it 7-0 and that would be the final score. 

The Yankees have a 1-0 series lead and the two teams will play game two on Sunday night.