The Mets lose Game One of Doubleheader

The New York Mets lost game one of their doubleheader to Atlanta 5-2.  The Braves hit four solo homeruns in the game.  The Mets have now lost six in a row and the season looks like it is quickly spinning out of control.  They will try to turn it around with Game Two which is currently in progress.  The Mets need some kind of spark, I don't know what the answer is right now, they don't have much pitching and they just aren't that good. 

D.J. Carrasco made his first start since July 31, 2009.  He didn't pitch very well in Game One.  Mike Pelfrey will try to get his season on track in Game Two.  The Mets are hoping that Jason Bay will be activated on Tuesday.  He could be a guy that could provide a boost but the offense hasn't been that bad it is the pitching and he isn't going to pitch. 

The Mets got off to a much better start last season.  It was assumed under Terry Collins that they would pay more attention to detail and do the little things right so maybe it is just the players and it could turn ugly quick and they have to clean house.  I would think by the Trade Deadline Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran could be gone.  I think David Wright will stay and they will build around him, Ike Davis, Josh Thole and Angel Pagan.  The rest of the guys are all free game, I don't know what they can do with the pitching but they have to try and figure something out with that. 

Freddy Garcia fires a shutout as the Yankees defeat the Rangers

The New York Yankees defeated the Texas Rangers 5-2 today behind Freddy Garcia.  Garcia threw six shutout innings giving up two hits, he walked one and struck out one.  He hasn't pitched in so long and who could have expected this.  Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts, Rafael Soriano struggled in the eighth giving up a couple of runs but he was able to hold the lead and Mariano Rivera nailed down his sixth save in the ninth giving up a hit. 

Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira each hit two run homeruns.  Gustavo Molina made his first start and looked really good.  He didn't pick up a hit but hit the ball hard a couple of times and he was great behind the plate. 

Phil Hughes was placed on the 15 day DL with a tired arm yesterday.  Ivan Nova had his second shaky start in a row last night.  The Yankees really needed a good performance and you can't say enough about Garcia.  The Yankes have questions in their rotation but maybe the veterans Bartolo Colon and Garcia will provide stability to the back of the rotation. 

Lance Pendleton got to New York around 6:15 last night and that is a good story because he came into the game and threw three perfect innings.  It was his major league debut and one that he will really never forget, not that you forget it anyway.  He won't be available for a while but he is staying put as Hector Noesi can throw 100 pitches out of the bullpen.

The Yankees set an AL record and team record last night by grounding into six double plays.  It was amazing and frustrating all at the same time.  Curtis Granderson has hit three homeruns this season and they are all against lefties.  The work he did at the end of last year to change his swing worked and continues to show progress. 

Alex Rodriguez has reached base in all 12 games he has played this season.  He is on the AL leaderboard in almost every category.  He is second in batting average, first in runs, tied for fourth in in home runs, first in OBP and first in slugging percentage. 

Yankees relievers had held opponents to three earned runs over the last 20 innings they have pitched.  They have a combined 3.26 ERA this season.  Soriano didn't help today but Rivera and Chamberlain were outstanding as they have been all year. 

Mets Vs. Braves Lets Play Two

The New York Mets will play a doubleheader today at Atlanta.  The Mets are a little upset with the Braves considering they have to play four games in 72 hours with a depleted pitching staff.  I don't think the Braves care that much, they have tortured the Mets for years and before Philly became so good they were the chief rival.  The Mets are still kicking around scenarios if Chris Young will pitch tomorrow or go on the DL.  They may call up Pat Misch or Dillon Gee, we should have an answer soon.  If you want breaking news you can follow me on twitter @gmarchesej or this blog @yanksandmore, I try to post all the up to date info and breaking news pretty much as it happens. 

Ryota Igarashi could be sent down and Bobby Parnell still has options, we should know pretty soon.  No lineup yet for the games.  I will try to have a lineup for the second game if I don't have one for the first game.  The first game is at 4:10PM and then the second game will be shortly after the first game.  I should have the lineups and more notes for both games.

Mets Lineup Game 1:Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Ike Davis, Willie Harris, Brad Emaus, Josh Thole, D.J. Carrasco.  It will be Carrasco and Derek Lowe in the pitching matchup. 

Yanks vs. Rangers Game Two of Series

The Yankees will try to even the series this afternoon.  Freddy Garcia is going to make his first start of the year and of course its going to rain.  He hasn't pitched since the end of March.  Hopefully they will get the game in.
Yankees lineup:Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Andruw Jones, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson, Gustavo Molina.
The game is at one on Fox, enjoy everyone.  I will have the recap and notes later.

Yankees vs. Rangers the ALCS rematch

The Yankees will try to make it three in a row tonight.  Ivan Nova will start tonight, he has had one good and one shaky start.  The Yankees will air Brett Gardner tonight against the lefty.  Here are some notes and the lineup.
Phil Hughes was placed on the 15 day DL today with a dead arm.  He will go through a long toss program and then bullpens and when ready a rehab assignment.  Bartolo Colon will take his place and Lance Pendleton got called up.
Gustavo Molina will start his first game tomm.  Russell Martin has caught every inn. so far and is the only catcher in baseball to do so.
Yankees lineup:Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Andruw Jones, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin.

Mets lose doubleheader

The New York Mets season is quickly spiraling out of control.  They lost both games of a doubleheader yesterday and got swept in the four game series against the Colorado Rockies at home.  The Mets finished their homestand at 1-6.  The Mets will head to Atlanta for three games starting tonight before returning home.  The Mets record is not 4-9 on the season and they need to get it turned around quick. 

The Mets are in almost every game and the first game they came within one hit of winning that game but they couldn't get it done in the ninth inning with David Wright up and two men on.  The Mets also haven't gotten Jason Bay back which is a problem, he should be back in a couple of weeks but who knows with that.  Carlos Beltran has looked pretty good and the offense has been scoring runs but the pitching isn't there.  the Mets have Mike Pelfrey as their number one pitcher but he isn't even pitching like a number four pitcher.  R.A. Dickey has had a couple of rough starts in a row and Jon Niese is a young up and down kind of pitcher.  The Mets have Chris Young and Capuano but you don't know how long they will last or what you will get out of them.  Young has been terrific but he already got pushed back a couple of days with biceps tendenitis. 

The Mets need a good series in Atlanta and get some confidence back and then go win some games at home.  If this keeps up there will be no one at Citi Field come June or July and that will not only look bad but continue to hurt their purse and could force the owners to sell.  They may get minority owners in but that still remains to be seen. 

Yankees walk-off agains the Orioles

The Yankees had a very good walk-off win against the Baltimore Orioles tonight by the score of 6-5.  It wasn't all good though as Phil Hughes continues to struggle.  Bartolo Colon came on in relief and held the Orioles scoreless for three innings giving the offense a chance to comeback which they did.  Alex Rodriguez had a big game with three more hits, Jorge Posada had another homerun that tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and Nick Swisher hit the game winning sacrifice fly. 

The Yankees for now are going to try and figure out Hughes.  Joe Girardi said he will wait until tomorrow to talk to the staff and evaluate him before saying if they may do something like skip him a start or something like that.  The Yankees for now will enjoy this win and being alone in first place even though it is too early in the season. 

Curtis Granderson had two hits, Derek Jeter had a hit.  The offense was silent for four innings but then woke up and came roaring back.  The Yankees will now take on the Texas Rangers for three weekend games at the Stadium.  Ivan Nova will start on Friday night for the Yankees against Matt Harrison. 

Yankees go for two game sweep of Orioles

The New York Yankees will try to win their second straight over Baltimore.  The two teams are tied for first at 6-4.  Phil Hughes will try and find something, anything as he is off to a brutal start.
Here is the Yankees lineup:Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin.

Yankees defeat Orioles on a cold rainy night

The New York Yankees finally got back to playing baseball and it looked like the couple of days off helped their offense.  The Yankees scored seven runs on the night, six in the first two innings.  They got a couple of guys that were cold going.  Derek Jeter had a couple of hits and an RBI, Jorge Posada had a solo homerun and a single.  Mark Teixeira had a couple of hits, Alex Rodriguez continued his hot hitting with a three run homerun and another hit and walk.  Robinson Cano had a hit and two RBI. 

A.J. Burnett is now 3-0 winning his first three starts for the first time in his career.  Burnett pitched terriffic until the seventh inning when he gave up two two run homeruns.  I don't know if it was tiredness or what but I am going to guess he made a bad pitch gave up a homerun and then lost his focus and gave up another one and it was 7-4 and he was out of the game.  The bullpen preserved the win for him though with outstanding work.  Dave Robertson got the two batters out that he faced, one with a strikeout.  Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless eighth inning giving up a hit and Mariano Rivera recorded his fifth save of the season. 

The Yankees got some bad news that was relayed by Joe Girardi after the game though.  Pedro Feliciano MRI showed significant damage to his left shoulder.  It looks like this is very serious, it sounds like he could need surgery but Joe Girardi wouldn't go into specifics after the game.  He said in fairness to the media he would give them that but in fairness to the player he wouldn't say more.  He said Feliciano has to talk to the team doctor, his agent and his family and then decide what is next for him. 

The Yankees will have Phil Hughes on the mound tomorrow night looking for his velocity and confidence.  Hughes needs to have a good start and get back on the right track.  He doesn't need to be perfect or be all the way back but he needs to show some positive progress if for anything else his own psyche which has to be shaken at this point at least somewhat.  The Yankees will try and sweep this abbreviated two game series and take over sole possession of first place on the very young season. 

Yankees vs. Orioles Game One Of Two

The New York Yankees will take on the Baltimore Orioles tonight.  The first game last night was rained out.  The pitchers were pushed back so A.J. Burnett will face Chris Tillman tonight.
A.J. will try to go 3-0 and move further away from last years bad season.  Here is the Yankees lineup:  Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin. 
The Orioles are in first place continuing their strong play under Buck Showalter.  Hector Noesi was called up today to take Luis Ayala spot.

Yankees and Orioles Postponed

The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles were postponed tonight and there is no makeup date yet.  The Yankees decided to push back their pitchers so A.J. Burnett will pitch tomorrow night and Phil Hughes on Thursday night.  The Yankees didn't announce yet if Freddy Garcia will still make his start on Friday or be pushed back.  If he doesn't start again he will sometime in the next five days as they have five games in a row and need all their starters. 

The Yankees are placing Luis Ayala on the DL with a lat strain, it isn't known who will be called up yet but Steve Garrison is a name that jumps out.  They could use another lefty with it also being revealed that Pedro Feliciano had a setback.  This move could turn out to be a disaster as the overwork by the Mets is clearly affecting him now.  The Yankees did sign him though knowing the risk.  Mark Prior is a logical thought to come up but the Yankees said that isn't being considered.  I get the feeling they want him to be down there a couple of months and show he is healthy before they think about calling him up. 

Alex Rodriguez is doing better and was in the lineup tonight.  He will play tomorrow, Girardi said he was smiling today and that wasn't something he was doing on Sunday.  Russell Martin was scheduled to have a day off on Friday but now that they had a day off today that probably won't happen, we will have to wait and see. 

Enjoy the night everyone and we should have baseball tomorrow night.  A.J Burnett vs. Chris Tillman unless Baltimore switches up their rotation.  The same lineup should be in order for tommorrow also.  The game will be on YES tomorrow night at 7:00PM. 

Yankees vs. Orioles Game One of Series

The New York Yankees open up a three game series with the Baltimore Orioles tonight weather permitting at Yankee Stadium.  The Yankees lost two out of three in Boston over the weekend and will try and get back on track.  Here are some quick notes and the lineup for tonight.

The Baltimore Orioles are off to a fast start at 6-3 and first place in the AL East.  The Yankees are 5-4 on the young season.  The Yankees pitching has been erratic and the hitting has gone cold.  They are going to score runs though and every team goes through slumps.  They still have scored 50 runs in nine games. 

A.J. Burnett is starting tonight and will try to go 3-0.  He is still undefeated in the month of April as a Yankees and although he looks better this season he was 4-0 to start last year before he collapsed.  I think the main difference is that this year when Burnett does get in trouble he isn't allowing it to snowball, he is competing more and working out of things.  In the past he has looked lost and like he has given up when the going gets tough. 

Burnett will face Chris Tillman tonight, Phil Hughes will be vs. TBA tomorrow night and Thurday night it will be Ivan Nova vs. Jake Arrieta.  Robinson Cano will receives his silver slugger award prior to tonights game.  C.C. Sabathia is off to the second best start of his career in terms of ERA but has nothing to show for it.  He 0-1 in three starts with a 1.45 ERA. 

The Yankees are tied for the major league lead with 18 homeruns this season.  They have at least one homerun in seven of the nine games and at least two homeruns in six of the games.  The Yankees are 4-1 this season when holding their opponents to four or fewer runs.  Yankees batters scored in five different innings in consecutive games on Friday and Saturday in Boston marking the first time they have done that since 7/21 and 7/22/2007. 

Curtis Granderson already has two homers off left handed pitchers.  He didn't hit his second homer off of a lefty until August 24th of last year at Toronto.  Alex Rodriguez needs one RBI to pass Ken Griffey Jr. on the all-time RBI list for 13th place.  Derek Jeter needs two hits to tie Barry Bonds for 32nd on the all-time hits list. 

Yankees News and Notes-Monday April 11th

The New York Yankees are getting ready to start their second homestand of the season tomorrow night.  They will take on the Baltimore Orioles who are currently in first place in the AL East and then the Texas Rangers who are off to a 9-1 start after winning again today.  They will play two three game series.  The Yankees will send A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova to the mound against the Orioles. 

C.C. Sabathia will be greeting fans in the Great Hall before tomorrows game.  Nick Swisher was all around NYC today in different Bank Of America locations.  He was giving out tickets and merchandise.  Jorge Posada who hit three homeruns early on is now struggling going 0-15 with eight strikeouts in his last four games.  Brett Gardner is hitting only 167 and in four out of eight games started he is 0-16 with eight strikeouts and no walks.  In the other four games he has reached base nine times struck out only once and stolen three bases.  If you look at numbers too closely this time of year you will drive yourself nuts.  The point is that they change quickly, one bad game can make them look bad and one good game can make them look good. 

Derek Jeter is really struggling but it is something Joe Girardi doesn't want to deal with.  He will give him some time, preaching patience with him.  What if Jeter is still not hitting with authority come May or June though will he have the guts to drop him in the order.  It is a hard thing because he is a Yankees icon but he is getting older and could be on the decline.  He hit 270 last year by far his worst year but maybe that was the start of his decline instead of just a blip on the radar.  We will have to wait and see what happens. 

Josh Beckett looked like the old Josh Beckett last night so the Yankees can't be blamed for that.  A lot of the guys are struggling offensively but it is early and you go through strikes.  The one alarming thing about the Yankees is that they are scoring most of their runs by the homerun.  That isn't the best way to score runs if you are always waiting for a homerun.  I wouldn't worry too much overall because you know this team will score runs and the season will come down to their pitching especially their starters. 

The Yankees are hoping Alex Rodriguez will be back tomorrow night.  He had the flu bad and the Yankees weren't even going to use him as a pinch hitter last night.  Freddy Garcia being used in the eighth inning last night was to just get him some work.  Girardi said if it had been a closer game one of the late inning relievers would have pitched.  Sabathia didn't have his best stuff but he did what he could gutting through it and giving hte Yankees a chance. 

Robinson Cano has reached base safely in 16 straight games at Fenway Park.  This is the third time that Sabathia has carried an ERA below two for his first three starts it is a shame he doesn't have a win to show for it.  Mark Prior pitched the previous two days and had two scoreless innings.  He said he felt good and it is a significant step forward.  He could be up with the Yankees at some point this season. 

Yankees lose series to Red Sox

The New York Yankees lost the series finale to the Boston Red Sox last night by the score of 4-0.  They lost the series two games to one.  In this game their bats were very silent.  They managed two hits and one walk and that was it.  Josh Beckett looked like he was back in 2003, you have to wonder if that was his one shining moment this year or has he rediscovered his stuff.  If he can be that good again or close to it then Boston will be extremely happy and will be the favorites once again.  The Yankees after starting off strong offensively have cooled off.  Derek, Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson are not hitting at all.  Russell Martin, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez are carrying the offense and A-rod was out of this game with the flu. 

The Yankees are 5-4 on the year and they won their two home series and lost this one so they are about right where you want to be.  They would of liked to win this series also but after Boston lost their first six games that was going to be tough.  The Red Sox are now 2-7 on the young season.  The Yankees will come home to take on the Baltimore Orioles starting tomorrow night and then the Texas Rangers over the weekend.  The Yankees want to take advantage of all their home games this month. 

Derek Jeter is becoming a hot topic as he has looked awful at the plate.  I wouldn't panic just yet but usually a shortstop who has a bad season at age 36 is declining it wasn't just a bad season and he isn't showing any signs of coming out of it yet.  Joe Girardi hopes that he doesn't have to do it because  he is already growing tired of answering questions about him but he may have to drop him in the order eventually.  Jeter can not be a 2 hitter and keep on hitting the way he is. 

The Yankees will have A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes pitching against the Orioles.  Freddy Garcia finally got into a game last night pitching an inning and giving up a run.  It was good for him to get some work in though as he hasn't pitched since spring training.  He will start on Friday against the Rangers. 

Mets vs. Nationals the Rubber Game

The New York Mets will take on the Washington Nationals this afternoon at Citi Field.  It will be the final game of the three game series.  The Mets will be looking for their second series win out of three on the season.  The Mets won their opening series two games to one over the Marlins and then lost two out of three to the Phillies.  Chris Young and Jason Marquis are the starters in todays afternoon contest.  The game is at 1:10PM on SNY.  Here are some notes and the lineup for today.

Carlos Beltran said after the game that he was elated to have a night like he did last night and it proves all the hard work has paid off.  He said he is going to stick to the plan and not play today, that it isn't about one game in April it is about making it through the whole year.  He will not play any day games after night games and take every few days off. 

His legs feel great and he will keep working on his lower body which will keep his swing intact.  In Port St. Luice yesterday Jason Isringhausen pitched in a game and Randy Niemann told Terry Collins that he is ready.  There is no timetable for him to get on the roster but I would guess it could happen soon.  Jason Bay and Ronny Paulino will take batting practice today and Paulino is done with his suspension so he will have to be placed on the DL before todays game. 

Jose Reyes got his first two RBI of the year last night and also finally got a hit with runners in scoring position.  He had been 0-10 before last nights hit with RISP.  He is hitting 297 but with only a 316 on base percentage which isn't good enough for Sandy Alderson the GM.  He wants him to get on base more frequently.  I would guess that he is going to get traded at the deadline, maybe to a team like the Red Sox who could use an upgrade at shortstop. 

Mets Lineup:Jose Reyes, Willie Harris, David Wright, Ike Davis, Angel Pagan, Lucas Duda, Brad Emaus, Josh Thole, Chris Young.