The New York Yankees offense carries them to an 11-9 victory over the Houston Astros

The New York Yankees bats seem to be waking up right before the season starts. They defeated the Houston Astros this afternoon by the score of 11-9. They hit five homeruns with two of them coming from Dante Bichette Jr. who is a minor league third base prospect. His father is Dante Bichette who played many years in the majors and is good friends with manager Joe Girardi. Raul Ibanez also hit his third homerun in the last few days. Adam Warren started today and wasn’t great but got the win. 
Warren pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up 10 hits and six runs with three strikeouts. Clay Rapada who looks like he will be the second lefty out of the pen pitched 1/3 of an inning. Rapada gave up a hit and a run. He has been really good this spring and Cesar Cabral who was also going for the second lefty job is hurt. Preston Claiborne got into his second game action with the major league team. He recorded the save pitching two innings and giving up three hits and two runs with two strikeouts.

Bichette had two hits and two RBI, Curtis Granderson had three RBI and Robinson Cano had two hits and two RBI. Mark Teixeira had two hits an RBI and a walk, Ibanez had two hits and four RBI as he looks like he has found his swing. Francisco Cervelli had a hit and an RBI, Walter Ibarra had a hit and Chris Dickerson had a hit. Doug Bernier had a hit and Jose Gil had a hit and an RBI.

Bichette hit two homeruns and Cano, Ibanez and Gil each hit one. The Yankees were 4-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. They improved their record in the grapefruit league to 15-11. The Yankees will now travel to Miami to open up the new Marlins ballpark with two exhibition games. The Yankees will then finish off their spring training schedule with a home and home series against the New York Mets. The Yankees will open their season on Friday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa.

Yankees notes on a Thursday night

Here are the Yankees notes from tonight.  The Yankees lost 4-3 to the Baltimore Orioles.  They will take on the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow night at home in Tampa.  Chad Jennings of the lohud Yankees blog has everything covered.  I have my opinions mixed in. 

Nothing especially impressive about Ivan Nova’s pitching line this afternoon. Facing Triple-A hitters, Nova allowed three runs through 7.1 innings. He struck out five and walked one. All three runs came near the end of the outing, long after the media — and manager Joe Girardi — had left for the big league stadium. So what to make of such an outing?  I really have no idea how to judge these things, I would think they don't want to send Nova down again after last year.  I am pretty sure he will be in the rotation. 

“Today was a good day for him,” Russell Martin said. “There was one homer hit, but it was a fly ball that was kind of wind-aided. It ended up barely scraping over the fence, but besides that, his pitches were there. That’s what I wanted to see from him. He hadn’t put it all together (this spring). He’d have three out of four pitches, but he hadn’t had four yet in a game. Today was one of those games where he had everything.”  That is good to hear from Martin. 

Nova’s had kind of a strange spring, and it looks like today’s game was part of the trend. There have been stretches — several innings at a time — when he’s been outstanding, but it seems each game includes an inning or two when he’s been knocked around. On the whole, he’s been better than his 6.86 ERA suggests, and Martin’s words suggest today’s start was better than three runs against minor leaguers would suggest.

“I think you have to look at everything (this spring),” Girardi said. “But you also have to look at his body of work last year too. You can get caught up on judging people in spring training, and sometimes that judgment is not always true to what you see in the regular season, so I think you have to look at what he did last season as well.”  A focus on last season certainly works in Nova’s favor.

“Before the game today, I told him I wanted to see his focus,” Martin said. “Just sharpen up the focus a little bit. … He’s been progressing. He’s been getting more and more consistent as we go along. I think he’s going to have a great year; that’s my personal opinion. He went above expectations last year with what he did, so he’s got maybe a little bit more pressure on him to try to do that again. If he keeps the same attitude, that’s what I recognized from him last year the most – his intensity on the mound. He’s a guy that wants the ball and never backs down. He wants to stay out there that extra inning. That’s what I want to see from Nova.”

Change of plans for D.J. Mitchell. After he pitched tonight, Mitchell went to the bullpen to get his pitch count up to 75. He will no longer pitch again on Saturday. Girardi said the decision was made during the game when the Yankees decided they’d rather let Mitchell get stretched out than test him on short rest. Girardi said it changes nothing about Mitchell’s chances of making the big league roster. “Not a bit,” Girardi said. “Because if (Mitchell, Phelps or Warren) were to go with us, it would be more of a long guy than back-to-back.”  I wouldn't read too much into that either because Girardi is right but I would think Garcia will be the long man and the young guys will be at AAA. 

 Curtis Granderson came through tonight’s game “great,” Girardi said. Nick Swisher also came through today’s five at-bats at the minor league complex with no problem. Depending on how he feels tomorrow Swisher might DH tomorrow’s big league game, play right field in tomorrow’s big league game or take another turn at the minor league complex.  This is a good sign as we are one week away from Opening Day. 

 Eduardo Nunez came off the field a little awkward, but Girardi said he checked with Nunez and Nunez said he was fine. Nunez didn’t seem bothered when he was walking around the clubhouse.

 Raul Ibanez has four hits in his past four games, and he would have had five hits — and three home runs — if not for Jason Heyward robbing him yesterday. “I’ve been feeling better the last four, five days and trying to build momentum,” Ibanez said.  The veterans at times you just have to let them be although when your a veteran it is always he is too old, maybe he is done.  You have to be patient with certain guys though. 

 Girardi said the only real difference for Ibanez is that he’s “hitting the ball,” and Ibanez said it’s strictly a matter of timing. He’s gotten it back through some intense sessions with Kevin Long. “The only thing I know how to do is just keep working until you find it,” Ibanez said.

 David Phelps allowed seven hits through five innings in his start tonight. He walked none and struck out four, including three huge strikeouts to end the fifth inning. With runners at second and third, Phelps got Nick Markakis with a slider, Adam Jones with a curveball and Matt Wieters looking at a fastball. “To be able to get through those guys he got was pretty good,” Girardi said.

 Mariano Rivera extended his scoreless spring training innings streak to 28 innings, a streak that goes back to 2008. He is just simply amazing. 

Granderson singled in his return to the lineup. … Mark Teixeira’s double and Ibanez’s home run were the Yankees only extra-base hits. … Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner, Bill Hall and Nunez also had hits in the 4-3 loss. Nunez also stole a bag. … Rodriguez and Derek Jeter each made errors. Bad throw by Jeter, bad hop past Rodriguez. … Boone Logan faced and retired two batters.

The New York Mets rough up the Houston Astros

The New York Mets defeated the Houston Astros by the score of 9-1 tonight. The game was played in Port St. Lucie. The start was made by Mike Pelfrey and he pitched well. It was his best start of the spring and he really needed it. The bullpen pitched well, Daniel Murphy had two hits and David Wright hit a grand slam. 
Pelfrey pitched 6 1/3 innings getting the win. He gave up three hits and one run with three strikeouts. Daniel Herrera pitched to two batters and retired them both, Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts and Josh Edgin pitched one inning giving up one hit and striking out one.

Ruben Tejada had an RBI, Murphy had two hits and Ronny Cedeno had a hit and an RBI. Wright had a hit and four RBI, Ike Davis had a hit and drew a walk and Jason Bay had a hit and drew two walks. Scott Hairston had a hit, Cory Vaughn had a hit and Josh Thole had two hits and two RBI. Pelfrey had an RBI, Thole had a double and Wright had a homerun. The Mets were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Thole made an error which was catchers interference.

The Mets record improved to 7-16 in the grapefruit league. They will open the season in one week at home against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets will play at the St. Louis Cardinals tomorrow afternoon at 1:05PM.

Raul Ibanez finding his stroke as the New York Yankees lose to the Baltimore Orioles

The New York Yankees lost 4-3 to the Baltimore Orioles tonight. David Phelps made the start and pitched ok, he gave up a bunch of hits but not many runs. Ibanez led the offense with two hits and two RBI. 
Phelps pitched five innings giving up seven hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out four. Mariano Rivera pitched an inning and gave up a hit, Boone Logan faced two batters and got them both out and D.J. Mitchell took the loss pitching 2 1/3 innings giving up two hits and one run. He walked two and struck out three.

Derek Jeter had an RBI, Curtis Granderson had a hit and Alex Rodriguez had a hit. Eric Chavez drew a walk, Mark Teixeira had a hit and Ibanez had two hits and two RBI. Dewayne Wise drew a walk, Brett Gardner had a hit and Bill Hall had a hit. Eduardo Nunez had a hit and Francisco Cervelli drew a walk. Teixeira had a double and Ibanez a homerun.

The Yankees were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Nunez had a stolen base and Wise was caught stealing. Rodriguez and Jeter each made an error and Cervelli had a passed ball. The Yankees are now 13-11 in the grapefruit league. They have also tied a few games. The Yankees will host the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow night at 7:05PM.

It appears that the Yankees are close to making a decision on the rotation. CC Sabathia is the ace followed by Hiroki Kuroda. It looks like Phil Hughes has the number three spot locked up and that Ivan Nova will make the rotation. The final spot appears to be a battle between Michael Pineda and Freddy Garcia. I would think Pineda will win it and Garcia will become the long man out of the bullpen. If Garcia wins it then Pineda will go to AAA. I don’t think after making the trade for him the Yankees want to deal with the fallout but we will see early next week or maybe even this weekend. The Yankees open the season next Friday which is Good Friday in Tampa Bay.

New York Yankees Wednesday notes

Here are the Wednesday night Yankees notes.  Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog as always has the information and I offer my opinions as well. 

It was the first four innings that Hiroki Kuroda held the Braves scoreless. It was in his last three innings that he gave up a couple of runs. In spring training, though, results are only part of the story, and Kuroda was much happier with the way he finished today’s next-to-last spring start.  Kuroda was good and if he does what he did today in the regular season he will win a lot of games. 

“In the beginning I didn’t feel right, but I was able to make adjustments,” he said. “… Every game that I start I have to make some kind of adjustment, and I was able to do that the last few games that I pitched in spring training. I think I’m ready for that. I just hope I don’t get hurt.”

As long as he remains injury free, the Yankees seem happy with their offseason free agent signing. Pitching outside of the National League West for the first time, Kuroda has been exactly what the Yankees were expecting. He doesn’t overwhelm hitters, but he mixes pitches and throws strikes. Today he struck out six and walked none.  He knows how to pitch and it seems the league won't bother him, he will figure it out and get wins. 

“I was pleased with what I saw, really pleased,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s the guy that I thought we were getting.”

The Yankees have planned all year to slot Kuroda into the No. 2 spot in the rotation, and that’s exactly where Kuroda will open the season, as the game-two starter against Tampa Bay. That leaves him lined up to start next month’s home opener.

“I try not to think that far ahead,” Kuroda said. “I’m just focused on this next start that I have to do.”

 The Yankees got good news on Curtis Granderson’s right elbow. An MRI showed no problems, and Girardi didn’t rule out the idea of Granderson playing as early as tomorrow.  That is what the Yankees thought but it is always good to have confirmation. 

 More good news on Nick Swisher who managed to get 10 at-bats at the minor league complex today. He’ll go back to the complex tomorrow, and Girardi said he might play the outfield depending on how he feels. Girardi doesn’t expect him to take so many at-bats this time.  He should be ready to go for the opener next Friday in Tampa against the Rays. 

 Speaking of minor moves, Sweeny Murti reported this afternoon that the Yankees have signed Jack Cust to a minor league deal. That would seem to be clear insurance just in case Raul Ibanez can’t shake off his rocky spring. Cust is also a left-handed hitting designated hitter.  I think they are worried enough about Ibanez that they thought why not with Cust. 

 Speaking of Ibanez, he went 1-for-3 today and very nearly had his second spring home run. He was robbed by Jason Heyward’s leaping catch over the wall in right field.

 Speaking of struggles, Cory Wade gave up another run this afternoon. The big hit was a double by Eric Hinske, and Girardi said he felt that was the only truly bad pitch Wade threw (he left it up). Wade has a 7.27 ERA this spring and hasn’t looked sharp, but Girardi made it clear that he’s planning to have Wade in his Opening Day bullpen.

 One more Wade note: Just a few days ago he threw a three-inning simulated game. The Yankees want him to be a little bit stretched out so that he could give multiple innings if necessary. The loser of the rotation competition will likely be the regular long reliever. “You’d like to have two guys down there that could really give you some multiple innings,” Girardi said.

The New York Mets lose 3-2 to the Washington Nationals

The New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals by the score of 3-2 this afternoon. Jon Niese made the start and pitched well. Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy and Rob Johnson each had two hits. The bullpen pitched ok.
Niese pitched six innings and took the loss. He gave up five hits and two runs with a walk and six strikeouts. Frank Francisco pitched two innings giving up two hits and one run with a walk and Manny Acosta pitched an inning giving up a hit with a strikeout.

Murphy had two hits and an RBI, Duda had two hits and an RBI and Ruben Tejada had a hit. Johnson had two hits. Johnson had a double and Duda had a triple. The Mets were 1-7 and left four runners in scoring position. Tejada and Murphy each made an error and Scott Hairston had an outfield assist.

The Mets will take on the Houston Astros tomorrow evening at home in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The Mets are now 6-16 in the grapefruit league. The Mets will open their season at home against the Atlanta Braves a week from tomorrow.

The New York Yankees tie the Atlanta Braves 5-5 as Kuroda cruises

The New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves played to a 5-5 tie this afternoon in Orlando, Florida. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched well. He is penciled in as the number two starter for the Yankees and will pitch the second game of the season. That should line him up to pitch the home opener vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Eric Chavez led the offense with three hits and three RBI. Eduardo Nunez and Jayson Nix each had two hits. 
Kuroda pitched seven innings giving up six hits, two runs, no walks and six strikeouts. Cory Wade pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run as his struggles continue. Joe Girardi said he will be in the bullpen on Opening Day. He clearly needs to get better though. George Kontos pitched two innings giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts. He got charged with a blown save.

Nunez had two hits, Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI and Nix had two hits. Mark Teixeira had a hit, Raul Ibanez had a hit and got robbed of another one and Bill Hall had an RBI and drew a walk. Chavez had three hits and three RBI and Walter Ibarra had a hit. Nunez and Chavez each had a double. The Yankees were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Hall and Nix each had a stolen base.

The Yankees are 13-10 in the grapefruit league and have a few ties. They will play the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow night at home in Tampa. The game is at 7:05PM.

The New York Mets lose to the Atlanta Braves 7-5

The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves by the score of 7-5 on Tuesday afternoon. Chris Schwinden started the game and didn’t pitch so well. The rest of the bullpen had some good and some bad. Jordany Valdespin and Lucas Duda each had two hits and an RBI. 
Schwinden pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and a strikeout. Garrett Olson pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit, a run and a walk, Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and Josh Edgin pitched an inning walking a batter and striking out a batter. Jon Rauch pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout. Ramon Ramirez pitched two innings giving up two hits, and a run with two walks and a strikeout.

Valdespin had two hits and an RBI, Justin Turner had a hit, RBI and a walk and Den Dekker had a hit. David Wright had an RBI, Vinny Rottino had an RBI and a walk and Duda had two hits, an RBI and a walk. Adam Loewen had a hit, Ronny Cedeno had a hit and Mike Baxter had a hit. Daniel Murphy drew a walk. Duda had a homerun and the Mets were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. Valdespin stole a base and Parnell made an error on a pickoff attempt.

The Mets record dropped to 6-15 in the grapefruit league. The Mets will host the Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10PM.

New York Yankees lose 4-3 to the Jays

The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays tonight by the score of 4-3. CC Sabathia made the start and wasn’t great but he wasn’t bad either. Dave Robertson pitched a scoreless inning and two of the lefties looking to lock down the second lefty bullpen spot appeared. Brett Gardner had two hits and an RBI. The offense as a whole didn’t do too much. 
Sabathia pitched six innings giving up three runs on six hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five. Robertson pitched an inning walking one and striking out another. Cesar Cabral pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk, Clay Rapada pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Mark Teixeira had a hit and Bill Hall drew a walk. Alex Rodriguez had a hit, Raul Ibanez drew a walk and Russell Martin had a hit and drew a walk. Andruw Jones had a hit, Eduardo Nunez had a hit, RBI and a walk and Gardner had two hits and an RBI. Justin Maxwell had an RBI. Teixeira and Rodriguez each had a double. The Yankees were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Gardner and Dickerson each had a stolen base and Maxwell made a throwing error.

The Yankees are now 13-10 in the grapefruit league. They will face the Atlanta Braves o n Wednesday afternoon in Orlando, Florida. The Yankees made Curtis Grander son a late scratch from the lineup. He was having soreness in his elbow and they sent him for a precautionary MRI. Joba Chamberlain met with the media for the first time since his injury. The guys with minor injuries such as Jeter, Nick Swisher, Robertson all seem to be progressing well. They should all be ready for Opening Day next week.

The New York Mets win 6-3 over St. Louis as David Wright returns

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 6-3 on Monday afternoon. It was the return of David Wright. Wright had been battling an injury and this is the first time he appeared in a game this spring. Johan Santana made the start for the Mets. Santana seemed to be battling some strength issues in his arm. His velocity was the lowest it has been all spring but he still managed to get outs. 
Santana pitched five innings giving up four hits and two runs with three walks and five strikeouts. It was a mixed bag as he was wild and started off bad but he was good at the end. Ramon Ramirez got the win pitching one perfect inning, Miguel Batista pitched two innings giving up two hits and no runs and he did strike out one batter and Manny Acosta pitched one inning giving up one hit and one run with a walk.

Ruben Tejada had a hit and two RBI, Adam Loewen had a hit and Daniel Murphy had two hits. Wright had a hit, Ronny Cedeno drew a walk and Justin Turner had two hits and an RBI. Vinny Rottino had two hits and an RBI, Josh Thole had a hit, RBI and a walk and Cory Vaughn drew a walk. Turner hit a double, the Mets were 4-8 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Murphy was caught stealing.

The Mets are now 6-14 in the grapefruit league and will take on the Atlanta Braves at home on Tuesday afternoon.

Yankees Sunday night notes

Here are the Yankees notes from Sunday night.  We are about a week and a half away from Opening Day in Tampa Bay.  Chad Jennings has all the notes from the Lohud Yankees Blog and the Journal News. 

Whether you’re happy with Michael Pineda’s spring training probably depends on whether you believe his fastball velocity will truly spike with added arm strength and regular-season adrenalin.  I personally don't get too caught up in this, I know if he wanted he could throw harder but why waste that in spring training.  Results are more important to me, it isn't how hard you throw and it doesn't matter how you get the hitters out. 

“Nobody throws hard in spring training, because it’s spring training,” Pineda said. “You think a little more, and work on what you need. Now I’m focused a little more on making good pitches. I learned from last year. That’s what I need.”

Pineda’s fastball generally sat at 90-92 mph today. He reached 93-94, but for the most part, the velocity wasn’t significantly different than we’ve seen in his previous starts. That said, there were times when his changeup seemed to be a legitimate go-to pitch, and Pineda talked about the fact he likes to add and subtract from his slider. It’s not just a power breaking ball, it’s a more nuanced pitch than that, and Pineda hasn’t been strictly a power pitcher, he’s been a little more nuanced as well.

“It’s a little surprising that he does have an idea what he wants to do,” Joe Girardi said. “He can make his slider bigger when he wants to and he can make it different for right-handers and left-handers if he wants to. It is surprising for a kid his age.”

From the moment they traded for him, the Yankees have talked about Pineda’s need to improve his changeup and add consistency. This spring he’s clearly made the changeup a focus, and it’s been a good pitch. He’s not lighting up the radar gun, but he does have a 3.31 ERA through five spring starts.  That is the important thing, he has pitched well.  If he pitches like that in the regular season everyone will be happy, no matter how he does it. 

“Everybody knows last year I threw harder,” Pineda said. “So (they ask), ‘Hey, what happened to Pineda right now?’ But nothing (happened). I feel good. I can pitch. Everybody sees me. I pitch every five days. … I know last year I threw hard, so I have more power. But this is spring training, so the power is coming back.”

 Girardi on Pineda’s changeup: “I think it’s come a long ways. If you look at his tapes last year, he didn’t throw a lot of them for strikes, but you see a lot more of them for strikes and some swings and misses. That’s a good thing.”

 Forgot to mention earlier that Alex Rodriguez was actually checked out by a doctor after he was hit by a pitch today and it was determined that no tests are necessary. Sounds like he’s perfectly fine.  That is good because it is always scary getting hit in the ribs or near the ribs. 

Derek Jeter didn’t seem to make too much of his 2-for-3 afternoon. His second game back from a calf injury included a home run that let the Yankees get away with a 1-1 tie. “I’m just coming back,” he said. This last week and a half of spring training will be key to getting his timing ready for the season, Jeter said. So far, it looks pretty good. He’s hitting .348 this spring and really seemed to drive the ball this afternoon.  Jeter has looked very good this spring.  He is looking to carry over his strong second half from last year. 

 Dave Robertson wasn’t happy with his command the last time he threw batting practice, but he said it was much better today. He went to the bullpen to throw a few more pitches after his one inning and made a “minor adjustment” to improve his curveball command. His curve was a little short during the game.

 Girardi revealed that he might have been a little more worried about Robertson than he was letting on. “He looked fine to me,” Girardi said. “That’s kind of a sigh of relief. In the back of me there’s still that little bit of concern, but he hasn’t had any issues for a week or so, so I hope we’re through it.”  I think anything with the foot you tend to worry a little bit because you just don't know how or if it will heal. 

 Another scoreless inning for Mariano Rivera. That’s 27 straight spring innings without an earned run. The guy’s good in the regular season, the postseason and the preseason.  He is just the best no matter what time of the year it is. 

 None of the players sent out of big league camp this afternoon came as surprises, but there’s something to be said for Jose Gil’s spring. Largely unheralded in the Yankees system, he hit .529/.500/.706 this spring. Probably doesn’t mean much, but he was very good.

 If you knew two months ago that this spring would include injuries to both Jeter and Eduardo Nunez, would you expect that Doug Bernier would outlast Ramiro Pena in big league camp? Bernier’s also had a tremendous spring and seems to have caught Girardi’s attention. There’s little chance he’ll actually make the team, but Girardi seems to like him.

 Other than Jeter, only Nunez, Mark Teixeira and Andruw Jones had hits for the Yankees today. Teixeira and Nunez doubled. … Brett Gardner, Jayson Nix and Dewayne Wise each had outfield assists this afternoon. … Robertson, Rivera, Rafael Soriano, Manny Delcarmen and Clay Rapada each pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen.

 Girardi said he won’t be at the minor league complex to watch Phil Hughes tomorrow. Girardi is going to use the off day to go to Illinois to visit his father, who’s been sick for quite some time.

The New York Mets get crushed by the Washington Nationals 12-0

The New York Mets did not have a very good game on Sunday afternoon. They lost 12-0 to the Washington Nationals. Matt Harvey started the game and did not pitch very well or last very long. Harvey is a young pitcher that the Mets have high hopes for. Justin Hampson didn’t fare much better in relief. The rest of the bullpen did a pretty good job. Ruben Tejada and Vinny Rottino each had two hits. 
Harvey pitched an inning giving up seven hits and five runs with a strikeout. Sampson pitched two innings giving up five hits and five runs with four of them being earned. He walked four batters and struck out three. Frank Francisco pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Manny Acosta pitched an inning giving up three hits and one run with a strikeout and Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. Jeff Stevens pitched a perfect inning and Daniel Herrera pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run.

Tejada had two hits, Omar Quintanilla had a hit and Daniel Murphy drew a walk. Jason Bay had a hit, Rottino had two hits and Adam Loewen had a hit and drew a walk. Hampson had a hit and the Mets had two doubles. Tejada and Quintanilla each had a double. The Mets were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base. May had a throwing error.

The Mets are now 5-14 on the spring. They will play the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida on Monday afternoon.

The New York Yankees tie the Detroit Tigers 1-1 in ten innings

The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers played to a 1-1 tie in ten innings this afternoon. Michael Pineda started for the Yankees and pitched well. He went five innings which was the deepest he has gone into a game all spring. Mariano Rivera, Dave Robertson and Rafael Soriano all pitched a good inning. The Yankees also used pretty much their regular lineup. They only managed five hits but Derek Jeter did have a leadoff homerun. 
Pineda pitched five innings and gave up five hits and one run. He walked two and struck out four. Rivera pitched an inning giving up his first hit of the spring. Soriano pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Robertson pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Manny Delcarmen made his first appearance of the spring. Delcarmen pitched an inning giving up a hit and Clay Rapada pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one.

Jeter had two hits and an RBI, Curtis Granderson drew two walks and Alex Rodriguez drew a walk. Rodriguez left the game early after getting nailed in the ribs with a pitch. Mark Teixeira had a hit and a walk, Russell Martin drew a walk and Andruw Jones had a hit. Eduardo Nunez had a hit and Brett Gardner drew a walk.

Teixeira, Nunez and Jeter each had a double. Jeter had a homerun. The Yankees were 0-10 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Granderson was caught stealing and Gardner, Wise and Nix all had an outfield assist. The Yankees will have a day off on Monday and then return to action on Tuesday. The exhibition schedule is winding down now as the season will begin a week from Friday in Tampa against the Rays. The Yankees will play two exhibition games in Miami at the new Marlins stadium and then the last two exhibition games in Port St. Lucie against the Mets before beginning the season.

Yankees Saturday notes

Here are the Yankees notes from Saturday after their win over the Detroit Tigers.  The notes are coming from Chad Jennings at the Journal News.  I as always offer my thoughts as well. 

Freddy Garcia could have made things easy for the Yankees this afternoon. Instead, he might have made things harder. Showing absolutely no rust in his first start back from a swollen right hand, Garcia pitched 4.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and two walks. The only hit he allowed was a comebacker — of course — that glanced off his leg.  I believe he will be the odd man out, I think the Yankees want the young guys in the rotation but there is a chance that they put Phil Hughes in the bullpen especially now with what happened to Joba Chamberlain.

“Freddy was great today,” Joe Girardi said, not even waiting for a reporter to ask him a question. “I mean, everything; slow curveball he used to get ahead in the count sometimes, located his fastball, his split was good, his backdoor slider was good. He had it all. We got him to 64 pitches, so I was very pleased.”

“Last year, I signed a minor-league deal and came to spring training to earn a spot,” Garcia said. “Everything was harder for me because I had to come here and pitch really good and show them I can pitch in this league. (This winter) I signed early, but they signed guys and (Girardi) said he liked competition, and we’re in competition. I like that. It’s making my thinking straight. I concentrate better on what you’re doing.”

After last week’s hand injury — on a comebacker in Dunedin — Garcia might have fallen to the back of the pack, but he looked today as if he hadn’t missed a step. Whether you believe him or not, Girardi has said the Yankees will take their five best starting pitchers, and right now Garcia has been more consistent than anyone but Phil Hughes.

“I have to worry about myself and go out there and pitch,” Garcia said. “The way I pitched today, you know, I needed it.”  He is right but he may have needed it even more then the other guys. 

 Raul Ibanez’s two-run home run in the seventh inning not only gave the Yankees the lead, it also snapped him out of a hitless streak dating back to March 10. “It felt good to be able to make a left turn instead of a right turn,” Ibanez said.  It is only spring training but he has been really bad.  He has a couple of weeks now to get it going the other way.

Ibanez credited extra work with Kevin Long. The two spent an extended session in the cage yesterday, and Ibanez said it paid off. “I felt like I was in a better position to hit,” he said. “And in a better position to take a good swing.”

 Because the Yankees are facing a left-handed starter tomorrow, Ibanez will go to the minor league complex to get at-bats. It’s not uncommon for big league hitters to leadoff every inning in minor league spring training games. They can often get more at-bats by hitting in multiple games. “I told him, as many (at-bats) as he wants,” Girardi said.

 Garcia was fine after being hit by a Jhonny Peralta comebacker in the third inning. He quickly dismissed the training staff and stayed in the game, but it was kind of freaky to see a pitcher hit in his first game back from a comebacker. “It happened to me twice,” Garcia said. “But it’s nothing to worry about.”

 Francisco Cervelli was taken out of the game after being hit by a pitch in the seventh inning. “He’s fine, too,” Girardi said. “He just got hit in the calf. Well, the shin. He’ll be fine.”  Cervelli always seems to be getting injured during spring training. 

 Dewayne Wise continued his strong spring training with a game-winning, two-run double in the 10th inning. The Yankees went into extras after the Tigers tied the game with two-runs in the ninth. Both runs came off D.J. Mitchell, who was pitching his third inning of work and seemed to lose the strike zone a little bit.

Another strong showing for Cesar Cabral who had one strikeout in a hitless bottom of the 10th. The Rule 5 pick has 12 strikeouts and only one walk this spring.  If the Yankees want to carry a second lefty out of the pen they seem to have a couple of good choices.  Clay Rapada has also been very good this spring. 

 Justin Maxwell picked up his fourth stolen base of the spring as part of a double steal in the 10th inning. Maxwell stole third. … Jose Gil’s batting average is down to .563 after a 1-for-2 day. … Mark Teixeira and Colin Curtis also had hits today. … Boone Logan retired the two batters he faced, and Kevin Whelan retired the three batters he faced.

 Although Joba Chamberlain is being released from the hospital tomorrow, Girardi said he’s not sure when Chamberlain will stop by Yankees camp. Girardi expects Chamberlain to be in camp again at some point, but it might not happen right away. “He’s not capable of driving, so we might see him next week some time,” Girardi said. “It just depends what he wants to do.”  I think it may be good for him to get back around the guys as soon as he can. 

The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals tie in ten innings

The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals tied 6-6 with the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday afternoon. Mike Pelfrey pitched ok but not great, it was much better then the last time out. Bobby Parnell and Jon Rauch looked good and Frank Francisco blew a save. Ike Davis and Lucas Duda each had two hits. 
Pelfrey pitched six innings giving up eight hits and five runs with four of them being earned. He struck out two guys. Parnell pitched one perfect inning, Rauch pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and Francisco pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout. Josh Edgin pitched a perfect inning.

Jordany Valdespin had a hit and a walk, Ronny Cedeno had a hit and an RBI and Mike Baxter had a hit. Davis had two hits, three RBI and a walk, Duda had two hits and an RBI and Ruben Tejada drew a walk. Lucas May had a hit.

Davis and Duda each hit a homerun. The Mets were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Den Dekker, Baxter and Tejada each had a stolen base. May was caught stealing and Rottino was picked off. Turner, Cedeno and Rottino each made an error.

The Mets will take on the Washington Nationals Sunday afternoon in Viera, Florida. The Mets record on the spring is 5-13, not including ties. They will open up the season on April 5^th at home against the Atlanta Braves.

The New York Yankees defeat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in ten innings

The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers by the score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees won the game in ten innings. Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees and pitched very well. DeWayne Wise won the game with a two run double. Raul Ibanez had a hit and two RBI. 
Garcia pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up one hit and no runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Kevin Whelan pitched a perfect inning, Boone Logan faced two hitters and got them both out and D.J. Mitchell blew a save but got the win. Logan struck out one batter and Mitchell pitched three innings giving up three runs and two runs with three walks and one strikeout. Cesar Cabral got the save pitching one perfect inning with a strikeout.

Jayson Nix drew a walk, Jose Gil had a hit and Mark Teixeira had a hit. Ibanez had a hit and two RBI, Bill Hall had a walk and Colin Curtis had a hit and a walk. Wise had a hit and two RBI, Gil and Wise each had a double. Ibanez hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Hall and Maxwell each had a stolen base.

The Yankees will take on the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon at 1:05PM. This game will be at home in Tampa. The Yankees are now on a roll in the grapefruit league. They improved their record to 13-9 and it was their fifth win in their last six games. They haven’t lost in those six games as they have a tie. They also have only lost once in their last ten games.