The New York Yankees fall to 0-2 with an 8-6 loss to Tampa Bay

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 8-6 tonight in St. Petersburg, Florida. Hiroki Kuroda started and didn’t pitch very well. Clay Rapada making his Yankees debut didn’t pitch well either out of the pen. Cory Wade did pitch well. David Price started for the Rays and pitched pretty well, he also benefited from some gopher balls from the Yankees. 
Kuroda pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and six runs with four of them being earned. He walked four and struck out two. Rapada pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with two walks. Wade pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up no hits and no runs and he struck out three batters. Price pitched 6 1/3 innings getting the win. He gave up five hits and two runs with four walks and five strikeouts. Kuroda took the loss in the game. The Rays used five pitchers out of their bullpen, the pen struggled a little bit with a big lead and let the Yankees get back in the game.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Nick Swisher had a hit, three RBI and drew two walks and Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk. Alex Rodriguez drew a walk, Curtis Granderson had two hits and Andruw Jones had a hit and an RBI. Raul Ibanez had a pinch hit RBI, Russell Martin drew three walks and Eduardo Nunez had a hit and an RBI. Eric Chavez had a pinch hit single. Cano had a double, Granderson had a triple and Swisher hit a homerun. The Yankees were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Nunez made an error.

Desmond Jennings had a hit and an RBI for the Rays. Carlos Pena had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks, Evan Longoria had a hit and Matt Joyce had two hits and three RBI and drew a walk. Ben Zobrist had a hit and drew two walks, Luke Scott had three hits and three RBI and Jose Lobaton had a hit. Reid Brignac drew a walk. Lobaton, Zobrist, Scott and Longoria each had a double. Joyce had a homerun. The Rays were 5-14 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Jennings had a stolen base and Brignac was picked off. Lobaton made an error.

In the first inning the Rays took a 2-0 lead. Nunez made an error and Jennings stole second. There was a runner on third with two outs, Joyce and Zobrist both walked to load the bases and Scott singled home two runs. In the second Lobaton doubled and Pena hit an RBI single to make it a 3-0 game. In the third inning the Rays extended the lead to 4-0 on a Joyce solo homerun. In the fourth inning the Yankees got on the board. Granderson singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Jones RBI single. Jones went to third on a throwing error by the catcher, Martin walked and Nunez hit an RBI single. It was 4-2 Rays and Jeter hit a hard shot up the middle that hit off Price glove and he got the last out. In the sixth Zobrist and Scott doubled to make it a 5-2 game. After a couple of outs, Brignac walked and Jennings hit an RBI single to make it a 6-2 game. In the seventh Pena walked and Longoria hit a double. It was ruled a homerun but then overturned after a replay review. The fan reached over and it was ruled fan interference. Joyce singled home the two runs and made it 8-2 Rays. The Yankees rallied in the ninth but came up just short. They had second and third no outs in the eighth but weren’t able to score. In the ninth Granderson tripled and Ibanez hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-3. Martin walked, Chavez singled and Swisher hit a three run homerun to make it 8-6. Cano walked and Rodriguez grounded out to end the game. The Rodriguez out was right up the middle and as they have all series the Rays were positioned perfectly.

The Rays have won the series and will look to sweep the three games tomorrow afternoon. The Yankees will look to salvage a game before heading to Baltimore for three games beginning Monday night. Phil Hughes will be on the mound against Jeremy Hellickson.

Yankees vs. Rays-Game Two

Here are the lineups for the Yankees and Rays game tonight at 7:10PM.  Hiroki Kuroda will make his Yankees debut and David Price will pitch for the Rays. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter(DH), Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones(LF), Russell Martin, Eduardo Nunez(SS). 

Rays Lineup:Desmond Jennings, Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, Matt Joyce, Ben Zobrist, Luke Scott, Jeff Keppinger, Jose Lobaton, Reid Brignac. 

Kuroda was 13-16 last season with a 3.07 ERA.  He pitched the last four years with the Dodgers after coming over from Japan.  Price was 12-13 last season with a 3.49 ERA.  Price in his career is 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA against the Yankees.  Kuroda has never faced the Rays. 

The game yesterday was only the second time that Mariano Rivera has blown a save against the Rays.  He was 60-61 and converted his last 27 chances against the Rays. 

The Yankees other big problem from the first game was runners in scoring position.  They left too many men on base and it came back to bite them.  The Yankees after having a 6-5 lead had the bases loaded three times and didn't score.  If they get one hit in those three chances they most likely are going to win the game. 

The Yankees will look to even the series before playing the finale tomorrow afternoon and the Rays will look to take the first two games and ensure a win in the series. 

The New York Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 to move to 2-0

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-2. R.A. Dickey made the start and pitched well and the bullpen did its job. Lucas Duda hit two homeruns, David Wright had a homerun and three hits and Kirk Niewenhuis had two hits in his major league debut. The Mets improved to 2-0 on the season as the Braves without Chipper Jones struggle to score runs. 
Dickey pitched six innings giving up five hits and two runs with four walks and three strikeouts. He earned his first win of the season. Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Frank Francisco earned his second save in as many chances. Francisco pitched an inning giving up two hits and he struck out two. Jair Jurrjens took the loss pitching 4 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and three runs with three walks and three strikeouts. Their bullpen pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up one run and a couple of strikeouts and no walks.

Ruben Tejada drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had a hit and drew a walk and Wright had three hits and an RBI. Ike Davis drew a walk, Jason Bay had a hit and Duda had two hits and two RBI. Josh Thole had two hits and an RBI, Nieuwenhuis had two hits and Dickey had a hit. Justin Turner had a hit, Thole had a double, Duda had two homeruns and Wright had one homerun. The Mets were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base. Thole had a passed ball.

Michael Bourn had two hits and drew a walk for the Braves. Martin Prado had a hit and two RBI, Dan Uggla drew a walk and Freddie Freeman had two hits. Jayson Heyward had a hit and drew two walks and Eric Hinske had a hit. Bourn had a double, Heyward had a triple and Prado had a homerun. The Braves were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. McCann had a passed ball.

The Mets improved to 2-0 and the Braves dropped to 0-2. The two teams will meet in the finale of the three game series on Sunday afternoon. The game will be at 1:10pm. Jon Niese will make his first start of the season against Mike Minor.

New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves-Pregame Notes and Lineups

Here are the Mets pregame notes and lineups for this afternoons matchup with the Atlanta Braves.  The Mets will look to go 2-0 on the season.  The game is at 1:10PM. 

Kirk Nieuwenhuis is making his major league debut.  Here is the Mets Lineup:Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Ike Davis, Jason Bay, Lucas Duda, Josh Thole, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, R.A. Dickey. 

Atlanta Lineup:Michael Bourn, Martin Prado, Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Francisco, Tyler Pastornicky, Jair Jurrjens. 

Dickey set a career high last season with 208 2/3 innings pitched.  He had a 3.28 ERA which was his second lowest in nine big league seasons.  He is 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA in 49 1/3 innings in his career against the Braves. 

Jurrjens got off to a fast start last year.  He had a 1.87 ERA in the first half but only made seven starts in the second half due to a bone bruise in his knee.  He was 13-6 last season with a 2.96 ERA.  In 13 career starts against the Mets he is 8-4 with a 2.94 ERA in 82 2/3 innings. 

Frank Francisco earned his first save of the season on Thursday.  He had his knee drained in Port St. Lucie last week and had an MRI which came back negative.  He pitched a scoreless inning and struck out one in his first appearance of the season. 

New York Yankees postgame notes

Here are the postgame Yankees notes.  The quotes are coming from the Yankees beat writers who are covering the team and the rest is the stats from the game notes. 
I as always add some of my own thoughts into the mix. 

A first-inning decision to intentionally load the bases had backfired, but the Yankees offense had rallied. CC Sabathia’s fastball command had been erratic, but he’d settled down. Dave Robertson had put the tying run at third base, but he’d struck out three in a row.  Robertson truly is houdini, I don't know how he does it but he does. 

The Yankees had been in trouble all night, but it was only when they seemed to be in safe hands — arguably the safest hands in the history of the game — that Opening Day unraveled into a stunning one-run loss.

“(Mariano Rivera) is not going to be perfect the whole year,” Joe Girardi said. “But I believe he’s going to be really, really, really good. … We’re pretty used to seeing him do it. We’ve seen it over 600 times, so when it doesn’t happen, you’re a little shocked.”

The pitch Rivera wanted back was a 1-2 cutter to Desmond Jennings. It was a leadoff single, the least damaging hit of the inning, but it was a legitimate mistake. Rivera wanted the pitch down, he left it up, and everything soon spiraled. Both Rivera and Russell Martin seemed to think the Zobrist triple was a good pitch, Zobrist just did a good job with it. Loading the bases was an obvious decision, and the Sean Rodriguez might have been pivotal if not for Carlos Pena’s three-hit, five-RBI day.

“After we got that strikeout, I thought we had a chance,” Martin said. “It’s a tough spot. You try to get out of those situations, but it’s easier said than done.”

“It’s my fault,” Rivera said. “I felt good. I’m not going to make excuses for what happened. I just left the ball over the plate. It’s bad. You don’t want to start a season that way, but thank God it’s only one game.”  This is what makes him so great

In his career, Rivera had been successful in 60 of 61 save opportunities against the Rays. He’d converted his past 27 chances against them.

What a strange night of managerial decisions. The Yankees twice intentionally loaded the bases, the Rays put on a suicide squeeze with two strikes, and at the end the Yankees had five infielders playing on the edge of the grass while two outfielders played extremely shallow.  It was a very crazy, strange game especially for an opener. 

Girardi said intentionally loading the bases in the first inning was because of the matchup and because of the opposing starter. CC Sabathia had great numbers against Carlos Pena, and Girardi expected a low-scoring game against James Shields. “Sean Rodriguez has hit (Sabathia) hard,” Girardi explained. “And it’s not something I’ll do a lot in the first inning with CC, but as I said, Shields has been pretty tough on us. … I felt good about CC getting him out, but it didn’t work.”  My problem is it was the first inning of the first game. 

 Sabathia on the decision to load the bases: “I knew I had some success off him, but like I said, it’s a lefty so I knew if I make the right pitches then we get out of it. … It was a lefty, so I felt like it was the right move.”

 Pena on his reaction to walking Rodriguez in the first inning: “I was like, ‘Woah, they are walking Sean to get to me.’ After you get past the first, initial shock, it’s time to get to business.”  I am sure he wanted to do some damage after seeing that and he did. 

 Although the grand slam came on a 3-2 pitch, Sabathia was behind 2-0 and 3-1 in the Pena at-bat. Fastball command was an early problem for the Yankees ace. The third-inning Longoria home run came on a 1-0 pitch. “Early in the game, he wasn’t really where he wanted to be,” Russell Martin said. “But as the game went along, it looked like he started to get that comfort level back.” Sabathia pitched his final 3.2 innings scoreless.

 Raul Ibanez had never hit an Opening Day home run until today. It was his 14th time on an Opening Day roster and his 11th start. In the final two weeks of spring training he hit .304 with three homers, and had a fourth home run opportunity robbed by an over-the-wall catch. “Spring training’s over now and everything that happened before today is really irrelevant,” Ibanez said.

 Shields had gone at least seven innings in 11 straight starts. Tonight he lasted five innings and gave up all six Yankees runs. “I don’t ever remember scoring that many runs off him,” Teixeira said. “He’s been really tough off us. We did get a lot of guys on base, but it’d be nice to get a couple more.” The Yankees were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

 The Rays have now won five straight against the Yankees for the first time in franchise history.

 Pena was 0-for-11 with three strikeouts in his career against Rivera. He was 4-for-35 against Sabathia, including an 0-for-14 slump with 11 strikeouts.

 Alex Rodriguez has hit safely in all eight Opening Day games he has played with the Yankees, the longest streak for the franchise since Lou Gehrig hit safely in 12 straight Opening Day games from 1926 to 1937.

 I don’t think anyone expects Rivera to blow a save or for Sabathia and Shields to be knocked around on the same night, but there was something very familiar about the Yankees opener. “It was a good four-hour game,” Girardi said. “We’re back. Nothing’s changed.”

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night.  It will be David Price vs. Hiroki Kuroda who will make his Yankees debut.  the game is at 7:10PM. 

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 in a wild game

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa Bay this evening by the score of 7-6. It was a somewhat wild game especially early and late. CC Sabathia and James Shields started and neither pitched very well. Sabathia did pitch better after the first inning. The game ended with Mariano Rivera blowing a save and the Yankees having five infielders in the game. The game started with a first inning intentional walk to Sean Rodriguez to get to Carlos Pena who hit a grand slam. 
Sabathia pitched six innings giving up five runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out seven. Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout, Dave Robertson pitched a scoreless inning with a hit, walk and three strikeouts. Robertson did his usual Houdini routine putting runners on the corners with no outs but getting out of it. Rivera took the loss and got charged with a blown save. He pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with two walks although they were both intentional and a strikeout. Shields really struggled for Tampa Bay giving up six runs, nine hits and three walks in five innings. He did strike out three. The Rays used six pitchers out of their bullpen who combined for four innings of shutout baseball. That is really what won the Rays the game.

Derek Jeter had a hit and drew a walk, Robinson Cano had two hits and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and drew two walks. Mark Teixeira drew two walks, Nick Swisher had a hit and an RBI and Raul Ibanez had a hit and four RBI in his Yankees debut. Russell Martin drew a walk and Brett Gardner had two hits and drew a walk. Rodriguez had a double and Ibanez had a homerun. The Yankees were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. The Yankees had chances to extend their lead and didn’t. That is what really cost them this game. If they would have had another run or two of cushion at the end, they would of won the game. Evan Longoria had three hits and drew two walks with an RBI, Carlos Pena had three hits and five RBI. Ben Zobrist had a triple, Longoria and Pena each had a homerun. The Rays were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Longoria made an error.

In the first inning the Rays didn’t waste anytime scoring four runs with a Pena grand slam. Rodriguez was up before him and Joe Girardi elected to walk him to load the bases. I disagree with the move simply because it is the first inning of the first game of the season with your ace on the mound. I think they could of gone after Rodriguez and the whole game may have been different. The Yankees came back in the second and scored two runs. Rodriguez doubled and Teixeira was hit by a pitch. Swisher grounded out moving the runners to second and third with one out. Ibanez grounded out bringing in one run and Martin walked and a wild pitch by Shields scored the second run. Gardner singled and Jeter walked. The Yankees had the bases loaded but Curtis Granderson struck out swinging to end the inning. Granderson really struggled going 0-5 on the day. In the third inning Cano and Rodriguez singled to put runners at the corners with no outs. Teixeira popped out and Swisher reached on a fielders choice scoring a run. Ibanez hit a three run homerun and it was 6-4 Yankees. In the bottom of the third inning Longoria hit a solo homerun to make it a 6-5 game. It would stay this way until the ninth inning. In the fourth the Yankees had the bases loaded again with two outs but Ibanez grounded out sharply to short to end the inning. In the seventh inning the Yankees had the bases loaded with two outs again and Jeter grounded out to end the inning. In the eighth inning the Rays had runners on the corners and no outs and the next three batters struck out. In the ninth inning Desmond Jennings singled and Ben Zobrist hit an RBI triple to tie the game at six. The Yankees intentionally walked the next two guys to load the bases with no outs. Rodriguez struck out swinging and then Pena won the game with an RBI single.

The two teams played a nearly four hour game with a sold out crowd in attendance. I think most people pick these two as the top two teams in the AL East. They will play game two of their three game series on Saturday night. David Price and Hiroki Kuroda will be the starting pitchers. The Yankees expect to play Eduardo Nunez with the lefty on the mound, Andruw Jones may also play left field with Jeter or Rodriguez being the DH. This was a very strange game with 11 runs in the first three innings. Rivera blew a save, the Yankees intentionally walked Rodriguez to load the bases in the first inning. The Yankees also played five infielders at the end of the game. This was just game one of 162 should be an interesting season.

Welcome to Opening Day-New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays begin their 2012 season this afternoon at 3:10PM.  The Yankees will be live on the YES network, pregame coverage begins at 2.  Here are the pregame notes along with the lineups for both teams.  These are directly from the Yankees, the press notes. 

I will start with the lineups:Yankees:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.  CC was 19-8 last year with a 3.00 ERA and he is on the mound. 

Rays Lineup:Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, Jeff Keppinger, Sean Rodriguez, Carlos Pena, Elliot Johnson, Jose Molina, Matt Joyce.  James Shields is on the mound, he was 16-12 last season with a 2.82 ERA. 

Derek Jeter is making his 16th Opening Day start at shortstop which is a franchise record.  The previous record was held by Phil Rizzuto and it was 11.  The last shortstop with as many Opening Day starts at SS for any team was the Red Barry Larkin who made 17. 

Alex Rodriguez has played in seven Opening Days with the Yankees and hit safely in all of them.  He is 12-30 which is a 400 batting average with four doubles, two homeruns and nine RBI. 

The Yankees this spring were 18-12-3 which is a 600 winning percentage.  It is their best spring since 2009 when they were 24-10-1 and of course won the World Series.  I don't make much of spring training results or stats but those are the facts. 

In 1973 on this date Ron Blomberg became the major leagues first DH.  He went 1-3 with an RBI ast the Yankees lost to the Red Sox in Fenway Park 15-5.  He walked with the bases loaded in the first inning in his first plate appearance. 

On this date in 1974 the Yankees played their first home game at Shea Stadium.  Yankee Stadium began a two year remodeling.  They beat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 as Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complte game and gave up seven hits. 

Enjoy Opening Day everyone, comment here or follow me on twitter @gmarchesej.  I can also be found on Facebook.  I will talk to everyone later after the game with the postgame reactions. 

The New York Mets get by the Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Opening Day

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves on Thursday afternoon by the score of 1-0. The Mets are pretty much a guarantee on Opening Day as they have won 33 out of their last 44 on Opening Day. Johan Santana started for the Mets and they brought a fully healthy team to the game. They didn’t end up with the same team as Andres Torres had to leave the game with a strained calf. Santana pitched well and the bullpen pitched very well. The offense only produced one run but David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole each had two hits. 
Santana pitched five innings giving up two hits and no runs. He walked two and struck out five. Ramon Ramirez got the win pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and a walk, Tim Byrdak pitched 2/3 of an inning and struck out both batters that he faced and Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning. Frank Francisco saved his first game in his first game with the Mets. He pitched a perfect inning, striking out a batter. Tommy Hanson also pitched five innings. Hanson for the Braves gave up four hits and one run with three walks and four strikeouts. He took the loss and the bullpen pitched three good innings for them. The bullpen gave up three hits and a walk without allowing a run.

Andres Torres drew a walk, Scott Hairston had a hit and Murphy had two hits. Wright had two hits, an RBI and a walk, Jason Bay drew a walk and Thole had two hits. Ruben Tejada drew a walk and Murphy had a double. The Mets were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Torres was picked off of first base. The Braves managed four hits and three walks. They didn’t have a batter who had more then one hit.

In the fifth the Braves had the bases loaded and two outs. Michael Bourn grounded out to Santana to end the inning. In the sixth inning the Braves had first and second one out and the next two batters got out. The Mets broke through in the sixth inning with a run. Torres walked, Murphy singled pushing Torres to third and Wright hit an RBI single. The Mets next three hitters were retired. In the top of the seventh inning Tyler Pastornicky tripled with one out and then the next two Braves struck out. There were no other good chances in the game.

The Mets are 1-0 and the Braves 0-1. The two teams will take off on Friday and resume their series on Saturday afternoon at 1:10PM. R.A. Dickey will face off against Jair Jurrjens.

Final Spring Training Notes

Here are the final spring training notes.  Camps have broken and teams have headed north or in the case of the Yankees stayed put but only for a few more days.  The regular season is upon us.  Chad Jennings has the notes from Wednesday the final day of spring training. 

Andy Pettitte’s name hadn’t been announced. He hadn’t set foot on the mound, hadn’t picked up the baseball, hadn’t thrown a single warmup pitch. All it took was the sight of the Texas lefty jogging out of the dugout to generate a standing ovation. Pettitte threw a scoreless sixth inning in his first game action since the 2010 postseason.

“Definitely it felt a little weird, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “But once I got out there it was just like I never left. On the day you pitch, you know something is different about your body. That’s how I felt today. It was kind of that normal feeling that I’d normally feel.”

Pettitte allowed a leadoff single — a chopper that got through the right side of the infield — but Russell Martin threw out the base runner trying to steal second. The next two batters didn’t get the ball out of the infield.

“He looked great,” Martin said. “He was executing his pitches well. It was a short sample, but his cutter was good, he was locating his fastball well and he threw a couple of curveballs for strikes. Everything looked good today. … You can’t tell at all (that he’s been away). It’s just going to be about building his stamina up. That’s the only thing.”

Pettitte said he expects to stay in Tampa, pitching either in extended spring training or with the Yankees High-A team. He’s still focused on May 1 as a possible return date. Sometime around then, anyway. In a normal spring training, Pettitte would build on this one-inning outing by adding another inning start by start.

“I would hope it’s that simple,” Pettitte said. “I would plan on it being that simple.”

Pettitte said he hadn’t talked to the Yankees about a definitive plan going forward, but he’d like to face Double-A or Triple-A hitters at least once before getting back on a big league mound. So far, the Yankees seem impressed by his ability to locate and throw his secondary pitches.

“There’s nothing I really feel like I need to work on,” Pettitte said. “I didn’t even throw a changeup today. It was a quick inning, so I didn’t get a chance to throw any changeups. That’s been feeling good. All that stuff is the stuff I’m looking forward to working on as I get ready to do this: Working out of the stretch, working with runners on base and just getting used to doing all that again. Everything is proceeding very smoothly right now.”

In his final spring start, Freddy Garcia delivered more of the same. He made a mistake on a three-run home run by Ike Davis, but otherwise, Garcia was sharp. He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing four hits and two walks. He struck out four. The home run accounted for the only runs he allowed. Garcia ended spring training with a 3.71 ERA and will be the No. 5 starter. “Couple innings I was up a little bit, but I feel fine,” Garcia said. “I’m ready to go next week.”

 Boone Logan said he can’t explain why his back got tight last night. He went through a “very easy” off day, but when he came home from dinner, he took a couple of steps into his apartment and felt his lower back “grab.” He thought it would go away in the middle of the night, but it didn’t. “I wish I had a story,” he said.

Girardi on whether he’ll have Logan on Opening Day: “I don’t know. I think that’s questionable. I’m not saying he would be a DL piece, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to pitch by Friday.”

 Logan went for an MRI that showed no problems. He expects to be ready to go by Friday’s opener. “I know my body and I think in a day or two it’ll be fine,” Logan said.

Pettitte was sitting around 86 mph with his fastball today. He said he never looked at a gun or checked on his velocity. “I don’t need to look at it,” he said. “Everything was good. They fouled off some pitches when I threw my four-seams away. They beat it into the ground to the right side. They weren’t pulling it. As long as you’re throwing your offspeed stuff they’ve got to respect that. It doesn’t matter how hard you’re throwing as long as it’s in a decent spot.”

Obviously today’s move for additional catching depth — after the Yankees had already acquired Craig Tatum — led to questions about whether Austin Romine suffered another setback. Cashman said there was no additional setback and no additional tests. Romine’s had an epidural, that’s all. Otherwise there’s no new news about his back.

 In what could be a move to fill David Phelps’ spot in the Triple-A rotation, the Yankees have signed Ramon Ortiz to a minor league deal.

The New York Yankees defeat the New York Mets in final spring training game

The New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets by the score of 8-3 on Wednesday afternoon. The game took place in Tampa, Florida. The Mets and Yankees both started their regulars but they didn’t stay in the game too long. The Yankees started Freddy Garcia and the Mets Dillon Gee. They both pitched pretty well with Gee pitching better. Eduardo Nunez, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner all had hits for the Yankees. Daniel Murphy and Ike Davis each had two hits for the Mets. 
Garcia pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up four hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Clay Rapada faced a couple of batters and walked one and struck out the other. Andy Pettitte appeared in his first game and pitched a scoreless inning giving up a hit, Dave Robertson pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with three strikeouts and Cory Wade got the win pitching an inning giving up a hit. Gee was the only pitcher of note for the Mets. He pitched five innings giving up four hits and one unearned run. He walked one batter and struck out five.

Nunez had a hit, Curtis Granderson drew a walk and Cano had a hit for the Yankees. Rodriguez had a hit, Bill Hall drew a walk and Cervelli had a hit and two RBI. Cervelli was upset after the game as he was optioned to AAA Scranton. The Yankees traded pitcher George Kontos for veteran catcher Chris Stewart, they put Stewart on the roster as the backup catcher. Gardner also had a hit. Cervelli hit a homerun, the Yankees were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Gardner had a stolen base and Wade made an error.

Torres drew a walk for the Mets. Murphy had two hits, Wright drew a walk and Davis had two hits and three RBI. Jason Bay drew a walk. Davis had a homerun, the Mets were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Turner had a stolen base and Vaughn was caught stealing. Wright, Sandoval and Muno each had an error. The Mets will open their season on Thursday afternoon at home against the Atlanta Braves. The Yankees will open their season on Friday afternoon in Tampa against the Rays.

Yankees Tuesday night notes as the season nears

Here are the Tuesday Night Yankees notes.  The Yankees lost to the New York Mets today in Port St. Lucie.  They will play the Mets once again tomorrow afternoon in Tampa.  The Yankees will then be off on Thursday and open up their season Friday afternoon in Tampa against the Rays.  Here are the notes from Chad Jennings with my thoughts mixed in. 

Ivan Nova has lacked consistency this spring, but he’s generally thrown more good innings than bad. He’d shown enough to understand why the Yankees felt confident keeping him in the rotation to open the season.  I agree you can't look at the overall numbers. 

Today, though, was something completely different.

Nova called it one of the worst days of his life, which was surely an exageration but also spoke to just how poorly he was pitching. Through 2.2 innings, the Yankees No. 4 starter allowed five runs on eight hits, two walks and two hit batters.  I think that was overexagerrating.  It is just spring training and I think getting demoted last year was a worse day for him. 

“I was like, lazy,” Nova said. “Sometimes when you’re pitching, sometimes you feel you’re right and (sometimes) you’re not. (Larry Rothschild) agreed with me that I was lazy today out there. Maybe that’s why I didn’t get in a good rhythm.”

Lazy?  It did sound bad but he didn't mean like he wasn't trying. 

“Lazy, like arm lazy, body lazy,” Nova said. “My body feels like it was sleeping or something like that.”

Seems like “lazy” is Nova’s way of explaining that he couldn’t get himself up and going for today’s start. He stressed several times that he’s physically 100 percent. He wasn’t hurting today, wasn’t sore or injured, just never felt quite right. Could be one of those days. Could be going through the spring motions. Whatever the reason, his ERA jumped to 8.06.

“You try not to get too caught up in spring training,” Girardi said. “You want to know how the ball is coming out of a guy’s hand, and up until today I thought it was coming out really pretty good. Today it wasn’t for whatever reason. … He wasn’t using his lower half. I can’t tell you exactly why. You can hunt for a number of reasons. Was it due to the last start. Was it due to the bus ride. Was it due to just being fatigued. Who knows? Bottom line is he just didn’t use his legs today.”

 Although the Yankees seem to have all they need in-house, Brian Cashman said today that he’ll look for available trade and waiver options when spring training ends. “We’ll look at it all, absolutely,” Cashman said. “I don’t know what to expect. We’ll react to whatever becomes available and evaluate it compared to what we got, but we have a lot of locked-in situations that we have money committed to. We’re not going to take on money, I can tell you that. Until we take on money, and then I’ll tell you we took on money.”  Cashman will do his due diligence.  I wouldn't expect anything but you never know. 

 Nick Swisher and his recurring groin injury seem to be just fine. Swisher homered again today, and he also doubled, raising his spring average to .345. He’s hit really well since returning from the injury.  He appears to be ready to go. 

Speaking of hitting really well, Doug Bernier went 2-for-3 this afternoon and has a .361 average for the spring. He’s not going to make the team unless Eduardo Nunez gets hurt again, but he might have put himself on the map if the Yankees need an infielder during the season. “I thought he had a very good spring,” Girardi said. “He’s not a young guy, but I think he opened a lot of eyes. The improvement with his bat, and he’s always had a glove. You can put him anywhere. He’s very flexible. It’s a guy that opened some eyes.”  I think Bernier will get the first crack at coming up if an infielder goes down. 

 David Phelps pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. D.J. Mitchell allowed one run on two hits through three innings. Phelps has a 2.08 ERA. Mitchell has a 2.60. “We’ve said all along that these guys are really close,” Girardi said. “And we’ve got to make a decision.” Warren is not scheduled to pitch tomorrow, so this will be the last bit of information before the Yankees settle on their long reliever.  This is going to be a really tough choice, I don't know what they will do. 

 For whatever it’s worth, it was brought up before today’s game that Phelps seems like more of a strikeout guy and Mitchell more of a groundball guy. Here’s how Girardi responded: “When you look for a long man, you look for a guy that can give you distance and is a real strike-thrower. Hopefully he can get some quick innings and save your bullpen. I believe Mitchell has a swing-and-miss changeup, too. They’re all really close. That’s a tough decision we have to make.”

 Although a stress fracture in the elbow certainly sounds like a season-threatening injury for a pitcher, Cashman is hopeful Rule 5 pick Cesar Cabral will be back this season. “I guess it could be (season-ending),” Cashman said. “I’d say more likely you’ll see him up and running later in the year.”  I find it hard to believe you will see him this year. 

According to the AP in Tampa, Mariano Rivera threw a 21-pitch simulated game today. He last pitched in a real game on Sunday and will now have two days off before Opening Day. CC Sabathia also threw a bullpen today, a pretty standard 43-pitch between-starts side.

 Also from the AP in Tampa: In his rehab from Tommy John surgery, David Aardsma has started throwing to a catcher from 60 feet on flat ground.  Aardsma is a former closer for the Seattle Mariners. 

 In case you missed it in the game post: 1B Jorge Vazquez has been released. A team source said the Yankees prefered Steve Pearce at first base in Triple-A, and the Yankees weren’t sure Vazquez would be happy with another season in the minors. … Also, Jack Curry has reported that neither Jayson Nix nor Dewayne Wise was offered a spot on a big league roster, which means they can’t use their outs and will open the season in Triple-A with the Yankees.

 It’s kind of an odd way to carry two Rule 5 picks, but the Yankees will keep both Cabral and Brad Meyers on the 40-man roster out of spring training. They’ll both open on the disabled list with elbow and shoulder injuries. Meyers is ready to pitch again and — I assume — will open the season on rehab assignment with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Wonder if he could be their fifth starter while one of their expected starters opens in the big league bullpen. “That’s not the way we drew it up but that’s the way the cookie crumbles for us right now,” Cashman said. “I can’t offer (Meyers) back while he’s hurt. When you offer him back you’re certifying that he’s healthy. I can’t do that and get away with it.”

The New York Yankees lose 7-6 to the New York Mets

The New York Yankees lost 7-6 to the New York Mets on Tuesday afternoon. Ivan Nova made the start for the Yankees and didn’t pitch well. Mike Pelfrey started for the Mets and did pitch well. Nick Swisher and Doug Bernier each had a couple of hits for the Yankees. Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Lucas Duda and Josh Thole each had two hits for the Mets. 
Nova pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and five runs with two walks and three strikeouts. David Phelps pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out two, D.J. Mitchell pitched three innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout and Pat Venditte pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk. Branden Pinder pitched to two batters getting them both out including a strikeout and Mark Montgomery took the loss giving up a hit and a run without recording an out.

Pelfrey for the Mets pitched four innings giving up two hits and a run with five strikeouts. Jon Niese pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and five runs with a strikeout, Jeff Stevens pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a walk and striking out a batter and Tim Byrdak pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Justin Hampson got the win pitching 2/3 of an inning with one hit.

Chris Dickerson had a hit and an RBI for the Yankees. Swisher had two hits and an RBI, Gustavo Molina had a hit and Eric Chavez had a hit. Andruw Jones had a hit and an RBI, Justin Maxwell drew a walk and Eduardo Nunez had a hit. Francisco Cervelli had a hit, DeWayne Wise had an RBI and Bill Hall had a hit and an RBI. Bernier had two hits and an RBI.

Swisher had a double and a homerun. The Yankees were 5-11 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Nunez and Maxwell each had a stolen base and Toussen got caught stealing. Jones had an outfield assist.

Andres Torres had a hit for the Mets. Mike Baxter drew a walk and Murphy had two hits and an RBI. Wright had two hits an RBI and a walk, Justin Turner had a hit and an RBI and Davis had a hit and two RBI. Jason Bay had a hit, Duda had two hits and an RBI and Scott Hairston drew a walk. Thole had two hits and an RBI, Francisco Pena had a hit and Ruben Tejada drew a walk.

Thole and Murphy each had a double and Davis hit a homerun. The Mets were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Baxter had a stolen base and Wright was caught stealing. The Yankees fell to 17-12 in the grapefruit league and the Mets improved to 9-19. The two teams will take on each other once again tomorrow afternoon this time in Tampa. The game will be at 12 noon and then the Mets will head home to play their opener on Thursday afternoon. The Yankees will stay in Tampa and open the season on Friday afternoon against the Rays.

Yankees Monday night notes

Here are some notes from Chad Jennings of the Journal News.  It mostly focuses on Phil Hughes who pitched great this spring.  He is more resembling the pitcher of 2010 rather then 2011 which is a good thing for the Yankees.

In the end, there was no decision at all. Michael Pineda was hurt and the Yankees five-man rotation was set by default, but Phil Hughes doesn’t feel like anything was handed to him. He earned his spot as the Yankees No. 3 starter, and tonight’s four scoreless innings were further proof.  No matter what happened he was going to be the third starter, he earned that.

“I just came in and wanted to throw the ball well,” Hughes said. “That was it. I didn’t want to think any more into it or any further ahead. I just wanted to make some tough decisions for these guys. Unfortunately, we had an injury that kind of made up some decisions for everybody, but I feel like I threw the ball well enough to be here. That’s all I really wanted to do.”

Hughes finished spring training with a 1.56 ERA. He’s cut down on his walks, shown an improved changeup, and flashed much better — and much more consistent — fastball velocity than last spring.

“I just feel a lot better overall,” he said. “I felt really good at the end of last year when I was finally back and got some arm strength built up, so I just wanted to make sure I carried a good work ethic into this spring training, that I was strong and ready to go. I feel like I was able to do that.”  I think that was a key, the Yankees clearly not happy with the way he came into camp last year and he knew it.  I think Michael Pineda is going through a similar thing this year. 

In the end, a rotation spot was handed to him. But he’d already done more than enough to deserve it.

After making his final start of the spring, what did Hiroki Kuroda think of the new Marlins stadium? “Any time I have a good outing, that becomes a really good stadium,” Kuroda said. “Today I didn’t really have a good outing, so I don’t think it made a really good impression.”  The one thing that stands out to me about this guy this spring is that he is very hard on himself. 

 Kuroda didn’t think his stuff was nearly as good as his seven-inning, two-run performance last week, but he still held the Marlins to just one run. “I think I’m ready for the season,” he said. “Even though you have a bad outing you try to keep the game as close as possible and that’s what I was able to do today, so I think I’m ready for the season.”

 Dave Robertson finally had the kind of outing he was hoping for. After pitching two innings at the minor league complex to build some arm strength, he came in tonight and struck out two in a quick, scoreless ninth inning. “I felt much better,” he said. “More control. More control in my windup.”

Girardi argued a first-inning call when Robinson Cano was called for batters interference, causing Curtis Granderson to be called out on a stolen base. It was a strikeout-throwout to end the inning, and although Cano did fall toward the plate, it didn’t look like John Buck was in a position to actually make a throw. “I guess you could say it’s the right call, but I still don’t like it because he went to his knees,” Girardi said.

Nick Swisher came through tonight’s game with no problems, and Girardi said it seems that he has no additional injury problems heading into the final two games of the spring. “Everyone came out good today,” he said.  It looks like everyone will be ready to go for the opener on Friday. 

Playing at home in Miami, Alex Rodriguez had three of the Yankees RBIs in a 5-2 win. He has 14 RBIs this spring and is batting .292. Even now that he’s playing longer games, and playing more days in a row, Rodriguez said his body still feels strong and durable. “I think overall I just feel like i have a better plan,” he said. “A better plan of attack this season.”

The Yankees had only five hits today, one each for Rodriguez, Grandreson, Swisher, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira.

Most of the Yankees are catching a flight back to Tampa tonight. The ones who have to play in Port St. Lucie tomorrow — Gardner, Swisher, Jones and Nova are the biggest names making the trip — have to stick around and take a 9 a.m. bus. That game starts at 2 p.m. tomorrow, not 1 p.m. like most spring games.

The New York Yankees sweep the two game series in Miami

The New York Yankees defeated the Miami Marlins by the score of 5-2. Hiroki Kuroda started and pitched well and Phil Hughes in relief pitched even better. Alex Rodriguez had a hit and three RBI, Robinson Cano had an RBI and drew two walks. 
Kuroda pitched three innings giving up three hits and one run with a walk and two strikeouts. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout, Rafael Soriano got the win facing one batter and striking him out. Hughes pitched four innings giving up five hits and a walk with four strikeouts and Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew two walks and Andruw Jones drew a walk. Cano had an RBI and two walks, Rodriguez had a hit and three RBI and Mark Teixeira had a hit and drew a walk. Nick Swisher had a hit and an RBI, Russell Martin drew a walk and Brett Gardner drew two walks.

Jeter, Rodriguez and Granderson each had a double. The Yankees were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Swisher made an error. The Yankees improved their spring record to 17-11 with three ties. The Yankees will finish their spring training schedule with two games against the New York Mets. They will play Tuesday afternoon in Port St. Lucie and then Wednesday afternoon at home in Tampa. They will open up the season Friday afternoon in Tampa against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The New York Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 8-2

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 8-2 on Monday afternoon. Bobby Parnell made the start and pitched well. Justin Turner had a couple of hits and Ruben Tejada had a hit and three RBI. 
Parnell pitched three innings giving up two hits and striking out two. Manny Acosta pitched one inning giving up two hits, Miguel Batista pitched two innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and three strikeouts and Ryan Fraser pitched a perfect inning. Ramon Ramirez pitched two innings giving up two hits and one run with three strikeouts.

Tejada had a hit and three RBI, Rafael Fernandez had an RBI and drew a walk and Josh Thole had a hit. Daniel Muno had a hit and an RBI, Turner had two hits and Richard Lucas had an RBI and drew a walk. Ramirez had an RBI, Darrell Ceciliani had a hit and Mike Baxter had two hits. Wilfredo Tovar had three hits and Mike Nickeas had a hit.

Tovar and Turner each had a double. Tejada had a homerun. The Mets were 3-13 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. The Mets improved their spring record to 8-19. The Mets will take on the New York Yankees in the last two spring training games. They will play on Tuesday afternoon at home in Port St. Lucie and then Wednesday afternoon in Tampa. The Mets will open up the season in New York on Thursday afternoon.

New York Yankees Sunday night notes

Here are the Sunday night notes as Spring training winds down and we get ready for Opening Day on Friday afternoon.  Chad Jennings has the notes from the Lohud Yankees blog with my opinion in here as well.  The MLB season will start on Wednesday, the Mets on Thursday and the Yankees on Friday. 

CC Sabathia hasn’t had a particularly good spring. It’s absurd to get too caught up in spring numbers with a guy like him, but tonight’s four-inning, three-run start left him with an even 5.00 ERA for the spring. He’s allowed 21 hits in 18 innings, and today his fastball command was sloppy.  I never worry about the veterans because they have a track record and also they know what they have to do to get ready for the season. 

“Usually I’m not that bad,” he said. “Today, I was bad. I’ll work hard in my bullpen to make sure I’m getting my fastball where it needs to go. … It’s always a worry for me. That’s always the biggest issue for me; fastball command. It wasn’t there today, but that’s no reason for me to feel like it won’t be there Friday.”

“He also probably didn’t say he doesn’t feel great today either,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s physically a little bit under the weather. I think it’ll be there when the bell rings, I really do. Guys probably want to have a good tune up and feel great, but there’s a different adrenaline that comes during the regular season, and I have a feeling it will be there.”

Sabathia came into camp as the Yankees Opening Day starter, and short of an injury, there was nothing that could have happened in the past month to change that. For some guys, spring struggles send up a red flag. For Sabathia, until proven otherwise, it’s just a note along the way.

“I’ll be ready on Friday,” Sabathia said. “Would I like to have had more success? Sure. But my pitches are doing what they’re supposed to. I’m ready."

 Nick Swisher admitted that he didn’t go all out for a foul ball down the right field line, but that was according to plan. Swisher’s been told to be smart about his sore groin these last few days. “I would not say I’m 100 percent,” he said. “But I’m close.”  I would agree with that, in spring training there is no reason to go all out if not 100 percent.  Friday is a different story, then he needs to go all out as it counts. 

Swisher said he doesn’t feel anything when he swings or when he’s running in a straight line, but he’s still a little cautious when he has to cut and turn. His timing is “absolutely” ready for Opening Day, and his 2-for-3 afternoon (including a home run) seemed to be proof. “I felt great, man,” he said. “I’ve been itching to get back in the lineup. Today I just felt like a little kid out there.”

 Dave Robertson said he feels good, and he’s scheduled to pitch tomorrow after taking two days off. His last outing spanned two innings at the minor league complex.

Maybe there’s a reason Mariano Rivera never goes on the road in spring training. He played today and gave up a run in the fifth inning. It was Rivera’s first earned run in a spring training game since 2008, ending a streak of 28 spring innings without one.  I think it is just coincidence but it is kind of funny. 

 Apparently the Marlins had some problem with the roof last night and the infield got soggy, which made it play like “sand” according to Swisher. Alex Rodriguez also said it wasn’t perfectly normal. If you saw some guys running a little slower than usual, that’s probably why.

 On the whole, players seemed impressed by this place. No one had a bad word to say about it. Even the bad infield was seen as more of a fluke that a problem. “Fair. Normal,” Girardi said of the way the park played. “The ball seemed to carry to left field a little bit and they said it really carries when the roof is opened, and I think it will be open tomorrow night as long as we don’t have any weather issues. I’d kind of like to see it both ways, and we’ll get that opportunity. It’s a nice ballpark.”

Derek Jeter had two hits today and is batting .342 for the spring. … Raul Ibanez continued his late-spring surge with a double. His average is up to .167, a jump of well over 100 points from where it was not so long ago. … Swisher hit the only Yankees home run, but Jeter, Ibanez, Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, Eduardo Nunez, Bill Hall and Eric Chavez all doubled in the game. … Doug Bernier wound up at first base and made an error on an awkward play. He’s rarely played there, and I find that utility infielders always talk about how much harder it is to play first base than it might seem. Some plays there are just a little bit awkward and unlike any other position.

 Rivera, Rafael Soriano and Cory Wade each gave up runs out of the Yankees bullpen. The only Yankees pitchers to go without a run were George Kontos (1.1 innings) and Juan Cedeno (.2 innings), who closed out the game. Kontos got the win and Cedeno got the save.

 Rodriguez was asked whether this new ballpark, had it been built a few years ago, might have tempted him to sign with the Marlins. “I really, really love living here,” he said. “I love playing in New York.”

The New York Mets lose 9-2 to the Tigers

The New York Mets were defeated by the Detroit Tigers by the score of 9-2. The game was on Sunday afternoon in Port St. Lucie, Florida. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and pitched well and Daniel Herrera and Jon Rauch didn’t pitch so well in relief. The Mets managed two hits on the day. 
Dickey pitched four innings giving up three hits and one run with three strikeouts. Herrera got charged with a blown save and a loss. He pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up four hits and five runs with two walks, Rauch pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up four hits and three runs with a walk. Josh Edgin pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up one hit and striking out three and Erik Turgeon pitched one inning giving up one hit.

Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy each drew a walk and so did David Wright. Ike Davis had a hit and two RBI, Jason Bay drew a walk and Lucas Duda had a hit. Mike Nickeas drew a walk, Davis had a homerun. The Mets were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base.

The Mets record fell to 7-19 in the grapefruit league. The Mets will play in Orlando against the Braves tomorrow afternoon at 12 noon. They will then take on the New York Yankees in a home and home series to cap off the grapefruit league. They will open up the regular season on Thursday afternoon at home against the Atlanta Braves. Johan Santana will make the start on Thursday.

The New York Yankees defeat the Miami Marlins to open the new stadium in Miami

The New York Yankees defeated the Miami Marlins by the score of 10-8 on Sunday afternoon. It was the first ever game played at the new Marlins stadium. It was a homecoming for Alex Rodriguez and also Joe Girardi kind of. Rodriguez grew up in Miami and still lives there in the off-season, Girardi got his managerial career started in Miami. CC Sabathia started the game and didn’t pitch great but it was just a tune up for Opening Day on Friday. Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher each had two hits and an RBI. Jeter got the first hit ever in the new ballpark. 
Sabathia pitched four innings giving up four hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts. Mariano Rivera pitched an inning and gave up his first run of the spring. He also gave up two hits, Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up three hits and a run with a strikeout and Cory Wade pitched an inning getting charged with a blown save. He gave up two hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked two and struck out one, George Kontos got the win pitching 1 1/3 and giving up a hit and Juan Cedeno got the save pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up on hit and striking out one.

Jeter had two hits and an RBI, Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI and Robinson Cano had a hit and two RBI. Eduardo Nunez had a hit, Rodriguez had a hit, RBI and a walk and Bill Hall had a hit and drew a walk. Eric Chavez had a hit and an RBI, Swisher had two hits and an RBI and Justin Maxwell drew a walk. Raul Ibanez had a hit, Russell Martin had a hit and an RBI and Francisco Cervelli had an RBI and drew a walk. Brett Gardner had a hit, Jeter, Ibanez, Cano, Gardner, Nunez, Hall and Chavez each had a double. Swisher hit a homerun and the Yankees were 5-14 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Doug Bernier made an error.
The Yankees are now 16-11 in the grapefruit league and will play Miami again tomorrow night in Miami. The Yankees will then play two games against the New York Mets to finish the spring training schedule. They open up the regular season on Friday afternoon in Tampa against the Rays.

The New York Mets lose 6-5 to the Miami Marlins

The New York Mets lost 6-5 to the Miami Marlins on Saturday afternoon. Miguel Batista made the start and then surprisingly made the team today. The Mets used five relievers to get through this game, they didn’t have a starting pitcher pitch in this one. Daniel Murphy had two hits to lead the offense, no other player had more then a hit. 
Batista pitched two innings giving up two hits and one run with a strikeout. Frank Francisco pitched two innings giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts, Ramon Ramirez pitched two innings giving up two hits with a walk and Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Manny Acosta got charged with a blown save and the loss in the game. He pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up six hits and three runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Ruben Tejada had a hit, Murphy had two hits and Ike Davis had a hit. Jason Bay drew a walk, Lucas Duda had a hit and Justin Turner had a hit and drew a walk. Josh Thole had a hit and an RBI, Mike Nickeas had a hit and two RBI. Duda and Tejada each had a double. Thole had a triple and Nickeas had a homerun. The Mets were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Bay had two stolen bases and Turner was caught stealing. Turner was picked off twice. The Mets record fell to 7-18 in the grapefruit league. The Mets will take on the Detroit Tigers Sunday afternoon at home.