The New York Mets defeat the San Francisco Giants in a crazy walkoff win

The New York Mets defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. It was a wild ending as the Mets walked off with the win but not in the traditional way. They won it when catcher Buster Posey was trying to throw to first and threw it wild into right field and the winning run scored. Mike Pelfrey started for the Mets and pitched well. Ryan Vogelsong started for the Giants and pitched well, Frank Francisco the Mets closer did not pitch well. Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead the Mets attack, The Giants had three guys with two hits. 
Pelfrey pitched eight innings giving up six hits and a run with a walk and three strikeouts. Francisco pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits, and three runs with a walk, Tim Byrdak pitched to one batter and struck him out and Jon Rauch got charged with a blown save but also picked up his second win. Rauch gave up a hit and struck out one in 1/3 of an inning. Vogelsong pitched seven innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and eight strikeouts. Javier Lopez gave up two hits and a run without recording an out, Dan Otero pitched a perfect inning and Clay Hensley took the loss pitching 1/3 of an inning and giving up a hit and a run with a walk. Jeremy Affeldt pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit.

Murphy had three hits, Ike Davis had a hit and an RBI and Jason Bay had a hit. Lucas Duda had a hit and drew two walks, Josh Thole had a hit and Ruben Tejada had a hit, three RBI and drew a walk. Justin Turner had a hit, Murphy and Tejada each had a double and the Mets were 3-13 with runners in scoring position. They left six men on base, Wright was caught stealing and Davis was picked off of first base by Posey the catcher. The Mets are now 8-6 and the Giants 7-7. They are scheduled to play the third game of this four game series on Sunday but the weather in New York doesn’t look good. It is the only time the Giants come in this season so they could play a doubleheader on Monday.

Angel Pagan had two hits for the Giants.  Melky Cabrera drew a walk, Pablo Sandoval had a hit and an RBI and Buster Posey had two hits.  Nate Schierholtz had a hit and drew a walk.  Emmanuel Burriss had two hits and an RBI.  Brandon Belt had a hit and two RBI.  Pagan and Belt each had a double.  The Giants were 3-7 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base.  Cabrera, Huff and Posey each committed an error for the Giants.  Posey did have a pickoff at first base.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the third on a Sandoval RBI single.  In the fifth Tejada grounded out to score a run and tie the game at one.  In the seventh Tejada hit a two run double to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.  In the eighth Davis hit an RBI single to extend the Mets lead to 4-1.  In the ninth Burriss hit an RBI single to make it 4-2 and Belt hit a  two run double to tie the game at four.  In the bottom of the ninth the Mets won the game 5-4.  Duda singled, Thole bunted him over to second base, Tejada walked and Turner singled.  It was bases loaded with one out.  Nieuwenhuis grounded to the first baseman who threw home for the force out but when the catcher threw to first to complete the double play his throw was wild.  The ball ended up in right field and the Mets were able to score the winning run. 

The New York Yankees rally to stun the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees were down 9-0 in the sixth inning. It didn’t look promising at all for them. The Yankees scored seven runs in both the seventh and eighth innings and fought back to defeat the Boston Red Sox 15-9 on Saturday evening. Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees and was not good at all, the Yankees bullpen did a pretty good job. Felix Doubrount started for the Red Sox and pitched really well but their bullpen was dreadful. 
Garcia pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up seven hits and five runs. He didn’t walk or strikeout a batter. Clay Rapada pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run, David Phelps pitched four innings giving up six hits and three runs with a walk and two strikeouts and Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Soriano picked up the win, his second of the season. Boone Logan pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Cody Eppley pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Doubront pitched six innings giving up four hits and one run with three walks and seven strikeouts. The Red Sox used six relievers who combined for three innings, 12 hits, 14 runs, five walks and two strikeouts.

Derek Jeter had three hits, an RBI and drew two walks, Nick Swisher had three hits and six RBI and Robinson Cano had a hit and drew two walks, one which was intentional. Alex Rodriguez drew a walk, Mark Teixeira had three hits and six RBI and Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk. Andruw Jones drew a walk, Russell Martin had two hits and two RBI and Eduardo Nunez had three hits and drew a walk. Cano, Swisher, Teixeira and Martin each had a double. Teixeira hit two homeruns, one from each side of the plate and Swisher had a homerun. The Yankees were 7-12 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Nunez had a stolen base.

Mike Aviles had two hits and two RBI for the Red Sox. Ryan Sweeney had a hit and an RBI, Dustin Pedroia had two hits and an RBI and Adrian Gonzalez had a hit and an RBI. David Ortiz had four hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had four hits and Cody Ross had two hits and two RBI. Darnell McDonald had a hit and an RBI. Sweeney, Gonzalez, Ortiz, McDonald and Saltalamacchhia each had a double. Ross hit a homerun. The Red Sox were 7-15 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Aviles had a stolen base and an error. Saltalamacchia had a passed ball.

The Red Sox got out to a 9-0 lead. They scored two in the first, three in the second and two in the third. They then added two runs in the fifth inning and had a 9-0 lead. The Yankees got on the board in the sixth on a solo homerun from Teixeira. In the seventh the Yankees scored seven runs to make it a 9-8 game. Martin singled with one out, Nunez singled and Jeter walked. It was the bases loaded and one out and Swisher hit a grand slam to make it 9-5 Red Sox. Cano doubled, Rodriguez reached on an error and Teixeira hit a three run homerun. It was 9-8 Red Sox and Fenway was stunned. The Yankees weren’t done yet though as they scored seven more runs in the eighth inning. Nunez singled, Jeter walked and Swisher had a two run double to make it 10-9 Yankees. Swisher was really pumped up as he beat his chest and was screaming at second base. Cano was intentionally walked and Rodriguez walked, Teixeira hit a ground rule double to score two more runs. It was 12-9 Yankees at this point and then Martin added a two run double later in the inning to make it 14-9 Yankees. The final run was scored on a Jeter RBI single. The Yankees scored 15 unanswered runs to win the game 15-9.

The Yankees are now 9-6 on the season and have won three straight games. The Red Sox are reeling at 4-10 on the season. They have injuries and their pitching has been awful. The Red Sox made a trade for Marlon Byrd after the game, they sent Bowden one of their pitching prospects to the Cubs and some cash. The situation up there has gotten so bad that the owners and GM met with Bobby Valentine in his office after the game. They are saying it was just a we are all in this together talk but who knows. The two teams weather permitting will complete their three game series on Sunday night at 8:00PM. It is scheduled to be CC Sabathia and Daniel Bard as the pitching matchup.

The New York Mets fall to 4-3 in ten innings to the San Francisco Giants

The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants by the score of 4-3 in ten innings. Jon Niese made the start for the Mets and pitched ok. The bullpen pitched pretty well once again although Frank Francisco suffered his first loss of the season. Barry Zito started for the Giants and pitched ok. The Giants bullpen used six pitchers who did a good job. The Mets offense was led by Jason Bay and the Giants had four players with two hits. 
Niese pitched six innings giving up seven hits and three runs with two walks and five strikeouts. Ramon Ramirez pitched an inning giving up a hit, Jon Rauch pitched an inning giving up a hit and Tim Byrdak pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Francisco pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks and a strikeout. Zito pitched five innings giving up four hits and two runs with three walks and two strikeouts. The bullpen pitched five innings giving up four hits and a run with a walk and seven strikeouts.

Ruben Tejada had a hit and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had a hit and David Wright had a hit and drew two walks. Bay had two hits and an RBI, Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit, RBI and drew a walk and Mike Nickeas had a hit. Josh Thole had a hit and an RBI, Bay and Nieuwenhuis each hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. Nieuwenhuis committed an error.

Angel Pagan had a hit and an RBI in his first return to Citi Field. Melky Cabrera had two hits and drew two walks, Pablo Sandoval had two hits and Buster Posey had two hits and an RBI. Nate Schierholtz drew a walk, Hector Sanchez had two hits and an RBI and Emmanuel Burriss had a hit and drew a walk. Posey had a double and Pagan had a homerun. The Giants were 2-14 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Cabrera had a stolen base.

In the third Pagan hit a solo homerun and Posey had an RBI double to make it 2-0 Giants. Niese threw a wild pitch and it was 3-0 Giants. Bay hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it 3-1 Giants. Nieuwenhuis hit a solo homerun in the fifth to make it 3-2 Giants. In the bottom of the ninth the Mets tied it to force extra innings. Thole had an RBI single and in the tenth Sanchez hit an RBI single to give the Giants a 4-3 lead and they would hold on to it to win the game.

The Giants got the win in the first game of four on a weekend wrap around series. The Giants improved their record to 7-6 and the Mets record fell to 7-6. It was the third straight loss for the Mets. The two teams will play Saturday and Sunday afternoon and then on Monday night.

The New York Yankees ruin the 100th anniversary party at Fenway by beating the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 6-2 Friday evening. Ivan Nova made the start for the Yankees and pitched well. Clay Bucholz started for the Red Sox and didn’t pitch so well. The Yankees offense hit five solo homeruns in the game. 
Nova won his third game of the year, pitching six innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five. Cory Wade pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Dave Robertson pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two and Cody Eppley gave up a hit. Mariano Rivera pitched an inning and struck out two batters. Bucholz took the loss and is now 1-1 on the season. He pitched six innings giving up nine hits on six runs with five of them being earned. He walked two and struck out two. Scott Atchison pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, J. Thomas pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Junicha Tazawa pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and two RBI. Robinson Cano had a hit, Nick Swisher had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Raul Ibanez had a hit. Eric Chavez had two hits and two RBI and Russell Martin had a hit and an RBI. Swisher had a double and a homerun. Chavez had two homeruns, Rodriguez had a homerun and Martin had a homerun. The Yankees were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base.

Mike Aviles had two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox. Mike Sweeney had a hit, Dustin Pedroia had a hit and Adrian Gonzalez had a hit. David Ortiz had two hits and an RBI, Kevin Youkilis had a hit and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a hit. Cody Ross had a hit, Youkilis had a double and Sweeney had a double. Ross and Aviles each had a double and Ortiz hit a homerun. The Red Sox were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Pedroia committed an error.

Rodriguez had an RBI single in the first inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. In the second Swisher and Chavez hit solo homeruns to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Ortiz hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 3-1. The play was overturned as it was ruled a double on the field but correctly overturned and ruled a homerun after replay. In the fourth Chavez hit his second solo homerun to make it a 4-1 Yankees lead. In the fifth inning Rodriguez hit a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 5-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning Aviles hit an RBI double to cut the Yankees lead to 5-2, the Yankees would add a sixth and final run in the sixth inning. Martin hit a solo homerun.

The Yankees improved their record to 8-6 and Boston saw their record drop to 4-9 on the season. The two teams will play game two of a three game series on Saturday afternoon at 4:00PM. If the weather holds out on Sunday the finale will be an 8:00PM start. A day after Granderson had a three homerun game, Chavez had two homeruns in his first two at bats but that was all he would get. The Yankees offense is starting to kick in gear, they have now hit nine homeruns in the last two games. The guys that were struggling are starting to hit such as Teixeira, Rodriguez, Cano. Nova continues to do nothing but win games, it is remarkable how this guy has grown and become so confident. When he has a lead the game is over, he never loses.

Granderson and the New York Yankees slug their way to victory over the Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night by the score of 7-6. Phil Hughes Curtis started for the Yankees and didn’t pitch well overall. He started off really bad though and did bounce back after a rough start. Anthony Swarzak started for the Twins and took the loss, he didn’t have a good outing. The Twins used three pitchers out of the bullpen who pitched well. The Yankees bullpen pitched well also. The story of the game though was Curtis Granderson who hit three homeruns. 
Hughes pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up six hits and six runs with only two of them being earned. He walked two and struck out four. He did earn his first win and can take some positives out of this outing. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit, Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out the side and Dave Robertson pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out a batter. Mariano Rivera earned his third save of the season pitching a perfect inning. Swarzak pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and six runs with a walk and three strikeouts. He is now 0-3 on the young season, Jeff Gray pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two walks and Al Burnett pitched two innings giving up three hits. Glen Perkins pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Derek Jeter had a hit and an RBI, Granderson had five hits and four RBI and Alex Rodriguez had two hits. Mark Teixeira who has gotten hot in the last couple of games had two hits and two RBI, Nick Swisher drew a walk and Raul Ibanez had two hits. Russell Martin drew a walk, Eduardo Nunez had a hit and drew a walk. The Yankees were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Nunez had a double, Granderson had three homeruns and Teixeira had a homerun. Nunez had a stolen base and an error and Granderson was caught stealing.

Denard Span had a hit for the Twins. Jamey Carroll had a hit, Joe Mauer had a hit and Josh Willingham had a hit. Justin Morneau drew two walks, Ryan Doumit had two hits and four RBI and Valencia had two hits and two RBI. Parmelee had two hits including a double and Valencia had two doubles. Doumit had a homerun and the Twins were 2-13 with runners in scoring position. They left seven men on base.

The Twins once again scored four runs in the first inning. The Yankees once again responded with three runs in the bottom of the first. Doumit had a two run single and Valencia had a two run double. Granderson hit a solo homerun and Teixeira hit a two run homerun. In the second Jeter had an RBI single to tie the game at four and Granderson hit a two run homerun to make it 6-4 Yankees. In the fourth Granderson made it 7-4 Yankees. In the sixth Doumit hit a two run homerun to make it 7-6 and that would be the final score

The teams split the four game series and the Yankees record improved to 7-6 on the season. The Twins record fell to 4-9 on the season. The Yankees will head to Boston and play the Red Sox at 3:00PM on Friday afternoon. It is the 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park and that is the time the two teams played back then. Ivan Nova will make the start for the Yankees and Clay Bucholz for the Red Sox.

New York Yankees come close but can't come back on the Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees lost to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night. Hiroki Kuroda started and got off to a miserable start and wasn’t able to recover. He pitched better after that but it was a little too late. The Yankees bullpen pitched well and the offense did ok although they stranded too many runners once again. Mark Teixeira has started to come around and Derek Jeter continues to hit. 
Kuroda pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up 10 hits and six runs with four strikeouts. Clay Rapada pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up one hit and one walk with two strikeouts, Boone Logan pitched two innings giving up one hit and one walk with four strikeouts and Rafael Soriano pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk. Jason Marquis picked up the win pitching five innings and giving up seven hits and four runs with two walks and three strikeouts. Brian Duensing pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits, Jared Burton pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out two and Matt Capps earned his third save by pitching an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.

Jeter had three hits and an RBI, Curtis Granderson drew a walk and Teixeira had two hits. Robinson Cano had two hits and two RBI, Nick Swisher had a hit and two RBI and Raul Ibanez had two hits. Andruw Jones drew a walk, Eric Chavez had a hit. Cano had a double and a homerun, Jeter hit a homerun. The Yankees were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

Denard Span had a hit, Jamey Carroll had a hit and an RBI and Joe Mauer had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Josh Willingham had a hit, Justin Morneau had three hits and three RBI with a walk and a strikeout and Chris Parmelee had two hits and drew a walk. Sean Burroughs had a hit and an RBI and Alexi Casilla had three hits. Carroll, Mauer, Parmelee, Casilla and Willingham each had a double. Morneau had two homeruns. The Twins were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Casilla had a stolen base.

The Twins scored four runs in the first inning and the Yankees three. The first three Twins got hits and the first four out of five. It was a single and two RBI doubles in a row before Morneau hit a homerun to make it 4-0. Cano had an RBI double and Swisher a two run single in the first to make it 4-3. In the third Burroughs had an RBI single to push the lead to 5-3 Twins. Cano hit a solo homerun in the third to make it 5-4. Morneau hit a solo homerun in the fifth to make it 6-4 and Jeter hit a solo homerun in the ninth to cut the lead to 6-5 but that was the final score. The game ended when Teixeira just missed hitting a homerun, he flew out to the warning track in right field.

The Twins have won two out of the first three in this series. The series will conclude on Thursday night with Phil Hughes on the mound. The Twins have seemed to get over their Yankee stadium demons in this series. Kuroda pitched great in the home opener last Friday but wasn’t good today and wasn’t very good in his first start. The Yankees pitching has not been good up to this point and Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda are looming in the minor leagues.

New York Mets get crushed in Atlanta as they lose their second straight

The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves by the score of 14-6 on Wednesday afternoon. R.A. Dickey made the start and on a wet day he had no control over his knuckleball. He was battered around and the bullpen didn’t fare much better. Jair Jurrjens started for the Braves and didn’t pitch so well but he didn’t have too. The Mets 1-4 hitters in the lineup combined for nine hits as the offense continues to do damage. 
Dickey pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and eight runs with two walks and five strikeouts. He took his first loss of the season and is now 2-1. Miguel Batista pitched 2/3 of an inning and struck out both batters he faced, Bobby Parnell pitched one inning giving up two hits and two runs with one of them being earned. He also struck out the side, Tim Byrdak pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts, Jon Rauch faced one batter and got him out and Frank Francisco pitched one inning giving up three hits and two runs. Jurrjens pitched four innings giving up seven hits, four runs, four walks and two strikeouts. The Braves bullpen used three pitchers who pitched five innings and gave up seven hits and one run. They walked one and struck out three.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had three hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and David Wright had two hits and three RBI. Ike Davis had two hits and an RBI, Jason Bay had a hit and drew two walks and Lucas Duda had two hits. Josh Thole had a hit, Ronny Cedeno drew a walk and Mike Baxter had a hit. Wright, Nieuwenhuis and Thole each had a double. Davis had a homerun. The Mets were 7-18 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Bay and Nieuwenhuis each had a stolen base. Cedeno committed an error.

Michael Bourn had three hits and two RBI and drew a walk for the Braves. Martin Prado had a hit and two RBI, Jason Heyward had a hit and Dan Uggla had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk. Freddie Freeman had two hits and three RBI, Juan Francisco had two hits and two RBI and David Ross had two hits, an RBI and a walk. Tyler Pastornicky had a hit, Jurrjens had a hit and Chipper Jones had a hit and an RBI. Matt Diaz had a hit and an RBI, Freeman, Prado, Jones, Francisco and Ross each had a double, Heyward had a triple and Francisco, Uggla and Freeman each had a homerun. The Braves were 8-14 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Bourn had a stolen base and Uggla committed an error.

The Mets gave up two runs in the second and four in the third but it was 6-3 at that point. The Mets scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth. The Mets gave up two runs in the fifth through eighth innings.

The Mets record fell to 7-5 and the Braves record improved to 7-5. The Mets will have an off day on Thursday and then take on the San Francisco Giants for four games at home.

Yankees vs. Twins Pregame

Here are the lineups for tonights Yankees/Twins game and a few notes.  The Yankees evened up the four game series with an 8-3 win last night.  The Twins won the first game on Monday night.  Hiroki Kuroda will start against Jason Marquis. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher(DH), Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez(3B), Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.

Twins Lineup:Denard Span, Jamey Carroll, Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Chris Parmelee, Sean Burroughs, Clete Thomas, Alexi Casilla.

Marquis is making his first career start against the Yankees.  He was a Yankees fan growing up in Staten Island, New York.  It is also his first start of the season, he was held back because he missed two weeks of spring training to be with his daughter.  His daughter Reese story has gained a lot of attention.  She is seven years old and had an accident riding her bike, she was in sever condition but is recovering now. 

Robinson Cano is 4-23 in his last six games and only has 1 RBI on the season.  Morneau has a 452 career average at Yankee Stadium.  That is the highest for any American League park. 

The twins haven't won a season series from the Yankees since 2001.  They were 4-2 against them that season.  The Yankees are 52-19 against them since then including 29-6 at both Yankee stadiums. 

New York Mets lose first game of the season to Atlanta Braves

The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves by the score of 9-3 on Tuesday night. It was the first loss out of five games this year to the Braves. Johan Santana started for the Mets and had the shortest outing of his career. Daniel Murphy, David Wright and Kirk Nieuwenhuis each had two hits. Delgado pitched well for the Braves and Matt Diaz and Freddie Freeman each had a couple of hits.

Santana pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up four hits and six runs with four of them being earned. He walked one and didn’t strike out a batter. Miguel Batista pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a walk and he had two strikeouts, Ramon Ramirez pitched two innings giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts and Manny Acosta pitched three innings giving up three hits and one run with one walk and two strikeouts. Delgado picked up his second win of the season pitching 5 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and three runs with three walks and five strikeouts. The bullpen pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up a couple of hits and no runs or no walks with four strikeouts.

Murphy had two hits and an RBI, Wright had two hits and Ike Davis drew a walk. Jason Bay had a hit, Josh Thole had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Nieuwenhuis had two hits. Mike Baxter had a hit and an RBI. Bay had a double and the Mets were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Bay and Davis each committed an error.

Heyward had a hit, RBI and drew a walk, Chipper Jones had an RBI and drew a walk and Brian McCann had a hit and drew a walk. Dan Uggla drew a walk, Diaz had two hits and an RBI and Freeman had two hits and two RBI. Pastornicky had a hit and two RBI, Juan Francisco had a hit and an RBI and Jack Wilson had a hit. Freeman, Pastornicky and McCann each had a double. Francisco hit a homerun and the Braves were 4-10 with runners in scoring position. They left six men on base and Heyward and Bourn each had a stolen base. Jones had a throwing error.

Jones hit a sacrifice fly in the first to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. In the second Freeman hit an RBI double, Pastornicky had a two run double, Delgado had a sac bunt that scored a run and Heyward had an RBI single. It was 6-0 Braves until Thole had an RBI single in the fourth inning to make it 6-1. Baxter hit an RBI single to make it 6-2. In the fifth Diaz had a sacrifice fly and Freeman had an RBI single and it was 8-2 Braves. Murphy hit an RBI single in the sixth to make it 8-3 and Francisco hit a solo homerun in the eighth to make it 9-3.

The two teams will play the rubber game of the three game series on Wednesday afternoon. The Mets record fell to 7-4 and the Braves improved their record to 6-5.

CC Sabathia earns first win of the season in Yankees 8-3 win over the Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins by the score of 8-3 on Tuesday night. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and pitched well, earning his first victory of the season. The Yankees offense took out Twins starter Francisco Liriano early. Andruw Jones had a couple of hits, Brett Gardner, Chris Stewart, Nick Swisher and Eduardo Nunez each had two hits. 
Sabathia pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up four hits and three runs with a walk and seven strikeouts. Dave Robertson pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Cory Wade pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Liriano pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and five runs with four walks and two strikeouts. Liriano is now 0-2 on the season, the Twins used three other pitchers. The relievers pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs and six hits.

Derek Jeter had a hit and two RBI, Swisher had two hits and drew a walk and Robinson Cano had a hit. Alex Rodriguez drew a walk, Jones had two hits and an RBI and Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk. Nunez had two hits and an RBI, Gardner had two hits, an RBI and drew two walks and Stewart had two hits and three RBI. Swisher and Cano each had a double and Gardner had two doubles. Jones had a homerun. The Yankees were 6-17with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Gardner had a stolen base and Rodriguez committed an error.

Clete Thomas had a hit and an RBI for the Twins. Jamey Carroll had a hit and an RBI, Joe Mauer had a hit and Josh Willingham had a hit and an RBI. Alexi Casilla had a hit and Trevor Plouffe drew a walk. Thomas had a double and Willingham had a homerun. The Twins were 2-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.

In the second inning the Twins took a 1-0 lead on a Willingham solo homerun. In the bottom of the inning Gardner hit an RBI double to tie the game at one. In the third the Twins took a 3-1 lead. Thomas had an RBI double and Carroll an RBI single. Nunez hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third, Stewart had a two run single and Jeter had a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3 Yankees. Jones had a solo homerun in the fourth to push the lead to 6-3. In the fifth Jeter had an RBI single making it 7-3 and the final run was scored in the seventh. Stewart had an RBI single to finish the scoring.

The teams have now split the first two games of the series. They will play game three of the four game series on Wednesday night. The Yankees are now 6-5 on the season and have won six out of eight since losing their first three games. The Twins record dropped to 3-8.

New York Yankees pitching woes continue in loss to the Minnesota Twins

The New York Yankees lost to the Minnesota Twins by the score of 7-3 on Monday night. Freddy Garcia got the start and wasn’t very good. Carl Pavano got the start for the Twins and got off to a very rough start. He settled in though and was able to get the win. Derek Jeter continued his hot hitting, Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira each had two hit’s a piece. Joe Mauer had three hits and Justin Mourneau had two hits for the Twins. 
Garcia pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up nine hits and five runs with no walks and five strikeouts. He suffered the loss and is 0-1 on the season. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning and walked two, Cory Wade pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with a strikeout and Clay Rapada pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Pavano earned the win his first of the season pitching seven innings and giving up seven hits and three runs with a walk and six strikeouts. Brian Duensing pitched an inning giving up a hit and Matt Capps pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Jeter had two hits and an RBI, Granderson had two hits and an RBI and Rodriguez had two hits. Robinson Cano drew a walk, Teixeira had two hits and an RBI and Raul Ibanez had a hit. Jeter and Granderson each had a homerun. They were hit back-to-back in the first inning to start the game. The Yankees were off to a flying start but then completely got shutdown. The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base.

Denard Span had a hit for the Twins. Jamey Carroll had two hits and an RBI, Mauer had three hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Josh Willingham had a hit and an RBI. Morneau had two hits and an RBI, Ryan Doumit had two hits and an RBI and Danny Valencia had a hit and an RBI. Clete Thomas had a hit and an RBI and Alexi Casilla had a hit and drew a walk. Mauer had two doubles, Valencia and Casilla each had one. Morneau had a homerun in the game. The Twins were 5-11 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Mauer had a stolen base and Carroll was caught stealing.

The game had a wild first inning with five combined runs and then slowed down. Willingham had an RBI single in the first to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. Doumit had an RBI single to make it 2-0 Twins. The Yankees tied it in the bottom of the first on back-to-back homeruns by Jeter and Granderson. The Yankees took a 3-2 lead when Teixeira hit an RBI single. In the fifth inning Carroll hit an RBI single to tie the game at three and then Mauer hit an RBI double to make it 4-3 Twins. Morneau hit a solo homerun in the sixth to give the Twins a 5-3 lead. In the eighth Valencia hit an RBI double and Thomas an RBI single. The final score was 7-3.

The two teams will play three more games in this series. They will play Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. The Yankees record fell to 5-5 and the Twins improved their record to 3-7 on the season. The Yankees after opening the season 0-3 have won five out of seven games. They always have their way with the Twins and would like to win the next three to win the series and have a very good opening homestand.

The Mets keep on rolling with a win in Atlanta over the Braves

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 6-1 in Atlanta tonight. Dillon Gee started for the Mets and pitched well. Ike Davis led the team with three RBI and Josh Thole had two hits. Tommy Hanson took the loss for Atlanta, he pitched ok but not well enough. Jason Heyward led the Braves with a couple of hits. 
Gee pitched seven innings giving up four hits and one run in earning his first win of the season. He walked one and struck out five. Jon Rauch pitched a scoreless inning giving up a hit and Tim Byrdak pitched an inning striking out two. Hanson took his second loss of the season, pitching seven innings and giving up five hits and five runs with four of them being earned. He walked two and struck out four. Livan Hernandez pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout.

Ruben Tejada had a hit and an RBI, David Wright had a hit and drew a walk and Davis had a hit and three RBI. Jason Bay had a hit and an RBI, Thole had two hits and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and drew a walk. Tejada had a double and Davis and Bay each hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base. Thole did commit an error.

Michael Bourn had a hit for the Braves. Brian McCann had a hit, Dan Uggla had a hit and Heyward had two hits. Eric Hinske drew a walk and Jack Wilson had an RBI. The Braves were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Heyward and Bourn each had a stolen base and Hanson made an error.

In the second inning the Braves took a 1-0 lead. Wilson grounded out to score a run. In the third the Mets got even with an RBI groundout by Tejada. In the sixth inning Davis hit a three run homerun that made it 4-1 Mets. In the seventh inning Tejada was batting and their was a wild pitch from Hanson that scored Thole. It was 5-1 Mets and Bay hit a solo homerun in the ninth to make it 6-1 and that was the final score.

The Mets have now won the first four meetings of the season against the Braves. The Mets are 7-3 on the season and the Braves are 5-5. The two teams will play game two of their three game series tomorrow night.

Yankees at Twins Pregame

The New York Yankees will take on their favorite whipping boy the Minnesota Twins tonight at the stadium.  Freddy Garcia starts for the Yankees and old friend or enemy Carl Pavano will pitch for the Twins.  The man the fans love to hate for his four unforgettable years in New York.  He has done well with the Twins though over the last couple of years.  Here are the lineups and some pregame notes. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.

Angels Lineup:Denard Span, Jamey Carroll, Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, Justin Mourneau, Ryan Doumit, Valencia, Thomas, Casilla

Derek Jeter is off to a fast start, a lot different from last year.  He is hitting 366 with two homeruns and six RBI in nine games.  He has 15 hits and hit safely in eight of the games.  The hits are his third best start in that category of his career. 

He said he tried the strideless approach last spring and realized it didn't work.  He tried to go back to his old mechanics and that was an adjustment and then he got hurt.  He said it was a blessing in disguise because it gave him a chance to work on some things. 

In May Jeter will receive an honorary doctorate from Sienna.  He will speak on a video and his sister will accept the award for him.  It is meant to salute his charity work. 

CC Sabathia simply said "Bad" about his two starts thus far.  He will pitch tomorrow night.  I am not that worried about him, he is a workhorse and knows how to pitch.  He is also a big strong guy, if he was hurt he would say something and I don't think he is hurt at all.  He has also been known to be a slow starter in his career. 

Joe Girardi said he isn't considering a six man rotation for when Andy Pettitte or Michael Pineda comes back.  I would say right now Hughes will lose his spot to Pettitte but we will see what happens.  Pettitte should be back in a month, he is doing well so far but lets make sure and Pineda is a little further back then that.  These things have a way of working themselves out.  The Yankees would love to have the problem of everyone pitching well and making it a tough decision. 

Yankees win rubber game over Angels as offense explodes

The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by the score of 11-5 on Sunday night. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched ok for six innings. It was revealed after the game that he was sick. The Yankees have a bug going through their clubhouse right now as Robinson Cano also was sick and Brett Gardner had been the other day. The Yankees knocked out Jerome Williams early and then added on against the Angels bullpen late as well. 
Nova pitched six innings giving up four runs on eight hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Rafael Soriano had a rough night pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up two hits and a run with two walks, Dave Robertson pitched 1 1/3 scoreless giving up a hit. Boone Logan pitched one inning striking out the side with a walk. Williams took the loss pitching 2 2/3 innings and giving up five hits and five runs with three walks and a strikeout. The Angels used three other pitchers to finish off the game. They didn’t fare too much better as they all gave up runs.

Derek Jeter had two hits and three RBI, Curtis Granderson had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Alex Rodriguez had a hit and an RBI. Robinson Cano had two hits and drew two walks, Mark Teixeira had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Nick Swisher had a hit and two RBI. Raul Ibanez had two hits and three RBI, Russell Martin drew two walks and Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk. Jeter, Teixeira and Cano each had a double. Jeter and Ibanez each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 5-13 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Teixeira and Cano each had a stolen base and Granderson was caught stealing. Martin had a passed ball.

Howie Kendrick had three hits for the Angels, Albert Pujols had a hit and an RBI and Vernon Wells had a hit. Mark Trumbo had a hit and an RBI, Maiztur Izturis had three hits and an RBI and Chris Iannetta had two hits and two RBI. Kendrick and Izturis each had a double. Kendrick had a triple and Trumbo and Ianetta each hit a homerun. The Angels were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Izturis had a stolen base.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the game on a solo homerun by Mark Trumbo in the second inning. In the bottom of the second the Yankees answered back with an RBI single from Ibanez. In the third inning the Yankees offense erupted. Curtis Granderson grounded out scoring a run. Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single, Teixeira had an RBI double and Swisher had a sacrifice fly. It was 5-1 Yankees through two. In the fourth inning they extended their lead on a three run homerun by Jeter and it was 8-1 Yankees. The Angels tried to get back in the game. Chris Ianetta hit his second two run homerun in as many days in the fifth inning. In the sixth Maicer Izturis hit an RBI double to make it an 8-4 game. The Angels would get one run closer and threaten with the bases loaded in the seventh before Robertson shut them down. In the bottom of the seventh Swisher hit an RBI single and Ibanez hit a two run homerun to make it 11-5 and that would be the final score.

The Yankees won two out of three in the series. The Yankees are now 5-4 on the season and will play the Minnesota Twins at home for four games. The Angels are 3-6 and will return home to take on the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees have been having a bug go through their clubhouse. Nova was victim to it on Sunday night as well as Cano. Gardner had it a few days ago, the Yankees will hope it doesn’t spread around the rest of the clubhouse and really limit them.

New York Mets unable to complete the sweep in Philadelphia as they lose 8-2

The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 8-2 on Sunday afternoon. The Mets won two out of three in the series though. Mike Pelfrey started for the Mets and pitched a good six innings. The bullpen which has been so good was not on this day. Cole Hamels started for the Phillies and pitched a strong seven innings. David Wright, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda each had two hits to pace the Mets attack. The Phillies offense had been struggling to score runs but broke out of it on Sunday afternoon.

Pelfrey pitched six innings giving up eight hits and one run. He walked two and struck out two. Ramon Ramirez got charged with a blown save and the loss. He pitched an inning and gave up three hits and two runs, Manny Acosta pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and four unearned runs. He walked two and struck out one, Miguel Batista pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and one run. Hamels for the Phillies pitched seven innings giving up six hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out 10. Chad Qualls and Jonathan Papelbon each pitched a scoreless inning. Papelbon gave up a couple of hits and a walk but struck out two.

Daniel Murphy had a hit, Wright had two hits and Davis had two hits and two RBI. Scott Hairston had a hit, Duda had two hits and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit. Mike Nickeas and Josh Thole each drew a walk. Davis hit a homerun and the Mets were 0-2 with runners in scoring position. The Mets left seven men on base, Wright was caught stealing and Tejada made an error.

Juan Pierre had three hits to lead the Phillies attack. Hunter Pence and Jimmy Rollins each had a couple of hits. They each had an RBI and drew a walk also. Ty Wigginton had a hit and four RBI, Lance Nix had a hit and an RBI and John Mayberry Jr. had a hit and an RBI. Carlos Ruiz, Orr and Hamels each had a hit. Nix, Orr and Wigginton each had a double. The Phillies were 4-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Rollins and Pence each had a stolen base and Pierre was caught stealing.

The Mets struck first with a Davis two run homerun in the first. The Phillies got one back in the bottom of the first. In the seventh the Phillies took a 3-2 lead with two runs and then broke it open in the eighth with five runs. The big hit of the eighth was a three run double by Wigginton.

The Mets are 6-3 and the Phillies are 4-5. The Mets head to Atlanta to begin a three game series. They will play Monday and Tuesday nights and then on Wednesday afternoon.

The Mets win their second straight game in Philadelphia

The New York Mets continue to play well. They are off to a very good start. They probably needed this more then any other team in the league. Can the Mets continue this and for how long?? I am not sure, I don’t expect them to be that good of a team but you never know. Jon Niese started today and pitched well, the bullpen was good. Lucas Duda and David Wright each hit a homerun. 
Niese pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He is now 2-0 on the season with a 2.13 ERA. He is off to a good start like the team. Bobby Parnell pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Vance Worley took the loss pitching six innings and giving up eight hits and four runs. He walked four and struck out five, The bullpen used three pitchers and pitched three innings. They gave up a run and two hits with a couple of walks and four strikeouts.

Ruben Tejada had a couple of hits and an RBI, Daniel Murphy drew three walks and Wright had three hits and an RBI. Ike Davis had a hit, Jason Bay had a hit and Lucas Duda had two hits and two RBI. Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit, Josh Thole drew two walks and Mike Baxter drew a walk. Duda had a double and Wright and Duda each hit a homerun. The Mets were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Baxter had a stolen base and Bay was caught stealing.

Shane Victorino had a hit for the Phillies. Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins and Ty Wigginton each had a hit. Wigginton also drew a walk, Juan Pierre and Galvis also had a hit. The Phillies were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. The Phillies are struggling to score runs. They have lost Ryan Howard due to an injury. The hope is to have him back around the All-Star Break or shortly after. They are a team that just doesn’t have much offense to go with their great pitching.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Wright solo homerun. In the fourth Bay hit into a double play and a run scored to make it 2-0 Mets. Duda hit a two run homerun and it was 4-0 Mets. The final run of the game came in the ninth inning. Tejada hit an RBI single.

The Mets will try to sweep the series on Sunday afternoon. The Mets are off to a 6-2 start and the Phillies are 3-5. The Mets will have Mike Pelfrey on the mound.