The New York Yankees offense wakes up powered by Zoilo Almonte

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 6-2 on Friday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. David Phelps started for the Yankees and pitched pretty well. The bullpen did a good job and Zoilo Almonte in his first major league start was the offensive star.

Phelps pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up two runs and eight hits. He walked one and struck out four and earned his fifth win of the season. Boone Logan faced one batter and struck him out, Shawn Kelley pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts and David Robertson gave up a hit and struck out one in one inning. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect inning.

Brett Gardner had a hit, Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and an RBI and Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI. Travis Hafner had a hit, Lyle Overbay had two hits and an RBI and Almonte had three hits and an RBI. David Adams had a hit and an RBI, Austin Romine had a hit and Romine hit a double and Almonte hit a homerun. The Yankees were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base. Suzuki and Cano each had a stolen base.

Roberto Hernandez took the loss his eighth of the season. He pitched seven innings giving up nine hits and five runs with four strikeouts and Cesar Ramos pitched an inning giving up two hits and one run with two strikeouts.

Ben Zobrist had two hits and an RBI, James Loney had a hit and Will Myers had a hit. Luke Scott had two hits and an RBI, Jose Molina had a hit and Yunel Escobar had two hits and drew a walk. Scott hit a double and the Rays were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Zobrist had a stolen base.

In the first Cano hit a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Zobrist hit an RBI single in the third to tie the game at one. Suzuki hit an RBI groundout in the third giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Scott hit an RBI single to tie the game in the fourth. Nix hit into a double play scoring a run and Adams hit an RBI single in the fourth. The Yankees had a 4-2 lead. Almonte hit a homerun in the sixth to make it 5-2 and Overbay hit an RBI single in the eighth to make it 6-2.

The Yankees record improved to 40-33 and the Rays record dropped to 38-36. The two teams will play game two of there four game set on Saturday afternoon

The New York Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-3

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 4-3 on Thursday night. The New York Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-3


The game took place in Atlanta, Georgia. Jon Niese made the start for the Mets and pitched well but he had a sore shoulder after the game and will be evaluated in New York. David Wright led the offense with two homeruns.

Niese pitched 3 1/3 innings giving up eight hits and three runs with five strikeouts. David Aardsma pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits, LaTroy Hawkins picked up his second win of the season pitching two innings and giving up two hits with two strikeouts and Brandon Lyon pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Josh Edgin faced one batter and retired him and Bobby Parnell picked up his 11th save of the season pitching a perfect inning.

Eric Young Jr. drew a walk, Wright had three hits and two RBI and Marlon Byrd had a hit. Lucas Duda drew a walk, Juan Lagares had two hits and Omar Quintanilla had a hit. Andrew Brown had a hit and an RBI, Josh Satin had a hit and an RBI and Lagares, Satin and Quintanilla each hit a double. Wright hit two homeruns and Brown hit a homerun, the Mets were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Lagares was picked off and Wright committed an error.

Mike Minor took his third loss of the season pitching six innings and giving up nine hits and four runs. He walked two and struck out six. Jordan Walden pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts and Luis Avilan pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Tyler Pastornicky had three hits, Jason Heyward had two hits and Freddie Freeman had two hits. Justin Upton had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Chris Johnson had a hit and an RBI and Gerald Laird had three hits and an RBI. Laird hit a double and the Braves were 3-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Johnson committed three errors and Minor had a pickoff.

Wright hit a solo homerun in the first giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. J. Upton hit an RBI single in the first to tie the game at one. Johnson hit an RBI single in the third to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Laird hit an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game. Wright hit a solo homerun in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2. Brown hit a solo homerun in the fifth to tie the game at three. Satin hit an RBI double in the seventh to make it a 4-3 game and that would be the final score.

The Mets record improved to 28-41 and the Braves record fell to 43-31. The Mets will begin a three game series on Friday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Los Angeles Dodgers

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers played two games on Wednesday. They played at 1:00PM and 7:00PM. Hiroki Kuroda started the first game and pitched really well and Phil Hughes pitched the second game and didn’t pitch so well. The games were played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.

Kuroda pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts. Kuroda earned his seventh victory of the season, Kelley pitched to one batter and struck him out, Preston Claiborne pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs and David Robertson pitched 2/3 of an inning walking two batters. Mariano Rivera picked up his 25th save of the season pitching a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts.

In the nightcap Phil Hughes pitched six innings giving up ten hits and five runs with three strikeouts and Adam Warren pitched three innings giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout.

Jayson Nix, Lyle Overbay and Robinson Cano each had a hit in the nightcap. The Yankees were 0-3 and left three men on base. Brett Gardner, Nix and Cano each had a hit in the day game. Cano drew a walk, Thomas Neal had a hit and Ichiro Suzuki had three hits and three RBI. Overbay had a hit and two RBI, Chris Stewart drew a walk and Overbay hit a double. Suzuki hit a homerun and the Yankees were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Gardner had an outfield assist.

In the day game Overbay hit a two run double in the second inning to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Suzuki hit a solo homerun in the sixth to extend the lead to 3-0. In the seventh A.J. Ellis hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 3-1 and Jerry Hairston Jr. hit an RBI single to make it a 3-2 game. In the seventh Wells reached on a throwing error, which scored a run. Suzuki hit a two run single and it was a 6-2 game. Hanley Ramirez hit a two run homerun in the eighth to make it a 6-4 game and that was the final score.

In the nightcap Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI single and Ramirez hit an RBI single in the first to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Andre Ethier hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0 in the third. Ramirez hit an RBI single and Hairston hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to make it a 5-0 game. Puig hit a solo homerun in the seventh to complete the scoring. The final score was 6-0 Dodgers.

The two teams split the two game series and the Yankees will remain at home to begin a four game series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. The Yankees record is now 39-32 and the Dodgers record is 30-40.

The Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 6-1 in the nightcap

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 6-1 on Tuesday night. The game took place at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. Zack Wheeler started and was good, his command wasn’t great. Marlon Byrd led the offense with three hits and three players had two hits.

Wheeler pitched six innings giving up four hits and no runs. He walked five and struck out seven and earned his first win of the season and career. Brandon Lyon pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk, David Aardsma pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and Josh Edgin pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and striking out one.

Colin Cowgill had two hits, Daniel Murphy had a hit and David Wright had two hits. Byrd had three hits, Josh Satin had a hit and drew two walks and Recker had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Juan Lagares had a hit and an RBI; Omar Quintanilla had two hits and two RBI. Jordany Valdespin drew a walk, Wright and Byrd each hit a double and Recker hit a homerun. The Mets were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. Murphy and Byrd each had a stolen base. Recker committed an error.

Paul Maholm pitched seven innings giving up nine hits and two runs with seven strikeouts. Maholm lost his sixth game of the season, Anthony Varvaro pitched an inning giving up four hits and four runs with two walks and Cory Gearrin pitched an inning giving up a hit and two walks and he struck out two batters.

Recker hit a two run homerun in the seventh to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Justin Upton hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead in half. Byrd scored a run in the eighth on a throwing error, Lagares hit an RBI single and Quintanilla hit a two run single to make it a 6-1 game.

The two teams will play their fifth and final game of the series on Wednesday night. The Mets record improved to 27-40 and the Braves record dropped to 42-30. 

The New York Mets sweep a doubleheader in Atlanta

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the scores of 4-3 and 6-1. The games took place at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a day for the Mets future as Matt Harvey pitched the day game and was great and then Zach Wheeler made his major league debut at night and pitched well. Daniel Murphy and Marlon Byrd led the offense in the day game. In the nightcap Byrd led the offense with three hits but three other players had two hits each.

Harvey pitched seven innings giving up three hits and three runs with three walks and 13 strikeouts. Harvey won his sixth game of the season, LaTroy Hawkins pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a strikeout, Scott Rice gave up a hit and a walk and didn’t record an out and Bobby Parnell saved his 10th game of the season pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out two.

Colin Cowgill drew a walk, Murphy had two hits and David Wright drew a walk. Byrd had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Lucas Duda drew two walks and John Buck had a hit and an RBI. Juan Lagares had a hit, Jordany Valdespin had an RBI and drew a walk and Omar Quintanilla had a hit and an RBI. Byrd hit a double and Buck hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Alex Wood started for the Braves and took the loss his first of the season. Wood pitched three innings giving up two hits and a run with three walks and five strikeouts. Cory Rasmus pitched three innings giving up three hits and a run with three strikeouts, Cory Gearrin pitched an inning giving up a hit and drew a walk and David Carpenter pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Jordan Walden pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Jordan Schafer had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk, Jason Heyward had two hits and an RBI and Freddie Freeman drew a walk. Brandon Laird drew a walk, Dan Uggla had two hits and drew a walk and Simmons had a hit. Heyward hit a double and the Braves were 3-7 and left six men on base. Heyward was caught stealing and Freeman committed an error.

In the third Byrd hit an RBI single giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Buck hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it a 2-0 game. Valdespin had an RBI walk in the eighth and Quintanilla had a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-0 game. Schafer hit a two run single in the bottom of the eighth and Heyward hit an RBI double to make it 4-3 but that would be the final score.

New York Yankees hold on for victory after a late rally by the Anaheim Angels

The New York Yankees defeated the Anaheim Angels on Sunday afternoon. The final score was 6-5 and the game took place at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and pitched well, the bullpen almost blew the game. Travis Hafner hit a three run homerun for the Yankees.

Sabathia pitched eight innings giving up five hits and two runs. He walked three and struck out six. He actually started the ninth but didn’t record an out and got taken out of the game. Dave Robertson pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout and Mariano Rivera picked up his 24th save of the season. Rivera pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout.

Brett Gardner had two hits, Ichiro Suzuki drew two walks and Robinson Cano had a hit. Hafner had a hit, three RBI and drew a walk, Vernon Wells had a hit and an RBI and Lyle Overbay had a hit and an RBI. Jayson Nix had three hits and an RBI, Chris Stewart drew a walk and Gardner, Overbay, Nix and Cano each hit a double. Hafner hit a homerun and the Yankees were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left three men on base. Gardner and Suzuki each had a stolen base and Nix was picked off.

Jered Weaver pitched six innings and picked up his third loss of the season. Weaver gave up seven hits and five runs with four walks and six strikeouts. Jerome Williams pitched three innings giving up two hits and a run and struck out one batter.

Peter Bourjos had two hits and an RBI, Mike Trout had two hits and drew two walks and Albert Pujols drew a walk. Mark Trumbo had a hit and an RBI, Howie Kendrick had a hit and Chris Ianetta drew a walk. Shuck drew a walk, Erick Aybar had a hit and an RBI and Alberto Callaspo had a hit and two RBI. Brad Hawpe had a hit, Trout hit a double and the Angels were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Aybar and Ianetta each committed an error. Ianetta was picked off.

In the third inning the Yankees scored five runs to take a 5-0 lead. Hafner hit a three run homerun, Overbay hit an RBI double and Nix hit an RBI single. Wells hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it a 6-0 game. In the ninth the Angels scored five runs but the final score was 6-5 Yankees. Trumbo hit an RBI single, Aybar hit an RBI groundout and Callaspo hit a two run single. Bourjos hit an RBI single and Rivera struck out Pujols with the bases loaded to end the game.

The Yankees salvaged the final game of the series and long road trip. They finished the road trip with a 4-6 record and their overall record improved to 38-31. The Angels record dropped to 30-39. The Yankees have an off day on Monday and then begin a two game series at Yankee Stadium with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Staten Island Yankees Media Day

I got to take part in Media day on Saturday afternoon for the Staten Island Yankees. It was my first experience with any kind of media day and it was fun. It was held at Richmond County Ballpark in Staten Island, New York, home of the Staten Island Yankees who are the class A short season affiliate of the New York Yankees. The ballpark is really spectacular with a nice backdrop being the Manhattan skyline.

I didn’t really know what to expect, I kind of thought we would be led to a press area and they would bring players and coaches to us for us to get to ask questions. When I arrived I was led to an elevator to wait with a couple other media members. Staten Island Yankees staff came up on the elevator and led us down to the clubhouse where we were able to chat with some of the players, after about 10 minutes or so they announced that Justin Pope the manager was available and me and a small group of reporters were led into his office where we asked him questions just like you see on TV with Joe Girardi. Pope is a guy I remember from his Trenton Thunder days. He was very gracious and a good guy. He answered all the questions; he shook all of our hands as we came into his office. I look forward to working with him this year as I cover the team.

I can’t say that I got any real news worthy statements but I do have some quotes from Pope on the upcoming season and also about him managing in his second year compared to his first which was last year. He said, “I just want the guys to play hard and to get better” He said that is their main goal at this level developing over winning. He said the potential to have three first round picks this season is very exciting and can be a good thing for the team. He said in his second year it could be more relaxing, he knows what to expect now but he is always nervous during games. He loves seeing guys succeed of course and go to the next level. He did say he felt that last year was a tough year, that they started off bad the team and he wants that to change this year. He felt that chemistry was an issue, which I found interesting. He said that you have a lot of guys out of college that have never been with a Latin player before and vice versa and they have to learn to be teammates and respect each other. He said that he has to do better with that because when they get to the next level Tony Franklin and Dave Miley aren’t going to put up with that stuff. Franklin is the manager of the AA Trenton Thunder and Miley of the AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders.

Pope said he doesn’t really feel his approach has changed but he may be more aggressive and more ahead of the game then last year. He said the hardest thing for him is to leave his wife in Florida and who knows how many times he will see her now until Sept/October when the season is over. He said the good thing is he has been down in Tampa since March with spring training and then extended spring so he was home until now when he had to leave to start the season with Staten Island. He said it sounds weird but it is normal for him because baseball is what he knows and he has always had to leave her for a few months a year. He said that he loves baseball and it never goes away, he can never get away from the game.

I find it very interesting and cool that the Staten Island Yankees will have Michael O’Neill the nephew of Paul on the team along with Eric Jagielo at some point who was their number one first round pick out of Notre Dame. Jagielo tweaked a hammy down in Tampa and will miss a few weeks. He will be at third base though when he does join the team. Aaron Judge hasn’t signed yet but when he does he will also be on his way to Staten Island. He is a tall outfielder with a lot of power. I think it will be exciting to see these guys in action this season and the Staten Island Yankees have a chance for a good season. I may be covering these guys this year and then who knows in the next couple of year’s maybe I will see them in the majors with the New York Yankees.   

The New York Mets salvage the final game of series vs. the Chicago Cubs

The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon. The final score was 4-3 and the game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jeremy Hefner started and pitched pretty well for the Mets, the bullpen was good. John Buck had two hits and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had three RBI to lead the Mets offense.

Hefner pitched five innings giving up six hits and three runs with one of them being earned. He walked one and struck out five. Carlos Torres pitched two innings giving up a hit and striking out one, David Aardsma pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Bobby Parnell picked up his fifth win of the season. Parnell pitched a perfect inning.

Daniel Murphy drew a walk, David Wright had a hit and Marlon Byrd had a hit and an RBI. Lucas Duda had a hit and drew a walk, Buck had two hits and Nieuwenhuis had a hit, three RBI and drew a walk. Wright and Duda each hit a double; Byrd and Niewenhuis each hit a homerun. The Mets were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Wright and Murphy each committed an error.

Matt Garza pitched seven innings giving up three hits and no runs with a couple of walks and five strikeouts. James Russell pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Carlos Marmol blew a save and took his fourth loss of the season. Marmol pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and four runs with a walk.

Valbuena had two hits, Starlin Castro had two hits and Nate Schierholtz had a hit and drew a walk. Alfonso Soriano had a hit and an RBI, Darwin Barney had a hit and the Cubs were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Castro committed an error.

In the first Soriano hit an RBI single to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. In the fifth Soriano reached on a throwing error and two runs scored to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. The Mets rallied in the ninth and won the game 4-3. Byrd hit a solo homerun and Nieuwenhuis hit a walkoff three run homerun.

The Mets salvaged the final game of the three game series. The Mets record improved to 25-39 and the Cubs record fell to 28-39. The Mets will begin a four game series with the Atlanta Braves on Monday night. They will play a doubleheader on Tuesday with Matt Harvey pitching in the day game and Zach Wheeler making his major league debut in the night game.

The New York Yankees drop their fifth straight

The Anaheim Angels defeated the New York Yankees on Saturday night. The final score was 6-2 and the game took place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. David Phelps started for the Yankees and didn’t pitch bad, the offense scored two runs in one inning and that was it.

Phelps pitched six innings giving up nine hits and four runs with a couple of walks and strikeouts. Shawn Kelley pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with three walks and Joba Chamberlain pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts.

Brett Gardner had a hit and an RBI, Jayson Nix had a hit and an RBI and Robinson Cano drew a walk. Ichiro Suzuki had two hits, Chris Stewart had a hit and Suzuki hit a double. Gardner hit a triple and the Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Nix and Stewart each had a stolen base and Suzuki had two. Suzuki was also caught stealing.

Tommy Hanson pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and eight strikeouts. Scott Downs struck out the only batter that he faced, Michael Kohn struck out the only batter that he faced and Kevin Jepsen pitched an inning striking out one. Ernesto Frieri pitched a perfect inning with three strikeouts.

Mike Trout had a hit and drew three walks, Josh Hamilton had a hit and an RBI and Albert Pujols had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Mark Trumbo drew a walk, Howie Kendrick had three hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Callaspo had a hit. Erick Aybar had two hits and two RBI, Peter Bourjos had two hits and Hamilton hit a double. Aybar hit a homerun and the Angels were 4-17 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Trout and Bourjos each had a stolen base and Hanson committed an error.

In the second Aybar hit a solo homerun giving the Angels a 1-0 lead. Gardner hit an RBI triple to tie the game in the third. Nix hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead that would be it for the Yankees scoring. Pujols hit an RBI single to tie the game at two in the third. Aybar hit an RBI single in the sixth to make it 3-2 Angels. In the seventh Hamilton hit an RBI double and Kendrick had an RBI walk to give the Angels a 5-2 lead. Pujols had an RBI single in the eight to make it 6-2 which would be the final score.

The Yankees have now lost five games in a row. The Yankees record dropped to 37-31 and the Angels record improved to 30-38. The two teams will play game three of three on Sunday afternoon with the Yankees looking to avoid their second straight sweep.

The New York Mets drop another one to the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs defeated the New York Mets on Saturday afternoon. The final score was 5-2 and the game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jon Niese started for the Mets and pitched ok, his control wasn’t very good. The Mets have six hits with no player having more then one.

Niese pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up six hits and two runs and he walked four and struck out five. LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a walk, Scott Rice pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and Brandon Lyon pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with two walks. Greg Burke pitched an inning giving up two hits and a walk with a strikeout.

Jordany Valdespin had a hit and an RBI, Daniel Murphy had a hit and David Wright had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Marlon Byrd had a hit, Juan Lagares had a hit and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit. Murphy and Wright each hit a double and the Mets were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Murphy had a stolen base and Valdespin and Hawkins each committed an error. Lagares had an outfield assist.

Scott Feldman pitched seven innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and six strikeouts. Carlos Villanueva pitched an inning giving up three hits and a run with two strikeouts and Kevin Gregg earned his ninth save pitching an inning and giving up a hit.

Darwin Barney had two hits, Cody Ransom had two hits, an RBI and drew two walks and Starlin Castro had a hit and two RBI. Anthony Rizzo drew three walks, Scott Hairston had a hit and drew a walk and Wellington Castillo had two hits and an RBI. Ryan Sweeney had two hits, Feldman had a hit and two RBI and Sweeney hit two doubles. Castro hit a double and the Cubs were 3-18 with runners in scoring position and left 16 men on base. Castro had a stolen base and Ransom committed an error.

In the fourth Feldman hit a two run single to make it 2-0 Cubs. Wright had an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 2-1. In the eighth Ransom had an RBI walk and Castro hit a two run double to give the Cubs a 5-1 lead. Valdespin hit an RBI single in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-2 but that would be the final score.

The Mets record dropped to 24-39 and the Cubs improved to 28-38. The two teams will play game three of the three game series on Sunday afternoon with the Cubs looking to sweep the series.