The New York Yankees begin second half with a win over the Cincinnati Reds

The New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 4-3.  David Phelps started and pitched well and the bullpen was good.  Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two run homerun and Derek Jeter and Carlos Beltran each had two hits. 

Phelps pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up three runs, only two of them were earned.  He gave up six hits and a walk and struck out seven to pick up his fourth win of the season.  Dellin Betances pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and struck out three and David Robertson gave up a hit in one inning and earned his 24th save of the season. 

Mike Leake pitched seven innings giving up eight hits and four runs with two walks and five strikeouts.  He lost his eighth game of the season and Sam LeCure pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Brett Gardner drew a walk, Jeter had two hits and Ellsbury had two hits and two RBI.  Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Brian McCann had a hit and an RBI and Beltran had two hits and an RBI.  Kelly Johnson had a hit, McCann and Beltran each hit a double and Ellsbury hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Gardner, Ellsbury and Beltran each had a stolen base and Roberts, Jeter and Betances each committed an error. 

Zack Cozart had two hits, Jay Bruce drew a walk and Devin Mesoraco had an RBI.  Brayan Pena had two hits and two RBI, Chris Heisey had two hits and Ramon Santiago had a hit.  Pena hit two homeruns and the Reds were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Bruce was caught stealing. 

In the first inning McCann hit an RBI double to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the third Pena hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  In the bottom of the third Beltran hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  The Reds tied the game in the fourth on a fielding error by Jeter.  In the fifth Ellsbury hit a two run homerun to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.  Pena hit a solo homerun in the seventh to cut the lead to 4-3 but that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon.  The Yankees have a ten game homestand to open the second half of the season.  They also play most of their games at home in the second half, more than any other team in baseball.  It would be a good time for them to get good at home. 

The New York Yankees even their series with the Baltimore Orioles behind a dominant Shane Greene

The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday evening.  The game took place at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland and the final score was 3-0.  Shane Greene started for the Yankees and pitched great.  The bullpen shut the door with David Robertson picking up his 23rd save in 25 chances this season.  Derek Jeter and Jacoby Ellsbury had big RBI hits in the seventh to give a little bit of a cushion. 

Greene pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings giving up four hits.  He walked two and struck out nine and won his second game of the season and his career.  David Huff gave up a hit to the only batter that he faced, Shawn Kelley pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out one and Robertson pitched a perfect inning for his 23rd save.  He struck out two batters. 

Chris Tillman lost his fifth game of the season pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up seven hits and three runs.  He walked three and struck out four.  T.J. McFarland pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and walking one and Ryan Webb pitched two perfect innings with a strikeout. 

Jeter had two hits and an RBI, Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Mark Teixeira had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks.  McCann had three hits, Kelly Johnson had a hit and Francisco Cervelli had a hit.  Teixeira and Ellsbury each hit a double and the Yankees were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

Nick Markakis had two hits, Steve Pearce had a hit and drew a walk and Manny Machado had a hit and drew a walk.  Flaherty had a hit and the Orioles were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Flaherty had a stolen base and Markakis and Jones each had an outfield assist. 

In the third Teixeira hit an RBI double to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the seventh Jeter had an RBI single and Ellsbury had an RBI single to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead and that would be the final score.  The two teams have split the first two games and the rubber game is on Sunday night.   

The New York Yankees drop the first game of their battle with the Baltimore Orioles

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.  The game took place at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland and the final score was 3-2 in 10 innings.  Hiroki Kuroda started and pitched well.  Brian McCann and Ichiro Suzuki each had two hits. 

Kuroda pitched seven innings giving up three hits and two runs with three strikeouts.  Dellin Betances pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts and Adam Warren took the loss, his fifth of the season pitching 1/3 of an inning.  He gave up two hits and a run and struck out one. 

Miguel Gonzalez pitched eight innings giving up six hits and two runs with five strikeouts.  Zach Britton pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and T.J. McFarland won his third game pitching a perfect inning. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, McCann had two hits and Brian Roberts had a hit and an RBI.  Suzuki had two hits, Yangervis Solarte drew a walk and Kelly Johnson had a hit and an RBI.  Suzuki hit two doubles, Roberts and Johnson each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. 

Adam Jones had two hits, Chris Davis had an RBI and Manny Machado had a hit.  Nick Hundley had two hits and an RBI, Machado hit a double and the Orioles were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

In the second Roberts hit a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the third on a Johnson solo homerun.  In the fourth the Orioles tied it on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Davis.  The Orioles won the game in the tenth inning on a Hundley RBI single. 

The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon.  They will finish the series on Sunday night and then it will be the four day All Star Break.   

The New York Yankees lose finale in Cleveland as the bullpen implodes

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.  The game took place at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio and the final score was 9-3.  The Yankees had a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning but then gave up nine unanswered runs in the last two innings.  David Phelps started and pitched well and the bullpen was bad.  Derek Jeter, Jacoby Ellsbury and Zelous Wheeler each had two hits to pace the offense. 

Phelps pitched six innings giving up seven hits and two runs.  He walked three and struck out five.  Matt Thornton lost his third game of the season pitching 1/3 of an inning and giving up two hits and two runs and Jim Miller 1 2/3 innings giving up six hits and five runs with a walk and two strikeouts. 

T.J. House pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and three runs with two walks and five strikeouts.  Vinnie Pestano pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Kyle Crockett pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and striking out one and Carlos Carrasco picked up his second win pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout.   Scott Atchison pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out one and Nick Hagadone pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Brett Gardner had a hit, Jeter had two hits and drew a walk and Ellsbury had two hits.  Mark Teixeira had a hit and drew a walk, Brian McCann drew a walk and Francisco Cervelli had a hit.  Wheeler had two hits and two RBI, Yangervis Solarte had a hit and an RBI and Ichiro Suzuki had a pinch hit.  Wheeler hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. 

Jeff Kipnis had three hits and drew a walk, Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits, three RBI and drew a walk and Michael Brantley had two hits and two RBI.  Carlos Santana had a hit and two RBI, Lonnie Chisenhall had a hit and drew a walk and Nick Swisher had a hit.  Chris Dickerson had three hits and Roberto Perez had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk.  Dickerson hit a double, Perez hit a triple and a homerun and Santana hit a homerun.  The Indians were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Kipnis had two stolen bases and Chisenhall committed an error. 

In the fourth Wheeler hit a two run homerun to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.  Solarte hit an RBI single in the fifth to make it 3-0.  In the seventh Cabrera hit a three run triple and Brantley hit a sacrifice fly to give the Indians a 4-3 lead.  In the eighth Perez hit a two run homerun, Brantley hit an RBI single and Santana hit a two run homerun to give the Indians a 9-3 lead and that would be the final score. 

The two teams split the four game series and now the Yankees will travel to Baltimore for the final three games before the All Star Break.