New York Yankees split squad doubleheader

The New York Yankees played a day game in Clearwater on Friday afternoon and a night game in Tampa on Friday night.  The Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 4-1 in the day game and lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates by the score of 3-1 at night.  The starting pitcher in the day game was Bryan Mitchell who looked very good and at night was Chris Capuano who was ok.  In the day game Didi Gregorius had a hit and an RBI, Stephen Drew had a hit and Mark Teixeira had a hit.  In the night game Alex Rodriguez drew a walk and Carlos Beltran in his debut also drew a walk. 

Mitchell pitched two scoreless innings giving up a hit with two strikeouts, Jaren Long pitched an inning with a strikeout and picked up the win.  Nick Goody pitched an inning giving up a hit, Matt Tracy pitched two perfect innings and Mark Montgomery pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run.  Branden Pinder picked up the save pitching two innings and walking two with a strikeout. 

In the night game Capuano took the loss pitching two innings and giving up three hits and two runs with four strikeouts.  David Carpenter pitched an inning giving up a hit, Chris Martin pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and Jose Ramirez pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.  Diego Moreno pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit with two strikeouts, Jacob Lindgren pitched 1 1/3 innings with a walk and two strikeouts and Chasen Shreve pitched an inning with a strikeout. 

Gregorius had a hit and an RBI, Nick Noonan had a hit and an RBI and Chase Headley drew a walk.  Drew had a hit, Rob Refsnyder had a hit and drew a walk and Teixeira had a hit.  Kyle Roller had a hit, Greg Bird had a hit and Ramon Flores had a hit and an RBI.  Aaron Judge drew two walks, Tyler Dugas had a hit and Slade Heathcott had a hit and drew two walks.  Bird, Gregorius and Noonan each hit a double and the Yankees were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base.  Judge was picked off and Eric Jagielo committed an error. 

In the night game Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Arcia had a hit and Brett Gardner had a hit.  Beltran drew a walk, Jake Cave had a hit and an RBI and Brian McCann drew a walk.  Rodriguez drew a walk, Jose Pirela drew a walk and Eddy Rodriguez had a hit.  E. Rodriguez hit a double and the Yankees were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base.  McCann had a passed ball.  The Yankees will play Saturday afternoon in Kissimee against the Houston Astros. 

Matt Harvey makes his spring debut and looks great as the Mets win

The New York Mets defeated the Detroit Tigers by the score of 5-4 on Friday afternoon.  The game took place in Port St. Lucie, Florida and the big story was Matt Harvey pitching two perfect innings.  The offense was led by Wilmer Flores with two hits, Matt den Dekker with two RBI and Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI. 

Harvey pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts.  He was also throwing in the upper 90s.  Noah Syndergaard pitched two innings giving up two hits and two runs with two walks and two strikeouts, Jeurys Familia pitched an inning giving up two hits and an unearned run with a walk and a strikeout and Jennry Mejia pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one.  Scott Rice pitched a perfect inning, Vic Black pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and Carlos Torres pitched a perfect inning. 

Juan Lagares had a hit and drew a walk, Granderson had a hit and an RBI and den Dekker had a hit and two RBI.  Muno had a hit and drew a walk, Michael Cuddyer drew a walk and Carillo had a hit.  John Mayberry Jr. had a hit and drew a walk, Flores had two hits and Matt Reynolds had a hit and an RBI.  den Dekker hit a double, Reynolds hit a homerun and the Mets were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Castellanos was picked off, Cuddyer, Familia and Flores each committed an error and d'Arnaud had a passed ball.  Familia had a pickoff. 

Granderson hit an RBI single in the third to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Jose Iglesias hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.  Bryan Holaday hit a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.  In the fifth Rajai Davis hit an RBI single to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.  In the bottom of the seventh Anthony Recker hit into a double play but a run scored and it was 3-2 Tigers.  den Dekker hit a two run double to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.  In the top of the eighth the Tigers tied the game on a Aaron Westlake RBI single.  In the bottom of the ninth Reynolds hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 5-4 win.   The Mets will take on the Miami Marlins on Saturday afternoon from Jupiter, Florida. 

New York Yankees pick up first win of the spring

The New York Yankees defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon.  It was the Yankees first victory of the spring and the game took place in Bradenton, Florida.  Esmil Rogers started for the Yankees and Chase Whitley followed him in relief.  Tyler Austin was the star of the game. 

Rogers pitched two scoreless innings giving up a hit and he struck out one, Whitley pitched two scoreless giving up two hits and striking out one and Cesar Vargas pitched two innings giving up four hits and a run with a strikeout.  Fred Lewis pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two, Nick Rumbelow pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out the side and Garrison pitched a perfect inning. 

Brett Gardner drew two walks, Ramon Flores had a hit and Chris Young had a hit.  Austin had a hit and an RBI, Garrett Jones had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Jose Pirela had a hit.  Rob Refsnyder had two hits and Tyler Wade had a hit.  Refsnyder, Young and Jones each hit a double and Austin hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Flores was picked off and Gardner and Austin each had an outfield assist. 

In the top of the fifth Jones hit an RBI double to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Pirates tied the score in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Jaff Decker.  In the top of the eighth Austin hit a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead and that was the final score.  The Yankees will play a split squad day/night game on Friday.  They play a day game against the Phillies in Clearwater and a night game in Tampa against the Pirates. 

New York Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves 8-2 in first game action of spring

The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the score of 8-2 on Wednesday afternoon.  The game took place in Orlando, Florida at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.  Dillon Gee started for the Mets and was followed by six other pitchers.  Matt Reynolds had two hits and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had four hits to lead the offense. 

Gee pitched two innings giving up two hits and two runs with two walks.  Jon Velasquez pitched two innings giving up two hits with a walk and a strikeout, Jack Leathersich pitched an inning and walked two batters and Zach Thornton pitched an inning with a strikeout.  Dario Alvarez pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout, Akeel Morris pitched a perfect inning and Erik Goeddel pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one batter. 

Juan Lagares had a hit and drew a walk, Brandon Nimmo drew a walk and Matthew den Dekker had a hit.  Cesar Puello drew a walk, Wilmer Flores had a hit and Matt Reynolds had two hits and an RBI.  Johnny Monell had a hit and three RBI, Nieuwenhuis had four hits and an RBI and Eric Campbell had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk.  Daniel Muno had a hit, Brandon Allen drew a walk and Kevin Plawecki had a hit and an RBI.  Wilfredo Tovar had a hit and drew a walk, Lagares and Campbell each hit a double and Monell hit a homerun.  The Mets were 6-16 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base.  They will play on Thursday night against the Washington Nationals. 

New York Yankees notes

The Yankees plan on playing Carlos Beltran on Friday in right field which will be his spring debut.  Alex Rodriguez will take the day off tomorrow, he will get his work in back in Tampa and then play again on Friday in another home game.  He said he was surprised he got a hit in his first at bat, that he was nervous but it was good to be back out there and hear some cheers. 

Brendan Ryan had the day off.  He felt a little sore after the workout yesterday but said he felt good during it.  He is optimistic that he will be on the field soon.  He doesn't expect to play before next week.  Masahiro Tanaka threw a bullpen today and came through it fine.  He will make his first start sometime next week but will have a simulated game before that. 

Scott Baker will start on Saturday for the Yankees.  Girardi said he doesn't have a pitcher to announce after Saturday.  Esmil Rogers starts tomorrow and Chris Capuano and Bryan Mitchell will each pitch on Friday in the split squad game. 

Stephen Drew made an error today but he said he is still learning second base and he is happy to just get in a groove again and have a normal spring training.  He said he considers himself a second baseman and doesn't want any reps at shortstop.  it seems that he will be the starter with Gregorius at short and Ryan as the backup for now.  It is looking more and more like Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela will be back in AAA but that could change. 

Nathan Eovaldi impressed the Yankees today and even some scouts according to Chad Jennings of the Journal News.  He said he felt good and used some splitters that he has been working on.  He also is trying to pitch up in the zone more even if it is just to change the eye level of the batter. 

Rodriguez said he could play the field whenever Joe Girardi wants.  He said he had some good work in the back fields today and that he is ready whenever Girardi is ready for him to take the field.   

New York Yankees lose as Alex Rodriguez makes his spring debut

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon in Tampa, Florida.  The game took place at George M. Steinbrenner Field and saw the return of Alex Rodriguez to action after a year long suspension.  He was 1-2 and drew a walk and had a mix of cheers and boos but nothing overwhelming.  Nathan Eovaldi made his pitching debut for the Yankees and looked pretty good as well as Andrew Miller. 

Eovaldi pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout.  Miller pitched a scoreless inning giving up a hit and striking out two, Kyle Davies pitched two innings giving up three hits and a run with a walk and Danny Burawa pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.  James Pazos pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout, Wilking Rodriguez pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Tyler Webb pitched an inning with a strikeout.  

Didi Gregorius drew a walk, Cito Culver had a hit and Rodriguez had a hit and drew a walk.  Gary Sanchez had an RBI, Francisco Arcia had a hit and Cole Figueroa had a hit.  Mason Williams had a hit which was a double, Arcia also hit a double.  The Yankees were 2-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Drew committed an error and Williams had an outfield assist. 

In the second Cord Phelps hit an RBI single to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.  In the fifth Maikel Franco hit an RBI single to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.  The Yankees got on the board in the bottom of the sixth on a Sanchez sacrifice fly.  In the seventh Aaron Altherr hit an RBI single to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.  The final score of the game was 3-1 and the Yankees record is 0-1-1 now in the spring.  The Yankees will play in Bradenton against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon.  Esmil Rogers will make the start. 

New York Yankees tie the Philadelphia Phillies in Grapefruit league opener

The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies played to a 5-5 tie in the grapefruit league opener for both teams.  The game took place in Clearwater, Florida home of the Phillies.  Adam Warren started for the Yankees and pitched two good innings.  The Yankees future was on display as Luis Severino had an impressive first inning and then struggled a little in his second inning of work.  Aaron Judge hit a three run homerun in the ninth and Greg Bird had two hits. 

Warren pitched two scoreless innings giving up a hit.  He didn't walk a batter or strike out a batter.  Severino pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with two strikeouts, Diego Moreno pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a run, a walk and he had a strikeout and Nick Goody pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.  Jacob Lindgren one of the top relief prospects who was drafted last year pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two unearned runs.  He had a strikeout and Branden Pinder  1 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings.  He had a strikeout.  Shreve pitched an inning giving up a hit and had two strikeouts to close it out. 

The only regulars in the lineup were Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner and they went a combined 0-6.  Jake Cave had a hit and an RBI, Slade Heathcott had two hits and Chris Young had a hit.  Judge had a hit, three RBI and drew a walk, Garrett Jones had a hit and Greg Bird had two hits.  Jose Pirela had a hit and an RBI, Rob Refsnyder drew a walk and Kyle Roller had a hit.  Mason Williams had a hit, Jonathan Galvez had a hit and Nick Noonan had a hit. 

Heathcott, Williams and Bird each hit a double and Judge hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Pirela and Refsnyder each committed an error.  Pirela hit an RBI single in the first.  Ryan Howard hit an RBI single in the fourth to tie the game at one.  Cody Asche hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.  In the bottom of the fifth a balk scored the third run for the Phillies.  Odubel Herrera reached on a throwing error in the seventh and the Phillies took a 4-1 lead.  Aaron Altherr had an RBI single in the seventh to make it 5-1 Phillies.  Cave hit an RBI single in the ninth and Judge hit a three run homerun to tie the game at five.  They didn't play extra innings and the game ended in a 5-5 tie.  The two teams will play each other in Tampa on Wednesday. 

The Mets get ready for the exhibition schedule to begin

The New York Mets will play an intrasquad game on Tuesday and begin their exhibition schedule on Wednesday.  Matt Harvey threw live BP on Monday and there was a lot of talk about that.  David Wright brought a fan down for a lesson on the field, that was pretty cool for the kid.  Sandy Alderson spoke and here are some highlights of what he had to say. 

The Mets could realistically win up to 89 games this season and that is without everyone having great seasons.  Alderson said that Harvey will have a normal spring and start the season as the team planned.  Wilmer Flores will have every oppurtunity to win the starting job at SS but Alderson said there are a few guys in camp who could challenge him. 

The Mets had conversations with the Phillies about trading for SS Jimmy Rollins but couldn't get a deal done.  Rollins just said over the weekend that the Mets were his second choice behind the Dodgers where he ended up.  Alderson said trades during spring training are tough but he will keep all of his options open. 

The Mets are working to limit Juan Lagares throwing this spring, in an effort to monitor the strained elbow that ended his season early last year.  Harvey threw 26 pitches to four batters on Monday.  The four batters were Curtis Granderson, Michael Cuddyer, Wright and Daniel Murphy.  Harvey later announced that he can now throw a curveball.  Harvey said he is ready to face the Tigers on Friday and will throw 35-40 pitches in the game. 

It will be more interesting now as the games are about to begin.  The Mets though will get a intrasquad game out of the way first on Tuesday before starting the games on Wednesday.  harvey wil be a big story on Friday when he gets into his first game action since his Tommy John Surgery.   

New York Yankees intrasquad game on Monday and exhibition games begin Tuesday

The New York Yankees will kick off their grapefruit league schedule with a trip to Clearwater to take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.  They will first have a intraquad game on Monday with a pitching machine doing the pitching.  We know that Adam Warren will make the start on Tuesday and here are some more news and notes. 

Alex Rodriguez was to DH and bat cleanup in the intrasquad game but he will make his exhibition debut on Wednesday at home against the Phillies.  He will not make the trip to Clearwater on Tuesday.  Arod will DH and also he is expected to get 2-3 at bats in that game.  Carlos Beltran is not hurt, the Yankees are just taking it slow with him and he will not appear in a game until Friday. 

Masahiro Tanaka had his first live BP of the spring on Monday morning and came through it fine.  Joe Girardi said "He's right where we want him to be."  CC Sabathia will face hitters for the first time later this week.  Joe Girardi announced today that following Adam Warren starting on Tuesday, Nathan Eovaldi on Wednesday and Esmil Rogers on Thursday will be Bryan Mitchell and Chris Capuano for the split squad on Friday.  Capuano will pitch the home game. 

Luis Severino who is the Yankees top pitching prospect is making the trip on Tuesday and said he is definitely scheduled to pitch.  The rest of the travel squad for the exhibition opener is as follows.  Pitchers: Danny Burawa, Kyle Davies, Nick Goody, Jacob Lindgren, Diego Moreno, Branden Pinder, Chasen Shreve, Tyler Webb.   

Catchers: Francisco Arcia, Kyle Higashioka, John Ryan Murphy, Austin Romine

Infielders: Greg Bird, Cito Culver, Cole Figueroa, Jonathan Galvez, Garrett Jones, Nick Noonan, Jose Pirela, Rob Refsnyder, Kyle Roller

Outfielders: Tyler Austin, Jake Cave, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Slade Heathcott, Aaron Judge, Mason Williams, Chris Young. 

New York Yankees news and notes

The New York Yankees were essentially rained out on Saturday in Tampa.  They did some indoor work but it was a light day.  There were pitchers scheduled for batting practice who will now do that on Sunday and the ones regularly scheduled for Sunday will still throw as well.  It will be a busy Sunday in camp.  The Yankees were going to have an intrasquad game on Sunday but that may happen on Monday now and then the exhibition games begin on Tuesday. 

There are 13 pitchers throwing live BP on Sunday morning.  Luis Severino is throwing a bullpen with Brian McCann catching him which is interesting because McCann usually only catches guys that will be on the team or have a good chance of making it.  Andrew Miller will be throwing live BP and Esmil Rogers is scheduled for a two inning simulated game.  He is being stretched out to be a starter just in case. 

It took a while but Didi Gregorius the new shortstop finally got some attention on Saturday.  He is the replacement for Jeter but the Yankees have focused on telling him he can't replace him, he is just the guy that comes after.  Gregorius seems to be taking it in stride, he is a happy guy, always smiling and says he knows he can't avoid being compared to him but he also knows that no one is Jeter.  He said he isn't worried about the attention, that doesn't bother him at all.  He said he came a little early to camp to start to get to know everyone.  The Yankees were going to have their regular infield on the field on Saturday but that didn't happen.  It was going to be Stephen Drew at second and Gregorius at short with Rob Refsnyder going with the minor league guys and Jose Pirela being with the major league guys.  I am not sure if it really means anything but they are clearly looking at Drew and Gregorius as the starters with Pirela being a likely bench/utility guy and Refsnyder being in AAA.  Things can change with injuries or complete ineffectiveness. 

If that is the case and it looks like Drew will be spending most of his time at second and very little at short then Brendan Ryan seems to be secure on the roster as the backup SS.  He was feeling a little better on Saturday.  Joe Girardi left no doubt on Saturday that Garrett Jones will play both 1B and the OF this season.  Girardi said he will play both in spring training as well, he is not focused on one or the other.  The Yankees have eased Carlos Beltran into defensive drills.  He is on track to play in the early exhibition games but the Yankees don't want him to overdo it. 

Joe Girardi is expected to announce his starters for the first few exhibition games on Sunday.  He was going to do it on Saturday but with the rain that changed.  Alex Rodriguez should be making his spring debut Tuesday or Wednesday.  We should find that out either today or tomorrow most likely.   

New York Mets full squad news and notes

Saturday was a rainy day in Florida and the Mets had a quick workout under cover, not much going on.  Kevin Long the new hitting coach and old Yankees hitting coach did speak on Saturday.  Here is some of what he had to say. 

He will use Robinson Cano as a model for Juan Lagares.  He said he believes he has a lot of potential at the plate and he is excited for him.  That is a pretty good guy to compare too but I don't see that at all.  Lagares has a long way to go but if he makes him a good hitter then they have something since he is so good in the field.  He feels that ideally Curtis Granderson would hit sixth in the lineup but if he gets his OBP up then he should bat higher to get more at bats but that is up to the manager. 

Long and Granderson are going back to the blueprint they used when they were both on the Yankees and Granderson hit 40+ homeruns two years in a row.  I would as it worked and they are comfortable together.  He has had a difficult time getting a read on David Wright because his at bats from last year were all during a shoulder injury and that is what he went through with Carlos Beltran last year.  He wants Daniel Murphy to do a little more damage to the ball, increase his power. 

He said his goal for the team isn't neccessarily to get them to take more pitches but to hit good pitches.  He said last year they got on base but their batting average was low but they scored runs because they got on base.  He said they need to be more efficient from a mechanical perspective.  He has each guy working on something specific to that player.  He told Travis d'Arnaud to stick with what he was doing at the end of last season. 

Every run is going to matter especially with their pitching staff so driving guys in from third will be a big deal.  He said as long as they are around league average which is 50 percent they will score enough runs to win. 

The Mets are strongly considering Bartolo Colon for Opening Day according to several sources.  The game will be in Washington against the Nationals.  It will be either him or another pitcher but it is too early to decide.  I would say probably Jacob DeGrom because of winning rookie of the year but we will have to wait and see.  The way the rotation starts really doesn't matter as it will be out of order anyway eventually but I think a veteran guy like Colon is a good way to get it rolling.  Matt Harvey threw batting practice on Friday and looked good, he will throw another batting practice next week.  Wright, Murphy, Michael Cuddyer and Granderson will not play in the first few exhibition games in an effort to ease them into game action.  The Mets have no plans to talk with Murphy about an extension this season a team source told Adam Rubin.