The New York Mets drop a pitching duel to the Philadelphia Phillies

The New York Mets were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 1-0.  Bartolo Colon started for the Mets and pitched well, pen was good.  The Mets offense only managed three hits. 

Colon pitched six innings giving up five hits and one run with seven strikeouts.  Colon took his first loss of the season.  Hansel Robles pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Antonio Bastardo pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Jeurys Familia pitched an inning giving up three hits and he struck out one. 

Vince Velasquez started for the Phillies and pitched six innings giving up three hits and no runs.  He walked three and struck out nine to earn his first win of the season.  Hector Neris pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and he struck out one, Daniel Stumpf pitched to one batter and retired him and David Hernandez pitched an inning striking out two.  Jeanmar Gomez pitched a perfect inning to earn his first save of the season and secure the first victory of the season for the Phillies. 

Curtis Granderson drew a walk, Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits and Lucas Duda had a hit.  Wilmer Flores drew two walks, Alejandro De Aza drew a walk and Cabrera hit a double.  The Mets were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  De Aza had a stolen base. 

Cesar Hernandez had two hits, Odubel Herrera had a hit and Maikel Franco had a hit.  Ryan Howard had a hit and an RBI, Cameron Rupp had two hits and Peter Bourjos had a hit.  Bourjos hit a double and Howard hit a homerun.  The Phillies were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Hernandez was caught stealing. 

The only run of the game came in the fifth inning on a Howard solo homerun.  The win was the first of the year for the Phillies and the two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday afternoon.  Matt Harvey will get the start for the Mets.   

CC Sabathia leads the New York Yankees to a victory over the Detroit Tigers

The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon.  The game took place at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan and the final score was 8-4.  CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and he pitched pretty well, longest start of the year for a Yankees starter.  The offense was balanced but Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran each hit a homerun. 

Sabathia pitched 6 innings giving up four hits and three runs with four walks and three strikeouts.  He earned his first win of the season.  Kirby Yates pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout, Chasen Shreve retired the only batter that he faced and Dellin Betances pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out the side.  Andrew Miller pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Mike Pelfrey took his first loss of the season pitching 3 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and six runs with a walk and three strikeouts.  Buck Farmer pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with a walk and four strikeouts, Logan Kensing pitched two innings giving up two hits and two walks and Drew VerHagen pitched a perfect inning. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit and three RBI, Brett Gardner had two hits and Rodriguez had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Brian McCann had two hits and drew a walk and Beltran had two hits and two RBI.  Starlin Castro had two hits and drew a walk, Didi Gregorius had a hit and two RBI and Ronald Torreyes had three hits.  Ellsbury hit a triple, Rodriguez and Beltran each hit a homerun and the Yankees were 5-13 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Gardner had a stolen base and was also caught stealing.  Gardner committed an error. 

Ian Kinsler had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Justin Upton had a hit and Miguel Cabrera drew a walk.  Victor Martinez drew a walk, J.D. Martinez had a hit and James McCann had a hit and two RBI.  Jose Iglesias had two hits, Mike Aviles had a hit and Anthony Gose drew a walk.  Upton hit a double and the Tigers were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

In the first Rodriguez hit a solo homerun giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the second Gregorius hit an RBI single to make it a 2-0 game.  Gregorius hit a sac fly in the fourth to make it 3-0 Yankees.  Ellsbury hit a three run triple still in the fourth and the lead was pushed to 6-0.  In the bottom of the fourth J. McCann hit a two run single to cut the lead to 6-2.  Beltran hit a two run homerun in the fifth to make it 8-2.  In the seventh a wild pitch made it a 8-3 game and Kinsler hit an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 8-4 which was the final score.  The two teams will play the rubber game on Sunday night.  Masahiro Tanaka will make the start against Justin Verlander.   

New York Mets win their home opener over the Philadelphia Phillies

The New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday afternoon.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 7-2.  Jacob deGrom started for the Mets and pitched well and so did the bullpen.  Neil Walker had two hits and two RBI and Michael Conforto had two hits and three RBI to lead the offense. 

deGrom started for the Mets and pitched six innings giving up five hits and a run with six strikeouts.  He picked up his first win of the season.  Jim Henderson pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts, Hansel Robles pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and an unearned run and he struck out one and Jerry Blevins pitched to two batters retiring them both.  Antonio Bastardo pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two. 

Jerad Eickhoff started for the Phillies and took his first loss of the season.  He pitched five innings giving up five hits and three runs with two of them being earned.  He walked two and struck out three.  Dalier Hinojosa pitched to two batters retiring them both, Daniel Stumpf pitched to one batter and retired him and James Russell pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and four runs with two walks.  David Hernandez pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one and Hector Neris pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

David Wright had a hit and drew a walk, Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and Lucas Duda had a hit and drew two walks.  Walker had two hits and two RBI, Conforto had two hits and three RBI and Asdrubal Cabrera had a hit.  Travis d'Arnaud had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, deGrom had an RBI and Wright, Duda and Conforto each hit a double.  The Mets were 4-14 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Wright committed an error. 

Freddy Galvis had a hit, Cesar Hernandez had two hits and an RBI and Odubel Herrera had a hit and an RBI.  Darin Ruf had a hit, Andres Blanco had a hit and Cedric Hunter had a hit.  Eickoff had a hit and it was a double.  The Phillies were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  C. Hernandez was caught stealing and Galvis committed an error. 

In the second deGrom hit an RBI groundout to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth Herrera hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.  In the bottom of the sixth Walker hit an RBI single to give the Mets a 2-1 lead and Conforto hit an RBI double to make it 3-1.  In the bottom of the seventh Walker hit an RBI single making it 4-1 Mets.  Conforto hit a two run single and d'Arnaud hit an RBI single still in the seventh and it was 7-1 Mets.  In the eighth C. Hernandez hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 7-2 and that would be the final score. 

The Mets are now 2-1 on the season and the Phillies are still searching for their first win at 0-4.  The two teams will play game two of three on Saturday night. 

New York Yankees are shutout in frigid Detroit

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers on Friday afternoon.  The final score was 4-0 and the game took place at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan.  Luis Severino started for the Yankees and pitched ok.  The Yankees offense only managed three hits. 

Severino pitched five innings giving up ten hits and three runs.  He walked none and struck out five and took his first loss of the season.  Johnny Barbato pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two and Luis Cessa pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts. 

Jordan Zimmermann pitched seven innings giving up two hits and no runs with three walks and three strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.  Justin Wilson pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out two and Kyle Ryan pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk and Mark Teixeira had a hit and drew a walk.  Chase Headley drew a walk, Austin Romine drew a walk and the Yankees were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Ellsbury was caught stealing. 

Ian Kinsler had two hits, Miguel Cabrera had two hits and two RBI and J.D. Martinez had two hits.  Nick Castellanos had four hits, James McCann had a hit and Jose Iglesias had two hits and an RBI.  Anthony Gose had an RBI, Kinsler hit a double and Cabrera hit a homerun.  The Tigers were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

In the first Cabrera hit an RBI single to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Iglesias hit an RBI single to make it a 2-0 game.  Gose hit an RBI groundout to make it 3-0 still in the fourth.  Cabrera hit a solo homerun in the seventh to make it 4-0 and that would be the final score. 

The Yankees are now 2-2 on the season and the Tigers are 3-0.  The two teams will face each other on Saturday afternoon in the middle game of the series. 

The New York Yankees rally for win over the Houston Astros

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros on Thursday evening.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 8-5.  Nathan Eovaldi started for the Yankees and wasn't very good, their bullpen was great.  Brian McCann, Starlin Castro and Mark Teixeira each hit a homerun. 

Eovaldi pitched five innings giving up six hits and five runs with no walks and seven strikeouts.  Kirby Yates pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two, Chasen Shreve pitched a perfect inning earning his first win of the season and Dellin Betances pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.  Andrew Miller pitched an inning giving up two hits and he struck out the side picking up his first save of the season. 

Mike Fiers started for the Astros and pitched five innings giving up nine hits and five runs with three strikeouts.  Will Harris took the loss, his fist of the season pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two strikeouts, Ken Giles pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout and Tony Sipp pitched an inning with a walk. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits and an RBI, Brett Gardner had a hit and Alex Rodriguez had two hits and an RBI.  Teixeira had two hits and three RBI, McCann had two hits and an RBI and Chase Headley had an RBI.  Castro had two hits and an RBI, Didi Gregorius had a hit and drew a walk.  Ellsbury  hit two doubles, McCann, Castro and Teixeira each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Gregorius had a stolen base. 

Colby Rasmus had a hit, Carlos Gomez had two hits and Luis Valbuena had two hits.  Tyler White had three hits and four RBI, Preston Tucker had a hit and an RBI and Valbuena and Gomez hit a double.  White and Tucker each hit a homerun.  The Astros were 2-5 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Valbuena committed an error and Rasmus had an outfield assist. 

In the second White hit a two run homerun to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.  Tucker hit a solo homerun and it was 3-0 Astros in the second inning.  In the bottom of the second Headley hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 3-1.  In the third Ellsbury hit an RBI double to cut the lead to 3-2.  White hit a two run single in the fourth to push the Astros lead to 5-2.  McCann hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-3.  Castro hit a solo homerun and it was 5-4.  In the bottom of the fifth Rodriguez hit an RBI single to tie the game at five.  In the seventh Teixeira hit a three run homerun giving the Yankees an 8-5 lead and that would be the final score. 

The Yankees record is 2-1 on the season as they took two out of three in this opening series and have won two straight since dropping the opener.  The Astros are 1-2 and will head to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers on Friday night.  The Yankees will head to Detroit to take on the Tigers on Friday afternoon and Luis Severino will make his first start of the season. 

The New York Yankees offense explodes in rout of the Houston Astros

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 16-6.  Michael Pineda started for the Yankees and did not pitch very well, Ivan Nova pitched very well in relief.  Starlin Castro had four hits and five RBI and Mark Teixeira had four RBI to lead the offense. 

Pineda pitched five innings giving up eight hits and six runs with no walks and five strikeouts.  He earned his first win of the season.  Nova pitched four shutout innings giving up four hits and a walk with five strikeouts and earned his first save of the season. 

Collin McHugh started for the Astros and pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and six runs with five of them being earned.  He walked two and didn't strike out any batters.  Michael Feliz pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and six runs with four walks and four strikeouts, Tony Sipp pitched an inning giving up three hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts and Josh Fields pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up four hits and three runs and he struck out one.  Pat Neshek pitched a perfect inning. 

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, Brett Gardner drew four walks and Alex Rodriguez drew two walks.  Teixeira had two hits and four RBI, Brian McCann had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had two hits and two RBI.  Aaron Hicks had a hit, Chase Headley had a hit and an RBI and Ronald Torreyes had a hit and two RBI.  Castro had four hits and five RBI, Didi Gregorius had three hits and McCann and Castro each hit a double.  Torreyes hit a triple and Castro, Teixeira and Beltran each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 9-16 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Headley and Ellsbury each had a stolen base. 

Jose Altuve had a hit, George Springer had a hit, four RBI and drew a walk and Carlos Correa had four hits and two RBI.  Colby Rasmus had two hits, Luis Valbuena had a hit and Tyler White had two hits.  Preston Tucker had a hit and Rasmus, Tucker and White each hit a double.  Correa hit two homeruns and Springer hit a homerun.  The Astros were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Castro committed an error. 

In the first Correa hit a solo homerun to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first Teixeira hit an RBI single, McCann hit a two run double, Beltran hit an RBI groundout, Headley hit an RBI single and Castro hit an RBI single to make it 6-1 Yankees.  In the second Springer hit a grand slam to cut the lead to 6-5 Yankees.  In the second Castro hit a three run homerun to push the Yankees lead to 9-5.  In the third Teixeira hit a three run homerun to give the Yankees a 12-5 lead.  In the fifth Correa hit a solo homerun to make it 12-6.  In the sixth Beltran hit a solo homerun and in the seventh Torreyes hit a two run triple to make it 15-6 Yankees.  Castro hit an RBI single making it 16-6 Yankees and that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Thursday afternoon.  The Yankees will then head to Detroit for three games and Toronto for three before returning home for a long homestand. 

The New York Mets bounce back with a shutout win over the Kansas City Royals

The New York Mets defeated the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday evening.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 2-0.  Noah Syndergaard started for the Mets and pitched great.  Neil Walker led the offense with two hits and two RBI. 

Syndergaard pitched six innings giving up three hits and no runs with a walk and nine strikeouts.  He earned his first win of the season.  Jim Henderson pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts, Addison Reed pitched a perfect inning and Jeurys Familia earned his first save of the season pitching a perfect inning and striking out a batter. 

Chris Young started for the Royals and took the loss pitching five innings and giving up three hits and two runs with three walks and four strikeouts.  Danny Duffy pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout, Luke Hochevar pitched 1/3 of an inning with a walk and Kelvin Herrera pitched an inning giving up two hits and he struck out two.  Joakim Soria pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. 

Curtis Granderson drew a walk, David Wright had a hit and drew two walks and Yoenis Cespedes drew a walk.  Lucas Duda had a hit, Walker had two hits and two RBI and Asdrubal Cabrera had a hit.  Travis d'Arnaud drew a walk, Juan Lagares had a hit.  Walker hit a homerun and the Mets were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Wright had two stolen bases. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Lorenzo Cain had a hit and Eric Hosmer drew a walk.  Kendrys Morales had a hit which was a double and Escobar hit a triple.  The Royals were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Cain had a stolen base. 

In the fourth Walker hit a two run homerun to account for the only scoring in the game.  The Mets and Royals split the two game series and the Mets will now have off the next two days.  They will have their home opener on Friday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies.   

New York Yankees lose controversial opener to the Houston Astros

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Houston Astros on Tuesday afternoon.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 5-3.  Masahiro Tanaka started for the Yankees and pitched well, Dellin Betances had a rough inning and it was also a controversial play in that inning that changed the game.  Starlin Castro hit a two run double in his Yankees debut. 

Tanaka pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up two runs on four hits and a walk.  He struck out four batters.  Chasen Shreve pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and he struck out two, Betances took the loss pitching 2/3 of an inning and giving up a hit and three runs with none of them being earned.  He walked two and struck out a batter.  Johnny Barbato in his major league debut pitched 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. 

Dallas Keuchel won his first game of the season pitching seven innings and giving up three hits and two runs with four walks.  He also struck out five batters.  Ken Giles pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with two strikeouts and Luke Gregerson earned his first save of the year pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Aaron Hicks drew a walk, Alex Rodriguez drew a walk and Mark Teixeira drew a walk.  Carlos Beltran had a hit, Brian McCann had a hit and drew a walk and Castro had a hit and two RBI.  Didi Gregorius had a hit and an RBI.  Castro hit a double and Gregorius hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.  Rodriguez had a stolen base and Betances committed an error. 

Jose Altuve had a hit and drew a walk, George Springer had a hit and Carlos Correa had a hit and two RBI.  Colby Rasmus drew two walks, Luis Valbuena had a hit and two RBI and Preston Tucker had a hit.  Tyler White had a hit, Altuve hit a double and Tucker hit a double.  Correa hit a homerun.  The Astros were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Correa had two stolen bases and Altuve had a stolen base. 

In the second Castro hit a two run double to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.  In the fourth Correa grounded into a force out and a run scored cutting the lead to 2-1.  In the sixth Correa hit a solo homerun to tie the game at two.  In the eighth Correa reached on a fielding error by Betances and a run scored giving the Astros a 3-2 lead.  Valbuena hit a two run single to make it 5-2 Astros.  Gregorius hit a solo homerun in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-3.  The final score would be 5-3 and the two teams will play game two of three on Wednesday night. 

New York Yankees season preview

The New York Yankees will begin their season on Tuesday afternoon at home against the Houston Astros.  It will be the exact same matchup as was the final game for the Yankees of last season.  Masahiro Tanaka vs. Dallas Keuchel ended the Yankees season last October in the wild card playoff game.  The Yankees will be looking for some revenge in this one and feel they are better equipped this season to face left handed pitchers. 

The Yankees didn't sign any free agents which is something they basically never do.  They did make a couple of trades though.  They traded for second baseman Starlin Castro from the Cubs and gave up Adam Warren who was a very valuable arm for them last season.  They also acquired closer Aroldis Chapman who will sit out the first month of the season after being suspended for an incident that took place in December at his home with his girlfriend.  The Yankees will have Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances coming back to be in the back end of the bullpen and then when he comes back they are expected to slide back an inning with him taking over the closer role.  Chasen Shreve will fill in as the seventh inning guy until then and then slide back himself when Chapman comes back.  The Yankees did have a couple surprises this season with Luis Cessa and Johnny Barbato making the pen and Ivan Nova serving as the long man instead of the fifth starter.  CC Sabathia will be the fifth starter even though Nova outpitched him this spring. 

The Yankees offense looks pretty good with Teixeria, Beltran and Arod back in the middle of the order.  Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner once again will be the table setters and expect bigger years from them.  Chase Headley, Castro and Didi Gregorius will be at the bottom of the order and that seems to be a pretty good 7-9 in the lineup.  Brian McCann had a big year power wise last year and will look to follow that up and maybe not wear out as much in the end of the season.  The Yankees bench looks to be better than it has been in years.  Aaron Hicks will be the fourth outfielder with Dustin Ackley being the backup first baseman and second baseman.  Ronald Torreyes is the utility infielder with Austin Romine as the backup catcher.  I would expect the bench to be used quite often this season as they look to rest their veteran players hoping they won't be so worn out at the end of the season. 

The Yankees rotation is filled with questions but mainly with them staying healthy and not how good they can be.  Tanaka will lead the rotation followed by Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino.  Sabathia will be the fifth starter for now and Nova will be in the bullpen but ready to step in if need be.  Bryan Mitchell also pitched great this spring but was injured in the final weekend of spring training.  He broke his toe and will be out at least three months.  He was going to be a valuable member of the bullpen. 

I am expecting the Yankees to take a hard fought division and the Toronto Blue Jays to be one of the wild card teams.  I wouldn't be surprised if it went the other way though.  I also think the Cleveland Indians will be a wild card team with that good young pitching.  I am picking the Royals in the Central and the Astros in the west with the Rangers being a contender all the way also.   

The New York Mets open the season the same way they closed last season with a loss to the Kansas City Royals

The New York Mets were defeated by the Kansas City Royals on Sunday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 4-3.  Matt Harvey started for the Mets and pitched ok.  Lucas Duda had two RBI and Michael Conforto had two hits and drew two walks to lead the offense. 

Harvey pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs with three of them being earned.  He walked two and struck out two and took his first loss of the season.  Bartolo Colon pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and he struck out one and Jerry Blevins pitched a perfect inning. 

Edinson Volquez started for the Royals and pitched six innings giving up two hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  He earned his first win of the season.  Kelvin Herrera pitched an inning giving up a hit, Joakim Soria pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs with two walks and a strikeout and Luke Hochevar pitched to one batter and struck him out.  Wade Davis earned his first save of the season pitching an inning giving up a hit and a walk and striking out two batters. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk, David Wright drew a walk and Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and drew a walk.  Duda had a hit and two RBI, Neil Walker had an RBI and Conforto had two hits and drew two walks.  Asdrubal Cabrera had a hit, Travis d'Arnaud drew a walk and Juan Lagares had a hit.  Conforto hit a double and the Mets were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Conforto was caught stealing and Cespedes committed an error.  d'Arnaud had a passed ball. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Lorenzo Cain had a hit and drew two walks and Eric Hosmer had three hits and an RBI.  Kendrys Morales had an RBI, Alex Gordon had a hit and an RBI and Salvador Perez had a hit.  Omar Infante had two hits and an RBI, the Royals were 3-7 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Escobar had a stolen base. 

In the first Hosmer hit an RBI single to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Morales hit a sac fly to make it 2-0 Royals.  Gordon hit an RBI single in the sixth making it 3-0 and Infante made it 4-0 with an RBI single.  Duda hit a two run single in the eighth to cut the lead to 4-2.  Walker hit into a force out and a run scored to make it 4-3 but that would be the final score. 

The Mets and Royals will play game two of two on Tuesday afternoon.  Noah Syndergaard will make the start for the Mets against Chris Young of the Royals.   

New York Yankees lose final spring game in Miami

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Miami Marlins on Saturday afternoon.  The game took place at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida and the final score was 2-1.  Luis Severino started for the Yankees and pitched well.  Jacoby Ellsbury led the offense with a couple of hits. 

Severino pitched five innings giving up three hits and two runs with only one of the runs being earned.  He walked one and he struck out six.  Aroldis Chapman pitched an inning walking two batters and striking out one, Andrew Miller pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and he struck out one and Kirby Yates pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out a batter.  Johnny Barbato pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out one. 

Ellsbury had two hits and an RBI, Brett Gardner drew a walk and Dustin Ackley had a hit.  Pete Kozma had a hit and Ellsbury hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Didi Gregorius committed an error. 

In the first Ellsbury led off the game with a homerun giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first Giancarlo Stanton hit a sac fly to tie the game at one.  In the third Stanton hit an RBI single to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead and that would be the final score. 

The Yankees are scheduled to open the season on Monday afternoon against the Houston Astros with Tuesday afternoon being the makeup date.  Masahiro Tanaka will face off against Dallas Keuchel.  It will be the same two teams and same two pitchers facing off as it was in the wild card game in October at Yankee Stadium. 

The New York Mets season begins Sunday night

The New York Mets will begin their season tonight against the defending champion Kansas City Royals in Kansas City, Missouri.  The game will be at 835PM on ESPN and it will be the same two teams that ended the season last season as they were in the World Series but it ended in New York.  Matt Harvey will get the start for the Mets. 

I am expecting the Mets to do big things again this year.  I do think that the Washington Nationals will probably be better and are a dangerous team but the Mets just have too much pitching.  They have an embarrassment of riches with the pitching.  Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Bartolo Colon and then Zach Wheeler will be back in June or July.  That is impressive, best rotation in baseball in my mind without a doubt and they are all young too other then Colon who will move to the pen once Wheeler returns.  The Mets offense should be better this year as well with Yoenis Cespedes there for a whole year, I think Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera were nice pickups and Wilmer Flores should be a good backup. 

I don't think the Mets offense has to be that good for them to win since the pitching is so good but they should be good enough to win most games.  The bullpen is probably the one weakness but Antonio Bastardo and Jerry Blevins should help.  They have a budding star in closer Jeurys Familia and I don't expect him to regress this season. 

I would expect the Mets to win their division and at least get back to the NLCS if not further.  I am predicting the division and wild cards at this point though and then at the end of the season I will make my postseason picks.  I am taking the Mets in the NL East, Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and San Francisco Giants in the NL West.  My wild card picks are the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks. 

The Mets win their final spring game over the Chicago Cubs

The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.  The game took place at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada and the final score was 8-1.  Steven Matz started and pitched well for the Mets.  T.J. Rivera led the team with a couple of hits. 

Matz pitched five innings giving up no hits and no runs with two walks and six strikeouts.  Sean Gilmartin pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with two walks, Logan Verrett pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Antonio Bastardo an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one.  Jeurys Familia pitched an inning striking out the side. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit, Travis Taijeron had a hit and Wilmer Flores had a hit.  Yoenis Cespedes had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Eric Campbell had a hit and an RBI and Rivera had two hits and an RBI.  Michael Conforto had a hit, Alejandro De Aza had a hit and Matt Reynolds had an RBI.  Travis d'Arnaud had a hit and drew a walk, Matz had a hit and Marc Krauss had a hit.  Ty Kelly had a hit and three RBI, Granderson, Rivera and Krauss each hit a double.  Cespedes and Kelly each hit a homerun and the Mets were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Flores committed an error and d'Arnaud had a passed ball. 

In the second Granderson reached on a throwing error and a run scored making it 1-0 Mets.  In the third Cespedes hit a solo homerun giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.  Reynolds hit a sac fly in the sixth and it was 3-0 Mets.  In the bottom of the sixth John Andreoli drew an RBI walk to cut the lead to 3-1.  In the eighth Kelly hit a three run homerun and it was 6-1 Mets.  Campbell hit a solo homerun in the ninth to push the lead to 7-1 and Rivera hit a homerun making it 8-1.  The final score would be 8-1 Mets. 

The Mets will open the season  on Sunday night in Kansas City against the defending champion Kansas City Royals.  The game is at 835PM on ESPN and Matt Harvey will get the start for the Mets.