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 win second straight in Minnesota

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.  The game took place at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the final score was 6-5 Yankees.  Chase Whitley started and was bad, the pend was good.  Brian Roberts had four hits and Francisco Cervelli had three hits. 

Whitley pitched three innings giving up four runs and eight hits.  He walked one and struck out four.  David Huff won his third game of the season pitching three perfect innings with three strikeouts, Adam Warren pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit and Dellin Betances pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run.  David Robertson saved his 20th game of the season pitching an inning giving up a hit and striking out the side. 

Kyle Gibson pitched two innings giving up six hits and six runs, five of them earned.  He walked one and struck out seven and lost his seventh game of the season.  Samuel Deduno pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up three hits and four strikeouts, Caleb Thielbar pitched to one batter and retired him and Casey Fien pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two.  Glen Perkins pitched a perfect inning. 

Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk, Roberts had four hits and an RBI and Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit and two RBI.  Mark Teixeira had a hit and an RBI, Carlos Beltran had an RBI and Cervelli had three hits.  Brendan Ryan had an RBI, Roberts hit three doubles and a triple, Teixeira hit a double and Cervelli hit two doubles.  Gardner hit a triple and the Yankees were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

Brian Dozier had a hit and an RBI, Kurt Suzuki had two hits and Kendrys Morales had two hits.  Oswaldo Arcia had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Trevor Plouffe had an RBI and drew a walk and Chris Colabello had a hit and two RBI.  Eduardo Escobar had a hit, Sam Fuld had two hits and Suzuki hit a double and Arcia hit a triple.  Dozier and Colabello each hit a homerun and the Twins were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Nunez and Arcia each had a stolen base and Dozier was caught stealing.  Suzuki had a passed ball. 

In the first Roberts hit an RBI double, Teixeira hit an RBI double and Beltran hit a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees a quick 3-0 lead.  The Twins answered back with one in the bottom of the first.  Dozier hit a solo homerun, the Yankees scored three more in the second to take a 6-1 lead.  Ryan hit a sacrifice fly and Ellsbury hit a two run single.  Colabello hit a solo homerun in the second to make it a 6-2 game.  In the third Arcia hit an RBI triple and Plouffe hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-4 and then in the eighth the Twins scored one more run to make it a 6-5 game.  Colabello had an RBI groundout and 6-5 would be the final score.  The Yankees have taken the first two of the four game series and look for their third straight on Saturday afternoon. 

The New York Yankees lose in extra innings to the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 4-3 in 12 innings.  David Phelps started and pitched well and the bullpen did a good job.  The offense struggled but Brian Roberts hit a big game tying homerun in the ninth. 

Phelps pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up two runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.  Adam Warren pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up one hit and two walks with a strikeout, Dellin Betances pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a run and two walks and David Robertson pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out one.  Shawn Kelley pitched two innings giving up two hits and striking out two and Jose Ramirez took the loss, his second of the season.  He pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk. 

Chris Archer pitched seven innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and four strikeouts.  Jake McGee pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out one, Joel Peralta pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and Grant Balfour pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two.  Brad Boxberger won his first game pitching two innings with a strikeout. 

Brett Gardner had a hit an RBI, Derek Jeter had a hit and an RBI and Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits and drew a walk.  Mark Teixeira had a hit, Brian McCann had a hit and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Kelly Johnson drew a walk, Brian Roberts had two hits and an RBI and Gardner hit a triple and Roberts hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Ellsbury and Jeter each had a stolen base. 

Desmond Jennings drew two walks, Ben Zobrist drew three walks and Matt Joyce had a hit and an RBI.  Evan Longoria had a hit, James Loney had a hit and Brandon Guyer drew two walks.  Logan Forsythe had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Ryan Hanigan had a hit and an RBI.  Kevin Kiermaier had three hits and an RBI, him and Joyce each hit a homerun.  The Rays were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.  Brandon Guyer had two stolen bases  and Jennings was caught stealing twice. 

Joyce homered in the first to give the Rays a 1-0 lead.  Kiermaier hit a solo homerun in the third to give the Rays a 2-0 lead.  In the bottom of the third Gardner hit an RBI triple and Jeter hit an RBI groundout to tie the game at two.  In the eighth Hanigan hit an RBI single to make it 3-2 Rays.  In the bottom of the ninth Roberts hit a solo homerun to tie the game at three.  In the 12th Forsythe hit an RBI single to give the Rays a 4-3 lead and that was the final score. 

New York Yankees win late in Anaheim

The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.  Hiroki Kuroda started and pitched great.  Yangervis Solarte and Brian Roberts each had two hits to lead the offense. 

Kuroda pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up five hits and three runs with one of them being earned.  He walked none and struck out eight.  Shawn Kelley picked up his first win of the season pitching 1/3 of an inning and giving up a hit.  He did strike out a batter and Dave Robertson picked up his fifth save in as many chances.  Robertson pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. 

C.J. Wilson pitched eight innings giving up seven hits and three runs with three walks and five strikeouts.  Ernesto Frieri took his third loss of the season pitching an inning.  He gave up a hit and a run with a strikeout. 

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Derek Jeter had a hit and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit and drew a walk.  Alfonso Soriano had a hit and an RBI, Solarte had two hits and Brett Gardner had a hit.  Roberts had two hits and two RBI and hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Solarte committed an error. 

Erick Aybar had a hit and an RBI, Mike Trout had a hit and an RBI and Albert Pujols had two hits and an RBI.  Hank Conger had a hit, Colin Cowgill had a hit and Trout hit a triple.  The Angels were 1-2 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. 

In the third Aybar and Trout each hit a sacrifice fly to give the Angels a 2-0 lead.  Roberts hit an RBI single and Ellsbury hit into a double play to score a run and tie the game at two.  In the eighth Soriano hit an RBI single giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead.  Pujols hit an RBI single in the eighth to tie the game at three and Roberts hit a solo homerun in the ninth to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.  The game would end 4-3 and the series tied at one game each.  The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Wednesday night. 

The New York Yankees still searching for offense in loss to Houston

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.  The game took

place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas and the final score was 3-1.  Hiroki Kuroda started for

the Yankees and pitched well.  The bullpen was pretty good.  Brian Roberts led the offense with

three hits but the Yankees were 0-10 with runners in scoring position. 

Kuroda pitched six innings giving up two runs on three hits.  He walked one and struck out five, he took his first loss of the season.  David Phelps pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two walks and two strikeouts, Matt Thornton got one out and walked another batter and Shawn Kelley retired the only batter that he faced. 

Cosart got the win for Houston pitching five innings and giving up no runs on four hits.  He didn't walk a batter and struck out three.  Jerome Williams pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk and he struck out two, Kevin Chapman pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks.  Matt Albers pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out four and Josh Fields picked up his first save pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk, Derek Jeter drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Brian McCann had two hits, Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk and Roberts had three hits.  Beltran hit a double and the Yankees were 0-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Ellsbury had a stolen base and Teixeira committed an error. 

Dexter Fowler had two hits and an RBI four Houston, Grossman and Dominguez had a hit and an RBI.  Fowler hit a triple and a homerun and Dominguez hit a homerun.  The Astros were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Villar had a stolen base. 

In the first inning Fowler hit a leadoff homerun to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.  The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on an error by Teixeira allowing the runner to score from third.  In the seventh the teams exchanged runs to make it a 3-1 game and that was the final score.  The two teams will play the third and final game of the series on Thursday night.  The Yankees will be looking to avoid the sweep and get their first win of the season. 

Yankees Thursday spring training notes

Derek Jeter made his debut in 1996 and Kelly Johnson now his teammate was in the eighth grade.  I

was a senior in high school and it is crazy how time passes by.  Johnson said he is now 32 and that

isn't even that young.  He said it is surreal, that he feels like he is back to being a rookie again. 

He said it is amazing to be playing next to him, he grew up watching him.  It was a comfortable

feeling for the Yankees and their fans to see Jeter back at shortstop and smiling again.  He was

0-2 and didn't have to make a play in the field but he looked good running and everything seems

to be fine.  He won't play on Friday but should be back in the lineup on Saturday and then just start

getting more into the flow of things.  David Phelps said he is the leader and it was nice having him

out there.  He said even on a pop up hearing him say who has it and good job Phelps, things like that.

Phelps in his first spring start got through two innings allowing a run.  He struck out four guys though

and didn't walk anyone.  He said his control was good and he was pleased with the outing. 

Phelps is off the radar a little although he will be a big part of the team either as a fifth starter or out

of the bullpen.  He doesn't get the attention of Michael Pineda or Mashahiro Tanaka and even joked

about that.  He said it has been nuts all the extra media to see him.  I think that is pretty funny and

it seems like a good group so far that is having fun.  They seem to be meshing together well and that

is a good thing.  We will have to see how it translates on the field but so far so good. 

Brian Roberts was the last of the regulars to make his spring debut and said the strangest part was

putting on a different uniform.  He said he has played against the Yankees a lot and staying in the

same division makes it easier.  Mark Teixeira will get into a game next week as he is taking it slow

coming back from a major wrist injury. 

Roberts said the basic same thing as Jeter.  That he isn't worried about anything injury wise, he feels

good and expects to play.  It doesn't mean that he will play all the time and I would have my concerns

most with him.  He hasn't played a full year in four years although last year is the most he has played

and he was healthy the whole second half so that is a good sign. 

Eduardo Nunez was feeling better on Thursday.  He said it was just bad salmon he ate on Tuesday

and not related to what Alfonso Soriano had.  Nunez had a good line about missing a week like

Soriano.  He said "A week, if I miss a week I don't make the team."  I agree though he is on the

bubble.  This is probably his last chance, he needs to make the team and play well and stay healthy.

I think he could be their third baseman with Kelly Johnson but the Yankees don't seem to feel the

same way. 

The New York Yankees continue to add players as they near the magic 189

The New York Yankees continue to add players as they near the magic 189


The New York Yankees added switch-hitting second baseman Brian Roberts on Tuesday and left handed reliever Matt Thornton. These were two low cost guys that have been good in the past. Thornton is replacing Boone Logan who got way too much for the Yankees. Thornton signed a two-year deal for about seven million. If he is used as strictly a lefty-to-lefty guy he can be good. He still throws hard although he used to throw a lot harder.

Brian Roberts has played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles so the Yankees and their fans know him well. He hasn’t really had a good season since 2009 and has been hampered by injuries. He is a low cost high reward type guy. His deal is for one year and two million with incentives. Roberts has been an all-star twice. He plays good defense. He used to steal some bases and have some pop. The Yankees are hoping he stays healthy can gets back to his old form or at least close to it. You can’t fault them for trying. If it doesn’t work out like Kevin Youkilis last year then he is gone after the year and if it does you can always resign him.

Roberts is 36 years old and was an all-star in 2005 and 2007. He has played 13 seasons in the major leagues. In 2009 he hit 283 with 16 homeruns and 79 RBI and led the big leagues with 56 doubles. He started with his injury issues the following year though and hasn’t been the same. Roberts last season batted 249 with eight homeruns and 39 RBI. He played in 77 games, which was his highest total in the last four years.

The

The New York Yankees lose 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 5-1 on Monday morning. The game took place in Sarasota, Florida. Brett Gardner and Jayson Nix provided all the offense for the Yankees as they were the only two guys from last years playoff series against Baltimore in the game. Vidal Nuno started for the Yankees and pitched pretty well. 
Nuno pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with five strikeouts. He took the loss, Bryan Mitchell pitched one inning giving up two hits and a run, Corey Black pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs with two walks and Shane Greene pitched an inning giving up a hit. Ryan Pope pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run, Kelvin Perez pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one and Josh Spence pitched a perfect inning.

Gardner had three hits including a bunt single. Nix had two hits, Gil Velazquez had a hit, Gregory Bird had a hit and Walter Ibarra had a hit and an RBI. Melky Mesa and Corban Joseph each drew a walk in the game. The Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Joseph had a stolen base. Dan Johnson committed an error.

Brian Matusz picked up the win pitching two innings giving up two hits and striking out a batter. Tommy Hunter pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out two, Pedro Strop pitched an inning walking one and striking out one and Mark Hendrickson pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out one. Mike Wright pitched two innings giving up a hit and striking out one, Zach Clark pitched an inning striking out one and Adam Russell pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a strikeout.

Nate McLouth had a hit and two RBI, Brian Roberts had two hits and Nick Markakis had two hits and an RBI. Chris Dickerson had a hit, Adam Jones had a hit and an RBI and Trayvon Robinson had a hit. Russ Canzler had a hit and an RBI, Roberts had two doubles, Jones and McClouth each had a double. The Orioles were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Jackson and Robinson each had a stolen base.

Adam Jones had an RBI double in the first to make it 1-0 Orioles. Markakis had an RBI single in the third and in the fourth McClouth had a two run double to make it 4-0 Orioles. Canzler had an RBI single in the sixth to make it 5-0 and the Yankees scored their only run in the ninth. Ibarra had an RBI single and the final score was 5-1 Orioles.

The Yankees spring record fell to 1-2 and the Orioles are now 3-0. The Yankees will play at the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow afternoon and the Orioles will play at the Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow.