New York Yankees Recap: Yankees and Phillies settle for split of the doubleheader in Philly

Mike Tauchman, New York Yankees
Apr 16, 2019; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Mike Tauchman (39) watches his three-run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto punish the Yankees

The New York Yankees that are number one in all of baseball fell to the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday afternoon in a game that was pitched by the Yankees miserably. J.A. Happ in his second start of the season again faltered. Happ allowed two on base in the first but got out of it.  At the bottom of the frame, the Yankees scored a run when they loaded the bases and Gleyber Torres drove in DJ LeMahieu from third for the early Yankee 1-0 lead.

With one on in, the second Brett Gardner smashed his third home run in his last four games for the Yankee 3-0 lead.  Happ got through the inning and it looked as though it was going to be all Yankees.  Then came the third inning when Happ completely fell apart. First, with one on Bryce Harper blast one to the center-field seats, 3-2 Yankees. Then Happ loaded the bases and walks a run in for a tied score. In the inning, Happ gave up four runs while walking six Phillies and that was the end of Happ’s night.

Jonathan Holder pitched a clean fourth inning. Nick Nelson came in to pitch in the fifth, he ended up being a bigger disaster than Happ was, he gave up six runs in one and two-thirds innings. Two of those runs scored when Nelson threw a ball over catcher Kyle Higasioka’s head with the bases loaded. Luis Cessa made his first appearance since coming back from the coronavirus shut down the Phillies to close the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless ninth.

Totally poor pitching on the New York Yankees part led to the 11-3 loss and the loss of being first in all of baseball, that honor now goes to the Minnesota Twins who are 10-2.  The only bright spots in the game were Brett Gardner’s third homer of the year, Aaron Judge had his seventh home run in as many games, DJ LeMahieu going 3 for 3, and the reemergence of Luis Cessa. The Yankees have to fix whatever is wrong with J.A. Happ, they can’t have him losing every game his pitches in the first few innings.

Final score Phillies 11 Yankees 7.  Zack Wheeler got the win, Happ the loss, and Hector Neris got the save for the Phillies.

Game 2 – Yankee bullpen does their job in 3-1 Yankee win

Game two was a bullpen game for the New York Yankees.  Jonathan Loaisiga opened pitching two and a third innings giving up just one run.  Luis Avilan followed for a scoreless inning, and Chad Green continued to impress pitch two and a third scoreless innings.  Adam Ottavino got one out in the sixth, and Zack Britton in the seventh got his fifth save of the season.

At the top of the second inning, Gleyber Torres showed his infield weakness when he made a diving catch but then made an error when the ball went off his glove scoring the only Phillies run in the game.  At the bottom of the frame, Luke Voit hit a no-doubter, tieing the score at one.  The Yankee’s bat remained silent as Aaron Nola went into double digits strikeouts.

In the final (seventh) inning the Yankee bats came alive. With two on, centerfielder Mike Tauchman hit a long double driving in a run for the Yankee lead.   Gio Urshela got a hit driving in Tyler Wade from third for the final 3-1 Yankee win. Britton saved it for the Yankees in the bottom of the frame.

Adam Ottavino pitching only 1/3 of an inning got the win for the Yankees, Tommy Hunter the loss, and Britton the save.

The Yankees showed in game two that they can play small ball too.  The “little” guys got the win without the help of the big bats but accompanied by solid pitching.  The Yankees continued to show that the bullpen is sharp and can get the job done.  Probably the biggest take away from the doubleheader is that the Yankee must figure out how to fix Happ, or stop putting him out there to lose games.