Yankees

New York Yankees: Good and bad news following blowout loss to Toronto

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New York Yankees, Michael King

The New York Yankees picked up their second consecutive loss on Monday evening, following a defeat to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. In the first of a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees were blown out 11-5.

Utilizing Michael King as their primary starter for this matchup, he was knocked out of the game relatively early. Before even pitching three complete innings, King had allowed five hits and five earned runs. He now has a bloated 7.76 ERA.

Luckily for the Yankees, they’ve already clinched a playoff spot, which makes the remaining games based more around their seeding for the playoffs.

Good news and bad news for the New York Yankees:

GOOD NEWS:

There wasn’t much good news in Monday evening’s defeat, aside from two batters who performed well. Lead-off man DJ LeMahieu had two hits on the night, and Gleyber Torres went 2-for-2 with two walks. LeMahieu has a 13-game hit streak in the works. He was named the AL player of the week with an impressive statistical output:

.423/.516/1.038 with nine runs scored, 11 hits, four doubles, four homers, 10 RBIs, and five walks in six games.

In what was nearly a four-hour game, the Yankees didn’t seem to have much desire for victory. After plastering 43 total runs against Toronto last week over three games, their offense didn’t show up this time around. With their full batting order in place, you would expect better from the Yankees, and they must catch a hot streak heading into exhibition games.

While a majority of the game was spent watching Yankees go back and forth from the batter’s box, they sparked in the ninth-inning, thanks to a two-out bases-loaded double from Mike Tauchman that cleared the bases.

BAD NEWS:

There was plenty of bad news to go around for the Yankees against Toronto. Their offense was lackluster, going 10 straight batters without getting on base between the 3rd and 7th inning.

As for their pitching, King was not reliable, and Jonathan Loaisiga lasted only one inning, allowing five hits and three earned runs. The starters and relief arms did not provide much confidence for management.

One interesting statistic, the Yankees haven’t had back to back losses of eight runs or more since 2003 against the Athletics. Nonetheless, the Yankees are also closing in on mathematically being eliminated from winning the American League East division. They are currently four games back on the Tampa Bay Rays, who just beat the Mets 2-1 on Monday. They have two more games against the Mets and then a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies to finalize their regular season.

Yankees: GM Brian Cashman has strong words for Luke Voit

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New York Yankees, Brian Cashman

The New York Yankees fell to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday evening 10-2, but it came on the back of a ten-game win streak after falling to .500 on the season.

The Yankees have had their fair share of ups and downs, specifically in the injury department with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, James Paxton, and more spending time on the injured list. The 2020 campaign seems eerily similar to 2019 when the Yankees broke records for the number of injuries that he sustained.

However, manager Aaron Boone was able to rally the troops and still managed to secure 103 wins.

If not for several consistent performers this year, the Yankees might not be in such a luxurious situation. They clinched a postseason spot despite losing to the Red Sox on Sunday night.

If there’s any one player the Yankees should be thanking, it is slugger Luke Voit. General manager Brian Cashman stated on MLB Network that Voit belongs in the AL MVP conversation.

Through 49 games this year, Voit has battled foot issues and still managed to propel the Yankees. He currently leads the MLB with 21 home runs and has 49 RBIs to go with it. His .286 batting average is quite impressive given the sample size he has enjoyed, while other Yankee players have been limited due to injury. Playing through body issues and fighting to keep his team in the hunt is what separates good from great.

Voit has been an absolute godsend for the Yankees and undoubtedly deserves to be in the conversation for the MVP this year. Hopefully, he can continue playing at an elevated level and help the Yankees to a potential World Series appearance.

 

New York Yankees head to Buffalo, enter quarantine

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton

On Monday, the New York Yankees begin a crucial four-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo. The team is looking to run down the Rays in the final week of the season in attempt to win the AL East. The Yankees sit 3.5 games back with seven games left to play, while the Rays have just six.

Although the Yankees didn’t win the series finale against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, they were able to clinch a postseason spot for the fourth straight season with a Mariners loss to the Padres.

With the MLB postseason happening in a “bubble”, the Yankees are being forced to quarantine in hotels starting a week before the postseason. That means that the quarantine officially starts for the team in their Buffalo hotel, and the team will remain in hotels until their postseason elimination. Even when they are in New York for the final series of the regular season this weekend, they must quarantine in a hotel. Team members can only go to the ballpark from the hotel.

If the postseason were to begin today, the Yankees would be the five seed, and would play the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card round. The newly added round will be a three game series, with all games being played at the highest seed. The ALDS will be hosted at Dodger Stadium and Petco Park in California, with the ALCS being hosted at Petco Park. The first three series will be played with no off-days.

The World Series will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, the Rangers home field. Unlike the other series, the Fall Classic will have the traditional 2-3-2 format with off-days. The Rangers won’t make the postseason, confirming that all series will be played at a neutral field.

Although the postseason will look different in 2020, the Yankees are getting healthy and ready to chase a 28th ring.

New York Yankees Previews: Yankees start a four game series with the Jays in Buffalo

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New York Yankees, Jonathan Loaisiga

The New York Yankees has clinched a berth in the playoffs, and tonight they will meet up with the Toronto Blue Jays to begin a four-game series, away in the Jays 2020 home, Buffalo. The Yankees were hoping to clinch their berth in the postseason last night in Boston.  The Yankees, riding a ten-game winning streak, entered last night’s game with high hope, but Deivi Garcia failed, and the Yankee’s bat were near silent.  Never the less, the Yankees clinched their 22nd postseason berth in 26 years when the Seattle Mariners lost to the San Diego Padres.

Pitching sensation Deivi Garcia, in his fifth start of the season, only lasted three innings, giving up six runs in the eventual Yankee 10-2 loss.  The only bright spot in the game is when Luke Voit hit his 21st home run of the season, which leads all of baseball.  21 home runs in this short season equate to 64 home runs in a regular 162 game season.  The would beat the Yankee home run record leader’s 61 home runs in 1961.

Tonight should be a pleasant evening for baseball, with a game-time temperature (6:37 pm) in the high ’60s. The game will be played under mostly clear skies with no chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on the Yes Network, on SNET in Canada, and nationally on MLB Network (out of market only).

The New York Yankees have met up with the Blue Jays six times, so far in the season, winning four of those games, but they never have faced Matt Shoemaker. The righty Shoemaker has been on the IL with right shoulder problems.  There will be pressure on Shoemaker to win tonight’s game, as it could cement his place as the third starter in the Blue Jay’s postseason. He is 0-1 with an ERA of 4.91. The Jays have lost 4 of the 34-year-olds starts.  In his last start, he went five innings in the eventual Jay’s win while striking out six Tampa Bay Rays. Coming off the IL, the Jays don’t expect him to go more than 60 pitches.

The New York Yankees, in an attempt to line up pitchers for the postseason, will give both Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka an extra day’s rest, and start this game with an opener. That opener could be Michael King or Jonathan Loaisiga, although that is no surety. Loaisiga is 3-0 on the season with an ERA of just 2.70 and has started 3 games this season. The Yankees last year and this year, has been quite successful in opener games.  Chad Green is the most successful game opener, so he is a possibility.

“We’re going to try to win games,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’d love to have those (wild card) games at home — not at the expense of anyone, but our guys should be good and ready to go.”

Both teams had streaks end on Sunday. The Yankees (31-22) lost 10-2 to the Boston Red Sox to stop a 10-game winning streak, and the Blue Jays (27-26) defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 to end their skid at six. Both teams will be looking to improve their seeding in the postseason.  It’s most important for the Blue Jays to win as they move closer to clinching their berth in the playoffs. The Yankees swept the Blue Jays in their last meeting at Yankee Stadium.

The New York Yankees played the J.A. Happ situation perfectly

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New York Yankees, J.A. Happ

One of the most pleasant surprises for the New York Yankees this year has been J.A. Happ. The expectations were not high for Happ given how bad he was during the 2019 season. Last year the Yankees‘ weakness was starting pitching.

Despite that being an obvious weakness, Happ didn’t start in the postseason because of how bad he was in 2019. 12-8 with a 4.91 ERA, a WHIP of 1.295, and giving up more than 30 home runs doesn’t earn you a spot in the postseason rotation.

Going into the shortened 2020 season, the Yankees were going to do everything they could to prevent Happ from vesting his option. No way did the Yankees want to be on the hook for $17 million in 2021 after what they had seen from Happ.

However, Happ has surprised everyone this season with his pitching. So far this year he’s pitched to a 3.25 ERA and a 2-2 record. However, if you take out his first two starts, Happ has pitched to an ERA of 1.93 which is absolutely incredible.

The Yankees got the best of both

The Yankees re-signed Happ after he looked great for them in the 2018 season. The market was fierce so the Yankees had to give Happ a 2 year deal at $17 million per year with a vesting third year option. The Yankees were hoping for the best of Happ, but only for two years.

Well, with the shortened season, it looks like they are going to get their wish. Happ is pitching the best the Yankees could have hoped for, and his option doesn’t appear likely to vest. Happ needed ten starts or 61.1 innings pitched. Happ is at eight starts and 44.1 innings pitched right now.

With the amount of games left, Happ will only get one more regular season start with the Yankees. Thus, his option is not going to vest and he will be a free agent after this year. The third Yankees starting pitcher that will hit the market this offseason (James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka).

The Yankees have played this perfectly. Happ is pitching at his best, and the bombers know that they won’t be on the hook for $17 million. Happ’s pitching is good enough to get him another 1-2 year deal with someone, but it won’t be for $17 million, and it won’t be with the Yankees.

WATCH: Boston Red Sox security blows it and allows fan to break into Fenway

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New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are having a tumultuous 2020 campaign with a 20-34 record. It seems as if Fenway park security is just as good as the team this year, as they allowed a fan to break in over the green monster.

With the Yankees down 10-2, they decided to have a bit of fun, putting in catcher Erik Kratz out to pitch an inning. That wasn’t the craziest thing that happened during the game, as the fan that broke into the stadium began throwing Yankee hats out onto the field and yelling for no apparent reason.

The random fan broke in right next to the camera crew, who looked over in awe as he simply climbed over metal bearings to reach the outfield. Standing next to an American flag, the fan yelled out “remember 911 and the Boston marathon, America!”

To be quite frank, his message was heartfelt and reasonable, but breaking into a professional baseball game during the COVID-19 era might not be the best idea. He was quickly removed from the stadium and the game continued, but it was an odd day for the Yankees and Red Sox.

Nonetheless, the Bronx Bombers clinched a postseason spot, coming off a 10 game win streak. The Yankees touched .500 in the win-loss column, but the return of Giancarlo Stanton, Gio Urshela, Aaron Judge, and Gleyber Torres has given them an offensive spark. Against the Toronto Blue Jays this past week, they tallied 46 total runs, hitting six or more homers in three consecutive games, an MLB record.

 

 

 

New York Yankees News: The Bronx Bombers clinch a playoff berth for the 22nd time in 26 years

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton

The New York Yankees yesterday, clinched their playoff berth in the 2020 postseason. Entering yesterday’s Red Sox game, the Yankees were hoping to clinch on their own terms, but a loss to the Red Sox prevented that. Instead, a loss by the Seattle Mariners to the San Diego Padres. But a playoff berth is a berth, and the Yankees will take it.

With the guarantee of playing in the postseason, the Yankees join the Chicago White Sox, the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Minnesota Twins who have also clinched their spot in the playoffs.

Just two weeks ago, when the Yankees were on a losing streak and dipped to .500 in the standings, it looked like the New York Yankee might miss postseason play altogether. But then they went on a rip, winning ten games in a row. One off the Blue Jays, three off the Baltimore Orioles, three more off the Blue Jays and two off the Red Sox. Then when the seattle Mariners lost their game yesterday, the Yankees place in the postseason was cemented.

The New York Yankees have had a topsy turvy baseball season. They started off the regular season with a bang, going 8-1. Then their fortunes changed losing 15 games out of 20. Their pitching wasn’t working and the lineup they had to put up due to so many injuries, just didn’t click like it did in a similar situation last year. Little by little as star players returned the, Yankee began to turn it around.  Pevious to yesteday they won 10 straight games, as the Yankee pitching greatly improved and the hitters dramatically gained power, hitting 29 home runs in 10 games, and scoring 43 runs in the 3 game series with the Blue Jays.

The New York Yankees will go into the playoffs with the healthiest team on the field than they have had all season.  DJ LeMahieu upon return was DJ, Gio Urshela continued where he left off, Giancarlo Stanton has found this stroke, and slugger Aaron Judge is sure to find his. The Yankee pitching for the first time this year, has shown what they can do.  Ace Gerrit Cole leads the team in wins, J.A. Happ has been billiant in last few starts, and Mashiro Tanaka has improved.  The additon of Deivi Garcia has only improved the pitching situation, and the return of Zack Britton to the bullpen has only stenghtened it.

The addition of Clint Frazier to the regular lineup, has had a great impact on team, with his quick bat speed, and improved fielding.  He has made some dramatic diving catches. With missing players, Luke Voit took up the mantle to be the Yankee star of the season, hitting 21 home runs, leading the sport, and putting his hame in contention for the AL MVP.  The Yankees shocked the Toronto Blue Jays Sept. 17 smashing five home runs off right-hander Chase Anderson, including back-to-back-to-back blasts on three consecutive pitches by Brett Gardner, DJ LeMahieu, and Luke Voit. After an out, Stanton and Torres slugged back-to-back drives, helping to power a 10-7 victory.

The Yankees are missing a few key elements to the mix. Luis Severino is out for the season, James Paxton is questionable, and Domingo German may not return until next year.  The bullpen will be missing Tommy Kahnle, who is out with Tommy John surgery.  But, even considering these missing parts, the Yankees have experience in dealing with such adversity.

Although it’s still mathimatically possible, it is doubtful that the Yankees can regain the lead in the East from the Tampa Bay Rays, there are only seven games left in the season.

The crazy season will end on September 27th, and the most unusual posteason will start off on the 29th. Instead of four postseason spots in each league there will be eight, for a total of 16 teams making the playoffs. The wild card series will start on the 29th.  As it stands now the Yankees will face the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Series, at Target Field. The ALDS, the ALCS and the World series will be held in the “bubble” at Arlington, Texas brand new stadium, the retactable roof, Globe Life Field.

According MLB’s “bubble plan,” which ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported, all games after the wild-card round will be played at Houston’s Minute Maid Park (NLDS), Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium (ALDS), San Diego’s Petco Park (ALDS, ALCS) and Arlington’s Globe Life Field (NLDS, NLCS, World Series), pending approval from the players union.

When the Yankees meet the Twins on September 29th, Aaron Cole will be on the mound, Masahiro Tanaka, and then either J.A. Happ or Deivi Garcia in game three. Prediction: Yankees 2-1. How far the Yankees get into the postseason and if they reach and win the World Series, is anyone’s guess, I won’t tread there yet.

Yankees’ catcher competition is good for Gary Sanchez

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New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

Throughout the entire 2020 season, fans have been frustrated with Gary Sanchez. The New York Yankees catcher has been pretty terrible overall when you look at the numbers. Sure he’s hit some home runs, but he’s left a lot to be desired.

Despite his abysmal performance, Sanchez wasn’t really pushed from the backups. Last year, the Yankees had Austin Romine who really pushed Sanchez in terms of internal competition. If Sanchez couldn’t perform, Romine was right there for the Yankees.

However, the Yankees didn’t have the luxury of someone like Romine this season. However, Kyle Higashioka has completely turned heads over the past week. Higashioka smacked three home runs in the Yankees win over Toronto on September 16th.

He’s hitting the ball hard, and Higashioka looks very comfortable at the plate. Not to mention the fact that Gerrit Cole loves pitching to him. Cole has looked sensational with Higashioka catching him. All of these attributes for Higgy are actually good for Gary Sanchez.

Yankees Catcher Competition = Motivation

If there’s been one knock on Gary Sanchez over the past few years it’s been his motivation. We hear stories all the time of how the Yankees say he’s working hard, but a lot of the times it leaves fans scratching their heads due to the lack of improvement.

Sanchez has been called out by Yankees fans for his lack of hustle. However, Sanchez didn’t have to experience too much pressure because nobody was threatening his job. That’s been changing as of late.

Now that Giancarlo Stanton is healthy, there’s a very real chance that Gary Sanchez doesn’t get to start the Yankees first playoff game. I’m not sure the Yankees will deviate from having Higashioka catch Cole.

However, Sanchez can force their hand if he continues to play well. We’ve seen an uptick in Sanchez’s performance as of late. His batting average has climbed over 30 points in the last ten days, and he’s looking more comfortable at the plate.

The Yankees catcher needs all the motivation he can get. Higashioka playing as well as he is will only motivate Sanchez. Sanchez is looking at being benched to start the Yankees playoff run, and if that doesn’t motivate him, I don’t know what would.

New York Yankees Recap: Bronx Bombers lose to the Red Sox, but clinch a playoff berth

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New York Yankees, Luke Voit

The New York Yankees went into last night’s finale with the Boston Red Sox with a ten-game winning streak that came to an end last night, when two rookie pitchers faced each other at Fenway Park.  The Yankees have had an up and down season this year.  They started with an 8-1 streak, then lost 15 of the next 20 games. Then they got hot again, and won ten straight.  Last night four Red Sox pitchers limited the Yankees to just three hits.

The Red Sox Tanner Houck, in his second start in the major leagues, held the Yankees to just one hit over six innings, allowing three walks and striking out four.  The Yankees Deivi Garcia took the mound for his fifth start in his young career. From the beginning, it was apparent that Garcia didn’t have it.  All of his pitches were off, and the Red Sox took advantage over it. If it was any other park, he might have held down the Sox, but the Sox took advance of the “Green Monster,” scoring doubles that might have been caught in a different venue.

Garcia, who was coming off two wins, lasted only three innings, giving up 8 hits and two homers. Meanwhile, Tanner Houch was holding the Yankees down, he pitched a brilliant six innings. Luis Cessa came in relief of Garcia and pitch two scoreless innings. Jonathan Holder, who is usually dependable, gave up another three runs to the Red Sox in two innings, without striking out a single Red Sox hitter.  At this point the Red Sox were so far ahead (9-1) New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent catcher Erik Kratz out to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning, he gave up an additonal run for the Red Sox 10-2 win, and the end of the Yankees winning streak.

The winning pitcher was Tanner Houch and the loser was Deivi Garcia. To be fair the Yankees had a bit of bad luck in the game. They did hit the ball, but every time they did, they hit it to a Sox player. Also  the Red Sox had some very good defensive plays, keeping the Yankees off the bases.  As a side note, Gary Sanchez was hit in the neck, that caused him to bleed, but after some care from the Yankee trainer, remained in the game.

There were a few positives, the Yankees did take the series from the Red Sox, winning two of the three games. Luke Voit hit his 21st home run in the game, leading all of baseball. Today the Yankees start a four game series against the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo. After that series they will come back to the Stadium in the Bronx for a three game set against Derek Jeter’s Miami Marlins, to end the season.

The New York Yankees entered the game last night with the magic number being just one. They couldn’t do it on their own, but with the Seattle loss yesterday, the Yankees officially clinched their 22nd playoff berth in the past 26 seasons. They are the fifth American League team to clinch a spot in the 2020 postseason.

New York Yankees: Good news and bad news following hot-streak snapping loss to Boston

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New York Yankees, Deivi Garcia

The New York Yankees entered Sunday afternoon’s game against the Boston Red Sox on a 10-game winning streak. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep the streak going as they lost 10-2. It was only a matter of time before the Yankees came crashing back down to earth, but their recent spurt of offensive power has put them in a great position to make the postseason.

Taking two out of three from the Red Sox is a solid result, and they will prepare for a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays this week.

Good news and bad news for the New York Yankees:

GOOD NEWS:

There wasn’t much positive news from the Yankees’ loss to Boston. Starting pitcher Deivi Garcia only lasted three innings, allowing eight hits and six earned runs. His ERA shot up to 4.88 on the year on the back of a disappointing performance. Nonetheless, it’s fair to give him some slack given how strong he has looked this year in the absence of James Paxton.

offensively, the Yankees were unable to get anything going, but it does seem that shortstop Gleyber Torres is seeing the ball well, earning two walks on the day. Luke Voit, though, earned his 21st homer of the year, currently leading the league in the category.

BAD NEWS:

There was plenty of bad news to go around for the Yankees, as Giancarlo Stanton struck out three times and they totaled only three hits on the afternoon. With 10 strikeouts throughout the Yankee batting order, they will need to re-invigorate their offense heading into a four-game series against Toronto. As for pitching, Garcia had a tough outing, and relief arm Jonathan Holder gave up four hits and three earned runs over two innings. The Yankees have a potential problem with their bullpen, especially during exhibition games.

Can the Yankees‘ back-end pitchers truly hold down the fort when it comes down to playoff games? Personally, I feel as though the starting pitching is a major factor and if they can’t last for more than six innings, the Bombers will have trouble sticking in games against better teams.