08/08: Yankees Bring up Josh Towers
Posted by: Seamus
MLB.com's Bryan Hoch mentioned on his Twitter that the Yankees have purchased the contract of pitcher Josh Towers from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Towers has gone 4–6 with a E.R.A. of 3.42 and has allowed 80 hits in 81 and 2/3 innings for Scranton this season.
The Yanks have optioned Mark Melancon to Triple-A to make room for Towers.
The Yanks have optioned Mark Melancon to Triple-A to make room for Towers.
Posted by: Seamus
The game was 5 hours and 33 minutes and 15 innings long. 14 pitchers were used in the game. 113 batters came up to the plate. It was the Yankees and the Red Sox. And the score of the game was...2–0??? That's what the box score says, as the Yankees edged by their arch rivals by the slimmest of margins in what has to go down as one of the greatest pitching duels in recent history.
If you like good pitching, you knew you were going to like this one after the first few innings. A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett were both on fire, and both got through at least 7 innings without a run coming across. Burnett did walk 6 batters, but you can get away with that when you limit the opposition to just 1 hit in 7 and 2/3 innings.
The game went into extra innings after Jorge Posada struck out swinging following a balk by Daniel Bard that put the winning run at third base with two outs. The Yankees again got the tying run just 90 feet away in the 10th, but failed to capitalize when the Sox brought in Jonathan Papelbon, who struck out Derek Jeter to end the inning and prolong the game.
The Yankees had yet another chance in the 14th. and it appeared that they might have finally taken this one when Eric Hinske lined a ball into right field with Ramiro Pena (called up before the game) at second that ultimately landed in the glove of a stretched out J.D. Drew for the second out. Melky Cabrera ended the inning by striking out after lining a ball just foul down the right field line.
The bottom of the 15th inning showed a little promise when Derek Jeter led the inning off with a base hit. And this time, the Yankees did come through, as Alex Rodriguez ended the game with a long home run into the Red Sox bullpen. It was A-Rod's first home run in 73 at bats, and it put the Yankees 4.5 games ahead of Boston in the A.L. East.
A lot will be made of A.J. Burnett's performance because he started the game, but a lot of credit has to go Alfredo Aceves and Brian Bruney, who pitched a combined five scoreless innings after the 9th inning had ended.
The series resumes this afternoon and while we shouldn't expect a repeat of the drama we saw Friday night, the game still has the potential to be another good pitching matchup. The Yanks will be sending CC Sabathia to the mound and he'll be facing the Sox and Clay Buccholz. Game is scheduled to start at 4:10 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 32–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
If you like good pitching, you knew you were going to like this one after the first few innings. A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett were both on fire, and both got through at least 7 innings without a run coming across. Burnett did walk 6 batters, but you can get away with that when you limit the opposition to just 1 hit in 7 and 2/3 innings.
The game went into extra innings after Jorge Posada struck out swinging following a balk by Daniel Bard that put the winning run at third base with two outs. The Yankees again got the tying run just 90 feet away in the 10th, but failed to capitalize when the Sox brought in Jonathan Papelbon, who struck out Derek Jeter to end the inning and prolong the game.
The Yankees had yet another chance in the 14th. and it appeared that they might have finally taken this one when Eric Hinske lined a ball into right field with Ramiro Pena (called up before the game) at second that ultimately landed in the glove of a stretched out J.D. Drew for the second out. Melky Cabrera ended the inning by striking out after lining a ball just foul down the right field line.
The bottom of the 15th inning showed a little promise when Derek Jeter led the inning off with a base hit. And this time, the Yankees did come through, as Alex Rodriguez ended the game with a long home run into the Red Sox bullpen. It was A-Rod's first home run in 73 at bats, and it put the Yankees 4.5 games ahead of Boston in the A.L. East.
A lot will be made of A.J. Burnett's performance because he started the game, but a lot of credit has to go Alfredo Aceves and Brian Bruney, who pitched a combined five scoreless innings after the 9th inning had ended.
The series resumes this afternoon and while we shouldn't expect a repeat of the drama we saw Friday night, the game still has the potential to be another good pitching matchup. The Yanks will be sending CC Sabathia to the mound and he'll be facing the Sox and Clay Buccholz. Game is scheduled to start at 4:10 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 32–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees finally broke out of their funk against the Red Sox tonight, winning in dominating fashion to grab their first win against the Sox in nine tries this season. The victory puts the Yankees 3.5 games ahead of Boston for the A.L. East lead.
It didn't look good early on, as Joba Chamberlain labored through his five innings of work. He was able to get through the first two without any significant damage, but he had to work himself out of jams and it looked like he was in big trouble. When he finally gave up a two-run homer to Dustin Pedroia in the 4th that put the BoSox up 3–1, it seemed like the Yankees were in for one of those nights.
The game took a complete 180-degree turn from there, however. After an RBI single by Robinson Cano and a walk by Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera turned on a high inside pitch and sent it into the second deck in right field to give the Yankees a 5–3 lead. The onslaught would continue, as the Yankees went on to score four more in the inning to cap off an 8-run fourth inning.
Joba labored again in the 5th, but was again able to escape with minimal damage, allowing just one run. Chamberlain's final line was not pretty (4 R, 6 H, 7 BB), but thanks to the offense it was enough for him to pick up his 8th win of the season.
The bullpen pretty much held it down from there on out, as they held the Sox scoreless until Anthony Claggett allowed two runs to score on back to back hits with two outs in the ninth.
Every Yankee starter had at least one hit, with six of them having two or more. Seven different Yankees drove home at least one run in the game.
The Yankees are now 66–42 and are tied with the Dodgers for the best record in baseball, pending their late result out on the west coast. With 108 games played, the Yanks are exactly two-thirds of the way through the season. They are on pace to win 99 games.
The two rivals will be back at it tomorrow night and we'll see a good pitching matchup as it will be Josh Beckett for the Sox and A.J. Burnett for the Yankees beginning at 7:05 ET. These two pitchers faced off against each other on April 25, and neither of them pitched very well, as both were tattooed for 8 runs in 5 innings. The Yankees led 6-0 early on in that game and lost 16–11.
Recap records: Seamus: 31–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
It didn't look good early on, as Joba Chamberlain labored through his five innings of work. He was able to get through the first two without any significant damage, but he had to work himself out of jams and it looked like he was in big trouble. When he finally gave up a two-run homer to Dustin Pedroia in the 4th that put the BoSox up 3–1, it seemed like the Yankees were in for one of those nights.
The game took a complete 180-degree turn from there, however. After an RBI single by Robinson Cano and a walk by Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera turned on a high inside pitch and sent it into the second deck in right field to give the Yankees a 5–3 lead. The onslaught would continue, as the Yankees went on to score four more in the inning to cap off an 8-run fourth inning.
Joba labored again in the 5th, but was again able to escape with minimal damage, allowing just one run. Chamberlain's final line was not pretty (4 R, 6 H, 7 BB), but thanks to the offense it was enough for him to pick up his 8th win of the season.
The bullpen pretty much held it down from there on out, as they held the Sox scoreless until Anthony Claggett allowed two runs to score on back to back hits with two outs in the ninth.
Every Yankee starter had at least one hit, with six of them having two or more. Seven different Yankees drove home at least one run in the game.
The Yankees are now 66–42 and are tied with the Dodgers for the best record in baseball, pending their late result out on the west coast. With 108 games played, the Yanks are exactly two-thirds of the way through the season. They are on pace to win 99 games.
The two rivals will be back at it tomorrow night and we'll see a good pitching matchup as it will be Josh Beckett for the Sox and A.J. Burnett for the Yankees beginning at 7:05 ET. These two pitchers faced off against each other on April 25, and neither of them pitched very well, as both were tattooed for 8 runs in 5 innings. The Yankees led 6-0 early on in that game and lost 16–11.
Recap records: Seamus: 31–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
08/06: Yanks Acquire Chad Gaudin
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees announced during tonight's game against Boston that they have acquired pitcher Chad Gaudin from the Padres for a player to be named later. Gaudin posted a 5.13 E.R.A. this season in 19 games for San Diego. He's also posted just a 4–10 record, although in his defense he was playing for the Padres.
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees needed five pitchers and had to overcome a gutsy performance by Blue Jays' rookie Marc Rzepczynski, but a big 7th inning and some late inning insurance helped the Yankees cap off a two-game sweep of the Jays with an 8–4 victory. The Red Sox loss, putting the Yankees' lead in the A.L. East at 2.5 games.
The Yanks only got 4 and 1/3 innings out of Sergio Mitre, but he kept them in the game, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. Mitre struck out the first two batters he faced, but those strikeouts were followed by four straight two-out hits that brought in two runs to give the Blue Jays an early lead. The other run he allowed was on a solo home run by Adam Lind that broke a 2–2 tie in the 5th.
The Yankees tied the game with a lead-off home run by Nick Swisher in the 7th. The Yankees went on to score three more times in the inning, all on RBI singles. They would hold onto the lead from that point forward, picking up a run each in the 8th and 9th innings.
Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira were the main contributors offensively, driving in five of the Yankees' eight runs in the game. Every Yankee starter reached base at least once with the exception of Melky Cabrera.
The Yankees will be home tomorrow to begin a much anticipated four-game series with the Red Sox. The Yanks can end the series up by as many as 6.5 games if they win all four, and they can fall as much as 2.5 games behind if they are swept. They will need to win only one of four to come out of this series ahead in the standings. Joba Chamberlain will be on the mound for the Yankees tomorrow, and he'll be opposed by John Smoltz, who is nearly twice his age. Game starts at 7:05 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 30–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
The Yanks only got 4 and 1/3 innings out of Sergio Mitre, but he kept them in the game, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. Mitre struck out the first two batters he faced, but those strikeouts were followed by four straight two-out hits that brought in two runs to give the Blue Jays an early lead. The other run he allowed was on a solo home run by Adam Lind that broke a 2–2 tie in the 5th.
The Yankees tied the game with a lead-off home run by Nick Swisher in the 7th. The Yankees went on to score three more times in the inning, all on RBI singles. They would hold onto the lead from that point forward, picking up a run each in the 8th and 9th innings.
Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira were the main contributors offensively, driving in five of the Yankees' eight runs in the game. Every Yankee starter reached base at least once with the exception of Melky Cabrera.
The Yankees will be home tomorrow to begin a much anticipated four-game series with the Red Sox. The Yanks can end the series up by as many as 6.5 games if they win all four, and they can fall as much as 2.5 games behind if they are swept. They will need to win only one of four to come out of this series ahead in the standings. Joba Chamberlain will be on the mound for the Yankees tomorrow, and he'll be opposed by John Smoltz, who is nearly twice his age. Game starts at 7:05 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 30–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees have finally designated Cody Ransom for assignment, reports Peter Abraham. Aside from spending about two months on the disabled list this season, Ransom really struggled at third base as well as at the plate, collecting just 15 hits in 79 at bats.
The move was made to make room for Anthony Claggett, who some of you may remember for relieving Chien-Ming Wang after a rough start in a 22–4 rout of the Yankees by the Indians and pitching just as poorly, getting shelled to the tune of 8 runs in an inning and two-thirds (he has an E.R.A. of 43.20).
According to Abraham, Joe Girardi has said that the move was just to give the bullpen a little insurance in the bullpen for tonight's game in Toronto and that they plan on calling up a position player soon. I'd imagine Shelley Duncan will be packing his bags for the Bronx pretty soon.
The move was made to make room for Anthony Claggett, who some of you may remember for relieving Chien-Ming Wang after a rough start in a 22–4 rout of the Yankees by the Indians and pitching just as poorly, getting shelled to the tune of 8 runs in an inning and two-thirds (he has an E.R.A. of 43.20).
According to Abraham, Joe Girardi has said that the move was just to give the bullpen a little insurance in the bullpen for tonight's game in Toronto and that they plan on calling up a position player soon. I'd imagine Shelley Duncan will be packing his bags for the Bronx pretty soon.
Posted by: Seamus
Roy Halladay did give the Blue Jays nine innings, which is nothing new, but he was on the losing end tonight as Andy Pettitte left his bullpen just enough wiggle room to help the Yankees come up with a 5–3 victory in Toronto. The Yankees have now won two games in a row after losing three straight and are now 4–4 on their nine-game road trip with one game to go.
I'm not sure I can remember the last time a guy gave up 5 runs (4 earned) and 10 hits and still went the distance, but that's what the Blue Jays got out of Roy Halladay. The numbers are a bit misleading though — after allowing 2 runs in the 1st inning, he held the Yankees scoreless for the next six before allowing back to back solo home runs by Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira in the 8th. A home run by Hideki Matsui plated the 5th and final run of the game for the Yankees.
Andy Pettitte, as you would expect, did not go quite as deep but gave the Yankees what they needed, allowing only one run which came on a sacrifice fly by Alex Rios in the 4th. In 6 and 2/3 he allowed just 4 hits and struck out 6.
Phil Hughes entered the game with two on and two outs in the 7th and the Yankees still leading by just a 2–1 margin and was able to strike out Jose Bautista to end the inning. He was not as fortunate in the next inning, however. After his team scored two runs on the back to back homers Hughes put two runners on in the 8th and was pulled with two outs in favor of Mariano Rivera, who allowed both of Hughes' runners to score on a two-run double by Vernon Wells that pulled the Jays back within a run.
Rivera struggled a bit more in the 9th, this time with the Yankees up by two, but was able to just squeak out of it by getting Aaron Hill to fly out to Melky Cabrera with runners at the corners to end the game.
The Yankees will finish up their road trip with one more game in Toronto before coming home for a four-game battle with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Jays will be sending 23-year old rookie Marc Rzepczynski (just copy and paste) to the mound to face Sergio Mitre, who will be looking to bounce back from his rough outing Friday night in Chicago. Game starts at 7:07 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 29–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
I'm not sure I can remember the last time a guy gave up 5 runs (4 earned) and 10 hits and still went the distance, but that's what the Blue Jays got out of Roy Halladay. The numbers are a bit misleading though — after allowing 2 runs in the 1st inning, he held the Yankees scoreless for the next six before allowing back to back solo home runs by Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira in the 8th. A home run by Hideki Matsui plated the 5th and final run of the game for the Yankees.
Andy Pettitte, as you would expect, did not go quite as deep but gave the Yankees what they needed, allowing only one run which came on a sacrifice fly by Alex Rios in the 4th. In 6 and 2/3 he allowed just 4 hits and struck out 6.
Phil Hughes entered the game with two on and two outs in the 7th and the Yankees still leading by just a 2–1 margin and was able to strike out Jose Bautista to end the inning. He was not as fortunate in the next inning, however. After his team scored two runs on the back to back homers Hughes put two runners on in the 8th and was pulled with two outs in favor of Mariano Rivera, who allowed both of Hughes' runners to score on a two-run double by Vernon Wells that pulled the Jays back within a run.
Rivera struggled a bit more in the 9th, this time with the Yankees up by two, but was able to just squeak out of it by getting Aaron Hill to fly out to Melky Cabrera with runners at the corners to end the game.
The Yankees will finish up their road trip with one more game in Toronto before coming home for a four-game battle with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Jays will be sending 23-year old rookie Marc Rzepczynski (just copy and paste) to the mound to face Sergio Mitre, who will be looking to bounce back from his rough outing Friday night in Chicago. Game starts at 7:07 ET.
Recap records: Seamus: 29–19, Patrick: 28–14, Andrew: 7–9
Posted by: Seamus
You know how just about every other night there's that one player towards the end of the game who the announcer mentions is just "a triple away from the cycle" and it completely skips over your head because it NEVER happens? Well, today it happened. With one out in the 9th, Melky Cabrera drilled a ball to right and chugged all the way around to third for a triple, capping off the first cycle achieved by a Yankee since Tony Fernandez did it back in 1995. Oh yeah, and the Yankees won 8–5 over the White Sox to salvage the final game of this four-game series after losing the first three.
Melky's day included a three-run homer that just cleared the left field wall and gave the Yankees a 3–0 lead early in the second, a leadoff double in the 4th, an RBI single in the 5th and of course the triple in the 9th. Cabrera drove in four runs and scored three times, and his 4-for-5 afternoon pushed his average up to .292.
On the other side of the ball, CC Sabathia was OK, all things considered after he briefly coughed up the 3–0 lead by allowing four runs in the bottom of the third. The Yankees did go ahead for good in the 4th, and Sabathia would last until he was taken out after facing one batter in the 8th, finishing with a line of 5 runs on 10 hits. Not pretty, but he did show some grit by getting through 7 in this one while throwing just 100 pitches.
Phil Hughes came into the game to relieve Sabathia, and struck out two batters and walked a guy before Joe Girardi pulled him in favor of Mariano Rivera. Rivera did cough up an RBI single off of Carlos Quentin (run charged to Sabathia), but he settled down after that, as he struck out Chris Getz to end the inning and set down the Sox without any damage done in the 9th to record his 30th save of the year. He is now tied with Angels' closer Brian Fuentes for the most in baseball.
The Yankees' lead over the Red Sox remains at just a half game, however, as the BoSox trampled the Orioles by a score of 18-10 (yes that's Sox-O's, not Pats-Ravens).
Joe Girardi's crew will have the day off tomorrow and they'll be in Toronto Tuesday night to take on the Blue Jays for the first game of a quick two-game series at Rogers Centre. Today's victory becomes ever more important because they'll be facing Roy Halladay on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte will be on the mound for the Yanks. Game starts at 7:07 ET.
Recap records: Patrick: 28–14, Seamus: 28–19, Andrew: 7–9
Melky's day included a three-run homer that just cleared the left field wall and gave the Yankees a 3–0 lead early in the second, a leadoff double in the 4th, an RBI single in the 5th and of course the triple in the 9th. Cabrera drove in four runs and scored three times, and his 4-for-5 afternoon pushed his average up to .292.
On the other side of the ball, CC Sabathia was OK, all things considered after he briefly coughed up the 3–0 lead by allowing four runs in the bottom of the third. The Yankees did go ahead for good in the 4th, and Sabathia would last until he was taken out after facing one batter in the 8th, finishing with a line of 5 runs on 10 hits. Not pretty, but he did show some grit by getting through 7 in this one while throwing just 100 pitches.
Phil Hughes came into the game to relieve Sabathia, and struck out two batters and walked a guy before Joe Girardi pulled him in favor of Mariano Rivera. Rivera did cough up an RBI single off of Carlos Quentin (run charged to Sabathia), but he settled down after that, as he struck out Chris Getz to end the inning and set down the Sox without any damage done in the 9th to record his 30th save of the year. He is now tied with Angels' closer Brian Fuentes for the most in baseball.
The Yankees' lead over the Red Sox remains at just a half game, however, as the BoSox trampled the Orioles by a score of 18-10 (yes that's Sox-O's, not Pats-Ravens).
Joe Girardi's crew will have the day off tomorrow and they'll be in Toronto Tuesday night to take on the Blue Jays for the first game of a quick two-game series at Rogers Centre. Today's victory becomes ever more important because they'll be facing Roy Halladay on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte will be on the mound for the Yanks. Game starts at 7:07 ET.
Recap records: Patrick: 28–14, Seamus: 28–19, Andrew: 7–9
Posted by: Patrick
The innings to remember: the second and the eighth. Why? The ugliness. In the second, starter A.J. Burnett gave up a six spot that we would not recover from. And in the eighth, Phil Coke would do the same.
In his first game with the Yankees, Jerry Hairston, Jr. had a noteworthy day, going 1 for 3, with a run and an RBI. He scored in the third when Mark Teixeira's two run single put the team on the board for the first time. Derek Jeter also scored on the play.
In the sixth, Hairston grounded into a fielder's choice that scored A-Rod and, in the seventh, A-Rod added an RBI of his own, scoring Jeter on a single. A-Rod had three hits on the day and Teixeira and Jeter each had 2. All in all, a game we'd like to forget. If the Red Sox win tonight, we'll have only a .5 game lead in the division.
Tomorrow at 2:05 PM ET, CC Sabathia (10-7, 3.83) will go against Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45).
Recap records: Patrick: 28–14, Seamus: 27–19, Andrew: 7–9
In his first game with the Yankees, Jerry Hairston, Jr. had a noteworthy day, going 1 for 3, with a run and an RBI. He scored in the third when Mark Teixeira's two run single put the team on the board for the first time. Derek Jeter also scored on the play.
In the sixth, Hairston grounded into a fielder's choice that scored A-Rod and, in the seventh, A-Rod added an RBI of his own, scoring Jeter on a single. A-Rod had three hits on the day and Teixeira and Jeter each had 2. All in all, a game we'd like to forget. If the Red Sox win tonight, we'll have only a .5 game lead in the division.
Tomorrow at 2:05 PM ET, CC Sabathia (10-7, 3.83) will go against Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45).
Recap records: Patrick: 28–14, Seamus: 27–19, Andrew: 7–9
08/01: Well There Goes That...
Posted by: Seamus
For anybody wondering how Cody Ransom could possibly still be on the roster and playing first base for the Yankees today, it's because Shelley Duncan was the odd man out, as he's been optioned back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in order to make room for newly acquired Jerry Hairston Jr. The move comes one day after he was called up to fill a need in the outfield in the absence of Brett Gardner, who is on the disabled list.
