Thursday, August 17, 2017
Yankees (64-55) @ Mets (53-65), Thursday, 8/17/2017, 07:10p ET
Yankees: Luis Severino (R): (143.2 IP, 3.32 ERA, 3.5 RA9 WAR) vs. Mets: Steven Matz (L): (63.1 IP, 5.54 ERA, 0.0 RA9 WAR)
Lineups
Yankees
1. Brett Gardner (L) LF .248/.343/.430, 2.2 fWAR
2. Aaron Hicks (S) CF .279/.385/.507, 2.8 fWAR
3. Aaron Judge (R) RF .291/.420/.614, 6.2 fWAR
4. Gary Sanchez (R) C .274/.351/.517, 2.8 fWAR
5. Didi Gregorius (L) SS .308/.334/.501, 3.5 fWAR
6. Todd Frazier (R) 3B .217/.333/.337, 1.1 fWAR
7. Tyler Austin (R) 1B .154/.200/.385, -0.1 fWAR
8. Ronald Torreyes (R) 2B .293/.313/.379, 0.7 fWAR
9. Luis Severino (R) P , 0.0 fWAR
Team Total: 19.2 fWAR
Mets
1. Curtis Granderson (L) RF .225/.328/.467, 1.6 fWAR
2. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) 2B .259/.328/.392, -0.4 fWAR
3. Michael Conforto (L) CF .282/.388/.567, 3.5 fWAR
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF .278/.331/.519, 1.1 fWAR
5. Dominic Smith (L) 1B .190/.190/.333, -0.2 fWAR
6. Amed Rosario (R) SS .240/.269/.460, 0.1 fWAR
7. Travis d’Arnaud (R) C .225/.272/.398, 0.2 fWAR
8. Matt Reynolds (R) 3B , .204/.264/.306, -0.1 fWAR
9. Steven Matz (R) P .150/.150/.150, 0.0 fWAR
Team Total: 5.8 fWAR
Yankees.com: Clutch Didi, mighty Judge lift Yanks over Mets
Aaron Judge awed his teammates with one of the most impressive home runs in Citi Field history and Didi Gregorius delivered a tiebreaking hit to lead the Yankees past the Mets, 5-3, in Subway Series action on Wednesday evening.
The rookie phenom immediately put his head down and began running the bases after his American League-leading 37th homer, a titanic fourth-inning blast off Robert Gsellman. Playing his first career game in Queens, Judge joined Yoenis Cespedes as the only players to reach the third deck in left field.
Certainly great to see Judge hitting bombs again.
Good win, with a clutch double by Didi winning it. Annoyingly, the Red Sox scored three in the bottom of the ninth off of three different Cardinal pitchers to win their game, so the Yankees have gained just a single game in this three game winning streak. The division probably just isn’t happening. However, so long as they keep winning, they at least put themselves in a good position to take the Wild Card.
Jaime Garcia did what he does best - pitch okay. Enough to keep you in the game. That has real value. With a well-worked bullpen, the Yankees tried to coax six out of Garcia, which proved to be a mistake. Luckily, Didi came through to give them the lead back. Depending on whether you count Kahnle giving up Garcia’s run as giving up a run or not, the bullpen didn’t give up a run for two of their last three games (basically, whenever Chapman doesn’t pitch).
Robertson was a delight as a closer who didn’t dick around the whole time, but Chapman apparently not only still has the closer job, but is not even going on the DL. That sounds like it might come back to haunt them.
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Yankees (63-55) @ Mets (53-64), Wednesday, 8/16/2017, 07:10p ET
Yankees: Jaime Garcia (L): (10.1 IP, 6.97 ERA) vs. Mets: Robert Gsellman (R): (97 IP, 2.41 ERA)
Lineups
Yankees
1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF .240/.316/.372, 0.5 fWAR
2. Aaron Hicks (S) LF .283/.387/.513, 2.8 fWAR
3. Aaron Judge (R) RF .290/.421/.609, 6.1 fWAR
4. Didi Gregorius (L) SS .308/.333/.501, 3.5 fWAR
5. Gary Sanchez (R) C .277/.352/.522, 2.9 fWAR
6. Chase Headley (S) 3B .270/.350/.397, 1.6 fWAR
7. Garrett Cooper (R) 1B .359/.366/.538, 0.3 fWAR
8. Ronald Torreyes (R) 2B .290/.311/.373, 0.6 fWAR
9. Jaime Garcia (L) P , 0.2 fWAR
Team Total: 18.5 fWAR
Mets
1. Jose Reyes (S) 2B .223/.286/.375, 0.0 fWAR
2. Michael Conforto (L) RF .282/.389/.568, 3.5 fWAR
3. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF .280/.332/.523, 1.1 fWAR
4. Wilmer Flores (R) 3B .281/.317/.491, 1.0 fWAR
5. Travis d’Arnaud (R) C .228/.277/.402, 0.3 fWAR
6. Amed Rosario (R) SS .255/.271/.489, 0.1 fWAR
7. Dominic Smith (L) 1B .235/.235/.412, -0.1 fWAR
8. Juan Lagares (R) CF .267/.312/.396, 0.8 fWAR
9. Robert Gsellman (R) P .130/.222/.130, 0.1 fWAR
Boy that Jaime Garcia trade is sure looking like a good one…
Yankees.com: Gray handcuffs Mets for 1st win with Yanks
- Sonny Gray hurled six-plus solid innings and outpitched Jacob deGrom to pick up his first win in pinstripes, and Aroldis Chapman survived a bumpy ninth inning as the Yankees defeated the Mets, 5-4, on Tuesday evening, concluding the Yankee Stadium portion of the Subway Series.
Backed by homers from Jacoby Ellsbury and Gary Sanchez, Gray made his first home start since being acquired by the Yanks and held the Mets scoreless until Dominic Smith’s first big league homer in the seventh. Working in front of a sellout crowd of 46,474, the right-hander scattered five hits in a 104-pitch effort, walking two and striking out five.
“It was nice. The crowd was great,” Gray said. “I was just trying to go out there and pitch my game, and not let anything from the outside affect my mindset and what I really wanted to do out there. It was a fun game overall. Any time you come away with the win, it makes it that much better.”
This is why the Yankees went out and gave up a lot of prospects to get Sonny Gray. He’s just a downright GOOD pitcher. He’s probably never going to be an ace, but he absolutely keeps you in every game that he pitches and occasionally does even better than that. He makes it so that there’s one rotation spot that you really don’t have to worry about, and that’s huge.
While Aaron Judge has cooled down a lot, Gary Sanchez, meanwhile, is starting to heat up with his bat. Not only that, but notice that since he was benched one game earlier this month, he hasn’t had a single passed ball? It could be that he needed some tough love there. If he starts to put it all together, it’s like having two MVP-caliber players in the lineup between him and Judge. Those two guys could flat out CARRY this lineup if need be. Remember how Cano used to carry the lineup towards the end of his time here? Well, if Cano could do it by himself, presumably Judge and Sanchez can do it together (not to mention Hicks doing his thing, as well).
Brett Gardner is in another one of those huge slumps of his. The Yankees are trying to rest him by DHing him, but their lineup is so shitty right now that they really can’t afford to give him too much time off to rest. I guess the next time Romine catches, they should DH Sanchez and give Gardner the day off.
Anyhow, a lot of the great parts of this win were overshadowed by Aroldis Chapman coming in and giving up a two-run home run and then needing a brilliant play by Didi Gregorius from having the tying run on first with one out. I know he’s still throwing 100-101 MPH, but he’s not getting swings and misses despite throwing 100 MPH, which suggests to me that his mechanics are fucked and I think the most likely scenario is that he is nursing an injury. He clearly strained himself at the end of the game, but I don’t know if that is a new injury or not. Hopefully he gets a quick DL stint to fix his shit.
Jaime Garcia pitches tomorrow against the Mets in CitiField. Hopefully this “road trip” goes okay.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Mets (53-63) @ Yankees (62-55), Tuesday, 8/15/2017, 07:05p ET
Mets: Jacob deGrom (R): (144.2 IP, 3.36 ERA, 3.8 RA9 WAR) vs. Yankees: Sonny Gray (R): (6 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.4 RA9 WAR)
Lineups
Mets
1. Curtis Granderson (L) RF .227/.332/.473, 1.7 fWAR
2. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) 2B .262/.332/.399, -0.3 fWAR
3. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF .276/.326/.521, 1.0 fWAR
4. Michael Conforto (L) DH .282/.388/.570, 3.4 fWAR
5. Wilmer Flores (R) 3B .284/.318/.496, 1.0 fWAR
6. Dominic Smith (L) 1B .214/.214/.214, -0.1 fWAR
7. Amed Rosario (R) SS .256/.273/.442, 0.1 fWAR
8. Travis d’Arnaud (R) C .231/.281/.409, 0.4 fWAR
9. Juan Lagares (R) CF .268/.314/.402, 0.8 fWAR
Team Total: 8.0 fWAR
Yankees
1. Brett Gardner (L) DH .251/.345/.434, 2.3 fWAR
2. Aaron Hicks (S) LF .284/.389/.518, 2.9 fWAR
3. Aaron Judge (R) RF .289/.420/.608, 6.0 fWAR
4. Didi Gregorius (L) SS .306/.332/.501, 3.5 fWAR
5. Gary Sanchez (R) C .273/.350/.511, 2.7 fWAR
6. Chase Headley (S) 1B .270/.349/.398, 1.6 fWAR
7. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF .239/.317/.361, 0.5 fWAR
8. Todd Frazier (R) 3B .231/.351/.359, 1.3 fWAR
9. Ronald Torreyes (R) 2B .285/.307/.365, 0.5 fWAR
Team Total: 21.3 fWAR
Is it too early to congratulate deGrom on his first career no hitter?
Yankees.com: Yanks down Mets on late HR, gain in AL East
Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Gary Sanchez all connected for the 40th home runs of their Major League careers on Monday evening, powering the Yankees to a much-needed 4-2 victory over the Mets in the opening game of this year’s Subway Series.
Judge tied the game in the sixth, launching his American League-leading 36th homer off Rafael Montero, and Hicks tattooed a Hansel Robles heater to give the Yanks the lead in the eighth.
“We’re still taking everything one pitch at a time, one game at a time,” said Judge, who has hit six homers since the All-Star break. “That’s what we did tonight. We battled to the end and were able to come out with the win.”
Sanchez’s solo blast in the eighth added insurance as the Yanks inched within 4 1/2 games of the Red Sox in the American League East. Boston fell, 7-3, to Cleveland.
The Yankees sure as heck needed that one. Although, would it hurt to hit the occasional home run with a runner ON base?
By the way, even when they win, they sort of lose, as Luis Cessa looks like he might be hurt. So when he finally had a decent enough game, he got hurt. That’s how this stuff has worked so far this season, ya know?
Also, Rafael Montero dominating them most of the game wasn’t a good sign, either.
By the way, the bullpen was amazing and this is only the SECOND time that they’ve come in during the sixth inning or earlier and actually not allowed a run the rest of the way in a Yankee victory. I’d like to see more games like that (I’m also okay with games where the bullpen doesn’t have to come in until the 8th inning in a Yankee win, as well).
DeGrom pitches tomorrow, which is a terrible matchup for the Yankees since he’s a good pitcher and any pitcher is a bad matchup for them nowadays. Sonny Gray looks to get the first run of support for him during his Yankee career.
Monday, August 14, 2017
Mets (53-62) @ Yankees (61-55), Monday, 8/14/2017, 07:05p ET
Mets: Rafael Montero (R): (62.1 IP, 5.63 ERA, -0.7 RA-9 WAR) vs. Yankees: Luis Cessa (R): NR
Lineups
Mets
1. Curtis Granderson (L) DH .227/.332/.466, 1.7 fWAR
2. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) 2B .261/.331/.399, -0.3 fWAR
3. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF .275/.324/.512, 0.9 fWAR
4. Michael Conforto (L) RF .285/.392/.576, 3.5 fWAR
5. Wilmer Flores (R) 3B .287/.319/.502, 1.1 fWAR
6. Dominic Smith (L) 1B .200/.200/.200, -0.1 fWAR
7. Amed Rosario (R) SS .256/.275/.462, 0.1 fWAR
8. Rene Rivera (R) C .234/.283/.383, 0.4 fWAR
9. Juan Lagares (R) CF .266/.314/.404, 0.9 fWAR
Team Total: 8.2 fWAR
Yankees
1. Brett Gardner (L) LF .251/.346/.436, 2.3 fWAR
2. Aaron Hicks (S) CF .280/.387/.505, 2.7 fWAR
3. Aaron Judge (R) RF .289/.419/.603, 5.9 fWAR
4. Didi Gregorius (L) DH .309/.332/.505, 3.5 fWAR
5. Gary Sanchez (R) C .269/.348/.500, 2.5 fWAR
6. Chase Headley (S) 1B .272/.352/.402, 1.7 fWAR
7. Todd Frazier (R) 3B .227/.352/.360, 1.3 fWAR
8. Ronald Torreyes (R) 2B .285/.306/.366, 0.5 fWAR
9. Tyler Wade (L) SS .128/.212/.213, -0.5 fWAR
Team Total: 19.9 fWAR
How Un-Clutch has the Yankee bullpen been this season?
Fangraphs tracks a statistic to determine a player’s performance in high leverage situations, which they call ‘Clutch’.
How is it defined?
Clutch = (WPA / pLI) – WPA/LI
In the words of David Appelman, this calculation measures, “…how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment.” It also compares a player against himself, so a player who hits .300 in high leverage situations when he’s an overall .300 hitter is not considered clutch.
Clutch does a good job of describing the past, but it does very little towards predicting the future. Simply because one player was clutch at one point does not mean they will continue to perform well in high-leverage situations (and vice versa). Very few players have the ability to be consistently clutch over the course of their careers, and choking in one season does not beget the same in the future.
So what’s the point of bringing up this statistic?
Just this little list of all MLB teams relievers rated from most to least clutch.
| # | Team | Clutch |
| 1 | Rockies | 5.43 |
| 2 | Reds | 3.62 |
| 3 | Padres | 2.07 |
| 4 | Orioles | 2.00 |
| 5 | Cubs | 1.64 |
| 6 | Marlins | 1.46 |
| 7 | Nationals | 1.25 |
| 8 | Blue Jays | 1.24 |
| 9 | Giants | 0.78 |
| 10 | Royals | 0.76 |
| 11 | Mets | 0.74 |
| 12 | Dodgers | 0.70 |
| 13 | Twins | 0.60 |
| 14 | Brewers | 0.54 |
| 15 | White Sox | 0.19 |
| 16 | Pirates | 0.04 |
| 17 | Indians | -0.16 |
| 18 | Braves | -0.40 |
| 19 | Diamondbacks | -0.46 |
| 20 | Cardinals | -0.57 |
| 21 | Rays | -0.71 |
| 22 | Red Sox | -0.74 |
| 23 | Astros | -0.92 |
| 24 | Angels | -1.19 |
| 25 | Mariners | -1.76 |
| 26 | Athletics | -2.09 |
| 27 | Tigers | -2.15 |
| 28 | Rangers | -2.49 |
| 29 | Phillies | -2.98 |
| 30 | Yankees | -4.57 |
So what to make of all that? I’ll redirect you back to the quoted description in the beginning of this blog entry.
Clutch does a good job of describing the past, but it does very little towards predicting the future.
Good news! Right?
Yankees.com: Yanks drop series as Sox get to Chapman
he Yankees had their hands full with Chris Sale for seven innings, then were done in by a pair of prized Red Sox rookies in the final two. Rafael Devers cracked a dramatic game-tying home run in the ninth, and Andrew Benintendi delivered the go-ahead knock in the 10th, lifting Boston to a 3-2 victory on Sunday evening at Yankee Stadium.
After Sale turned in his usual dominant performance, Devers tied the game with the fourth homer of his Major League career, an opposite-field shot off Aroldis Chapman that marked New York’s 20th blown save of the season. Todd Frazier had given the Yanks their first lead of the evening in the eighth, lifting a sacrifice fly off Matt Barnes.
Well, that about does it for the division, as the Yankees are now 5 and a half games out of first in the middle of August, but they are in solid shape in the Wild Card despite losing so many games recently, so they really just need to get back to winning more than, say, 4 out of 10 games.
There was a lot to like about the Yankee pitching tonight, holding the Red Sox to just 1 run through 8 innings. And then Chapman gave up just the second home run he’s ever allowed to a left-handed batter. I was less irked about that (and more just impressed by Devers’ power) than I was by Chapman dicking around with Eduardo Nunez with 1 out in the 10th and walking him. Then Tommy Kahnle came in and couldn’t throw strikes, walking Mookie Betts and falling behind on Benintendi before giving up a single to him that scored the winning run. When Kahnle started throwing strikes again, he owned the next two batters, but that’s a major problem with a lot of these bullpen guys. Their stuff is so good and yet they just nibble instead of just using their amazing stuff to just GO AT guys. If a guy hits a home run once in a while, you live with it. Walking the bases loaded you can’t live with. That’s just bad process.
Luis Cessa pitches tomorrow. He’s been really strong recently as a long man, being aggressive like he wasn’t as a starter. Let’s see if he, too, starts dicking around again once he’s given the chance to start.
The Yankees have had so many awful losses this season (20 blown saves will do that to you) that this really doesn’t even rank all that high and that’s crazy, since tonight SUCKED.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Red Sox (66-50) @ Yankees (61-54), Sunday, 8/13/2017, 08:08p ET
Red Sox: Chris Sale (L): (153.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 6.3 RA-9 WAR) vs. Yankees: Jordan Montgomery (L): NR
Lineups
Red Sox
1. Eduardo Nunez (R) 3B .400/.429/.800, 2.2 fWAR
2. Mookie Betts (R) RF .269/.343/.462, 4.3 fWAR
3. Andrew Benintendi (L) LF .269/.355/.420, 1.9 fWAR
4. Hanley Ramirez (R) 1B .250/.337/.432, 0.1 fWAR
5. Chris Young (R) DH .251/.332/.428, -0.2 fWAR
6. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS .280/.336/.404, 1.8 fWAR
7. Brock Holt (L) 2B .200/.293/.215, -0.4 fWAR
8. Sandy Leon (S) C .245/.301/.391, 0.3 fWAR
9. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF .259/.332/.434, 1.8 fWAR
Team Total: 11.8 fWAR
Yankees
1. Brett Gardner (L) LF .261/.354/.454, 2.5 fWAR
2. Aaron Hicks (S) CF .290/.398/.515, 2.7 fWAR
3. Aaron Judge (R) RF .299/.424/.627, 5.9 fWAR
4. Gary Sanchez (R) DH .265/.339/.488, 2.5 fWAR
5. Todd Frazier (R) 3B .200/.333/.309, 1.4 fWAR
6. Didi Gregorius (L) SS .308/.333/.504, 3.6 fWAR
7. Chase Headley (S) 1B .271/.350/.399, 1.6 fWAR
8. Ronald Torreyes (R) 2B .288/.306/.372, 0.5 fWAR
9. Austin Romine (R) C .221/.283/.297, -0.4 fWAR
Team Total: 20.3 fWAR
Is it me or does Austin Romine play a lot more than a player of his caliber should play?
Yankees.com: Yanks start fast, but Sevy stumbles vs. Sox
Andrew Benintendi’s sweet stroke produced a pair of three-run homers as the Red Sox pounded Luis Severino and the Yankees, 10-5, on Saturday afternoon to claim their ninth victory in 10 games.
One day after the Red Sox’s bullpen coughed up a three-run advantage just six outs from victory, Benintendi ensured there would be no repeat of that performance as Boston reclaimed a 4 1/2-game advantage over the Yankees in the American League East chase. It matches the Yankees’ largest deficit of the season.
“That’s been a little bit of the characteristic of this team,” said Red Sox manager John Farrell. “We’ve done a very good job of separating from the night before, coming back in for a day game, putting up good offensive at-bats and scoring runs early in ballgames. I think that’s a testament to our guys being able to turn the page and get right after it the next day.”
Luis Severino gave up 8 runs in under 5 innings. You’re not going to win very many ball games where your best pitcher gives up two three-run home runs in the same game (to the same guy!), so it is hard to say all that much about this game other than “Damn, it sucks when Severino gets bombed.”
In other news, Tanaka felt sore, so he asked to be put on the DL so he could basically rest his arm for a week. Scary. Also, Jordan Montgomery was hit in the head with a baseball during batting practice. Also very scary. He seems to be okay and appears to be ready to lose the finale of this series to Chris Sale on Sunday night.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Red Sox (65-50) @ Yankees (61-53), Saturday, 8/12/2017, 04:05p ET
Red Sox: Drew Pomeranz (L): (120.2 IP, 3.36 ERA, 3.1 RA-9 WAR) vs. Yankees: Luis Severino (R): (139.1 IP, 2.91 ERA, 4.3 RA-9 WAR)
Lineups
Red Sox
TBA
Yankees
TBA
I have a bad feeling about this game series.
Yankees.com: Yanks’ rally snaps Sox’s 8-winning streak
Silenced through seven innings in their most important game of the season, Aaron Hicks homered to spark a five-run rally that featured big hits by Didi Gregorius and Todd Frazier, stunning the Red Sox with a 5-4 victory on Friday that snapped Boston’s eight-game winning streak.
As the sellout Yankee Stadium crowd roared with playoff-level enthusiasm, Hicks drove a 3-2 Addison Reed pitch over the right-field wall to begin the comeback. Gregorius greeted Joe Kelly with a game-tying RBI single and Frazier blooped a run-scoring single that gave New York its first lead of the evening.
Ronald Torreyes added a sacrifice fly and Aroldis Chapman recorded his 15th save despite walking the bases loaded in the ninth as the Yankees (61-53) trimmed their deficit in the American League East to 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox (64-50).
I know that every single one of us presumed that what happened was what was going to happen in this game. None of us had ANY doubts whatsoever.
What a freakin’ win. They really need to get Chapman some work. Rusty Chapman suuuuuuuuucks.
Huge game tomorrow with Sale looming on Sunday night. Let’s hope that Sevy comes through.
Friday, August 11, 2017
Red Sox (65-49) @ Yankees (60-53), Friday, 8/11/2017, 07:05p ET
Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez (L): (81.2 IP, 4.08 ERA, 1.6 RA-9 WAR) vs. Yankees: Jaime Garcia (L): (4.2 IP, 9.64 ERA, 1.3 RA-9 WAR)
Lineups
Red Sox
1. Eduardo Nunez (R) 2B .400/.429/.800, 2.2 fWAR
2. Mookie Betts (R) RF .269/.343/.462, 4.2 fWAR
3. Andrew Benintendi (L) LF .269/.355/.420, 1.6 fWAR
4. Hanley Ramirez (R) 1B .250/.337/.432, -0.1 fWAR
5. Chris Young (R) DH .251/.332/.428, -0.1 fWAR
6. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS .280/.336/.404, 2.0 fWAR
7. Rafael Devers (L) 3B .349/.429/.605, 0.6 fWAR
8. Christian Vazquez (R) C .280/.316/.385, 0.6 fWAR
9. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF .259/.332/.434, 1.8 fWAR
Team Total: 12.8 fWAR
Yankees
1. Aaron Hicks (S) LF .290/.398/.515, 2.6 fWAR
2. Gary Sanchez (R) DH .265/.339/.488, 2.3 fWAR
3. Aaron Judge (R) RF .299/.424/.627, 6.0 fWAR
4. Didi Gregorius (L) SS .308/.333/.504, 3.6 fWAR
5. Todd Frazier (R) 3B .200/.333/.309, 1.4 fWAR
6. Garrett Cooper (R) 1B .240/.269/.440, 0.3 fWAR
7. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF .245/.325/.359, 0.4 fWAR
8. Ronald Torreyes (R) 2B .288/.306/.372, 0.5 fWAR
9. Austin Romine (R) C .221/.283/.297, -0.4 fWAR
Team Total: 16.7 fWAR
I have a bad feeling about this game series.
Yankees.com: Yanks hope to leave inconsistent bats on road
The Yankees could not wait to play with Sonny Gray following his blockbuster addition prior to the non-waiver Trade Deadline, but their offense has thus far been unable to muster a single run of support behind the right-hander’s 12 innings with the club.
As he did in his debut against the Indians last week, Gray provided a respectable performance but was overshadowed by his new teammates’ silent bats, which were shut down by Marco Estrada and two relievers as the Blue Jays dispatched the Yankees with a 4-0 victory on Thursday night at Rogers Centre.
“Sonny pitched well enough to keep us in the ballgame, but it’s up to us to get runs, and we didn’t do that tonight,” Brett Gardner said. “I think it’s a lack of consistency on our part as an offense, and sometimes you’ve got to give credit to the pitching.”
Sonny Gray’s two Yankee starts have been bizarre. He’s given up four runs each time, but both times due to bad plays, errors and the like, he clearly pitched better than his results, but at the same time, he didn’t pitch THAT much better than the results. He looks like a decent pitcher and will probably continue to be one, but he’s probably not an ace.
However, if they can’t hit, then it really doesn’t matter, right? And right now, they’re comically bad with runners in scoring position. Unless they sweep the Red Sox this weekend (which is highly unlikely, especially with Chris Sale pitching the finale), there doesn’t seem to be a realistic path to the division. Luckily, the Wild Card race looks pathetic at the moment, and the Yankees are doing well there despite their recent woes. So hopefully they at least hold on to host a Wild Card game.
Jaime Garcia against the Red Sox - that can’t go horribly wrong, right?