Game 96 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 CIN 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

When the Yankees traded for Brandon McCarthy, they were doing so to make a marginal upgrade from Vidal Nuno.  With the injuries to Tanaka and Sabathia, McCarthy has immediately become more than a marginal upgrade.  He's one of the team's most important starters now and he turned in a helluva good start this afternoon in the second game of this weekend series against the Reds.  Pitching well at Yankee Stadium hasn't been his calling card, but he had it working today.  A persistent and balanced offensive effort supported his good work and got the Yanks within a game of a second half-opening sweep.

Game Notes:

- Carlos Beltran got the scoring started in the bottom of the 2nd with a solo homer off Cincy starter Alfredo Simon.  Simon had him 0-2, but hung a curveball and Beltran parked it in the right field seats.

- The Yanks doubled up the lead the next inning after Jay Bruce misplayed a Brian Roberts flyball into a 2-base error.  He moved to third on a groundout and scored on a ribbie single by Brett Gardner.

- The one mistake McCarthy made came in the top of the 5th, when he missed with a cutter and Chris Heisey hit it for a solo home run.  He worked around a double in the next at-bat to finish the inning and got through the 6th 1-2-3 with a pair of big strikeouts.

- Gardner drove in another run in the bottom of the 5th with a sac fly while Derek Jeter singled to make it 4-1 Yanks.  A slew of singles in the 6th put 3 more on the board and gave the bullpen plenty of cushion.

- They used it well, working efficiently and not putting a lot of runners on to give the Reds late scoring chances.  Adam Warren, Shawn Kelley, and Matt Thornton each pitched a scoreless frame.

Game 95 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 CIN 3

Well it wasn't a break from the norm.  The Yankees didn't score a lot of runs, didn't full capitalize on the scoring chances they created, and had to hold on for dear life for the win.  But they did so successfully and got the win they needed to open the second half.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks need more from their trio of FA hitters and they got it last night.  Brian McCann drove in a run in the 1st with a 2-out double, Carlos Beltran singled in the second run in the 3rd, and Jacoby Ellsbury cracked a 2-run home run in the 5th to account for all the scoring.

- David Phelps outpitched Mike Leake, giving up 3 runs (only 2 earned) in 6.2 innings of work, walking 1 and striking out 7.

- When it was time to go to the 'pen, Joe didn't mess around.  Dellin Betances took the ball from Phelps and got 5 consecutive outs with 3 strikeouts to bridge to the 9th and D-Rob wrapped up his 24th save with a scoreless 9th.

Game 94 Wrap-Up: BAL 3 NYY 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Saturday's win guaranteed the Yankees at least a .500 record at the All Star break this year.  I have to imagine they were hoping for and expecting much better than that when they dropped their half billion dollars this past offseason, but underperformance and another rash of serious injuries to major contributors have combined to keep that from happening.  The truth of the matter is that the Yankees are lucky to be where they are right now, and a road win against the Orioles to give the them the series and send them into the ASB with consecutive would have been a nice morale boost.  Instead, they got treated to a rain-shortened loss to send them into the break bumming.

Game Notes:

- Kevin Gausman is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball for a reason, but he made a classic rookie mistake throwing Brett Gardner 4 straight fastballs to open the game last night.  Gardner smacked the 4th one for a leadoff home run to right to get the Yanks on the board quickly.

- Chase Whitley looked pretty good making that stand up through 3 innings.  He was making pitches and getting outs when he needed to and getting swings and misses on his offspeed stuff.

- When the heart of the order got their second look at him in the 4th, things changed.  Nelson Cruz drew a 5-pitch walk to lead it off, Chris David crushed a 2-run home run the opposite way to give Baltimore the lead (on a pretty good pitch down and in), and JJ Hardy doubled off the wall to left.  Whitley got the next 2 outs, but couldn't keep the 3rd run from scoring and saw his night end before the 4th was over.

- Not much happened in the top of the 5th and then the rains came to delay the game.  The initial estimate was only a 30-minute storm, but that extended into 2+ hours and the teams agreed to call it a day.  Pretty fitting ending to the Yankees' first half.

Game 93 Wrap-Up: NYY 3 BAL 0

(Courtesy of the AP)

These interdivisional games are going to be crucial if the Yankees are going to have even the slightest hope of hanging around in the playoff races while Tanaka is on the shelf.  They blew a golden opportunity to take the opener against the Orioles on Friday when the offense couldn't come through again and wasted a great start by David Phelps.  Rookie Shane Greene was back on the hill yesterday for his second start of the week and he turned in another stellar performance of his own.  The offense didn't do much to help him either, but the bullpen was up to the task of securing the victory and sending the Yanks to a critical rubber match today.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks left 2 men on base in the top of the 2nd, and looked primed to do the same in the 3rd after Jacoby Ellsbury struck out looking.  Mark Teixeira lined a double to right to score 1 run and not totally waste the scoring chance, although Derek Jeter was gunned down at the plate to end the inning.

- Greene retired the first 10 Orioles he faced, using his hard sinker to generate lots of GB outs and set up his slider and curveball.  His first baserunner allowed came on a 1-out walk in the 4th and the Orioles didn't get their first hit until the 5th.

- That hit turned into 2, and Greene had to strike out Nick Hundley to halt that threat.  The O's put 2 more men on in the bottom of the 6th with no outs and once again Greene escaped with a GB double play and another K.

- With the lead intact, the offense came around to give him a little insurance in the top of the 7th.  Kelly Johnson singled, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Jeter single, and Ellsbury doubled to right to score Jeter and extend the lead to 3-0.

- Greene pitched into the 8th before giving way to the bullpen.  Shawn Kelley cleaned up David Huff's mess to end the 8th and David Robertson pitched a perfect 9th with 2 more strikeouts to save the win.  Impressive start, impressive finish.

Game 85 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 MIN 5

(Courtesy of the AP)

Wow, consecutive wins!  I wasn't sure if we'd ever see these again.  As has been tradition for the better part of the last 15 seasons, when the Yankees need to get right there's no team better for them to face than the Minnesota Twins.  They jumped out to an early lead against them yesterday and then held on for dear life to preserve their second victory of this series and get back over .500.

Game Notes:

- It was all Brian Roberts in the first 2 innings.  Hitting from the 2-hole, he doubled home Brett Gardner in the 1st inning and scored on a Teix double in a 3-run frame.  In the 2nd he hit a 2-out double to set up Jacoby Ellsbury's 2-run single in another 3-run inning.

- The Twins would stay close against Chase Whitley.  Brian Dozier homered in the 1st, Chris Collabello in the 2nd, and a single-triple-single trio of at-bats netted them 2 more runs to make it 6-4 after 3.

- Whitley was done after 3 and Joe went to David Huff first.  As he did often when he came in for Phil Hughes last year, Huff threw a very effective (perfect actually) 3 innings to keep the lead at 2 and get the game to the top bullpen guys.

- The Dellin Betances regression continued when he allowed a leadoff single to Kendrys Morales in the 8th, hit a batter, and surrendered a run to pinch runner Eduardo Nunez on an RBI groundout.

- That was as close as the Twins would get.  D-Rob came on in the 9th, struck out the side for what seems like the 10th time this season, and that was all she wrote.  All 6 runs in the first 2 innings and 6 strong innings of relief work.

Game 84 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 MIN 4

(Courtesy of the AP)

The games that Masahiro Tanaka pitches have really been the only ones in which the Yankees have had a good chance to win lately.  Even with the confidence he brings, the pitiful offense has been unable to support him enough to get wins his last 2 times out, and Tanaka entered last night's start on unfamiliar ground, saddled with a 2-game losing streak.  He was out there again, opening up a long weekend series in Minnesota against former Yankee reclamation project and probable All Star Phil Hughes, and despite pitching his worst game as a Yankee, he got enough support from newest lineup member Zelous Wheeler and the offense to end the Yanks' 5-game losing streak.

Game Notes:

- The Twins picked up runs in the 1st and 3rd innings thanks to some strong run manufacturing by the top of the Twins lineup.  Brian Dozier singled to start rallies in both innings and came around to score on a double and a groundout.

- The Yanks broke out against Hughes in the 5th with a quick single-single-3-run homer-groundout-solo homer stretch of at-bats that put them ahead 4-2.  Carlos Beltran hit the 3-run shot while Wheeler recorded his first MLB home run on the solo job.

- A pair of doubles in the 6th and 7th led to 2 more Minnesota runs.  Tanaka just didn't have much in the way of stuff or command.  Maybe the transition to regular rest hasn't been as smooth as it first looked.

- Those runs didn't hurt too bad thanks to a big 3-run top of the 7th by the lineup.  Brendan Ryan of all people doubled home a run, Brett Gardner singled 1 in, and Derek Jeter brought Ryan in with a groundout for the 7th and final run.

- Joe didn't play around late, removing Tanaka after 7 and going with Dellin Betances and David Robertson for the save.  Betances fanned 2 in the 8th and D-Rob struck out the side in the 9th.  Filth personified.

Game 83 Wrap-Up: TB 6 NYY 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Yankees can't hit, the Yankees can't pitch, the Yankees can't field.  They stink and today made it official.  5th straight loss, the first time this season a losing streak has made it that high, that dropped them below .500 this late into a season for the first time since 2007.  They've lost 9 out of their last 11 and there's no end to this nosedive in sight with Teix's knee giving him problems and Jacoby Ellsbury having to take games off because he's so "beat up" or something.  Welcome to The Suck.

Game Notes:

- Brett Gardner was the best player in a Yankee uniform in June and he kept that momentum going with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 1st.  Jake Odorizzi threw him a ton of fastballs and Gardner squared one up in a 3-2 count.

- Vidal Nuno looked pretty good in the first 2 innings and then he went walk-passed ball-HBP with 2 outs in the 3rd to let the tying run come home and he was never the same pitcher.  Every time the Yanks got him a lead, he'd give it right back.

- Like in the 3rd, when Brian McCann yanked a cheapie home run down the right field line to make it 2-1 New York and Nuno gave it back on a double and ribbie single the next inning.  Or when Gardner drove home a run in the bottom of the 4th and Nuno gave it back on a single-double-single to 3 straight batters.

- The death blow came in the top of the 6th, when Logan Forsythe singled to lead off the frame and Joe pulled Nuno for Shawn Kelley.  Kelley gave up a 2-run home run to #2 Yankee killer (behind Napoli) Sean Rodriguez on the third pitch he threw to put Tampa up for good 5-3.

- The Yanks would strand a runner in every inning after except the bottom of the 9th.  They went down in order then with a strikeout by Gardner, strikeout by Derek Jeter, and a lineout by McCann.

Game 82 Wrap-Up: TB 2 NYY 1

(Wasn't his fault.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

I want David Price.  I need David Price.  With CC Sabathia turning into an age-related regression pumpkin and Andy Pettitte retired once and for all, I'm really missing having the big reliable lefty in the rotation and I want that back.  I'm sure Joe feels the same way and he had a front row seat, along with the rest of MLB, for Price's latest start last night in the second game of this Yanks-Rays series.  He was spectacular, as most good pitchers are against the pathetic Yankee lineup, and the Rays took another as the Yanks continued to plunge.

Game Notes:

- Hiroki Kuroda was up to the task of matching Price and they traded zeros through 3.  Price allowed only a leadoff walk to Brett Gardner while Hirok surrendered a couple of singles.

- In the top of the 4th, those couple of singles turned into 3 singles in 4 batters, the last of which by Logan Forsythe pushed a run across and got the Rays on the board.

- The Yanks matched in the bottom half on a throwing error by Ben Zobrist, who hit Jacoby Ellsbury with a throw trying to finish a double play after catching a Mark Teixeira pop up.  Derek Jeter was on third base after leading off the inning with a double and he came home to score on the error.

- The only other mistake Hirok made on the night was hanging a first-pitch curveball to James Loney in the 6th.  It was a back-breaking mistake, however, as Loney crushed it for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning home run.

- Price worked around a baserunner in every inning from the 5th to the 7th, and handed the 1-run lead over to his bullpen.  Jake McGee retired the side in order in the 8th and Grant Balfour avoided trouble with 2 walks by getting a groundout from Yangervis Solarte to end the game.

Game 81 Wrap-Up: TB 4 NYY 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

81 games.  The halfway point of the regular season.  It sounds cliche, but I really can't believe we're here already.  It doesn't seem like it was all that long ago that we were salivating over Pineda and Tanaka's early starts, and in reality it's been almost 3 months since then.  The Yankees came into last night's series opener against Tampa 2 games over .500, so there was no way they could finish the first half of the season with a losing record.  But when Brian Cashman described them as "fortunate" to be where they are, he hit the nail on the head.  This was not a .500 team let alone a team 2 games over .500, and if the Yanks were going to hang around in the playoff race in the 2nd half, they needed to start playing better and soon.

Game Notes:

- For whatever reason, David Phelps appears to be incapable of not grooving fastballs over the heart of the plate.  The first one he threw last night turned into a Matt Joyce solo HR in the 1st and the second was another dinger off the bat of Kevin Kiermaier in the 3rd.

- Chris Archer made a mistake hitting Ichiro to lead off the bottom of the 3rd and it bit him when Brett Gardner laced a triple down the right field line to score 1 run and came in on Derek Jeter's groundout to tie the game.

- Phelps put up a couple zeros after the early long ball problems, but in typical Phelps fashion he was hardly a model of efficiency.  He had to battle to finish off hitters, he threw a lot of pitches (101), and he was done with 2 outs in the 6th.

- Joe went to Adam Warren to finish off that inning, which he did in short order.  The 7th was a different story, when he lost his command and loaded the bases on a hit and 2 walks.  2 more walks by Dellin Betances in the 8th came back to haunt on a 2-out go-ahead single by Ryan Hanigan.

- Wasn't much doing for the Yanks post-3rd inning.  They stranded 2 runners in the 6th and in the 8th when Brandon Guyer botched a Brian McCann bloop to put runners on the corners.

- They saved the breakout for the bottom of the 9th, when Brian Roberts won a long 1-out battle with Joel Peralta and golfed a 3-2 pitch into right-center for a game-tying home run.  They stranded a leadoff single in the 10th, however, and that was the last chance they'd get.

- Joe was down to his bullpen B-team by the time the 12th inning rolled around.  Jose Ramirez got the call then and gave up a walk, stolen base, and RBI single to Logan Forsythe to seal the win for Tampa.

Game 80 Wrap-Up: BOS 8 NYY 5

(Courtesy of the AP)

At this rate, I honestly don't know if I'm going to be able to keep writing these.  The Yankees are so horrible to watch these days, even when you don't get the chance to watch them often.  I watched as much as I could of last night's series finale against Boston on ESPN, but there was just nothing entertaining about the game.  Chalk it up as another series loss and another week spent hovering around .500.

Game Notes:

- Chase Whitley's crash back to reality started early in this one.  The Red Sox got 1 run in the 2nd thanks to a double by Yankee murderer Mike Napoli and a ribbie single by Stephen Drew.  They got 3 in the 3rd when Big Sloppi crushed a fastball for a home run to take a 4-0 lead.

- It took a Boston error to set the Yankees up in the bottom of the 3rd, but it was a lot of hard work on their part to get a run in.  Ichiro stole second base, moved to third on Brett Gardner's 10-pitch at-bat, and scored on a Derek Jeter single that came on the 11th pitch of his.  That's big time manufacturing.

- The Yanks did it the easy way in the 4th.  Mark Teixeira yoked an 0-1 changeup that John Lackey put on a tee for him into the right field corner for his 15th home run of the season, and Carlos Beltran hit his 8th on a curveball to get the deficit down to 1.

- With a rested 'pen, Joe had a quick hook and yanked Whitley after a 4-pitch walk to Jackie Bradley Jr. to start the 5th.  That backfired as Shawn Kelley and David Huff allowed 3 runs to score.  Why Kelley and Huff were the first 2 men out of the 'pen in that situation, I'll never know.

- The offense hung tough with 2 more runs of their own in the bottom of the 5th on a Brett Gardner RBI double and Jacoby Ellsbury RBI groundout, but they blew a big chance to pull closer when Beltran got thrown out at the plate in the 6th.  They'd never create another good scoring chance.

Game 79 Wrap-Up: BOS 2 NYY 1

I saw the last 2 innings of last night's game, from across the bar while my girlfriend and I were out to dinner.  You can imagine what kind of fun late night conversation that made for as I watched Derek Jeter ground into the most predictable double play in baseball history and Masahiro Tanaka lose a game on a Yankee Stadium cheapie home run that he probably shouldn't have even been in the game to give up at that point.  It's gotten to the point where the offense isn't enough good enough to win when he's on the mound.  2 steps forward, 1 step back.  What a perfectly blah, bland, mediocre team this is.

Game Notes:

- The Red Sox got their first run on a David Ross homer in the top of the 3rd.  Tanaka missed with a fastball and Ross pulled it into left for a 1-0 lead.

- The Yanks got their run to erase the lead in the bottom half of the inning.  Brian Roberts reached on an error, Yangervis Solarte got hit by a pitch, they both got sac bunted over by Brett Gardner, and Roberts scored on an RBI groundout by Jeter.  Yankee baseball, boys and girls.  Catch the fever!!

- Tanaka was brilliant except for the Ross homer, but I was surprised to see Joe go to him in the 9th when he had D-Rob available.  Facing the 3 best Boston hitters, already over 100 pitches, and coming off a start when his velocity was brought into question, seemed like the perfect time to get him out and go with your best reliever.

- Joe didn't, and after getting a shift-induced double play ball by Papi and getting ahead of Mike Napoli 1-2, Tanaka decided to try him with a fastball.  He left it up and over the plate just enough for Napoli to drive it the other way for the game-winning home run.  Heart-breaking.

Game 78 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 BOS 0

How about that, huh?  A shutout outing from Vidal Nuno, 3 home runs, solid relief work, no catastrophic defensive screw-ups.  The Yankees actually looked like a competent, contending baseball team last night in the series opener against the Sawx.  Guess that off-day on Thursday did them wonders.

Game Notes:

- Nuno's night wasn't without baserunners.  He had 1 on in each of the first 4 innings.  What it was without was multiple hits.  Whenever he started to get in trouble, Nuno made pitches to get out clean.

- A pair of Yankee hits in the bottom of the 1st got them their first run.  Derek Jeter singled, Jacoby Ellsbury doubled him to third, and Mark Teixeira's sac fly plated him for the slimmest margin possible.

- That margin grew in the 4th and it was thanks to the power game this time.  With 2 outs and Brian McCann on first (single), Kelly Johnson smacked a 2-run home run to make it 3-0.  Brett Gardner was the next batter and he popped a homer of his own to extend the lead to 4-0.

- Nuno kept Boston off the scoreboard into the 6th and Joe decided not to push his luck when Nuno walked 2 straight with 2 outs.  He went to his bullpen and his fireman Dellin Betances to end the threat and hold the lead.

- Adam Warren worked a 1-2-3 8th (a rarity for him lately), Brian McCann roped a 2-run homer to right for a last bit of insurance, and Matt Thornton handled a low-stress 9th.

Game 77 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 TOR 3

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The halfway point of the regular season is almost here and I still have no clue what kind of team the Yankees are this year.  They've looked very, very good in small bursts, good enough at times even when they haven't been at their best, flawed for the majority of the season, overmatched at certain points, and downright awful and pathetic for stretches.  This recent 4-game losing streak falls under that last category and more than anything else, the Yankees needed to play a solid, competitive 9-inning game of baseball last night.  They managed to do that for a change and salvaged a little something from this series on their way out of town.

Game Notes:

- It wasn't the start the Yankees were hoping for at all.  Brett Gardner was stranded at third in the top of the 1st after leading off with a double, and Hiroki Kuroda gave up a leadoff homer to Jose Reyes in the bottom half.

- Kuroda shook off the undesirable first at-bat though, and got through the next few innings unscathed.  It took some good luck (lineout double play to end the 2nd), but Hirok was generally pretty good with his stuff and got a few big strikeouts when he needed them.

- His offense came around to supporting him in the top of the 3rd, when Kelly Johnson walked and scored on Francisco Cervelli's double to tie the game.  With 2 outs, a Jacoby Ellsbury base knock and a Mark Teixeira 2-run homer gave the Yanks 4 runs and the lead.

- Reyes ignited the next Toronto scoring strike in the 5th with a 2-out ground-rule double.  Melky Cabrera cashed in with a 2-run on a sinker that didn't sink and the Jays were back within 1.

- The Yanks stretched it to 2 with a Teix sac fly in the top of the 7th.  Probably should have been more since they had the bases loaded with nobody out beforehand, but old men Beltran and Roberts couldn't muster a hit for the extra insurance.

- Not that it was needed.  Joe pieced together 3 outs from Kelley, Thornton, and Warren to get himself within 5 of closing, then went to D-Rob for the 5-out save (3 straight Ks, 2 straight groundouts).

Game 76 Wrap-Up: TOR 7 NYY 6

(Way to have your head in the game, Captain.  Courtesy of the AP)

I was in attendance for all 16 innings of the Brewers-Nationals game, so I saw my fair share of baseball last night.  As agonizing as that game was (take a pitch for me one time, Carlos Gomez!!), I would have watched another 16 innings of that 2-2 baseball if it meant not having to watch the garbage ball the Yankees played on their way to a 4th straight loss.

Game Notes:

- Starter David Phelps wasn't terrible.  He worked the first 3 innings with only a walk and a single against him.  But he got into trouble after putting the leadoff runner on in the 4th and hanging a curveball to Dioner Navarro with 2 men on.  1 swing, all that good work undone.

- The next 3 runs in the 5th weren't exactly his fault.  With 2 on and 2 out, Derek Jeter fielded an easy groundball from Edwin Encarnacion and brain farted, looking at second and third before finally throwing to first.  Encarnacion beat it out to keep the inning alive and Colby Rasmus hit a bases-clearing single to make it 6-0.

- The Yankee offense valiantly chipped away (for real) to get back into the game.  Jeter homered to start the 6th, Brian Roberts hit a 2-run home run in the 7th, Jacoby Ellsbury singled 1 home, and a Jose Reyes throwing error plated the 2 tying runs.

Of course, more bad defense had to make all that effort for naught.  Jose Reyes doubled off Adam Warren to start the bottom of the 9th and came around to score when the infield couldn't handle a sac bunt properly.  Throwing error by Yangervis Solarte, Reyes trots around to score, game over.

Game 75 Wrap-Up: TOR 8 NYY 3

(Courtesy of the AP)

When the Jays came to town to face the Yankees last week, New York was fresh off 2 tough losses to end a series against Oakland.  They won 3 straight against Toronto to right the ship, pulling themselves back up close to the top of the division in the proces.  Last night, they were coming off 2 tough losses at the hands of the Orioles over the weekend and looking to get the ship going the right way again.  Chase Whitley put in a strong effort in his first start against Toronto.  Fellow rookie starter Marcus Stroman not so much, so the advantage appeared to be on New York's side.  The Yanks also had the benefit of not facing Brett Lawrie or Jose Bautista, both out with injuries, and yet they managed to find a way to get blown out again.

Game Notes:

- The Jays hit Whitley early and often in this one.  A double and a single gave them a run in the 1st, 3 straight singles set them up in the 2nd, and a big 3-run home run by Adam Lind highlighted a 6-run inning.  Lotta sliders left up.

- Naturally the Yankee lineup curled up in a ball and puked on itself to attempt to help Whitley.  Brendan Ryan got their first hit against Stroman in the 3rd inning, and a Mark Teixeira solo home run was responsible for the only run through .

- Joe left Whitley out there to take his whooping and eat up as many innings as possible, but that still only got him into the 4th before he was finally lifted after 8 ER allowed.  David Huff was up next and ate 3.2 innings without giving up any more runs, so at least the bullpen was saved.

- The Yankees made a gallant attempt at coming back and making the game interesting.  Just kidding, they only got 1 more hit post-Teix homer and went down as quietly and easily as possible while the game was close.

- When the game was over in the 9th, they made their move.  Yangervis Solarte's first hit in 29 at-bats scored Carlos Beltran for 1 meaningless run and a Kelly Johnson RBI double got another.

Game 74 Wrap-Up: BAL 8 NYY 0

(Yep.  That's Matsui pitching.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

It was Old Timers' day at The Stadium this afternoon, always one of the best days of the year.  Fresh from the Saturday ceremony honoring Tino in Monument Park and the quick, dirty beatdown at the hands of Bud Norris and the Baltimore Oriole bats, the Yankees came back today looking to draw some inspiration from all the past Yanks who were on hand, including recent teammates like Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon and all-time greats like Goose Gossage, who joined Tino in his Monument Park induction.  Another series victory halfway through this stretch of interdivisional games would have been the perfect way to end a strong week and Masahiro Tanaka was the perfect man for the job on the mound.  He was pretty good again, not as great as we've seen him, but once again it was the complete and utter lack of offense that did them in.

Game Notes:

- Tanaka never seems happy with his command, but today he did have a few real problems.  He gave up a pair of singles to start the game in the 1st, walked a batter with 2 outs in the 5th, and left a 2-strike slider up to Jonathan Schoop in the 2nd that Schoop hit for a solo home run.

- The lineup couldn't put anything together against Baltimore starter Chris Tillman.  A challenge overturned a potential Brett Gardner leadoff double in the 1st, a Derek Jeter GIDP killed a rally in the 3rd, and Jacoby Ellsbury was left stranded in the 4th after leading off with a double to right.

- Joe sent Tanaka back out for the 7th at 93 pitches, and that might have been the decision that decided the game.  J.J. Hardy singled, Manny Machado doubled, and both scored on outs to make it 3-0 and mar Tanaka's line.  Give the O's credit.  They worked him hard and finally broke through late.

- If Adam Warren was looking to show he shouldn't be moved back into the rotation, he did a good job.  He gave up 4 runs in the 8th inning, the big blow a bases-clearing double after an intentional walk, to put the game out of reach.

- No shortage of controversy in that inning when the umpires decided that Steve Pearce did not interfere with Kelly Johnson on a ball he threw into the stands for what was ruled an error before the intentional walk.  My opinion is jaded as a Yankee fan, but I thought the interference was blatantly obvious and agreed with Joe's assessment that it was a dangerous and malicious play.

Game 73 Wrap-Up (Abridged Version): BAL 6 NYY 1

The Yankees honored Tino Martinez before the game today by inducting him into Monument Park and unveiling his plaque.  It sounds like it was a nice ceremony, and it was easily the high point of the game with glorified home run derby pitcher Vidal Nuno on the mound.

Game Notes:

- Nuno gave up a solo HR to Adam Jones in the 1st inning, a 2-run shot to Nelson Cruz in the 4th, and another 2-run job to Steve Pearce in the 5th.

- The lone Yankee run came on a Mark Teixeira solo homer in the bottom of the 4th.  That was the only real dent they made against Bud Norris and the Baltimore bullpen.

- Jose Ramirez relieved Nuno after 6.1 innings and continued the home run parade by giving up a solo shot to J.J. Hardy in the 8th, the 4th of the day for Baltimore.

F*ck Yeah:

- Teix: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI.  Blah.

Oh Nos:

- Nuno: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 4 K.  Triple blah.  That's now 13 home runs allowed in 12 starts.

Series finale tomorrow afternoon.  It'd be nice to get another win against a divisional opponent.

Game 72 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 BAL 3

(That's an awesome shot.  Courtesy of the AP)

Riding high off the sweep of the division-leading Blue Jay, the Yankees welcomed another divisional rival to town last night in the form of the Baltimore Orioles.  The O's took 2 of 3 from the Yanks at The Stadium in early April and they're right behind them in the AL East race right now, so this was another important series for the Yanks to show they're in it for the long haul.  Hiroki Kuroda got the start last night, and he's sneaky been getting better and better over the last 4-6 weeks.  He had has A-game working early last night, but it wasn't until his offense came around very late in the game that this one turned into an instant classic.

Game Notes:

- The Yankees got their 1 early run in the 1st, something they seem to do every game these days.  Jacoby Ellsbury singled with 2 outs, stole second base, and scored on Mark Teixeira's double to right field.

- Hirok was absolutely brilliant in this game.  He carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning, the only baserunners reaching on Derek Jeter throwing error and a walk, and had 6 strikeouts through 5.

- Then he came out for the 6th and hit the wall.  Double, flyout, double, single, and suddenly it was 2-1 Orioles.  Hirok managed to get out of the inning but it would end up being his last.

- The O's took and held that 2-1 lead because the Yanks could never put another run across despite having tons of chances.  They loaded the bases in the 2nd and got nothing.  They walked the bases loaded in the 5th and got nothing.  Loaded them again in the 6th, nothing.

- Baltimore added an insurance run in the top of the 9th and all looked lost, and then the Yankees woke up for their best comeback of the year.  Brett Gardner singled to lead off the bottom, Teix drew a 2-out walk, and Brian McCann hit an RBI single up the middle to make it 3-2 and set up the dramatics.

- Carlos Beltran stepped in against a smoke-throwing Zach Britton and saw 4 straight 95+ MPH fastballs, 3 of them for balls.  He knew he was getting another one on 3-1 and he crushed it into the left field seats for a 3-run, game-winning, walk-off home run.

Game 71 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 TOR 4

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Thanks, Toronto!  See you again next time!  Enjoy the flight!  You kids get home safe!

Game Notes:

- The scoring was early and often against Blue Jay starter Drew Hutchison.  Brett Gardner doubled to lead off the game for the Yanks and scored on an Ellsbury sac fly in the 1st, Carlos Beltran worked his way around and scored on a Kelly Johnson sac fly in the 2nd, then sac flied Ellsbury home himself in the 3rd.

- In between all the saccing (sacking? sacing?), David Phelps gave up a 2-run home run to Melky Cabrera in the top of the 3rd to keep the Jays close.  Those were the only runs he'd allow in 7 very good innings.

- Not that he didn't have to work for them.  Toronto put a runner on base in all but 2 innings and put a runner in scoring position with no outs in the 5th.  Phelps handled the trouble well every time and he punctuated the outing by K'ing the final 2 batters of the 7th.

- The Yanks tacked on for him with a Beltran RBI double in the 5th, a Derek Jeter RBI groundout in the 6th, and a Yangervis Solarte bases loaded walk in the 7th.  Toronto just couldn't keep them off the basepaths.  Story of the game.

- Shawn Kelley took over in the 8th and very quickly gave up a 2-run home run to Edwin Encarnacion to pull the Jays back within 2.  Joe had to use Matt Thornton to get out of that inning and Adam Warren for the save with a short bullpen, but they did the job.

Game 70 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 TOR 3

(Job well done.  Courtesy of the AP)

I know I said this series was going to be a big test for the Yankees, but in all honesty, can they just play the Blue Jays at home all the time?  They own them there.  Totally have them twisted into pretzels.  Case in point, last night's game.  Yanks had Chase Whitley up against Toronto ace Mark Buehrle, a matchup that should heavily favor the Jays.  Not in The Stadium though, and not when Buehrle was sporting a career ERA over 6 against the Bombers.  They tuned him up for a few early last night before tacking on against the bullpen late to secure their 15th (!!!!) straight win over the Jays at home.

Game Notes:

- The usual suspects at the top of the order gave Whitley a tad of run support in the bottom of the 1st.  Brett Gardner led off with a single, moved to second on an error, third on a flyout, and scored on a 2-out ribbie single by Alfonso Soriano.  For real.

- Whitley made it stand up through 3 innings.  He was mixing pitches again, working both sides of the plate to hitters hitting from both sides of the plate, and keeping the Blue Jay lineup off the basepaths.  Not electric at all in comparison to Tanaka, but effective.

- A 1-out HBP seemed to rattle him in the 4th and he surrendered a couple of RBI singles to give the Jays a brief lead.  But a Carlos Beltran leadoff single and a Brian McCann home run in the bottom half put the Yanks back in front.

- Joe got Whitley through 5, then got out of that game while he was ahead and went to his bullpen.  Adam Warren tossed 2 perfect innings with 3 Ks, Dellin Betances cleaned up Jose Ramirez's mess in the 8th, and D-Rob breezed through the 9th.

- The offense tacked on 4 insurance runs in the bottom of the 7th again to make life a lot easier down the stretch.  Gardner was at the forefront of the rally with his 4th hit of the night, Ichiro drew a pinch hit, bases loaded walk, and Big Mac cleared the bases with a triple to right-center.