A few hours after winning the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Yankees dropped the second game to wind up with a split. It’s hard not to get greedy and want a sweep after taking the first game, so the outcome was disappointing. The Pirates won the second game 5-3 but the Yankees still took two of three this weekend.
The Defense! My Eyes! The Goggles Do Nothing!
The defense in the second inning was as bad as you’ll see in MLB these days. Both teams too, not just the Yankees. In the top half, three of four Yankee infielders made a poor play and contributed to a Pirates’ run. First Yangervis Solarte fielded a ground ball at third and unnecessarily rushed the throw, which short-hopped Kelly Johnson at first. Johnson couldn’t scoop it out of the dirt, but I think an experienced first baseman would have. Maybe I’m wrong. Later in the inning, Brian Roberts flubbed the pivot at second on a potential double play ball, so instead of ending the inning, the Pirates had runners at first and third. He never had it in his glove so they could even say he botched the transfer. Chris Stewart came up with a two-out single to score the run, because of course.
Then, in the bottom half of the inning, right fielder Travis Snider flat out missed a John Ryan Murphy single that dropped in front of him. The ball got by him and rolled to the warning track, allowing Solarte to score from first and Murphy to make it to third base safely. Brendan Ryan followed with a surprise bunt attempt that hugged the third base foul line, at least until Gerrit Cole scooped it up, twisted around, and threw the ball over the first baseman’s head and into the right field. Murphy scored easily from third and Ryan wound up at second. Cole should have just eaten the ball. Terrible throw. He balked runners up to second and third later in the inning, but Roberts couldn’t make him pay. Four errors total in the second inning, two by each team. Extra outs for everyone!
These Are Not The Pitchers You’re Looking For
With an assist to some terrible Pirates base-running — Josh Harrison got caught between second and third following his two-out double in the fifth, and although he wasn’t tagged out, he ran way out of the baseline and the inning was over — Vidal Nuno was actually pretty good on Sunday. The first run he allowed was the result of the defensive hilarity, and the other two came from a two-run Yankee Stadium cheapie that looked like a routine pop-up off the bat from Starling Marte. Such is life. All things considered, I think the Yankees should be thrilled whenever they get six innings of three-run ball from Nuno, which they did on Sunday.
Alfredo Aceves was the first one out the bullpen and he promptly served up a solo homer to Harrison to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead in the seventh. It was a terrible pitch up in the zone that deserved to be destroyed. Matt Thornton retired Pedro Alvarez to end the eighth and was then left in to face the right-handed Jordy Mercer in the ninth for reasons unknown. Of course he doubled to the wall and that led to an insurance run. Preston Claiborne needed 22 pitches to get the final two outs in the ninth, one of which was a sac fly by Stewart to score the insurance run. Pretty strong case to be made that the Yankees used their four worst pitchers in each this game. Kind of amazing they only allowed five runs, really.
Blown Chances
The Yankees failed to come through in prime run-scoring opportunities more than once. First, Brett Gardner led the game off with a triple and managed to get himself picked off at third with one out. Stewart caught him wandering two far off the bag with a snap throw. That hurt. Getting a run — even just one — that early in the game would have been nice with Nuno on the mound. The Pirates have been scuffling and making them play catch-up right away would have changed the complexion of the game.
The Yankees’ best chance to tie the game in the late innings came in the seventh, when Roberts doubled to right with Gardner on first. He was held up at third — the replay made it seem as though it would have taken a perfect relay throw to get him at the plate, but I thought it was the right call to hold him at third with the molten hot Mark Teixeira due up — and eventually stranded when Teixeira broke his bat and popped out to end the inning. In hindsight, damn why didn’t they send him. Alas.
The eighth inning rally wasn’t particularly close to producing a run because Harrison made a spectacular diving catch to rob Solarte of a sure double for the first out of the inning. Derek Jeter was standing on first following a pinch-hit leadoff single (ten-pitch at-bat against hard-throwing lefty Tony Watson) and if Harrison misses the dive, there’s a pretty good chance he would have scored. Alfonso Soriano came off the bench against the lefty and struck out three pitches, swinging and missing on three fastballs. Hero swings. He was up there with one thing on the mind. Ichiro Suzuki struck out and that was that. Harrison’s great play changed everything.
Leftovers
Solarte really knows about the break out of a slump, huh? He came into the game riding an 0-for-13 skid (with three double plays, yikes), but he snapped out of that with a ground ball single in the second, then he clubbed a long solo homer into the right field bleachers to tie the game in the sixth. Solarte also had a double taken away from him on that play by Harrison. The slump was more bad luck than bad at-bats. Hard-hit balls right at people, not a ton of strikeouts and weak contact. He’ll be fine.
In case you were holding out hope that Jeter would be removed for defense in the late innings going forward, he took over at shortstop after pinch-hitting in the eighth while Ryan moved over to first. Ryan had never played first base in his eleven-year professional career. So yeah, Jeter’s the shortstop hell or high water this year. By the way, Ryan is already the seventh player to play first for the Yankees this year. The team’s single-season record is 12 different first baseman in 2008.
Umpire Bob Davidson managed to annoy both teams on Sunday. First he botched the check swing call on Teixeira’s would-be hit-by-pitch in the first game, then he made some weird signals when Harrison was out of the baseline in the fifth. Davidson just points at stuff. The ball, the player, whatever. Same happened when Roberts misplayed the double play ball in the second. No one knew if he got the out before bobbling the transfer or what. No one knows what Davidson’s calling. Terrible.
Gardner, Roberts, and Solarte had two hits apiece, one single and one for extra bases. They went a combined 6-for-12 with a double, a triple, a homer, a walk, and a strikeout. The rest of the lineup went 4-for-23 (.174) with one walk and nine strikeouts. Considering the house money lineup the Yankees ran out there in the second game of the doubleheader, that isn’t surprising.
Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings
Once again, MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs has some other stats, and ESPN has the updated standings.
Source: FanGraphs
Up Next
Following the doubleheader, the bullpen and the rest of the Yankees get a much-needed off-day in Monday. They are in Chicago all of next week and open a two-game series against the Cubs on Tuesday night. Masahiro Tanaka and Jason Hammel will be the pitching matchup. It will be the first time Tanaka faces a team for a second time this year.
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