At last, the Bombers are back in the win column. It was not a squeaky clean game but a win is a win. The early offensive outburst was a really, really good sign and hopefully the start of an upwards trend while Nathan Eovaldi pitched just well enough to earn another win.
Runs!!!
The Yankees offense had been in something of a drought the past several games. But tonight, the fountain burst from the first inning — Brian McCann hit a towering three-run homer to drive in Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner for a quick 3-0 lead.
In the second inning, Stephen Drew once again showed off his power by taking a Trevor Bauer pitch out for a solo homer, making it 4-0. How about that: Stephen Drew, a second baseman with 15 homers!
Drew struck again in the fourth! With Didi Gregorius on first, Drew drove a double down the left field line for another RBI, 5-2 Yankees. Two batters later, Gardner drove a big double off the left field wall to drive in Drew, making it 6-2. Golly, that was probably the hardest hit ball Gardner’s hit in awhile.
The Yankees would score two more – both on Brett Gardner singles (sixth and eighth innings) and those proved to be quite vital considering the Indians managed to score some runs against the bullpen.
An avian debut
Highly-touted 1B prospect Greg Bird got his first ML at-bat in the first inning against Trevor Bauer. On the sixth pitch, Bird drove a curveball to deep right but right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall caught it in almost a shoestring manner. Had the ball sliced just a bit more, it could have been an RBI double.
In his second at bat, Bird squared up a Bauer fastball pretty well towards left field – but it ended up being another hard-luck line out. In the fifth, Bird hit another liner to left but it was right towards the left fielder Michael Brantley. Three hard contacts in a row but nothing to show for it (at least on the scoreboard)!
When it was all said and done, Bird went 0-for-5 with three well-hit balls and two strikeouts. I didn’t think he looked overmatched or anything — Joe Girardi’s gotta be pretty pleased with the hard contact the kid made.
Also, some may know this, but the last Yankee to go 0-for-5 in ML debut? Some guy named Derek Jeter.
“Eh” Nate
Eovaldi didn’t really have his A-game tonight. Well, that is not to say that he didn’t pitch well – it was more like he was lacking a bit with his command and got into some trouble.
Eovaldi got into his first jam in the third inning – he walked Giovanny Urshela to lead off the inning and Jose Ramirez followed it up with a single up the middle. He did take care of Francisco Lindor via sac bunt but the renowned Yankee killer Michael Brantley came up with both runners in scoring position with one out. Brantley drove Urshela in with a sac fly, giving Eovaldi a chance to get out of the inning with only a run allowed, but then Carlos Santana drove in Ramirez with an RBI single. 4-2.
Eovaldi allowed two more runs in the bottom sixth before departing. He allowed back-to-back doubles to Yan Gomes and Abraham Almonte to make it 7-3, and Chisenhall knocked him out of the game with an RBI single, 7-4. Tonight’s start was quite underwhelming for post-Marlins disaster Eovaldi – sometimes pitchers can have a game like this and luckily, it happened on a night where offense certainly supported him.
Bullpen
In the sixth, Adam Warren inherited Eovaldi’s mess and got Urshela to ground into a double play to get out of the inning. Personally, I would have let him start the seventh but Girardi opted for Justin Wilson, who ended up only recording two outs and allowing two baserunners before being lifted for Dellin Betances.
Betances walked Yan Gomes to load the bases. While facing the next hitter, Almonte, he uncorked a 0-2 wild pitch to let Lindor score from third base, 7-5. Yeesh, thank goodness for extra runs tonight. However, Dellin K’d Almonte and pitched a scoreless eighth to bring a save situation for Andrew Miller.
Just like two nights ago, Miller didn’t seem too sharp. Lindor led off the inning with a single. Miller did manage to strike out Brantley and get Santana out with a pop-up. With Yan Gomes batting, Lindor advanced to second on a defense indifference and the Brazilian catcher drove him in with an RBI single, 8-6. Miller avoided further damage by striking out Almonte to end the game.
Leftovers
Ellsbury and Gardner provided some offensive spark tonight and it was vital. They went 5-for-8 combined with two walks and three RBI’s (all by Gardner by the way). See what the team can do (win) when the numbers one and two hitters can hit?
Stephen Drew went 2-for-3 with a homer, double, walk and reached on an error. He also scored four runs, meaning that he scored every time reaching on base one way or another.
Box score, standings, highlights and WPA
Here’s tonight’s box score, updated standings, video highlights and WPA.
Source: FanGraphs
The Yankees head to Toronto for another three-game series versus the Blue Jays, fun! I’m not going to say it’s a make-or-break series because there’s still a good amount of games left in the season but it would be very positive to see New York beat a much-improved Blue Jays team. Well, we’ll see. Ivan Nova takes the mound against David Price.
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