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Game 139: Wake-Up Call

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(Presswire)

Four losses in the last six games and five losses in the last eight games now. The Yankees have hit a late season lull and badly need to snap out of it soon. They’re going to leave this series in sole possession of the top wildcard spot no matter what. The only question is whether they’ll be 1.5 games up, 3.5 games up, or 5.5 games up. I much prefer the latter.

J.A. Happ is on the mound tonight and he is looking to rebound from his worst start as a Yankee. The Tigers tagged him for five runs, including three home runs, in 4.1 innings last time out. He’d allowed four homers total in his first five starts and 30.1 innings in pinstripes. The A’s are a pretty good lefty hitting team (106 wRC+). Happ’s got his work cut out for him. Here are tonight’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. RF Andrew McCutchen
4. CF Aaron Hicks
5. 3B Miguel Andujar
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 2B Neil Walker
8. 1B Luke Voit
9. SS Gleyber Torres

LHP J.A. Happ

Oakland Athletics
1. SS Marcus Semien
2. 3B Matt Chapman
3. 2B Jed Lowrie
4. DH Khris Davis
5. RF Stephen Piscotty
6. 1B Matt Olson
7. LF Mark Canha
8. CF Ramon Laureano
9. C Jonathan Lucroy

RHP Liam Hendriks

Another perfect Bay Area night for baseball. Wish I was there. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Didi Gregorius (heel) ran the bases again today and stood in the box during Masahiro Tanaka’s bullpen session to track pitches … Aaron Judge (wrist) hit off the tee for a second straight day and reported no problems. Hooray for that. He also stood in and tracked pitched against Tanaka … Aroldis Chapman (knee) has resumed throwing. I know that because he posted a video of himself throwing on Instagram.

Awards!: Congrats to Andujar. He’s been named the AL Rookie of the Month for August. He won it in June as well. In fact, Yankees have won eight of the last 13 AL Rookie of the Month awards dating back to August 2016 (Sanchez once, Torres, once, Andujar twice, Judge four times). Andujar hit .320/.344/.623 (157 wRC+) with ten homers last month.

Game 138: Wild Card Game Preview

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(Presswire)

In all likelihood, the Yankees and Athletics will meet in the AL Wild Card Game four weeks from Wednesday. The Yankees have gained some ground on the Red Sox recently but not enough to make the AL East interesting. The Astros have righted the ship after a midseason skid and are starting to separate themselves from the A’s in the AL West. Here are the current wild card standings:

  1. Yankees: 86-51
  2. Athletics: 82-56 (4.5 GB)
    ——————————
  3. Mariners: 76-61 (10 GB)
  4. Rays: 73-63 (12.5 GB)

Last season the Twins won the second wild card spot almost by default. All those second wild card contenders stunk. The A’s are a legit threat this year. They’d be in a virtual tie with the Cubs for the best record in the NL. Remember, whatever happens this series tells you everything you need to know about the forthcoming AL Wild Card Game, unless the Yankees win, in which case it’s meaningless. Here are today’s lineups.

New York Yankees
1. RF Andrew McCutchen
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. 3B Miguel Andujar
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. 2B Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Luke Voit
8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
9. LF Brett Gardner

LHP CC Sabathia

Oakland Athletics
1. SS Marcus Semien
2. 3B Matt Chapman
3. 2B Jed Lowrie
4. DH Khris Davis
5. RF Stephen Piscotty
6. 1B Matt Olson
7. LF Chad Pinder
8. CF Mark Canha
9. C Jonathan Lucroy

RHP Trevor Cahill

It is a nice and sunny day in the Bay Area. Seems like a fantastic afternoon to spend at the ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and ESPN nationally. Enjoy.

Injury Update: Big news: Aaron Judge (wrist) swung a bat today. He took 25 dry swings and 25 off a tee, all at 100% effort, and didn’t feel anything other than normal soreness. “It was a good sign … definitely a big step,” he said. There’s still no firm timetable for his return, but this is a major step forward. Yay.

Roster Moves: Both outfielder Shane Robinson and lefty Ryan Bollinger were outrighted to Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees announced. They remain in the organization as non-40-man roster players and will join the RailRiders for the postseason this week. Robinson and Bollinger were both designated for assignment in recent days.

Roster Note: Sonny Gray is not with the Yankees. He’s home with his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child soon. Congrats to them. Sonny will rejoin the team later this week. He threw 62 pitches yesterday and wasn’t going to be available for a few days anyway, plus rosters have expanded, so there are plenty of relievers available.

Awards!: For the second time this season, Gleyber Torres has been named the AL Player of the Week. He won the award the week of May 27th as well. The Gley-Hey Kid went 11-for-23 (.478) with three homers last week. Slump’s over.

Game 137: End of the Homestand

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(Rich Schultz/Getty)

The penultimate homestand of the regular season ends today and this afternoon’s game will determine whether this is a tolerable 4-3 homestand or a disappointing 3-4 homestand. Man, losing four of seven to the White Sox and Tigers at home would really stink. Even winning four of seven would feel kinda like a letdown. Whatever.

A modest goal today: Get a hit at some point in the first four innings. That’s been an issue the last few days. I’m not going to bother to look this up to confirm it because I don’t really care, but it feels like the Yankees have won all these “they’re getting no-hit through five innings they suck so much” games this year. Still, hits are good. Hits and runs. Here are today’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. RF Andrew McCutchen
2. CF Aaron Hicks
3. 3B Miguel Andujar
4. DH Gary Sanchez
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Luke Voit
7. C Austin Romine
8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
9. LF Brett Gardner

RHP Lance Lynn

Detroit Tigers
1. 3B Jeimer Candelario
2. CF JaCoby Jones
3. DH Nick Castellanos
4. 1B Niko Goodrum
5. LF Mikie Mahtook
6. C James McCann
7. SS Ronny Rodriguez
8. 2B Dawel Lugo
9. RF Victor Reyes

LHP Matt Boyd

It is warm and cloudy in New York today, but there is no rain in the forecast, and that’s all that matters. This afternoon’s series finale will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy the game.

Boone Suspended: Aaron Boone has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for Friday’s ejection tirade, MLB announced. His cap made contact with the umpire at some point and making contact is an automatic suspension. Boone is serving the suspension today and bench coach Josh Bard will fill in as manager.

Injury Update: Didi Gregorius (heel) took batting practice and ran the bases today. It’s more likely he’ll return at some point during the Mariners series late next week rather than the upcoming Athletics series … Aside from the ongoing hamstring issue, Giancarlo Stanton is fine. Adding McCutchen and getting Sanchez back allows the Yankees to finally give Stanton a day to rest. He’d started the previous 84 games.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Jonathan Loaisiga. The Yankees have called Johnny Lasagna up from Double-A Trenton, the team announced. He was scheduled to start today. There are now 31 players on the active roster.

Game 136: Happy Cutch & Gary Day

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(Presswire)

Today is a pretty cool day in Yankeeland. Literally. Temperatures are in the 70s today. After a week with real feel temperatures in the triple digits, this feels like the arctic. Pretty great.

But seriously, today is a pretty cool day because Andrew McCutchen will wear Yankee pinstripes for the first time. Also, Gary Sanchez is back from the disabled list. The Yankees have been scraping by with a bare bones lineup the last few weeks. Some of those 7-8-9s were ugly. That changes today.

Cutch is a Yankee, Gary is back, and this afternoon the Yankees go for their second straight win over the Tigers. The first two games of this series have been a bear. Far more difficult than they needed to be. Hopefully the new guys (well, new guy and returning guy) help correct that. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. RF Andrew McCutchen
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. 3B Miguel Andujar
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Luke Voit
8. 2B Neil Walker
9. LF Brett Gardner

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Detroit Tigers
1. LF Mikie Mahtook
2. 1B Jim Adduci
3. RF Nick Castellanos
4. DH Victor Martinez
5. 3B Niko Goodrum
6. SS Ronny Rodriguez
7. C Grayson Greiner
8. CF JaCoby Jones
9. 2B Dawel Lugo

LHP Daniel Norris

It is a bit cloudy in New York today but it is relatively cool and there is no rain in the forecast. Good afternoon for a ballgame, I’d say. This afternoon’s game will begin at 4:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and FOX Sports 1 nationally. Enjoy the game.

Roster Moves: In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees announced their first round of September roster call-ups. McCutchen and Adeiny Hechavarria were added to the active roster, Sanchez was activated, and Luis Cessa, Tyler Wade, and Stephen Tarpley were all called up.

Injury Update: Didi Gregorius (heel) is progressing but is more likely to be activated for the Mariners series late next week than the Athletics series that begins Monday … Aroldis Chapman (knee) is expected back this season, but Brian Cashman said that’s not a guarantee. Gulp.

Game 135: Still waiting for Good Sevy to return

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(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

So. The Yankees lost that stupid game last night. It was annoying. Nothing they can do about it now though. The best and worst thing about baseball is that they play every single day. Can’t enjoy the successes or dwell on the failures too long. There’s another game tomorrow, or in this case, today.

Tonight we again turn our attention to Luis Severino, who is still trying to work out of his recent rut. He’s allowed 36 runs and a .325/.365/.579 opponent’s batting line in his last 46.2 innings. That is in the range of what Christian Yelich is hitting this year (.316/.378/.559). Severino has turned every batter he’s faced the last eight weeks into Yelich. Not good. A dominant start would be a welcome sight. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. 3B Miguel Andujar
5. 1B Luke Voit
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. RF Neil Walker
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Ronald Torreyes

RHP Luis Severino

Detroit Tigers
1. 3B Jeimer Candelario
2. 1B Jim Adduci
3. RF Nick Castellanos
4. DH Victor Martinez
5. LF Niko Goodrum
6. SS Ronny Rodriguez
7. C James McCann
8. CF JaCoby Jones
9. 2B Dawel Lugo

RHP Jordan Zimmermann

It is cloudy and humid in New York and it was raining for a bit this afternoon. That’s supposed to clear out by game time, and here’s no more rain in the forecast until much later tonight/tomorrow morning. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and YES will have the broadcast. Enjoy the game.

Roster Updates: In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees did indeed finalize the trade for Andrew McCutchen today. He is officially a Yankee. He is not with the team, however. He’s traveling from San Francisco today and will join the Yankees tomorrow. McCutchen is going to wear No. 26, apparently … Justus Sheffield will not be called up when rosters expand tomorrow. He’s still in the mix for a call-up though. Seems like the Yankees want him to get one more Triple-A relief appearance under his belt first, especially after missing time with an illness earlier this week.

Injury Updates: Gary Sanchez (groin) is back with the Yankees and will be activated tomorrow, when rosters expand. Today was a planned rest day anyway after playing the last four days with Triple-A Scranton … Aaron Judge (wrist) still hasn’t started swinging a bat but Aaron Boone is “very optimistic” he will return this season. Uh huh.

Game 134: Getting Closer To Full Strength

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(Adam Hunger/Getty)

Folks, there are only four home series and 13 home games remaining this season. Hard to believe, no? The Yankees begin a four-game home series with the rebuilding Tigers tonight. The Tigers have lost five straight games and they’re 7-18 with a -49 (!) run differential this month, so yeah, they’re bad. As expected. They’re early in their rebuild and on any given night there are maybe three league average players in their lineup.

Which of course means the Tigers are probably going to give the Yankees fits this weekend. The Yankees just lost two of three to the crummy White Sox and they’ve had issues with other bad teams like the Orioles and Rangers earlier this season. New York has the fifth best record in baseball against sub-.500 teams this year (51-24), but it sure doesn’t feel like it at times. Start the series with a win tonight, por favor. The lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. 3B Miguel Andujar
4. 1B Luke Voit
5. SS Gleyber Torres
6. 2B Neil Walker
7. C Kyle Higashioka
8. RF Shane Robinson
9. LF Brett Gardner

LHP J.A. Happ

Detroit Tigers
1. 3B Jeimer Candelario
2. LF Mikie Mahtook
3. RF Nick Castellanos
4. DH Victor Martinez
5. 1B Niko Goodrum
6. SS Ronny Rodriguez
7. C James McCann
8. CF JaCoby Jones
9. 2B Dawel Lugo

LHP Francisco Liriano

More heat and more humidity in New York today. At least the real feel temperature was 95° or so rather than 105° like the last few days. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:05pm ET and YES will have the broadcast. Enjoy the ballgame.

Injury Updates: Gary Sanchez (groin) will catch nine innings with Triple-A Scranton tonight, and as long as all goes well, he will rejoin the Yankees on Saturday. Hooray for that … Didi Gregorius (heel) had a scheduled light workout day today. He’s getting better and is inching closer to a return … Aaron Judge (wrist) went through another workout in which he did basically everything except swing a bat … Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) started a minor league rehab assignment with High-A Tampa earlier today. He went 1-for-3. Not sure what Frazier’s timetable looks like, but the fact he’s now playing in minor league games is great news. That means he’s expected back and relatively soon.

Game 133: Sabathia For The Series Win

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(Adam Hunger/Getty)

The Yankees came from behind to beat the White Sox last night and tonight they’re going for the series win, which would be their fifth series win in their last six series of at last three games. By my unofficial count, the Yankees are 26-9-5 in their 40 series this season. Pretty great. Tack on another W tonight.

CC Sabathia is on the mound tonight and, on paper, the White Sox are a great matchup for him. They swing at everything — Chicago has the third highest swing rate and second highest chase rate in MLB — and they’re without Jose Abreu, their best hitter. If Sabathia lives on the corners like he usually does, he could have a lot of success against this ChiSox team. It wasn’t a coincidence he struck out a season high 12 batters last time he faced this team. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Giancarlo Stanton
3. CF Aaron Hicks
4. DH Miguel Andujar
5. 3B Neil Walker
6. SS Gleyber Torres
7. 1B Greg Bird
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Ronald Torreyes

LHP CC Sabathia

Chicago White Sox
1. CF Adam Engel
2. SS Jose Rondon
3. RF Avisail Garcia
4. C Kevan Smith
5. 1B Matt Davidson
6. 2B Yoan Moncada
7. DH Nicky Delmonico
8. LF Ryan LaMarre
9. 3B Yolmer Sanchez

RHP Reynaldo Lopez

Another hot day in New York. Real feel temperature is in the triple digits again. Rough. Tonight’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game.

Injury Update: Didi Gregorius (heel) ran on the field for the first time today and also took full batting practice. It is possible he won’t need a minor league rehab assignment. Kinda depends how he comes through his workouts the next few days … Aaron Judge (wrist) had a scheduled light workout day today, so there’s no real update on him. Nothing’s changed since yesterday.