River Avenue Blues

Redemption: Yankees take series opener from O’s on Vernon’s walk-off

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Source: FanGraphs

So this was the best win of the season, right? I know we say that a few times each season, but this one feels legit. So yeah, best win of the season to date. I remain very open to more awesome wins in the second half. Let’s recap Friday’s walk-off 3-2 win over the Orioles:

  • Redemption: In the fifth inning, Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells failed to plate a run(s) in a bases loaded, one-out situation. In the exact same situation in the ninth inning, they came through for the win. Pronk coaxed a four-pitch walk from Jim Johnson to force in the tying run, then Wells knocked a two-strike single through the left side for the walk-off win. After eight innings of nothing, scoring two in the ninth for the come-from-behind win was outstanding.
  • Super Nova: By Game Score (83), this was both the best start of Ivan Nova’s big league career and the best start by a Yankee in 2013. He was dominant, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out eleven in the complete-game. After allowing a two-run homer to Matt Wieters in the second, Nova retired 23 of the final 25 men he faced. The curveball was the key, as he threw 22 of 33 curves for strikes, including ten swing-and-misses. Pitcher wins are dumb, but Nova was electric and he deserved every bit of this “W.” It would have been a damn shame if he had been saddled with a loss.
  • Hate Bunts: Two quick gripes. One, bunting after the leadoff man reaches base in the first inning. You can play for a big inning that early in the game, it’s okay. Two, bunting with Ichiro Suzuki in the ninth. Yes it worked out just fine in the end, but Ichiro and Robinson Cano are the team’s two best hitters right now. That bunt took the bat out of both of their hands. Gotta let them hit with the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on-base.
  • Leftovers: Props to David Adams for his leadoff single to spark that ninth inning rally. He went 1-3 with a walk and has quietly reached base eleven times in his last 27 plate appearances (.407 OBP), which dates back to the start of the last O’s series … it’s been like, three games, but Luis Cruz has taken some nice swings in pinstripes and he’s been excellent overall on defense. He’s no star, but he’s way better than anyone else they’ve run out there at shortstop this year … Wells was the only Yankee with two hits, but Cano (two walks), Lyle Overbay (single and two walks), and Adams (single and walk) all reached base twice as well.

For the box score and video highlights, go to MLB.com. FanGraphs and ESPN have other stats and the standings, respectively. In a stat that epitomizes the 2013 Yankees, the team has won five straight and is 5-5 in their last ten games. At worst, New York will be five back in the loss column in the AL East when they wake up on Saturday. They are tied with the Orioles in the loss column for the second wildcard spot, however. Andy Pettitte and Chris Tillman is your pitching matchup in Saturday’s matinee, and make sure to check out RAB Tickets for some last minute deals.

Jagielo picks up three hits in Staten Island win

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Some notes:

  • Mark Hale spoke to a bunch of scouts about the Yankees top three outfield prospects, and they crushed OF Slade Heathcott pretty good. OF Tyler Austin received the best reviews while OF Mason Williams was kinda in the middle.
  • 1B Kyle Roller has been placed on the Double-A Trenton DL, reports Josh Norris. He suffered what was described as a “serious” foot/ankle injury while running the bases the other day. No other information besides that though.
  • Remember when the Yankees were talking to 3B Ian Stewart about a minor league deal? Scratch that, he’s signed with the Dodgers according to Jon Heyman.

Triple-A Scranton (3-2 win over Buffalo, walk-off style)

  • RF Fernando Martinez: 0-3, 1 R, 1 K
  • DH Randy Ruiz: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
  • C J.R. Murphy: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K — walk-off sac fly
  • RHP Jose Ramirez: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HB, 4/2 GB/FB — 53 of 80 pitches were strikes (66%) … one fewer walk than last season in 34.1 fewer innings
  • RHP Chase Whitley: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3/0 GB/FB — 24 of 38 pitches were strikes (63%) … it’s been a struggle this year, so good to see him have a strong outing

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Game 86: Make Some Noise

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Arms. (Hannah Foslien/Getty)
Arms. (Hannah Foslien/Getty)

Last weekend, the Orioles swept the Yankees in a three-game series that wasn’t all that competitive. They out-hit, out-pitched, out-defended, out-everythinged New York. It was a lopsided sweep that put the Yankees on the brink of last place in the AL East.

Since then, the Bombers won four straight against the lowly Twins to remain in the division race. Next week brings seven straight games against the Royals and Twins, so these three games against the Orioles in Yankee Stadium represent the start of a ten-game, first half-ending homestand that will more or less define how the team approaches the trade deadline. Ten straight home games, including seven against sub-.500 teams. Time to make some noise. Here’s the lineup that will face right-hander Miguel Gonzalez:

  1. CF Brett Gardner
  2. RF Ichiro Suzuki
  3. 2B Robinson Cano
  4. DH Travis Hafner
  5. LF Vernon Wells
  6. 1B Lyle Overbay
  7. SS Luis Cruz
  8. C Chris Stewart
  9. 3B David Adams

And on the mound is right-hander Ivan Nova, who is spot starting for the injured Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda is dealing with a sore left hip flexor and is expected to return to the rotation soon.

We’ve got baseball weather in New York, as long as you consider baseball to be 90° temperatures with a staggering amount of humidity. I had no interest in going outside today. It is gross. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy.

Injury Updates: Kuroda was re-evaluated and cleared to throw a bullpen session today. No word on when he’ll rejoin the rotation, but it seems like it happen as soon as Monday. Nothing official yet though.

7/5-7/7 Series Preview: Baltimore Orioles

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(David Banks/Getty)
(David Banks/Getty)

The Orioles again? Yes, the Orioles again. Baltimore swept the Yankees just last weekend, but that series was in Camden Yards. This weekend’s three-game set will be played in the Bronx. Will that make a difference? I hope so.

What Have They Done Lately?
After sweeping the Yankees, the O’s lost two of three to the White Sox in Chicago. Adam Dunn did them in with a walk-off homer solo homer yesterday. Baltimore is 48-38 with a +26 run differential on the year, good for second place in the AL East. They’re one up on the Yankees in the loss column.

Offense
At 4.9 runs per game with a team 106 wRC+, manager Buck Showalter’s squad is one of the best offenses in all of baseball. The Orioles are currently without the injured 1B/OF/DH Steve Pearce (90 wRC+) and UTIL Wilson Betemit (has not played in 2013), and neither guy is expected to return this weekend.

Machado. (Patrick Smith/Getty)
Machado. (Patrick Smith/Getty)

When you talk about the O’s offense these days, the conversation has to start with 1B Chris Davis (196 wRC+) and 3B Manny Machado (125 wRC+). Davis leads all of baseball in homers (32) while Machado leads the game in doubles (38). These races aren’t particularly close either — Miguel Cabrera has the second most homers (26) while Davis and Yadier Molina have the second most doubles (26). They’re lapping the field.

Because two awesome hitters aren’t enough, Baltimore also has OF Adam Jones (112 wRC+), OF Nate McLouth (115 wRC+), and OF Nick Markakis (103 wRC+). 2B Brian Roberts (111 wRC+) has hit well in very limited time, as has fourth OF Chris Dickerson (102 wRC+). C Matt Wieters (76 wRC+) and SS J.J. Hardy (95 wRC+) round out the regulars. Showalter’s extras include backup C Taylor Teagarden (-16 wRC+ in limited time), IF Alexi Casilla (57 wRC+), IF Ryan Flaherty (67 wRC+), and OF Nolan Reimold (52 wRC+ in limited time). The Orioles lead baseball in homers (117) and rank 11th in steals (54). This offense can do it all.

Starting Pitching Matchups

Friday: RHP Ivan Nova vs. RHP Miguel Gonzalez
Gonzalez, 29, has a 3.77 ERA (4.42 FIP) in 14 starts this year, but he’s also posted a 3.23 ERA (3.77 FIP) in eight starts since returning from a blister-related DL stint in late-May. That’s in line with his breakout season a year ago (3.25 ERA and 4.38 FIP). Gonzalez limits walks (2.75 BB/9 and 7.5 BB%), but otherwise he doesn’t strike out many (6.93 K/9 and 18.9 K%), does get many ground balls (41.1%), and will surrender the long ball (1.32 HR/9 and 12.1% HR/FB. Low-90s two- and four-seamers set up his dynamite low-80s splitter/changeup hybrid, the pitch that has given the Yankees fits since last year. Mid-80s sliders and upper-70s curveballs round out his repertoire. Gonzalez has faced the Yankees five times in his career (including playoffs) and has handled them very well all five times. That includes twice earlier this year. Baltimore was nice enough to push him back so he could pitch this game.

(Patrick Smith/Getty)
(Patrick Smith/Getty)

Saturday: LHP Andy Pettitte vs. RHP Chris Tillman
The 25-year-old Tillman has been a good results (3.68 ERA), bad peripherals (4.97 FIP) pitcher in his 17 starts this year. He strikes out an okay amount of batters (7.27 K/9 and 19.5 K%), but he walks a few too many (3.41 BB/9 and 9.1 BB%), doesn’t get any grounders (37.2%), and is very homer prone (1.61 HR/9 and 15.4% HR/FB). Tillman is a five-pitch pitcher with a low-90s four-seamer, a low-90s cutter, a mid-80s changeup, a mid-80s slider, and a mid-70s curveball. He held the Yankees to two runs in six innings last weekend after getting hit by them pretty hard over the years. Different lineup now though.

Sunday: RHP Phil Hughes vs. RHP Jason Hammel
Hammel, 30, pitched like a borderline ace before a knee injury last year, but this season he’s pitched much more like the guy who broke into the league with the Devil Rays way back when (5.19 ERA and 5.12 FIP). Both his strikeout (6.53 K/9 and 15.6 K%) and ground ball (41.8%) rates are way down, and, not coincidentally, his homer rate (1.61 HR/9 and 14.6% HR/FB) is way up. He still limits walks (2.95 BB/9 and 7.5 BB%), however. Hammel reinvested himself as a low-to-mid-90s two-seamer/mid-80s slider guy when he got to Baltimore, scaling back the usage of his low-to-mid-90s four-seamer, mid-80s changeup, and upper-70s curveball. Outside of one rough outing last May, Hammel has pitched well in seven starts against New York since last year, including two earlier this season.

(Patrick McDermott/Getty)
(Patrick McDermott/Getty)

Bullpen Status
Left-hander Zach Britton gave the Orioles seven innings yesterday, so the only reliever they used was RHP Tommy Hunter (4.01 FIP). He’s pitched in each of the last two games. Closer RHP Jim Johnson (3.71 FIP) and setup men RHP Darren O’Day (3.71 FIP) and LHP Brian Matusz (3.52 FIP) are all well-rested. RHP Kevin Gausman (5.02 FIP in limited time), LHP T.J. McFarland (3.44 FIP), and LHP Troy Patton (4.35 FIP) round out the bullpen.

The Yankees are not in great shape bullpen-wise, thanks in part to the fiasco during yesterday’s seventh and eighth inning. David Robertson has pitched in two straight and three of the last four while Mariano Rivera has also pitched in three of the last four despite having yesterday off. Our Bullpen Workload page has all the details. Camden Chat is the place to go for the latest and greatest on the O’s.

Jeter will begin rehab assignment tomorrow

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Derek Jeter has been cleared to begin his official 20-day minor league rehab assignment, the Yankees announced. He will join Triple-A Scranton tomorrow and play at least five innings at shortstop. That … seems rather aggressive. I guess they won’t be easing the Cap’n back into things like they have everyone else.

Injury Updates: Jeter, Grandy, Kuroda, Pineda

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(Al Bello/Getty)
(Al Bello/Getty)

Some injury updates, courtesy of Zach Braziller and George King:

  • Derek Jeter (ankle) is close to beginning a minor league rehab assignment. He continues to take simulated at-bats in Tampa, and he is running the bases after each one. The Yankees haven’t set a date for the rehab assignment yet, but Brian Cashman said “he’s doing real well. He’s really progressing well.”
  • Curtis Granderson (hand) swung a pipe 20 times underwater. He has to progress to a short bat and a weighted short bat underwater before taking real live batting practice. So yeah, Granderson isn’t close to a return.
  • Hiroki Kuroda (hip) will be re-evaluated by a doctor today. An MRI revealed no tear and the plan is to get him back into the rotation shortly. Ivan Nova is starting in Kuroda’s place tonight.
  • Michael Pineda (shoulder) will make his final rehab start with Triple-A Scranton tomorrow. His 30-day rehab window expires on Monday and it seems likely the Yankees will option him to Triple-A for some more tune-up starts at that time.
  • In case you missed it yesterday, Frankie Cervelli suffered a stress reaction in his elbow and has been shut down for at least two weeks. He isn’t expected to return until sometime in August now.