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Yankeemetrics: Going going gone, Bombers roll over Rangers (Aug. 9-12)

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(AP)

Bombs away
Back in the Bronx for a season-high 11-game homestand — their longest since June 2005 — a home run derby erupted as the Yankees beat up on the Rangers in series opener, 7-3. Aaron Hicks kicked off the fireworks with a two-run blast in the first inning, his 20th of the season. He is the fourth Yankee to reach that milestone this season, tied with the Indians for the most 20-homer players in MLB.

Hicks also is the third Yankee outfielder to hit 20 longballs this season. This is the fourth time in franchise history they’ve had three guys hit 20 homers and play at least 60 games in the outfield (yes, Stanton has played 60) in the same season.

  • 2018: Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton
  • 2004: Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams
  • 1961: Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris
  • 1941: Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Keller, Tommy Henrich

Miguel Andujar and Neil Walker launched back-to-back homers in the fourth inning, Stanton added a massive laser shot in the fifth and Walker capped the dinger party with another solo shot in the sixth.

Stanton’s 449-foot missile left his bat at 121.7 mph, the fastest exit velocity of any home run measured by Statcast (since 2015), and the hardest-hit ball — out or hit — in the majors this season. Another #StatcastFunFact: through Thursday there have been 10 batted balls with an exit velocity of 119 mph or more this season … and all 10 were hit by Yankees (Sanchez and Judge each have one, Stanton has eight).

For Walker, it was his sixth career multi-homer game but the first time he’s homered from both sides of the plate in the same game. Walker is the only player in franchise history to achieve the feat as a second baseman in a game.

(AP)

Bombs away, the enemy version
The Rangers got revenge on Friday night with their own dinger party, crushing four homers to beat Yankees, 12-7. Masahiro Tanaka’s gopheritis returned as he coughed up three homers and was torched for six runs in five innings. He had been excellent in his first five starts off the DL, posting a 1.78 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings, but regressed badly on Friday night:

Rangers first baseman Ronald Guzman stole the highlights with his unprecedented three-homer night, becoming the first rookie ever to go deep three times against the Yankees. At the age of 23 years and 294 days old, he also was the second-youngest player to hit a trio of bombs against the Bronx Bombers, behind only Indians outfielder Pat Seerey (22 years, 118 days) on July 13, 1945.

Austin Romine earns our Obscure Yankeemetric of the Series for his huge effort, going 3-for-4 with a homer and a steal(!) while driving in three runs. He is the sixth Yankee catcher with a home run, a steal and at least three RBI in a game, and the first do it since Thurman Munson on June 15, 1976 vs Twins. The other guys were Jake Gibbs (1971), Yogi Berra (1958), Bill Dickey (1938, 1932) and Eddie Phillips (1932).

(New York Post)

Mighty Miggy saves the day
The Yankees pulled out an ugly 5-3 win on a rainy Saturday at the Stadium, surviving a bullpen meltdown thanks to another clutch hit by Miguel Andujar. Lance Lynn delivered a third straight solid outing in pinstripes, and the one run he allowed in the third inning is the only scoring blemish on his Yankee resume so far.

He also etched his name in the Yankeemetric record books with these two #FunFacts:

  • Lynn is first player in franchise history to begin his Yankee career with three consecutive games of no more than one earned run allowed and at least five strikeouts.
  • He is also the first guy to strike out at least eight batters and give up no more than one earned run each of his first two starts as a Yankee.

Miguel Andujar rehashed his role of clutch-hitting hero with a two-run, opposite field blast in the seventh inning that broke a 3-3 tie. It was his fourth go-ahead hit in the seventh inning or later this season, the most on the team thru Saturday. The only other Yankee rookies over the last 25 years to compile four go-ahead hits in the seventh or later are Nick Johnson (2002) and Derek Jeter (1996).

(AP)

Ace Sabathia
Backed by a vintage gem from CC Sabathia and more bombs from the bats, the Yankees clinched the series win over the Rangers with a 7-2 win on Sunday. They still have lost just one series at home this season, April 5-8 against the Orioles.

The seven-run, two-homer outburst extended a couple notable streaks.

  • 14th straight home game scoring at least five runs, tied for the second-longest such streak in franchise history (also had 14-game streak in 1937). The only longer one is a 21-gamer by the 1938 team.
  • Seventh straight game with multiple homers, tied for the second-longest such streak in Yankees history (also had 7-game streaks in 2014, 1986, 1955, 1937). The only longer streak is nine games during the 2009 season.
  • 23 homers in seven games against the Rangers this season, their most home runs hit against any opponent in a season series of 10 or fewer games.

CC Sabathia carved through the Rangers lineup with his signature arsenal of well-located cutters and sliders, allowing a season-low one hit — a dribbler in front of the plate. The only ball in play he allowed to the outfield (excluding Andujar’s error) was a warning-track flyout in the third inning. Otherwise, lots of groundouts and seven strikeouts:

Only two other Yankees as old as (or older than) the 38-year-old Sabathia have pitched a game with at least seven strikeouts and no more than one hit allowed — Randy Johnson (in 2005 and 2006) and Roger Clemens (in 2001 and 2003).

Sabathia did have to pitch around six baserunners, but did so masterfully, with six scoreless innings. He’s held batters to a .156 batting average with runners in scoring position this season, the third-lowest in the AL and seventh-lowest in MLB among qualified starters.

Giancarlo Stanton lit up the scoreboard early with a bullet line drive homer in the first inning, his 30th of the season. It was also his 16th longball in a two-strike count, tied for the most in MLB this season. Looking ahead … no Yankee since 1988 (when we have official pitch count data) has finished a season with at least 20 homers and more than half of them coming in two-strike counts.

Bad Timing: The Late Season Yankee Outfield

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(Presswire)

Now is the August of our outfield discontent. Aaron Judge is out, Giancarlo Stanton has a minor-but-nagging injury, and Shane Robinson has started ten of the last 15 games. Neil Walker started in right field yesterday. The perfect back up option–Clint Frazier–is also injured and the Judge injury happened so close to the non-waiver deadline that the team wasn’t able to get a suitable replacement in time. Bad timing has defined the Yankee outfield for much of the season, especially now in the penultimate month of the season.

When Aaron Hicks was injured in the first series of the year, Clint Frazier was dealing with his first concussion of the year. When Aaron Judge was injured, Frazier was dealing with his second concussion of the year. There is no better example of how cruel baseball can be with its timing than this. Frazier has shown all year that he’s done with AAA and is ready to contribute to the big club in a big way, yet he’s been unable to because of things he can’t control. Dealing with that alone would be challenging. Dealing with it while also being the subject of myriad trade rumors and speculation, along with an uncalled for, low blow from the team’s lead broadcaster is almost daunting. If Frazier can make it through this year in one relatively whole piece, he’ll be able to make it through anything as a baseball player.

In April, Aaron Hicks had an above .800 OPS and Aaron Judge had an above 1.000 OPS. Giancarlo Stanton had a .737 OPS that month, while Brett Gardner put up a paltry .601. Then, in May, Hicks OPS’d below .700 while Gardner got hot (.917 OPS) and Judge (.965) stayed hot. Stanton also improved to an .847 OPS. Stanton then had a great June while Judge was solid and Hicks got hot. Gardner, however, cooled off. July saw Hicks, Stanton, and Judge all rake while Gardner was merely adequate. That was the closest we’ve come to seeing all four of them clicking at the same time. Sure, it wouldn’t be likely that all four would hit to their max at the same time and it’s hard to complain with the Yankees’ results this year (try as we might), but getting them all on the same page at the same time would go a long way towards easing some ruffled hearts and minds.

The latest bit of bad timing–non Clint division–was Judge getting hurt just six days before the trade deadline. At that time, it’s unlikely the Yankees were focused on trading for another position player as they were trying to (successfully) beef up their pitching. There was still almost a week before the deadline, though, and we’re nearly halfway through August and the situation hasn’t quite been addressed. I’m sure the front office is working on it and we just don’t know, but it’s getting a little too late for a lack of action. There are concerns with acquiring a veteran–the Yankees have already given up prospects and there might be a lack of playing time for said veteran when Judge returns and, of course, the luxury tax concern.

To the the first two, I say, “Who cares?” To quote a great philosopher, we’re trying to win a ring around here. Despite the Red Sox’s dominance, the Yankees could still win a World Series this year and they should be doing everything they can to help that cause.

To the third, I roll my eyes. The luxury tax plan helps no one but the team’s bottom line and I remain unconvinced that they’ll go out and spend that savings money, especially with a crowded roster as it is.

It’s hard to fault anyone for the Yankees’ current outfield situation. When healthy, Judge has been himself. Stanton has turned back into the beast he is, Gardner has been mostly fine–despite a poor second half so far–and Hicks has been the AL’s best center fielder not named Mike Trout. Neither Clint Frazier nor Jacoby Ellsbury can or should be blamed for injuries. Aaron Boone can’t be blamed for playing the pieces he has. Brian Cashman probably didn’t have this in his plans, either, but he’s in position to make things recover a bit. Is it likely the Yankees catch the Red Sox and win the division? Not really, but they should make every effort, given how good this team can be and has been at times this year. Bad timing be damned; go get an outfielder and try to win a ring.

Yankeemetrics: Nightmare beatdown in Boston (August 2-5)

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(New York Post)

Nightmare at Fenway
The Yankees headed to Boston for a crucial and historic series, the first time the two teams met this late into the season with the two best records in the majors since the famed 1978 tiebreaker game. On Thursday, however, the Yankees were on the wrong side of history in a 15-7 rout.

The Red Sox pummeled them with 15 runs and 19 hits, and added four steals to round out the shellacking. This was the 2,204th game in the history of the rivalry (including the postseason) — and it was the first of those games that the Red Sox scored that many runs, had that many hits and that many stolen bases.

The longball was no help as the Yankees hit four homers and still lost. This was the 43rd time they went deep at least four times in a game against the Red Sox — and the second time they didn’t win. The other game was on Sept. 24, 2010 at Yankee Stadium.

Even more depressing is the fact that they did all that damage and lost by eight runs! To find the last time the Yankees hit four homers, scored at least seven runs and still got whipped by eight-plus runs you have to back more than 75 years to a 15-7 loss on May 21, 1930 to the Philadelphia A’s.

Jonathan Holder did his best to put himself in the Yankee record books — in every bad way possible. He entered in the fourth inning, faced seven batters, allowed all of them to reach base and coughed up seven runs. The only other Yankee pitcher to give up that many earned runs without recording an out in a game was Bob Kammeyer on Sept. 8, 1979 against the Indians. That was only game he pitched in 1979 and the last game Kammeyer ever pitched in the majors.

Let’s finish with a couple silver linings to calm the rage:

  • Didi Gregorius went deep twice and drove in four runs, becoming the first Yankee shortstop ever with at least two home runs and four RBI in a game against the Red Sox.
  • This was the second time the Yankees allowed 14 or more runs to the Red Sox this season (remember the 14-1 disaster on April 10 at Fenway?). The last time the Red Sox scored at least 14 runs twice in a season against the Yankees was 2009.
(USA Today)

Nightmare at Fenway, Part II
The freefall continued on Friday as the Yankees were dominated by Rick Porcello and embarrassed again in a 4-1 loss. They looked like a JV squad playing the state champion varsity team, getting just two guys on base (hit by pitch and home run) the entire game.

It was the first time Yankees had one hit or fewer against the Red Sox since Sept. 10, 1999, the epic Pedro Martinez 17-strikeout game at Yankee Stadium. And the only other time in the last 100 years that Yankees had no more than one hit at Fenway Park was June 7, 1990. That was the first game of the glorious Stump Merrill era.

Porcello was in total control the entire game, never faced a runner in scoring position, retired the final 21 Yankees that came to the plate and needed just 86 pitches to finish them off. The U-G-L-Y numbers, bullet-point style:

  • In the 21 years we have reliable pitch data (since 1988), Porcello is the only pitcher to throw a nine-inning complete game with at least nine strikeouts and fewer than 90 pitches against the Yankees
  • Porcello is the second Red Sox pitcher to throw a nine-inning complete game with one or zero hits allowed against the Yankees at Fenway Park. The other guy was Rube Foster who tossed a no-hitter against them on June 21, 1916.
  • And — our daily #SilverLiningStat — the last pitcher on any team to throw a complete game and give up no more than one hit against the Yankees was Roy Halladay on September 4, 2009 in Toronto.

Luis Severino — who had struggled mightily his previous four games — looked like he was going to suffer through another disaster outing after getting pounded for three runs in the first inning.

But he settled down, pitched with more confidence, and had better location before exiting in the sixth. As you can see below, he couldn’t find the plate in the first inning (left) but had much-improved command the rest of the game (right):

Even though Severino might be emerging from his slump, his subpar line (5 2/3 IP, 4 ER) gave him a 8.28 ERA over his last five games. That’s his highest ERA in a five-start span (with no relief appearances in between) in his career.

(New York Post)

Nightmare at Fenway, Part III
It was deja vu all over again for the Yankees on Saturday, as they dropped another 4-1 dud to the Red Sox. Following their identical 4-1 debacle on Friday, this is the first time since September 1991 that the Yankees scored one run or fewer in consecutive games in a series at Fenway Park.

The Yankees saw their slim division hopes almost extinguished as they fell to a season-worst 8.5 games back in the division, and extended their losing streak to a season-high four games. Prior to this series, the Yankees and Red Sox were the only MLB teams that hadn’t lost more than three games in a row.

For the second straight game the Yankees looked thoroughly overmatched against a dominant Red Sox starter. This time it was Nathan Eovaldi who silenced the Yankee bats, holding them to three singles over eight scoreless innings. Eovaldi and Porcello are the third set of Red Sox teammates since 1908 to pitch at least eight innings and allow no more than three hits on back-to-back days against the Yankees. The others? Mike Boddicker and Greg Harris on June 6-7, 1990, and Rube Foster and Babe Ruth on June 21-22, 1916.

(Getty Images)

Nightmare at Fenway, Part IV
The Yankees capped off the most disappointing and dreadful series of the season with arguably the most painful and brutal loss of the season, losing 5-4 in the 10th inning after starting the ninth inning with a 4-1 advantage.

Chapman imploded in trying to close out the game, walking three batters and all three crossed home plate. He now has seven blown saves as a Yankee, and three of them have come against the Red Sox. The tying run scored on an error by Miguel Andujar; he entered the game with -14 Defensive Runs Saved this season, the worst among all MLB third basemen. This was bad, bad, bad, bad:

  • Entering Sunday they were an MLB-best 58-0 this season when leading at the start of the ninth inning.
  • It was just the second time in the last 10 seasons that they lost a game when taking a lead of at least three runs into the ninth. The other game was September 15, 2016 … against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
  • It was just the fourth time in the last 50 seasons they were swept in a four-game series by the Red Sox; it also happened September 2016, June 1990 and September 1969. All four of those sweeps were at Fenway Park.
  • Yankees are now 8-18 at Fenway Park over the last three seasons, their worst record at any American League ballpark since 2016.

Yankeemetrics: Taking care of business (July 26-29)

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(AP)

Back to business
The Yankees headed back to the Bronx, and returned to bashing baseballs with a 7-2 victory in the opener over the Royals. Didi Gregorius was swinging the hot bat on Thursday, scoring the Yankees’ first run in the opening frame after belting a one-out double, and then breaking the game open with a three-run homer in the fourth inning.

Those were his 20th double and 18th home run of the season, the third straight year he’s reached those double and homer totals. #FunFact Alert No. 1: Didi and Trevor Story are the only MLB shortstops to put up both those numbers in each of the last three seasons. #FunFact Alert No. 2: Gregorius is the only Yankee shortstop ever with back-to-back-to-back seasons of at least 18 homers and 20 doubles.

(AP)

Sonny Gray continued his dominance of the league’s worst teams but — in a shocking twist — also delivered a solid, homer-free performance in the Bronx. He scattered three hits across five scoreless innings, the first time since joining the Yankees last July that he didn’t allow a run in a start at Yankee Stadium.

This season Gray has made five starts against the AL’s three last-place teams (two vs. Royals, three vs. Orioles, zero vs. Rangers), producing a 1.45 ERA and 0.77 WHIP across 31 innings. Among the 33 players lucky enough to pitch at least 20 innings versus those teams this season (through Thursday), Gray’s ERA ranks fourth-best and his WHIP is second-best.

Zach Britton took the mound in Yankee pinstripes for the first time, needing just 10 pitches to record a perfect inning via two groundouts and a strikeout. After Thursday’s debut outing, his 65.9 percent groundball rate in 2018 was the highest among AL pitchers with at least 15 innings pitched.

(Getty)

Sevy’s slide
Any momentum from the series-opening win was erased after Friday’s rainout, and the Yankees produced an embarrassing and disappointing performance in losing the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. With the 10-5 loss, the Yankees still haven’t swept a twinbill since April 16, 2014 vs. the Cubs, their longest drought since a 14-doubleheader sweepless stretch spanning the 1969-70 seasons.

The Yankees’ RISP woes were on display again as they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine men on base. The worst failure came in the second inning when they loaded the bases with no outs and didn’t plate a single run. This season, teams scored at least one run 85 percent of the time in that situation.

The Yankees had another excruciating bases-loaded failure with two outs in the sixth inning when Giancarlo Stanton lined a laser to right field that was caught near the warning track. Based on the combo of exit velocity (102.3 mph) and launch angle (22 degrees), that type of batted ball is a hit 76 percent of the time.

Their terrible clutch hitting was exacerbated by the fact that they were playing from behind the entire game thanks to the continued struggles of Luis Severino. His summer slump extended to four games as the Royals mashed him for six runs on eight hits — including three doubles and a homer — before he was pulled in the fifth inning.

*Hard-hit rate per Fangraphs.com
IP ERA HR GB% K% Hard%*
Last 4 Starts 19.1 8.84 7 32.8% 20.9% 43.3%
First 18 Starts 118.1 1.98 6 45.6% 30.1% 31.8%

This is arguably either the worst or second-worst stretch of his career:

  • Only other time he had four-game span (all starts) with an ERA of at least 8.00 was April 26-May 13, 2016
  • First time allowed at least six runs in back-to-back games
  • First time allowed at least eight hits in three straight games
  • Second time allowed at least four extra-base hits two games in a row (also August 9-14, 2016)

And, sorry, we’ll cap it off with this #NotFunFact: Before Severino, the last Yankee to give up at least six earned runs and eight hits — including at least four for extra bases — in a game was Jeff Weaver in July 2002.

(AP)

Survive and advance
The Yankees avoided what would have been an demoralizing doubleheader sweep thanks to a 5-4 back-and-forth win in the night game of Saturday’s twinbill. There is no doubt that this team has the #FightingSpirit, especially compared to last year’s frustrating late-inning dumpster fire:

Yankees in Games Decided by One Run

  • 2018: Overall 17-11; Home 11-3
  • 2017: Overall 18-26; Home 11-9

Despite a shaky performance by CC Sabathia and a rare implosion from the middle relievers, Yankee pitchers on Saturday night held the Royals to just two hits in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position while stranding 15 men on base. That’s the most men left on base by a Yankee opponent in a nine-inning game since the Red Sox stranded 16 in a 5-2 loss to the Yankee on August 30, 2011.

And when you factor in that Saturday’s game was a narrow victory, the number of men left on base becomes even more important — and rare. The last time Yankee pitchers stranded at least 15 guys in a nine-inning one-run win was July 25, 1992 against the Mariners. The pitchers in that game: Curt Young, Tim Burke, Rich Monteleone, Greg Cadaret, Steve Farr. (Yes, those guys all pitched for the Yankees in the same game.)

Greg Bird ignited the final rally of the game with a solo shot to lead off the eighth inning that knotted the score at 4-4. It was the first game-tying home run of his career, though he’s had his share of dramatic go-ahead homers in his career.

Aaron Hicks then capped the comeback a few batters later with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that put the Yankees up 5-4. Hicks earns our Obscure Yankeemetric of the Series for his heroics: he’s the first Yankee with a go-ahead bases-loaded sac fly in the seventh inning or later against the Royals since Bernie Williams on May 1, 1998 (hmmm … another #randominterestingstat).

Happ-y day
The Yankees finally did what they’re supposed to do as the second-best team in baseball — take games and series against bad teams. Sunday’s mostly stress-free 6-3 victory capped off another winning weekend in the Bronx, where they have dropped just one series all season (April 5-8 vs. Orioles).

J.A. Happ etched his name in the franchise record books when he stepped on the mound. He became the first guy to start a game for the Yankees and Blue Jays in same season since David Cone in 1995. Cone’s first start as a Bronx Bomber came exactly 23 years ago, on July 29, 1995 against the Twins.

Happ produced an impressive pinstriped debut, holding the Royals to one run on three hits in six innings. A couple #FunFacts to chew on for Happ:

  • The only other left-hander in the last 15 seasons to allow no more than one run and pitch at least six innings in his first game as a Yankee was Randy Johnson in 2005
  • Happ is the first lefty to pitch at least six innings and give up three hits or fewer in his Yankee debut since Jimmy Key in 1993

Aaron Hicks provided the muscle and sparked the offense with a monster game, going 3-for-3 with a homer, double, walk and two RBI. This was his fourth game in the cleanup spot this season, and in those four games he’s 6-for-11 with two dingers, a double, a triple, six walks and five RBI. We love #SmallSampleSizes.

Oh, and the Yankees are still looking for their first hit with the bases loaded since July 11.

Game 100: Gleyber Returns

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(Presswire)

Game 100 is always an interesting milestone for me. The season is more than halfway over and has been for a while now, but seeing that triple-digit game number really drives home the point that damn, we’re getting into the home stretch here. Crazy how fast the baseball season can go by. At least it’s been a fun one so far. Lots of teams out there are basically running out the clock and waiting for the season to end.

Anyway, welcome back Gleyber Torres! As expected, he was activated off the disabled list today. He missed 15 games — was it really only 15 games? — and, during those 15 games, his second base replacements hit .255/.328/.455 with five doubles and two homers. Neil Walker hit .294/.415/.471 in 41 plate appearances while Gleyber was out. Huh. Who knew? Anyway, glad Torres is back. He’s good and fun. Here are this afternoon’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. DH Neil Walker
9. C Kyle Higashioka

RHP Luis Cessa

Tampa Bay Rays
1. CF Kevin Kiermaier
2. 3B Matt Duffy
3. 1B Jake Bauers
4. DH C.J. Cron
5. LF Joey Wendle
6. 2B Daniel Robertson
7. RF Carlos Gomez
8. SS Willy Adames
9. C Adam Moore

RHP Ryne Stanek

Nathan Eovaldi was supposed to start for the Rays today, but he was scratched this morning because he’s been traded to the Red Sox. So much for that. Anyway, it is hot and raining outside in St. Pete and nice and cool inside Tropicana Field this afternoon. Today’s game will start at 12:10pm ET. I didn’t accidentally post the game thread early. It is a 12:10pm ET start. YES will have the game locally and MLB Network will have the game out-of-market. Enjoy the ballgame.

Roster Moves: Gio Gallegos was sent down after last night’s game and Luis Cessa was called up this morning to make today’s start. He’s taking Domingo German’s rotation spot … Tyler Wade was sent down to Triple-A Scranton to clear a roster spot for Torres.

Injury Updates: Aaron Hicks jammed his shoulder sliding into second base the other night and is doing better. He took batting practice the last two days and everything went well. Hicks is available to play today, though the Yankees are giving him that one extra day to rest up … Brandon Drury is going to avoid the disabled list after taking that pitch to the hand last night. He is day-to-day.

Zach Britton Update: Zach Britton is not with the Yankees and isn’t on the active roster for today’s game. He’ll meet the club in New York tomorrow for the start of the homestand. The trade went down late last night and there’s no sense in making him travel to Tampa, arrive late to today’s game or possibly miss it entirely, and then turn right around and fly to New York with the team this evening.

Game 99: Please win a game at the stupid Trop

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(Mike Ehrmann/Getty)

So these last 20 hours or so have sucked, eh? I’d say so. Imagine if the Yankees weren’t 28 games over .500. Anyway, look forward, not backward. Tonight the Yankees will try to win a game at stupid Tropicana Field, where they remain winless this season. Four games, four losses. Getting annoying.

On the mound tonight is Masahiro Tanaka, who’s looked pretty good in his two starts back from his dual hamstring injuries. Pitched into the seventh inning against the Indians last time out. The #obligatoryhomer is still a thing. As long as he can limit the damage otherwise, the Yankees will be okay. Get a win, then try to win the series tomorrow. Here are the starting lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. SS Didi Gregorius
5. 3B Miguel Andujar
6. DH Greg Bird
7. 2B Brandon Drury
8. 1B Neil Walker
9. C Austin Romine

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Tampa Bay Rays
1. CF Kevin Kiermaier
2. 3B Matt Duffy
3. LF Jake Bauers
4. 1B C.J. Cron
5. DH Ji-Man Choi
6. 2B Daniel Robertson
7. RF Mallex Smith
8. SS Willy Adames
9. C Jesus Sucre

RHP Yonny Chirinos

It is humid and raining in St. Petersburg, so it’s a good night to play in a dome. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: In case you missed it earlier, Gary Sanchez was placed on the 10-day DL with a right groin strain. Kyle Higashioka was called up in a corresponding move. Sanchez reaggravated the groin last night and Aaron Boone said he’s going to miss “weeks.” How many? Not sure. But this won’t be a short-term thing. Sucks … Aaron Hicks is “a little banged” up, which is why he’s out of the lineup. Apparently he hit the dirt and second base hard in the ninth inning last night … Gleyber Torres (hip) is playing his final rehab game tonight, and is scheduled to rejoin the Yankees tomorrow.

2018 Midseason Review: The Outfielders

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(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

On the position player side of things, the outfield has been the biggest strength for the 2018 Yankees so far this season. The team’s outfielders have combined for a .261/.353/.480 (123 OPS+) batting line and they rank fourth in baseball in OBP, second in SLG, and second in OPS+. They’re also third with +26 DRS and second with a +15.1 UZR. The outfield ranks near the top of the league in offense and defense. Pretty great. Let’s review the outfield’s first half.

Brett Gardner

Midseason Grade: B+

Gardner deserves a “meets expectations” note more than an actual letter grade. He is, once again, putting up numbers right in line with his career norms. Yes, Gardner has his ups and downs like every player, but it is uncanny how consistent he is on a year-to-year basis. Look at this:

AVG/OBP/SLG wRC+ K% BB% WAR
2018 .254/.345/.403 107 14.9% 11.7% +4.1 (pace)
2015-17 .262/.348/.397 104 18.4% 10.6% +3.2 (per 162 games)
Career .263/.347/.394 104 18.3% 10.4% +4.1 (per 162 games)

Consistency is boring. Consistency is Brett Gardner. Year in, year out Gardner provides the same level of on-base ability and defense, and that has been true again thus far in 2018. He’s also provided several big hits this season, most notably his go-ahead triple against the Red Sox, game-tying homer against the Astros, and go-ahead homer against the Mets. By WPA, three of the team’s six biggest hits of the first half came off Gardner’s bat.

As indicated back in Spring Training, Aaron Boone has cut back on Gardner’s workload this season. Gardner, despite being the regular leadoff hitter, has only the fourth most plate appearances on the team, and he’s on pace for 628 plate appearances on the season. That’s after averaging 706.5 plate appearances per 162 games from 2014-17. Gardner is seeing less time against lefties and less time overall. Boone said he’d try to get Gardner more rest and he has.

And, with Gardner set to turn 35 in August, I am totally on board with this plan. The Yankees have four viable everyday outfielders, which makes rotating them a breeze. Gardner is not the Yankees best player, though he is a heart and soul player who really sets the tone from the leadoff spot. Keeping him fresh and productive should be a priority and it has been to date. Gardner’s been great. Same guy he’s always been, and that is a-okay with me.

Aaron Hicks

(Hunter Martin/Getty)

Midseason Grade: A-

Hicks is a tough one to grade because what were the expectations coming into the season? There were reasons to be skeptical about his 2017 performance given his career to date, though the high-end tools are fairly obvious. Hicks is a great athlete, he’s a switch-hitter with tremendous plate discipline, and he’s a very strong defensive center fielder. But he never did anything like what he did last year. How many people expected him to do it again?

I’m all in on Hicks and I expected him to carry his 2017 performance into 2018 — I even boldly predicted he’d lead the 2018 Yankees in WAR — and you know what? He’s done pretty much exactly that. He’s traded some batting average for power, but the overall numbers are very close:

PA AVG/OBP/SLG wRC+ HR SB-CS K% BB% WAR
2017 361 .266/.372/.475 127 15 10-5 18.6% 14.1% +3.3
2018 318 .249/.348/.491 128 16 8-1 19.5% 12.9% +2.6

Last season Hicks started hot and finished slow and hurt. This year he started slow and hurt before getting hot. Hicks strained his intercostal on Opening Day, the very first game of the season, and he missed about two weeks. Then, once he returned, it took some time to get going. Hicks did hit .273/.367/.564 (152 wRC+) with 13 homers in his final 200 plate appearances of the first half. That, my friends, is star level production.

Among full-time center fielders only the great Mike Trout and slightly less great Lorenzo Cain have Hicks beat in WAR this season. WAR of course is not the be all, end all stat, but it shouldn’t be discarded either. Point is, Hicks is a comfortably above-average player on both sides of the ball. Very good offense and very good defense. He’s a former first round pick and highly regarded prospect — Baseball America ranked him 19th on their 2010 top 100 list — who’s put it all together. Hicks is not starting to put it together. He’s put it together. It’s happened.

Aaron Judge

(Ronald Martinez/Getty)

Midseason Grade: B+

I feel like a B+ is a tough grade but I’m going to stick with it. Judge has been objectively awesome this season. He just hasn’t been as awesome as last season, which was truly one of the greatest rookie seasons in baseball history. It was the greatest power hitting season by a rookie in baseball history. Judge set the bar awfully high last year and he hasn’t quite returned to that level this year.

That said, Judge has been great this year. He went into the All-Star break with a .276/.392/.544 (155 wRC+) batting line with 25 home runs. Judge is third in baseball in home runs and, among the 164 hitters with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, he is 13th in OBP, 12th in SLG, and ninth in wRC+. Add in above-average right field defense and both the FanGraphs (+4.5) and Baseball Reference (+5.0) versions of WAR rank him as a top five position player in 2018. Pretty great.

And yet, despite that all around greatness, it does still feel like something is holding Judge back this season, and that something is his sudden inability to hit away from Yankee Stadium. You’d expect any player to hit better at Yankee Stadium than on the road, though Judge has taken it to the extreme this year. The home/road splits are stark:

PA AVG/OBP/SLG wRC+ K% BB% Hard% xwOBA BABIP
Home 166 .355/.478/.735 223 27.8% 19.1% 54.6% .459 .452
Road 185 .205/.308/.373 89 34.6% 12.1% 42.0% .358 .288

Hmmm. Judge was better at home (199 wRC+) than on the road (147 wRC+) last season, though the split wasn’t nearly this drastic. Also, Judge wasn’t a below-average offensive producer on the road last year — he was a much better than average offensive producer on the road last year, in fact — as he’s been this year. There are 136 players with at least 150 plate appearances at home and on the road this season. Judge’s wRC+ split is by far the largest:

  1. Aaron Judge: +134 (home wRC+ minus road wRC+)
  2. Yasmani Grandal: +104
  3. Manny Machado: +95
  4. Trevor Story: +80
  5. Jason Kipnis: +79

For whatever reason — and I have no idea what the reason(s) is — Judge has significantly higher ground ball (47.3% vs. 36.4%) and pull (48.2% vs. 35.5%) rates on the road than at home, which certainly helps explain the difference in production. He’s hitting the ball in the air and to all fields at home. On the road, he’s been a left field hitter who hits a lot of balls on the ground. A few weeks ago I noticed teams were pounding Judge inside with fastballs, leading to more pulled grounders, but why would that be limited to the road?

Maybe the Yankees have an elaborate sign-stealing system at home that explains Judge’s production. That’d be quite the story. Then again, if that is the case, why don’t other Yankees have huge home/road splits? The team’s next largest home/road split is Didi Gregorius at +45 wRC+. No one else is above +10. Part of me wonders whether Judge has duped himself into thinking the short porch is the only way he can hit opposite field dingers, so he’s trying to compensate by pulling everything on the road. That sounds kinda silly. He can hit the ball out in any direction in any park.

It is also possible Judge’s home/road woes are sample size noise. And hey, that might apply to last year. Maybe this is the real Aaron Judge away from Yankee Stadium and last year was the anomaly. I’d bet against it, but you never know. Whatever it is, it sure would be rad if Judge figured it out in the second half. For now, he was great in the first half. Not as great as last year, but still great. It still feels like Judge has more to give because of his road woes, though maybe that’s an unfair expectation on my part.

Giancarlo Stanton

(Scott Taetsch/Getty)

Midseason Grade: B

I can already tell a small army of Yankees fans are upset I had the audacity to give Stanton that grade for his first half. He had a rough start to the season, especially at Yankee Stadium, and first impressions matter. They can stick with folks a looong time. That slow start is a thing of the past though. Stanton has been getting better and better as the season has progressed:

Stanton is sitting on a .278/.346/.518 (133 wRC+) batting line with 23 home runs overall — he’s on pace for 40 home runs and +5 WAR — and, since May 1st, he’s hitting .298/.361/.558 (147 wRC+). Giancarlo career: .269/.359/.551 (143 wRC+). Giancarlo since May 1st: .298/.361/.558 (147 wRC+). Aside from a little more batting average these last few weeks, Stanton has been hitting like he has his entire career to date, which is borderline MVP caliber.

There are two lingering offensive concerns with Stanton. He didn’t hit righties and he didn’t hit in Yankee Stadium earlier this season. Remember when I said Judge had the largest home/road wRC+ split? Stanton has the third smallest at -67 wRC+ points. His overall numbers at home (97 wRC+) and against righties (105 wRC+) still aren’t great, though things are evening out:

Home vs. RHP
March/April .182/.257/.333 (59 wRC+) .202/.290/.337 (74 wRC+)
May .240/.328/.480 (113 wRC+) .186/.279/.305 (58 wRC+)
June .231/.311/.462 (102 wRC+) .304/.364/.544 (144 wRC+)
July .333/.333/.722 (185 wRC+) .314/.352/.588 (155 wRC+)

Stanton currently leads the Yankees in hits (103) and total bases (192), and is one point behind Miguel Andujar for the team lead in batting average, and he leads baseball in four-hit games, if you can believe that. He has five, Jose Altuve has four, and a bunch of dudes have three. Stanton has five four-hit games and the rest of the Yankees have five (Gardner has two and Andujar, Gregorius, and Gary Sanchez have one each).

Furthermore, Stanton has handled the shift to left field about as well as I would’ve expected a player with zero experience at the position to handle it. He lost two balls in the sun in Spring Training in literally his first left field game and that seems to have led to the perception he is not a good defender, which is a flat out wrong. Is Stanton a Gold Glover in left? No, but he’s done well (+4 DRS if anyone cares) and he remains a strong defender in right.

Based on what I’ve seen on social media and in our comments and in the media, I’ve come to the conclusion Stanton is A-Rod 2.0 in terms of how people feel about him. He is tolerated when he does well and lots of folks are ready to pounce and blame him for everything that goes wrong. Starting pitcher gets bombed? Stanton should’ve hit more homers. I felt it in Spring Training and I’ve seen nothing since then to convince me things will be different. Whatever.

Expecting Stanton to repeat last year’s 59-homer effort was never fair or realistic — that was a top ten home run season all-time — though his slow start to the season was disappointing, especially at home, and fans let him hear it. It was dumb, but whatever. Giancarlo has been the Yankees’ best hitter since May 1st. He’s been hitting for average and power, and playing wherever the team needs. The slow start prevents him from getting an A in the first half. Otherwise Stanton’s been pretty great, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in the second half as he grows more comfortable with his new team.