The nine-game road trip through Chicago and St. Louis is over, and the Yankees are coming home with five wins. The jumped out to a big early lead against the Cardinals on Wednesday, then held on for dear life in the late innings for a 7-4 series clinching win. You didn’t think they would blow it, did you?
Corrected
Cardinals right-hander Shelby Miller came into Wednesday’s series finale with a low 3.18 ERA but an ugly 5.22 FIP due to ongoing control and homer problems. He’s taken a big step back from his stellar rookie campaign a year ago. The Yankees spurred on the ERA correction in this game, pounding Miller for seven runs in only five innings. At one point spanning the third and fourth innings, nine of 13 batters reached base. The Yankees were all over him.
The two-inning rally all started with a one-out walk by Brett Gardner in the third, a debatable one at that considering how close some of the pitches were. Yadier Molina didn’t frame them enough, I guess. Brian Roberts and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with singles, Brian McCann drew a walk, then backup catcher/serial killer John Ryan Murphy poked a single into shallow center to plate two runs and give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. It’s really hard not to be impressed with Murphy. The single came on a nasty slider down and away. Ichiro Suzuki made it 4-0 when he beat out a would-be double play ball.
The fourth inning rally came almost entirely with two outs. Kelly Johnson led off the frame with a single, but Hiroki Kuroda popped up a bunt and Gardner flew out to center for two quick outs. Then Roberts doubled to left-center and Ellsbury singled back up the middle for two more runs. He stole second uncontested for the second time in the game (more on that in a bit), then McCann singled him in for the seventh run. Seven singles, two walks, one double, seven runs. That’s all why would get on the night and all they would need. (Miller exited the game with a 3.94 ERA and 5.11 FIP, in case you’re wondering. Getting closer.)
A Tale Of Two Starts
I thought Kuroda looked very sharp early in this game. He retired the side in order in the first, pitched around a ground rule double and an error in the second, then got two quick outs in the third. After that, ten of the final 18 batters he faced managed to reach base. That led to three runs, one each in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. It would have been worse had Dellin Betances not cleaned up a first-and-third, two outs situation in the sixth.
Kuroda’s night ended with those three runs allowed on nine hits and a hit batsman in 5.2 innings of work. He failed to complete six full innings for the fourth time in his last eight starts after doing it only eight times all of last season. (The Yankees as a team have 21 starts of fewer than six innings this season, the tenth most in baseball.) It was almost a quality start, which I guess is good for Kuroda these days, sadly. I keep waiting for everything to click like it did during his start in Anaheim a few weeks ago, but it’s becoming more and more obvious that just isn’t going happen.
Late Innings Machinations
The Yankees had a golden opportunity to blow the game open in the eighth inning, after two singles and an error loaded the bases with no outs. Gardner struck out and Roberts hit into an inning-ending double play though, squashing that opportunity. Roberts swung at a 3-0 pitch from soft-tossing lefty Randy Choate and I was totally cool with it. You know he’s going to throw something in the zone and you already have a four-run lead. Let it fly and try to do some real damage. Didn’t work. Whatever.
The bullpen usage was a little weird only because Joe Girardi used Betances for just one batter — he got Matt Holliday to fly out to end that first-and-third situation in the sixth (on the first pitch, no less). Usually Betances would stay in to pitch the seventh inning as well, but it seems like Girardi didn’t want to push him given his recent workload. Dellin’s worked hard of late, so one batter it was.
Adam Warren, who had each of the last two days off, got five outs in the seventh and eighth before David Robertson finished things off with a four-out non-save. It did get a little messy though. Warren allowed a double and Robertson a single to score a run in the eighth, then Robertson allowed a single and a four-pitch walk to bring the tying run to the plate with no outs in the ninth. Then he struck out the next three batters because that’s what David Robertson does. Game over. Nice and easy.
Leftovers
Ellsbury had a much-needed huge game, going 3-for-5 with two runs, two steals, and three runs batted in. He stole second base without a throw twice, and replays showed that he was basically getting a running lead against Miller. Ellsbury had his move down pat (maybe after doing his homework in advance of the World Series last fall?) and took advantage. Still, three steals in three attempts against Molina in one series is damn impressive.
Roberts, Brendan Ryan, and Johnson all had multiple hits in addition to Ellsbury, just as we all expected. Murphy singled, Gardner walked, and McCann singled twice and walked. The 12 hits were the Yankees’ most since the second game against the Cubs and only their third time with double-digit hits in the last 15 games. That dates back to the second game against the Mets. On the other hand, the Yankees struck out only three times in the game and ten times in the entire series (122 batters, so 8.2%).
Four bad defensive plays by the infield in this game: Ryan booted a routine ground ball in the second, both Kuroda and Matt Thornton mishandled comebackers in the sixth, and Roberts got eaten up by a ground ball in the seventh. All were hard hit except Ryan’s grounder, but geez. Make a somewhat difficult play once a while? Could be cool?
Remember the Yankees supposedly stopped shifting behind Kuroda? Yeah, forget it. They were shifting behind him five days ago against the White Sox and they did it again on Wednesday against the Cardinals. Maybe they’re just not shifting behind him as much as they shift behind the other pitchers?
Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings
MLB.com has both the box score and video highlights. Head over to FanGraphs for some other stats and ESPN for the updated standings.
Source: FanGraphs
Up Next
The Yankees are off on Thursday, then they will return to the Bronx to open a three-game weekend series against the Twins. Vidal Nuno and Ricky Nolasco will be the pitching matchup. RAB Tickets can get you in the door if you want to catch that game or any game on the seven-game homestand.
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