N.Y. Yankees: Astros Pitching Short Circuiting Bomber Bats

From the desk of: BLAME CARLOS MAY

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

ASTROS LEAD YANKEES; 2-1

I - NYY 7; HOU 0

II - HOU 3; NYY 2

III - HOU 4; NYY 1

GAME FOUR

Houston Astros

vs.

New York Yankees

FROM

BRONX COUNTY

Having now faced Houston's big three, the Yankees trail the ALCS (1-2) with two games left to play at Yankee Stadium.  Baring a pinstriped implosion this series is heading back to Houston where the Yankees in game one score seven runs on 13 hits against Zack Greinke.  However, New York's momentum at the plate only carries them as far as the next game's opposing pitcher.  In game two Justin Verlander and five Astros relievers join in limiting the Yankees to six hits and a pair of runs.  On Tuesday Gerrit Cole and a trio of relievers yield just one run on five hits.  That's three runs on eleven hits for the Yankees over their last two games.  Not very Bomber like, save for Gleyber Torres.

• Gary Sanchez: 1 for 13 (.077); six strikeouts; and presently a defensive liability.

Game four strikes me as a coin flip.  Each manager has limited pitching options and none seem terribly promising.  The tentative plan is to bring Tanaka back on short rest.  Plan B would be to bullpen the game.  There's always C.C. Sabathia.  Or just pray for rain.

For what it's worth, Paxton would be on his bullpen day three days after being yanked from game two after allowing an earned run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts in just 2.1 innings pitched.

Meanwhile the Astros appear only slightly more well off handing the ball to Wade Miley.  This all remains to be determined.  But it sure looks like game four is building up to be a hitter's game.

Famous last words ...

Which ever team wins game four I believe seizes the advantage.  Houston, obviously, because they'll have three opportunities to win one game.  But if the Yankees should take game four, Masahiro Tanaka is in line for game five.  Tanaka pitches brilliantly against the Twins, and more so in game one at Houston in which he allows the Astros just one hit and one walk, with four strikeouts through six scoreless innings pitched.

Rewind back to the final weeks and days of June.  Brian Cashman turns his back on what he believes to be a rigged trade market, electing instead to hold his ground.  Luis Severino perhaps plays a part in Cashman's decision.  But we just witnessed the consequences of his decisions in game three and now leading into game four.  It's clear Severino is nowhere near mid-season form, much less ALCS ready.  But in lieu of pitching upgrades, this is precisely why Brian Cashman acquires Edwin Encarnacion ...

... to win game four.

N.Y. Yankees: Bronx Bombers Continue Befuddling Boston

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Yankees lead series 3-0

I - NYY 4; BOS 2

II - NYY 9; BOS 2

III - NYY 6; BOS 4

SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL

Boston Red Sox

vs.

New York Yankees

FROM

South Bronx Grounds

You can forget what happened last weekend at Fenway.  Look what the Yankees did to the Red Sox ... again!  That's three straight; a double-header sweep on Saturday; with one more game to play in front of a national TV audience this Sunday evening - ESPN broadcast scrubs withstanding.

GAME ONE: The Boston Meltdown

Everything is fine through the first three innings.  The Yanks and Sox trade runs on solo dingers by DJ LaMahieu and Andrew Benintendi respectively.  Then comes Boston's fourth inning meltdown. Both Chris Sale and manager Alex Cora are ejected for arguing balls and strikes but not before Sale surrenders eight earned runs on nine hits - including LaMahieu's second home run of the game - with no walks and four strikeouts en rout to his eleventh loss of the season against just five victories.  All told the Yanks get four RBI from LaMahieu, two each from Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Gardner, and one from Breyvic Valera.  Domingo German yields just two earned runs on five hits (two home runs) with no walks and seven strikeouts through seven innings pitched.  He improves to 14-2 on the season with a staff leading 3.98 ERA.  Jonathan Holder pitches two scoreless innings in relief of German with three strikeouts.

GAME TWO: Boone's Bullpen and Gleyber Torres Dingers

Boston establishes two separate leads in the game and fail to protect either.  And therein lies the narrative of Red Sox Nation's disappointing season.  The Yankees complete a sweep of Saturday's twin bill at the Stadium.  Boston meanwhile are now losers of seven in a row.  Aaron Boone opts to bullpen game two, employing seven different pitchers whom join together in yielding four runs on eight hits and eight walks with ten strikeouts.  Starter Chad Green is limited to the first inning.  Tommy Kahnle earns the victory for his scoreless effort in the seventh.  Aroldis Chapman earns his 29th save of the season.  Gleyber Torres hits two home runs giving him three for the series.  Cameron Maybin and Mike Tauchman getting the start in right each drive in a pair of runs.  Rafael Devers connects on his 22nd home run of the season in the third off Nestor Cortes Jr. pitching in relief of Green.

• Chris Sale reveals to reporters in between games the Red Sox held a team meeting.  The Red Sox now trail the Yankees by 13.5 games.  But with a 59-54 record Boston is just five games back of the second Wild Card with 49 games left to play.  
• At 71-39 the Yankees are more than 30 games above .500 and are just one of three MLB teams to reach the 70 win mark to date.

N.Y. Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka Reminds Rays Who's Number One

From the desk of:  THE HOUSE THAT HAL INHERITED

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

SHOWDOWN

Tampa Bay Rays

vs.

New York Yankees

FROM

161st Street Grounds

Bombers Open Slim First Place Lead; Masahiro Tanaka Tosses Nine Inning Gem.

For the entirety of their existence Tampa has always been a regular season thorn in the Yankees side. In this latest episode they return to Bronx County a mere half-game behind the first place Yankees.  Toeing the rubber for Tampa is 25-year old right-hander Yonny Chirinos whom enters game one with a 7-3 record and 2.88 ERA.

None of which seems to matter much to the Yankees.  DJ LeMahieu's two run home run in the first, and Cameron Maybin's solo shot in the fifth are all the Bombers need as Masahiro Tanaka takes care of the rest.  Making his fifteenth start Tanaka tosses a complete game shut out allowing just two hits, no walks, and fanning ten en route to his fifth victory of the season.  He faces two batters over the minimum, throwing an economical 111 pitches with 76 (68%) going for strikes.

Monday's victory gives the Yankees a somewhat less precarious 1.5 game lead over second place Tampa.

This is a Fully Operational Death Star

Since taking two of three from the Red Sox, Brian Cashman has watched his team lose a series against a bad Toronto Blue Jays team; lose a second consecutive series against a fading Cleveland Indians team; split two games against the sub par Mets; then split four games against an equally pedestrian Chicago White Sox.

So what does he do?

Cashman trades for Edwin Encarnacion, whom presently leads the American League with 21 home runs.  The 36-year old has hit no less than 32 home runs in each of his last seven seasons and twice topped 40 home runs.  He's taken 401 career trips around the bases and owns an .851 career OPS.  In 2016 while with Toronto he hit a career high 42 home runs to go with a league leading 127 RBI.  He's also exceeded 100 RBI in each of the last four seasons and six times throughout his career.  Moreover, his rate of strikeouts isn't nearly as glaring as those of Gary Sanchez, Aaron Boone, and Giancarlo Stanton.