It was an absolutely perfect day for baseball in New Hampshire, which can be rather rare before the month of, I don’t know – July? I took advantage and headed down to Manchester with my dad for the final game of the Trenton Thunder-New Hampshire Fisher Cats series, which was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The pictures are courtesy of him and I will kick off tonight’s Farm Report with the Thunder’s victory.
Trenton swept New Hampshire with an 8-3 win:
Abraham Almonte showed off every bit of his talent today. He started the game with a strong single to left and promptly stole second. Cody Johnson drove a single to right and Almonte sped around the bases to score the first run of the game. Ryan Goins started the Fisher Cats’ bottom of the first with a double to right. Brian Van Kirk grounded a hard single to center, but Almonte fielded it and threw a bullet to the plate in plenty of time to get Goins and keep the Thunder lead. The score stayed 1-0 until the fifth. Yadil Mujica drew a walk and Almonte singled to left. Corban Joseph drove a double to center, plating Mujica. David Adams hit a hard sac fly to center, bringing Almonte home for a 3-0 lead. New Hampshire catcher, Sean Ochinko, got the Fisher Cats on the board in the bottom of the inning, hitting a solo shot over the wall in left. Dan Brewer got his first homer of the season in the top of the seventh, lining a ball that just cleared the fence in left center.
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When Alex Rodriguez hits a fly ball, then flips his bat nonchalantly towards the dugout, while grinning intently, we all pretty much know what’s about to happen. There’s that obligatory eyes-widening phase, as the ball barrels towards the stands, then there’s the rush as it lands deep in the bleachers. Alex has already rounded second at that point, and he seems calm and satisfied. He rounds third, and, with a big grin on his face jogs home. Home run Yankees.
About half of that story played out Sunday afternoon, as Alex Rodriguez blasted a Logan Ondrusek fastball high into the Bronx sky. The bat flip, the long stare, the nonchalant jog. The Yankees were about to take a 3-4 lead into the top of the ninth, and grab a series win from the jaws of defeat. We’ve seen this script play out before.
But then something odd happened. A gust of wind caught Alex’s ball on its way towards the left field fence. It slowed down. It dropped out of the sky. And just as Alex rounded first base with a grin on his face, it settled into Chris Heisey’s glove. He stopped, gaping. And he slowly turned around and jogged to the Yankees dugout. He was pissed off; we were shocked. How many times have we seen that little bat flip-stare-grin combination immediately preceding an A-Rod home run?
I pumped my fist as soon as I saw the bat flip. I was convinced that ball was going out. And then it didn’t.
I wouldn’t call myself a huge A-Rod fan. I appreciate what he does for my team, enjoy his absurd character from time to time, but mainly I recognize that he’s a player that I’m going to have to live with–and take the good with the bad–for the next few years. But if there’s one thing I will say about Alex that I’ve learned from watching him these past years, it’s that when he gets a hold of a ball he knows it. And so do we. That’s what made this moment, in a pivotal eighth inning, so shocking. That was supposed to be a home run.
And I don’t say that because I think A-Rod comes through all the time in the clutch. I say that because I know what it looks like when Alex hits a home run.
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The Yankees take on the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon in the Bronx (1:05 PM EST first pitch, on YES) in the rubber game of the first interleague series of the year. The Yanks left the tying runner on third base yesterday, as they fell 6-5 to Cincinnati; they’ll try to rebound this afternoon on the left arm of ace CC Sabathia. The Reds will turn to sometimes-ace Johnny Cueto; Cueto, who has had moments of absolute brilliance so far this season, is trying to rebound from his only bad start of the season last Tuesday, when he gave up five earned runs in four innings against the Braves. Prior to that, Cueto had allowed one run in 23 innings. Which is pretty, you know, good.
Luckily, the Yankees have a history of being pretty good in interleague games. Prior to yesterday’s 6-5 disappointment, the bombers had been on a six-game winning streak, dating back to last season. Derek Jeter is the interleague hits leader, a weird title, while simultaneously holding an eight-game hit streak against NL teams (he’s 13 for 34 during the stretch).
And, in one of the less-important (and frankly, pretty obvious) statistics, the Yankees are 20-5 when scoring four-plus runs this season, and 1-14 when they score three or fewer. So…all they need to do is score four. Or more. And then let CC do his thing.
Some notes: Chris “I’m not CC’s personal catcher” Stewart is starting, with Wise in left, and Eric Chavez at first. Mark Teixeira is getting the day off with “stopsuckingitis,” while Raul Ibanez will slot into the five hole.
Lineups:
Reds (20-19)
Heisey, LF
Stubbs, CF
Votto, 1B
Phillips, 2B
Bruce, RF
Ludwick, DH
Frazier, 3B
Hanigan, C
Cozart, SS
SP: Cueto, 4-1, 1.89 ERA, 1.09 WHIP
Yankees (21-19)
Jeter, SS
Granderson, CF
Cano, 2B
Rodriguez, 3B
Ibanez, DH
Swisher, RF
Chavez, 1B
Wise, LF
Stewart, C
SP: Sabathia, 5-1, 3.77 ERA, 1.17 WHIP
Brett Gardner was expected to return to the Yankees’ lineup a week or two ago, but re-aggravated his elbow injury during a rehab stint with Triple-A Empire State. He’s been shut down completely ever since and, though he’s scheduled to see the doctor today, he won’t even pick up a bat until at least Thursday, so don’t expect to see him back for at least a couple more weeks.
Ivan Nova‘s performance Saturday, and the reaction to it, might be one of the odder moments of the season so far. On the one hand, Nova was dominant on the mound at times, reflected by the fact that he racked up nine strikeouts in the game’s first four innings, and finished with 12 punch outs over all in six innings of work. On the other hand, a few hard hit balls, a couple of first inning walks, and one big mistake (a hanging slider to Joey Votto in a 2-1 count) more or less offset all of Nova’s good work on the mound, and he wound up allowing a total of five runs to score in those six innings. In a way, it was very much a microcosm of Nova’s entire season.
I know I’ve said it before, but at this point I’d say it’s pretty much settled: Ivan Nova is an entirely different pitcher now than the one we saw in 2011. The old Nova was a ground ball specialist with somewhat specious control who struck out relatively few batters and showed little aptitude for missing bats. The new Nova is a strikeout master who is suddenly generating a ton of whiffs on the mound, but also finds himself being plagued by the long ball to an almost comical extent.
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Empire State beat Columbus 8-6:
Matt LaPorta started the game with a solo homer for the Clippers. The Yankees got the run back in the second, however, as Ronnier Mustelier doubled to right. Brandon Laird moved him over with a pop fly, and a wild pitch allowed him to score. The Clippers got the lead back quickly in the bottom of the inning. Cord Phelps doubled to left and scored on a single from Russ Canzler. Chad Huffman doubled to center and Canzler scored on a ground out from Jason Donald, putting Columbus ahead 3-1. Jack Cust homered to right in the third, but Empire State still trailed. The Clippers added runs in the fourth and fifth, taking a 5-2 edge. The Yankees got a jump start from Mustelier again in the sixth. He doubled and scored on Laird’s two-bagger. Cervelli grounded Laird to third and Colin Curtis hit a sac fly to center. Empire State knotted up the game again in the eighth, with Francisco Cervelli singling and moving to third on a sac bunt and fielding error. A single from Cole Garner plated Cervelli and it was 5-5. Columbus once again retook the lead, as Canzler tripled to center and scored on Chase Whitley’s wild pitch. Luckily, the Yankees had one last rally in them. Cust started the ninth with a single and was replaced with Eduardo Nunez on the bases. Mustelier drove a single to center, putting runners on the corners. Laird reached on an error, as Nunez scored. Cervelli came through with a two-run single to round out the Yankees’ offense, giving them an 8-6 lead. Manny Delcarmen put the Clippers down in order and Empire State took the win.
Mustelier continues to tear his way through the Yankees’ farm system. He was 3-5 with three runs scored and two doubles, along with a fielding error. Cervelli went 2-5 with a run scored and two RBIs. Garner went 2-3 with a RBI, two walks and a stolen base. Adam Warren made the start and went six innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven but gave up two long balls.
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See that picture above this post? That was the Yankees’ first at bat of the afternoon, and Jay Bruce caught that ball, twisting to adjust to the wind affecting the ball and robbing Derek Jeter of an extra base hit. That pretty much sums up the entire afternoon for the Yankees, really, as they dropped another wild and immensely frustrating game to Cincinnati. Ivan Nova struck out 12 Reds but gave up five runs, and the Reds hung on for a victory despite striking out 15 times in total and having their closer removed before the ninth inning ended.
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Last night I noted that Nik Turley left his start in Tampa after pitching just three innings. Today, Josh Norris reports that Turley is having a blister issue. That could land him on the disabled list for a bit, but it’s obviously better than some sort of arm injury or something. Norris also reports that Jose Ramirez is going on the DL with a strained lat.
Well, not really. Technically 1/4 of 162 is 40.5, but we don’t play half games in baseball and today is the Preakness, so it just seems fitting to chalk today up as the quarter mark of the 2012 season. Hard to believe that, after everything that’s happened and the drama that’s been packed into the last month and a half or so that 75% of the schedule is still in front of us, isn’t it? As for the game itself, the Yankees will look to build on that abundance of “runs” (as I’m told they’re called) and Andy Pettitte’s dominant performance last night in the middle game of this interleague set with the Reds. Ivan Nova is on the mound for his scheduled start after some doubts over a contusion and sprain he suffered Monday night in Baltimore for his second career start against the Redlegs. His start in Cincinnati last year, where he struck out seven Reds over eight one-run innings, was a turning point in retrospect in his penultimate start before being optioned to Triple-A to make room for the returning Phil Hughes. Hopefully the same is true this year in Yankee Stadium, and Nova can get to work bringing down that unsightly 5.44 ERA. Here’s the lineups:
Reds (19-19):
Chris Heisey LF
Drew Stubbs CF
Joey Votto 1B
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jay Bruce RF
Todd Frazier 3B
Mike Costanzo DH
Devin Mesoraco C
Wilson Valdez SS
Homer Bailey RHP
Yankees (21-18):
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Raul Ibanez RF
Nick Swisher 1B
Russell Martin C
Dewayne Wise LF
Jayson Nix 2B
Ivan Nova RHP
First pitch is at 1:05 on YES. Enjoy!
Mark Teixeira and his long slumping bat got the night off Friday, and they’ll be sitting out today’s affair as well. The Yankees’ first baseman certainly hasn’t been producing so far this season, hitting to the tune of a .292 wOBA, and he’s also been battling a condition that sounds a lot like bronchitis and has left Tex the victim of some severe coughing fits. After another such fit Thursday night in Toronto, manager Joe Girardi indicated that he was slightly concerned about Tex, so maybe that explains why he’s getting back-to-back days off. I don’t know if the chest condition is holding Tex back or if his swing is just shot at this point, but let’s be honest, the Yankees aren’t going to miss his bat out there right now, so a little rest and chicken soup certainly can’t hurt anything. Get well Tex.
Don’t look now, but the Yankees are in fourth and the Orioles are in first place! Now, let’s all take a collective deep breath and put away our Mayan Calendars and remember that it’s only May. Let’s also not forget that the Yankees are in the midst of one of the biggest cluster-you-know-whats of injuries in recent memory. Sure, the AL East is still the toughest division in baseball, but it’s not time to panic or concede anything, so let’s take a look at the rest of the division and see whether or not they have what it takes to supplant the Bombers.
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Empire State won a wild one 9-8 over Toledo:
The Yankees got off to the best of starts, with a couple of singles followed by a three run home run off the bat of Steve Pearce to open the game, a solo home run from Raymond Kruml in the second, and a two run homer from Francisco Cervelli followed by an RBI double from Kevin Russo in the first three innings to take a 7-0 lead. Toledo battled back into the game with a five run bottom of the third, before the Yankees tacked on two more in the fifth. Toledo battled back to bring the game within a run headed into the bottom of the ninth, and loaded the bases with no one out via a single and two walks against Kevin Whelan in the final frame. Whelan worked out of the jam with a strikeout and a double play, however, and the Yankees finally managed to put the game away in the win column.
Notables:
LHSP Manny Banuelos: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 HR, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
C Francisco Cervelli: 1-2, 3 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI
1B Steve Pearce: 1-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 SO
Trenton beat up on New Hampshire 7-1:
Mikey O’Brien went seven innings in his Double-A debut and the Thunder gave him plenty of breathing room, jumping out to a 6-0 led after the top of the fourth inning, adding a seventh run in the fifth. That pretty much says it all.
Notables:
RHSP Michael O’Brien: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K
2B Corban Joseph: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 HR
DH Cody Johnson: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI
SS Yadiil Mujica: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI
Tampa was shut out by Charlotte 2-0:
Another night with me taking these recaps, another game in which Tampa comes up with a total of three hits. My bad? Starter Nik Turley gave up both runs, but was lifted after just three innings, which can’t be a good sign. The three hits came from J.R. Murphy, Rob Segedin, and Neil Medchill. The latter two both had doubles.
Charleston lost to Rome 3-2 in 10 innings:
This was one of those games that saw a flurry of scoring early followed by a long drought, as Rome scored in the top of the first, only to be answered by the Riverdogs when Mason Williams tripled to lead off the game and was brought home by a Cito Culver sac fly. Charleston added a run in the second when Ben Gamel doubled and was brought in by a Reymond Nunez single, but Rome tied it up in the top of the third. That would be it for the scoring until the top of the 10th, when Fernando De Los Santos put the Braves on top with a go ahead solo home run. The Riverdogs had a hard time getting runners into scoring position, and went down in order in the bottom of the tenth, with Angelo Gumbs and Kelvin De Leon striking out.
Notables:
RHP Scottie Allen: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
CH Mason Williams: 2-4, 1 3B, 1 SO
