The Yankees Split Their Doubleheader With The Worst Team in Major League Baseball Which is Not Ideal
I understand that winning both ends of a doubleheader in Major League Baseball is not easy. Your bullpen is going to be used heavily, you’re probably going to have to use both catchers, you’re going to have guys playing 18 innings after playing the 9+ the day before. It’s not easy, but when you’re playing the 24-65 Baltimore Orioles and the all the Red Sox seemingly do lately is win, you better fucking win both games. That was not the case yesterday for the Yankees.
Right out of the gates in game 1 it looked like it was going to be a good old fashioned blowout. Stanton hit a laser out of the park for his 22nd home run of the year in the 2nd inning, while Judge and Didi knocked in a pair of runs in the 3rd to make it 3-0. With CC on the bump, who had been lights out the last month or so, you would assume the Yanks were in cruise control. Well, after a Mark Trumbo two run shot in the 4th and a Neil Walker RBI single the lead was 4-2 heading into the 6th inning. Given the heat in Baltimore and his struggles with the O’s, I would not have sent CC out for the sixth frame, even with his pitch count in check. CC walked the leadoff man Mark Trumbo and at that point I thought it was a no brainer to get him out of there. At that point I don’t believe anyone was even warming up. Schoop doubled to right and set up the O’s with the tying runs in scoring position and nobody out. Still, no move. Danny Valencia was due up and had not gotten a hit in his prior 25 plate appearances. CC left a 1-1 slider over the middle of the plate and Danny jumped on it.
Bad. Bad. Bad. Holder should have been in this game way before Valencia, but instead CC stayed in and surrendered the lead. Later in the 9th inning Boone fucked up again. After a Miguel Andujar pinch hit single to start a potential rally, Miggy advanced to second on a wild pitch to set up the Yankees with the tying run in scoring position and nobody out. Drury didn’t put up the best at bat, but advanced the runner to third on a ground ball up the middle. That brought up Kyle Higashioka’s spot in the lineup, needing just a fly ball to the outfield to tie the game. I don’t understand how you don’t pinch hit either Brett Gardner in this spot or Austin Romine. Both guys you know are going to put up professional at bats and have a great chance of putting the ball into the air to get the job done. Instead Boone left Higgy in and he struck out on a ball in the dirt. With two outs, Boone then tapped Gardner to pinch hit for Tyler Wade, who proceeded to ground out to first to end the game. That was clearly the wrong guy for Gardner to hit for. Time and time again if you need a professional at bat you go to Brett Gardner. He’s going to get the job done. The thought cannot process in my head how he let Higashioka hit in that spot. This was not a good game for Aaron Boone.
Game two went the way we expected game one to go. I thought the Yankees would need 10 runs to out-slug the O’s who would predictably shell Luis Cessa. Instead Cessa pitched brilliantly, going six shutout innings and coming up huge for the team.
While he was blanking the O’s, the offense came to life and let out some frustration. The player of the game was without a doubt Brett Gardner. He collected four hits, including this home run to right.
Over his last five games Gardy is hitting .409 with two homers and seven RBIs. That’s the leadoff man we need folks. The Yankees jumped on Yefry Ramirez and Brad Brach to really put the game out of reach. Stanton, Judge, Didi, Romine, and Walker all picked up two hits a piece as the Yankees put up a 10 spot and cruised to a 10-2 victory. That’s how both games should have gone, and not picking up two wins over the O’s on Monday hurts, especially when the Sox shutout Texas at home.
The Yankees are a frustrating bunch, which will piss off a lot of people who are fans of inferior teams, but they are. They have no problem handling teams like the Red Sox, Indians, Astros, Mariners, or Braves, but when it comes to the Rays and Orioles they play down to their competition and go on auto-pilot. Against teams above .500 the Yankees are an MLB best 34-16. Against teams below .500 they are 25-14, which is middle of the pack when you stack that up across Major League Baseball. The wins and losses against the shitty teams count the same in the standings as the wins and losses against the first place teams. You have to take care of these easy winnable games otherwise they are going to most certainly fuck you in September when you’re chasing a division title. We’re at the point now we’re I’m very aware of the standings and how it’s become a focal point of my everyday routine. It’s time to buckle up and beat the fucking Orioles and Royals and White Sox every single night.
Masahiro Tanaka returns from his duel hamstring injury and takes the ball tonight. With the bullpen in surprisingly good shape following a doubleheader, I’m feeling good about tonight for sure. You need to take these next two if you’re the Yankees and leave zero doubt in the later innings like in game one.
Miguel Andujar
I’m beginning to accept that with Gleyber Torres off all trade-talk discussions, Major League ball clubs will be calling and asking for Miguel Andujar as a center piece in all deals. Listen, I love Andujar so much and know he’s a big piece of that clubhouse, but he’s expendable. I’ve got people on Twitter saying he can’t be traded because he’s so young and means so much to the team. I know he leads all rookies in doubles and has become a nice 6 or 7 hitter for the team, but come on. If we’re talking about a Madison Bumgarner or Blake Snell trade and you’re unwilling to do that because Andujar is in the deal then you need to slap yourself in the face. Get a grip. He’s expendable at the end of the day if we’re grabbing a bonafide ace. The Yankees will not win the World Series without another big arm being added to the rotation.
Make sure you catch up on the newest episode of The Short Porch. Tommy and I talk about how to get rid of Sonny, what starting pitchers we think are reasonable to target, and a great story about Old Hoss Radbourn.
