Bronx, N.Y., April 20, 2019; Yankees 9, Kansas City 2 — Genuine lineup or not, the Bronx Bombers lived up to their name in a 9-2 demolition of Kansas City in a cold, damp, but not rainy Yankee Stadium Saturday afternoon. They bashed four (five, actually) home runs to back the superb Masahiro Tanaka, who did not need much of that explosion. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 14, 2019; Chisox 5, Yankees 2 — Coming off a well-pitched, and well-played, victory on a glorious warm day in the Bronx on Saturday, it was hard not to be feeling pretty good about ourselves as Yankee fans after the third inning Sunday. With a patched together lineup, the Bombers had managed to eke out a 2-0 lead. Not only had superb righty Masahiro Tanaka retired nine of 10 with six strike outs, but he had done so on just 37 pitches. Conversely, Chicago lefty Carlos Rondon threw 68 and allowed two walks, both of which scored for the only runs of the game. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 13, 2019; Yankees 4, Chisox 0 — With bad news on the injury front almost daily, the Yankees stumbled out of the gate this year, were swept in Houston early this week, and fell to the lowly White Sox Friday night despite having taken a 4-1 lead in the second inning. Injuries have crippled the offense, and the underperformance by their vaunted bullpen has come as a shock. With ace Luis Severino’s absence, the kind of starting performance that could help right the ship has been sorely wanting. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 3, 2019; Detroit 2, Yankees 1 &#151 Ron Guidry had a glorious day in old Yankee Stadium in 1978, the day he whiffed 18 Angels to establish the Yankee record for strike outs in a game. It was an uplifting day in the Bronx, and my recollection is that it was the day the fan practice of standing and applauding once a pitcher had two strikes on the batter originated. Louisiana Lightning has been in the Yankee pantheon for what he did that day, and that year, ever since. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., March 30, 2019; Baltimore 5, Yankees 3 — James Paxton pitched well in his Yankee debut, but not good enough to avoid taking the 5-3 loss. The southpaw throws hard, pounding heat up to 97 mph, mixing in a slider, and a (very) occasional slow curve. He’s a strike thrower; James threw 21 of 24 first pitches for strikes, and 57 strikes and just 24 balls. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., March 28, 2019; Yankees 7, Baltimore 2 — Yankee fans could be forgiven for thinking Thursday’s home opening win was in the bag four batters into the bottom of the first. Staff ace Masahiro Tanaka had held the visiting Orioles off the board, and one-out sharp singles to right field by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton set up a monstrous home run by DH Luke “LUUUKE” Voit on a 3-1 count into Monument Park, 3-0 Yankees. That left fielder Dwight Smith, Jr., had to reach above the fence to corral a following drive from Miguel Andujar added to the certainty. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 1, 2018; Yankees 2, Detroit 1 — Masahiro Tanaka tossed a beauty in a 2-1 win over Detroit in the Bronx Saturday, one that could have been a shutout but for some early bad luck, or a loss if he didn’t make a dazzling escape from a dangerous seventh inning late. This was done in front of a big crowd in pleasant temps, though not under sunny skies. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 19, 2018; Yankees 10, Toronto 2 — The Yankees literally drove the Blue Jays from the Bronx Sunday afternoon with a 10-2 thrashing, built largely on a six-run first, with struggling first sacker Greg Bird punctuating the frame with a no-doubt-about-it grand slam 10 feet or so inside the right field foul pole. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 18, 2018; Yankees 11, Toronto 6 — Following two straight games where the Yanks fell behind by multiple runs in the first inning (one loss, one win), Luis Severino and his mates took no prisoners Saturday afternoon in sweltering Yankee Stadium, pounding their way to an 8-0 lead by scoring in each of the first five innings. Didi Gregorius got the place rocking with a two-run first-inning jolt, and the rout was on. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., August 12, 2018; Yankees 7, Texas 2 — It’s a habit I could learn to like. For the second straight day Yankee power hitter Giancarlo Stanton drilled a first-inning home run to give the Yanks an early 1-0 lead. It felt like it eased the burden on CC Sabathia, who, despite throwing six shutout innings with seven strike outs and just one hit, labored in this one early. Continue reading →