April 8, 2022, the Bronx, N.Y.; Yankees 6, Boston 5 — The Yankees outlasted the Red Sox 6-5 in the Stadium in 11 innings Friday, on an Opening Day that would make the most agnostic of us believe, if just for a moment, that God loves baseball fans. With this as pretty a day as storming Thursday was ugly, few in the stands without a pressing engagement minded that it took 4 hours and 11 innings to decide the game. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 21, 2021; Yankees 2, Chisox 1 — “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” The baseball headlines all across the country are sounding disturbingly similar, whether you get your news on paper, online, or by word of mouth. Today’s game is boring. With a half bushel of early no-hitters leading the way, there is no offense. The hard-throwing hurlers are too dominant. Everyone swings for the fences, and they strike out all the time. It’s no fun to watch a game anymore. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., May 2, 2021; Yankees 2, Detroit 0 — A little more than a week since Yankee fans were concerned that new free agent signer Cory Kluber would ever pitch well — or more than a few innings — the oft-injured righthander went eight dazzling innings in a 2-0 shutout over visiting Detroit in Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon. With temps pushing 80 degrees and the persistent breezes of the last few days finally abated, a field only intermittently bathed in sunshine was the only factor making this just an almost perfect day for a game. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., April 3, 2021; Yankees 5, Toronto 3 — Two teams showed some early-season struggles in the Yankees’ 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays this afternoon. The Yankees gifted the visitors with single runs in the top of the third and seventh innings that each felt much longer than they were (16 and 11 minutes, respectively), while Toronto’s Marcus Semien ended Corey Kluber’s day with a fifth-inning blast to left less than a minute after that frame had begun. But although 11 hometown hits produced less than they should have, they were a welcome sight for Yankee fans more concerned with their offense than they have any right to be on April 3. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., September 1, 2019: Yankees 5, Oakland 4 — Fans waiting for the Yankees to bring the hammer down on the visiting A’s after the miserable way the Bombers were treated in Oakland last week needed two things to succeed: infinite patience, and faith in their big bats. The Yanks came from behind late on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, under clear and cool skies in the Bronx. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 20, 2019; Yankees 11, Colorado 5 — Although the 11-5 Yankee victory over Colorado in steamy Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon could be called a blowout, despite the Rockies’ spirited five-run rally in the sixth, the biggest reason the home team took this one was that they stuck to fundamentals. They cleared no fences with their 14 hits, and were charged with no errors. And for five innings, Masahiro Tanaka was as good as could be. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., July 14, 2019; Yankees 4, Toronto 2 — Restoring a little order to their season, the Yankees not only took a three-gamer from Toronto with a 4-2 win Sunday afternoon, they finally hit their first home run of the season’s second half, via Mike Tauchman’s towering blast to right in the home seventh inning. Continuing a solid sophomore season piloting the pinstripers, Aaron Boone gets credit for his choice of Tauchman to play left. Through the first six innings, Mike had gone down swinging and popped a stunningly inept bunt to third baseman Vlad Guerrero, Jr. But his long ball late in this game provided a huge insurance run. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 26, 2019; Yankees 8, Toronto 7 — Two things were revealed during a gorgeous afternoon in Yankee Stadium Wednesday. First, the hawk is apparently not a fan of day games, or maybe just not of the sun. And second, the Yankees can score runs with base hits, along with bashes, even if DJ LeMahieu is not the guy at the plate. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., June 22, 2019; Yankees 7, Houston 5 — How many days will Yankee fans refrain from booing Giancarlo Stanton following his four-rbi performance Saturday night against Houston in their 7-5 win? It was a contest in which he also played a stellar left field. Admittedly, he had plenty of help from his teammates on both sides of the ball. As a matter of fact, in a season where defense has not been this team’s strength, their collective play in the field may have been their finest showing of the year. Continue reading →