UPDATED:
I could get into heavy detail, but I will first list my 10 key takeaways and then get into the detail.
- The longest 9 inning game in MLB history! The game was 4 hours and 50 minutes not including the 43 and 33 minute rain delays.
- The umpire was very inconsistent and bad...it did not favor either team, but it impacted a lot of AB's both ways.
- Tanaka made a lot of very bad pitches, the rain delay and the heavy rain probably had something to do with it, but too many very bad 2 strike pitches.
- The Yankees kept pitching the Indian lefties inside and a little down and many balls were hit down the 1B side because of this. They should have been pitching those lefties outside or up and in.
- The offense was great in the two games...Our revolving lineup of quality, grinding AB's and working walks wears down the pitchers.
- Taking Carrera out when he did was probably the worst decision made by either manager. He is a very good pitcher and while it was an elimination game, I would have continued with him and was surprised, he was pulled out. The Grand Slam By Gio that followed exacerbated that decision.
- The only guy in the bullpen who did well was Chapman, however, Britton was taken out too early.
- Hand blew his first game of the year Wednesday. He was 16-16 during the year.
- Gio was the MVP. The Grand Slam was huge, the single in the 9th was important, but the outstanding play 5-4-3 DP in the 8th saved the game!
- The overall game was not played or pitched well (19 walks), but it was a back and forth exciting game.
1st inning:
After we went down 1,2,3, Cleveland got a one out double to LF where Hernandez went with a high outside pitch and drove it down the line. The pitch was with 2 strikes but was not a real bad one location wise, but was 90-91 MPH so it didn't have much velocity. Tanaka didn't hit 93 in the 1st inning. Tanaka was pitching in a wind and rain storm that was surprising they let the game go on. Standing on the mound his uniform was like a wind battered flag. After allowing a double down the 1B line on the type of pitches I mentioned in the highlights, they finally stopped the game for rain. Again too many pitches to their lefties that were strikes in the "bottom left" of the strike zone. When we resumed, Tanaka got an out and then walked Reyes. Naylor doubled knocking in 2 runs and then our defense hurt us. Perez hit a hard line drive grounder that ate up Torres who went the wrong way, indicating it either took an odd hop or that he just read it wrong, but because it was hit hard it got to Gardner very quickly and he fielded it 2 steps before the runner touched 3rd base. However, Gardner double clutched on his throw and by the time he got it home it was too late. If either one of them did their job the runner was either out or thrown out. The batter got to 2nd on the throw, but we left him stranded.
2nd inning:
Stanton hit a HR to get us on the board and Tanaka settled down
3rd inning:
Yanks go down in order and Cleveland get a walk on 3 straight outs
4th inning:
Hicks leads off with a 3-2 count line drive that Deshields looked like a little leaguer on as he took 2 steps in and then it went over his head for a "triple." Voit worked a 7 pitch walk and then Stanton walked on 5 pitches and Cleveland surprisingly took out Carrasco. He had thrown 73 pitches and did walk two guys, but there should have been one out and he was their 2nd best starter and was really solid all year. I was very surprised they took him out. Urshela took a 3-2 pitch that was low and in and ripped a grand slam that gave us a lead after being down 4-0! The Yanks were not done as Torres and Gardner walked and with nobody out they made a pitching change (terrible job by Karinchak...or wild thing as they call him). Maton, threw only 7 pitches and got Sanchez, DJ and Judge to get out of the 1st and 2nd nobody out situation.
5th inning:
Hicks walked and then Voit doubled to LC so we had 2nd and 3rd nobody out. Stanton had a productive sac fly that also moved Luke to 3rd base with one out, but this was the one time Gio didn't get the job done as he topped a one strike pitch to the pitcher and Luke stupidly got caught off 3rd base. Torres grounded out on the 1st pitch, but we took a 6-4 lead. Cleveland was scoreless for 3 innings but Lindor doubled down the RF line on one of those down and inside pitches to a lefty and Hernandez walked, which ended Tanaka's night. I was OK with this as Tanaka gutted through the rain and the delays, but didn't have his normal velocity of 92-94 and can hit 95 when dialing it up. Unfortunately Green gave another low and in pitch their lefty and he doubled down the RF line. This was another poor play by our defense as Judge got the throw into DJ, who made a very high throw to Sanchez who had to jump up and then come down and tag backward (turned toward the 1B dugout or right) and was just late in beating the runner to the front (3rd base side) of home plate. An average throw and he is out. Green got the next two guys. Score is 6-6
6th inning:
Gardner led off with an excellent 9 pitch walk. Gary jumped on the first pitch and didn't barrel it up but had a good swing where the ball got up in the air and with the wind blowing out just cleared the fence for a huge 2 run HR. Cleveland came right back with a single a strikeout and then another single to make it 1st and 2nd with one out. The last single came on an 0-2 count where the pitch needed to be out of the zone but caught too much of the plate. Managing aggressively, Boone went to Britton. I understood Boone's thought process here as the bullpen was fully rested, but I wouldn't have been pissed if he left Green in there because he was throwing decent. Lindor is equal against both sides so making him go to the right side didn't matter. When the count went to 3-2 it was nail biting time, but Britton's wicked 95 MPH sinker induced a grounder to 3rd base that Gio turned into a 5-4-3 DP! Yanks up 8-6
7th inning:
Luke walked and I immediately wanted Wade to pinch run for him even though it was very probable Luke would get up again. Luke is a very poor defender and with a 2 run lead I wanted to increase our chances of scoring in this inning and better our defense for 3 innings for the large drop off of that last AB and if it was important you could pinch hit. Boone did not make the switch. However, after Stanton struck out, it either dawned on Boone or someone and they finally put Wade in. I think that was a mistake to not be on that earlier. After Gio got out Torres hit a weak grounder that Ramirez booted and we had 1st and 2nd with 2 outs, but Gardner got out. Britton struck out Hernandez and got Ramirez out for 2 outs and it looked like we were gaining control here. But because momentum is fictional 😅 Britton walked Santana and Reyes putting 2 batters on base. Britton had pitched 24 pitches, which is getting up there, but he is wild and I trust his stuff or at least I would have for at least one more batter. When they took out their hottest hitter (lefty) for a pinch hitter (righty) that is better against lefties, Boone felt it was worth making the move Loaisiga. After 2 fastballs and an 0-2 count things looked good. After a wasted curve, we came back with another curve that was belt high but almost on the corner and Luplow doubled in 2 runs. The pitch was not in the right spot and we were tied at 8. After hitting the next batter, we got a force out to get out of the inning.
8th inning:
After Sanchez K'd, DJ and Judge walked, but Hicks grounded into a force and Luke's (Wade's) spot was up and Boone went with Frazier as a pinch hitter instead of Ford who would have to play 1B anyway. Ford really struggled down the stretch so this made sense to me and Wade was not an appetizing option either. Frazier had a terrible AB - he took two fastballs for strikes and then swung at a fastball out of the strike zone. We kept Loaisiga out there but he walked Deshields to lead off the 8th and then walked Lindor on 4 pitches. Not having faith in Ottavino made the move to take out Britton or even Green a little tougher, but it was hard to predict so many runs scored. Regardless, Boone went to Chapman as he had to here. After a jam shot single we were down by one and still had nobody out with 1st and 2nd. (Deshields read the hit very well which allowed him to score). Chapman got a huge strike out and with one out Gio saved the game as Santana rocketed a ball to Gio's left and he snagged it with a dive and ended up on his ass with his legs out but still made a quick transfer and threw a strike to 2nd to start the 5-4-3 DP that kept the game at one run. It was a fantastic play!!!
9th inning:
Hand came in for Cleveland and he was 16 for 16 in save situations this year, But Stanton walked to lead us off. Tauchman pinch ran for Stanton (it reminded me that it was a shame that Tauchman hasn't hit well because he would have been a good option to pinch hit in the 8th instead of Frazier.). Gio then served a medium liner into CF flicking a low 0-2 pitch and we were in business with 1st and 2nd. Torres worked to a 3-2 count and on the 8th pitch chopped a ball to the back side of the mound and Hand was not able to corral it as it bobbled off his glove. They gave Torres a hit, but that was very fortunate. Bases loaded and nobody out things looked excellent. However, Gardner, after being up 3-1 in the count fouled two fastballs off before striking out. Sanchez was now up against a strikeout pitcher with bases loaded and one out. Kraken did the minimum to get the job done and got a sac fly to tie the game. DJ then had a seeing-eye grounder go right up the middle to plate the go ahead run. Judge then finally took the open base at 1st as they would not throw him a strike but he swung at 2 balls way inside before finally taking the base. Hicks was now up with bases loaded and a chance to allow us to breathe easy, but swung at a very low changeup and then foul tipped a fastball before waving at a pitch that was bounced to the plate. Terrible AB but we were up by one. Chapman looked sharp striking out Reyes on 3 pitches and got Lulow to ground to Gleyber before striking out Nercado to end the game...well, that would have been too easy on a night like this. Sanchez didn't turn his glove on the strikeout pitch that was way inside and allowed it to bounce off his glove for a passed ball and it gave Cleveland life. (Frustrating). Chapman closed it out by striking out Hedges to end the game 10-9 and win the short series!!!
Bring on the Rays. There is no love between these two teams. It started back when Tampa ran over Francisco Cervelli in a spring training game and broke his wrist and continues through a lot of hit batters; mostly with CC being involved. They have beaten us 8 out of the 10 games this year and they have been the best team, but it is time for us to get our revenge. While our defense has not been sharp and our pitchers have not been at their best, we are healthy and I do believe we have the best team on paper...it is time to prove it and the offense will need to get it done against a TB team that I expect to pitch better than Cleveland did (Cleveland pitchers under-performed)
Previous post
The game last night, and into this morning, had so much to write about. But, after going to bed around 1:30 (a little too pumped up as well) and getting up at 6 am, I need to finish later. I usually just throw it up here quickly and move on, but there were so many interesting and not easy decisions that I want to break them down a little more.
I will send out a note later when I update it, but glad we moved on to play TB. Unfortunately, they were clearly the best team in the AL and we need to find a way to beat them 3 out of 5!
Enjoy the day and stay safe!
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