Batting Cleanup: Beasts of the East
Walk it off, Clint! (Newsday)
This four game series with the Rays felt like four years, didn’t it? The Yankees battled Tampa over the course of a week and on Thursday afternoon, are exactly in the same place they were on Monday morning after a four game split. It’s not the best outcome, but it’s not the worst outcome either. Kind of the motto of the 2021 Yankees, I’d say.
Game 1: Yankees Lose 3-1
The Yankees did not start the series opener against Tampa the way they needed to. The bats failed to show up again and Jameson Taillon gave up multiple runs, which is about all that it takes for the Yankees to lose these days. There weren’t many highlights from this one, but let’s get to it.
Whither the Bats?
Folks, it’s time to panic. This Yankees lineup has been punchless all year and put up another putrid performance today against Rich Hill, only scoring one run on five hits. A team that was built to slug failed to do so yet again and wasted another good performance by the pitching staff. Hill wasn’t unhittable, but the beats were the same for the New York offense - taking hittable pitches, swinging at garbage pitches, and not scoring in any manner, home run or otherwise. After the game, Boone said he thought “the at bats were better today”. By what standard? They scored less than two runs for the eighth time in their last eleven games and now are staring up at a wide margin between them and Tampa in the division standings. This offense is going down and taking the whole team with it.
Taillon Troubles
Jameson Taillon is nowhere near what the Yankees need him to be right now. With Corey Kluber on the shelf, Taillon is suddenly an important piece in the rotation, not just the fifth starter trying to get his legs back under him. He has yet to show he can pitch more than five inning consistently and while his stuff is good, he’s not able to master it for a full game. Today’s Taillon was solid, but was touched for a few runs, including an Austin Meadows home run and a Randy Arozarena two out RBI single. Taillon’s fastball was hit around by Tampa today, as they averaged a 100.4 MPH exit velocity against that pitch. He mixed in some sinkers but ultimately had trouble finding a mix of pitches that would fool Tampa. It wasn’t the worst start, but it seems like stalled progress for Taillon.
The bullpen pitched another scoreless game, but unfortunately three runs is not enough to allow the Yankees to win these days. It’s an absolute travesty that these outings are being wasted. Taillon’s next start will be against Boston, which will be a tough matchup. We will see if the offense gives him any more support in that one.
Just Du It
One bright offensive bright spot was Miguel Andjuar, who had a multi hit game including his first home run of the season. Andujar has seen regular playing time in the outfield because of the injuries and poor performance and had quietly been hitting over .300 in his last nine games before today. If Miggy’s power bat is returning, he will see playing time - it’s almost guaranteed in this offense. In 2018, Andujar was a rookie sensation for the Yankees, but he has struggled the last two years with injuries and lack of playing time. Today’s game was an encouraging sign for him on his hopeful road back to being a full time major leaguer. The Yankee offense needs any positive sign that it can get, at this point.
Game 2: Yankees Win 5-3
Best win of the season? Corey Kluber’s no hitter has something to say about that, but this was certainly the most cathartic win of the season. The Yankees finally, finally beat Tampa at home and broke their four game losing streak thanks to Clint Frazier’s walk off home run in the 11th inning. Is this the start of a turnaround? One can only hope.
Downtown Goes Frazier!
Did anyone need a good game more than Clint Frazier? Many Yankees have struggled this season at the plate, but Frazier has perhaps had the worst run of any of them, as he has barely maintained an OPS around .600 and went from being counted on as a key piece of the Yankee youth movement to someone who rides the bench more often than not. Last night was the Clint Frazier Game that we were all waiting for and it came at the best possible time. First, Frazier saved the game with a shoestring catch in the eighth inning. Joey Wendle hit a bloop shot to right field that seemed ticketed for the outfield grass. Enter Clint Frazier, running out of his shoes to catch the ball by a hair and end the inning. Air Clint!
Given the Yankees cannot score for their collective lives, this probably would have lost the game for them. In the bottom of the eleventh, after some more offensive ineptitude, Clint came up with a runner on first and two outs. It seemed likely that Frazier would send the game to the twelfth, but instead, he sent the crowd home happy.
This was such a momentum shift for the Yankees, both in the standings and mentally. If the Yankees had lost this game, they would have been 6.5 games back of Tampa and fading fast in the standings. They also would have fallen to 3-8 against the Rays and 0-5 at home. Instead, they picked up a huge win in which they pulled out all the stops to secure a victory. The Rays have the Yankees’ number - there’s no doubt about it. But tonight was a small push back, all thanks to the man they call Red Thunder.
Whither the Bats (Again)?
Frazier’s home run was only necessary because the Yankees offense, once again, struggled. I’m not going to repeat the same gripes every game, but the bats only picked up six hits over eleven innings, going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 men on base. Granted, there was some bad luck - DJ LeMahieu’s liner in the ninth had an expected batting average of .750 and really should have ended the game. He was mad, and I would be too - the ball was scorched!
But when most of your lineup has an OPS under .700, it’s not surprising that you have trouble driving guys home. The baserunning mistakes, such as the one by Sanchez tonight, exacerbate these existing issues. It is quickly becoming clear that if this lineup doesn’t get its act together, it might be time for some personnel changes.
Pen’t Up Rage
The whole reason the Yankees were able to get to the eleventh inning in a tie game is because of their amazing bullpen. Domingo German didn’t have the most impressive outing, giving up three runs in five innings. However, the ‘pen came in with six hitless innings to keep the Rays off the board and help the Yankee offense finally score. As my coauthor Will said after the game, watching each pitcher is like a religious experience. Loisaga, Green, Chapman, Luetge, and even Luis Cessa all brought the heat tonight against the top team in the division and a team that had won 16 of 17 games. Let’s stop worrying about the offense and celebrate a pitching staff that is on pace to record the best team ERA since 1981, ok?
Hot (and Cold) Gary Summer
The Gary Sanchez Experience can be electrifying at times but it can also be soul crushing. Tonight, Gary was all over the map in terms of his impact on the game. He made a stellar defensive play to nab Austin Meadows at first base after a ball in the dirt, which likely saved a run as Jonathan Loisaga walked the next batter.
He then hit a leadoff double in the next inning off of Tyler Glasnow, a booming shot to left field. Gary continues to improve with the bat and is now one of the most productive hitters on the Yankees, believe it or not (more of an indictment of the Yankees offense than a compliment for Gary, but c'est la vie). However, he was thrown out as he ran from second on a ground ball to shortstop, which is a huge no-no for baserunners. He then airmailed a throw the next inning and failed to block a wild pitch that almost allowed another run to score. It was an excellent summary of the highs and lows of Hot Gary Summer. When it’s going well, you feel on top of the world. When it’s going poorly, you feel hopelessly lost. It’s Gary’s world and we’re all just along for the ride.
Game 3: Yankees Win 4-3
Sometimes when your team has a satisfying and cathartic win, it’s easy to let your foot off the gas the next day and fail to take advantage of the momentum. The Yankees, fortunately, did not do that, as they beat the Rays for the second straight day by a nail biting score of 4-3. Was it a pretty win? Definitely not. But as they say, a win is a win is a win!
Anatomy of an At Bat
Let’s start in the ninth inning and break down a crucial moment in this game. Aroldis Chapman had entered to record the save and his inning began inauspiciously, as he walked the first two batters he faced. Chapman has been nails this year, but he always has that tendency to look like he has no idea where the ball is going. Thankfully, he settled down and struck out Randy Arozerena, but the dangerous Ji Man Choi came to the plate. Choi was hitting over .400 against left handed pitchers, so this was a big situation for Chapman. What followed was a lengthy at bat that I want to break down. Here’s the pitch breakdown and map.
Chapman started off the at bat going 0-2 on Choi, first giving him a fastball which he fouled off and then catching the zone with a slider. Choi was sitting on the fastball and Chapman pitched him delicately after that, trying to get him to chase the slider out of the zone. Choi laid off and ran the count full. From there, Chapman challenged Choi, pumping in two fastballs into the zone which Choi again fouled off. Choi was again sitting on the fastball and thus Chapman pulled off the masterstroke, dropping in a slider which completely baffled Choi. It was an excellent back and forth between an accomplished pitcher and accomplished hitter and swung the Yankees’ win probability from 55.8% to 85.8%. Good work Chappy!
Whither the Bats Part 3
The Yankees offensive outlook looked bright early on, as they scored four early runs off of Shane McClanahan, including two off a Gio Urshela homer and two off a Clint Frazier RBI single (Frazier is officially On A Roll).
However, the Yankee offense collapsed after the fourth - they did not score a run after that, which made it a lot closer of a game than it should have been. Additionally, the Yankees continued their baserunning ineptitude by running into not one, but two outs on the basepaths in the seventh. Both Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres were thrown out and it gave the Yankees their league leading 29th out made on the bases. When the league average is 15, that is a problem. Not scoring runs is one thing, but as we’ve discussed, the base running errors are completely inexcusable. This team can pitch all it wants, but the offense needs to take some responsibility for their shortcomings and at the very least, not make extra outs.
Monty Magic
Jordan Montgomery continued his alternating good start/bad start trajectory with another quality start against Tampa tonight in a big spot. With the bullpen gassed from last night’s adventures, Monty pitched into the seventh, giving up three runs (only one earned) and striking out five. As opposed to his last start against Toronto, where he was dinged by the big home run, Montgomery did not give up any particularly hard hit balls. Rather, he surrendered a few weaker hit balls that were strung together for a few Tampa runs. Monty did his job by leaving the game with a lead, even without his best stuff, and that’s all you can ask for. It was an encouraging outing for the big lefty, who now has an ERA that stands under 4.00 (3.92). At times, Jordan reminds you of Andy Pettitte, and this was one of those nights.
Game 4: Yankees Lose 9-2
Although the Yankees had the chance at a series victory, they failed to close out the win and instead dropped the series finale to the Rays with their ace on the mound. It’s not what you want, as the kids say. This game was over by the fourth inning, so I won’t spend too long on it, but let’s run through some of the highlights and lowlights. (Also full disclosure: I am en route to Washington DC as I write this, so this will be short and sweet. If you want to watch the Rays offense beat up Yankee pitching, do that on your own time)
Cole-d As Ice
The Yankees needed Gerrit Cole to be great today and he was something less than that. Cole gave up five runs in five innings, aided by some questionable umpiring calls. The Rays were all over his fastball and poked the ball around the diamond for base hits galore. Additionally, the umpire’s strike zone was horrendous, especially compared to the zone that opposing pitcher Ryan Yarborough got (many balls were called strikes, to put it nicely). Nick Nelson put the game out of reach in the seventh, but Cole’s subpar outing was tough to swallow. It was just one of those days, and if anyone can brush it off and get back out there to dominate, it’s Gerrit Cole.
Outfield Offense (AKA Whither the Bats Part 4)
The Yankee offense again struggled today (getting very tired of writing that, you guys) and the entireity of the offense came from the bats of two of their outfielders. Brett Gardner hit his first home run of the year into the right field seats in the third inning. Including his double later on, it was a very good offensive game for Brett. Miguel Andujar also added a solo shot when the game was well out of reach. Miggy had a big series with the bat, hitting three home runs, which is exactly what he needed given the state of his career and the offense.
The Yankees will kick off an equally big series tomorrow against the Red Sox in what is somehow their first matchup of the year. Yes, the Yankees played the Rays 13 times before playing Boston once. Baseball schedules are weird, man. Check back tomorrow afternoon for the series preview!
