Yankee News For Yankee Fans

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Zelous Wheeler of the New York Yankees celebrates after making the last out of the second inning against the Texas Rangers on July 22, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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Robinson Chirinos of the Texas Rangers heads for home but is out by Francisco Cervelli of the New York Yankees in the fifth inning on July 22, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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New York Yankees pitcher Jeff Francis delivers in the 14th inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. The Yankees defeated the Rangers 2-1 on a walk-off by Chase Headley, acquired Tuesday from the San Diego Padres.

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Newly acquired New York Yankees Chase Headley hits a game-winning, walk-off, RBI single off Texas Rangers reliever Nick Tepesch in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, July 23, 2014.

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New York Yankees Chase Headley celebrates after hitting a 14th-inning walk-off RBI single in the Yankees 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, July 23, 2014.

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Brandon McCarthy sharp again as Yankees win third- straight, beat Texas Rangers 4-2

The Bombers only managed six hits, but made them count as Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, Francisco Cervelli and Brian McCann drove in a run apiece to pace the offense.

Brandon McCarthy allows one run over six innings for his second win with the Yankees.

The Yankees viewed Brandon McCarthy as an upgrade to their pitching staff when they acquired him less then three weeks ago.

They probably didn't think he would become their new ace.

The righthander pitched his third strong game in a row, holding the Rangers to one run over six innings to lead the Yankees to a 4-2 win in front of 45,105 at the Stadium.

McCarthy improved to 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA since being acquired from the Diamondbacks for Vidal Nuno on July 6, helping make up for the loss of Masahiro Tanaka to a small ligament tear in his right elbow.

The Yankees' lineup had only six hits in the game, but they made them count as Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, Francisco Cervelli and Brian McCann drove in a run apiece to pace the offense.

Adam Warren allowed a solo homer by J.P. Arencibia in the seventh to pull the Rangers within a run, but he retired the next two batters before Matt Thornton, Dellin Betances and David Robertson (25th save) recorded the final seven outs to end the game.

Derek Jeter takes a day off and has a front-row seat for Brandon McCarthy's third strong outing in pinstripes.

After losing the series-opener, the Yankees came back to win three straight, giving them six wins in the first seven games of the home stand. They host the Blue Jays in a three-game set this weekend before heading on the road for six games in Texas and Boston next week.

McCarthy was 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his first two starts since being traded to the Yankees, effectively mixing his cutter in with his two-seamer and four-seamer.

He retired the first six batters he faced and got a double play to erase a leadoff walk in the third, but Rougned Odor and Shin-Soo Choo singled with two out, setting up Elvis Andrus' bloop single to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

Colby Lewis, who beat the Yankees twice in the 2010 ALCS, had struggled badly this season to the tune of a 6.37 ERA in 17 starts. The Yankees made him look like his vintage self in the early innings, going hitless through the first three frames.

Gardner lit a spark with a leadoff double in the fourth, scoring on Headley's two-out single to tie the game.

Brett Gardner goes 1-for-3 Thursday with a run scored and an RBI.

Lewis ran into more trouble in the fifth, starting with a leadoff walk of Ichiro Suzuki. Cervelli laced a double into the left-field corner, scoring Ichiro from first to give the Yankees their first lead.

Brendan Ryan bunted Cervelli to third, where Gardner brought him home with a two-out sac fly to push the lead to two.

McCarthy blanked the Rangers over the next three innings, working around a two-out jam in the fifth by striking out Andrus with runners at first and second.

Arencibia cut the lead to one with his seventh-inning homer off Warren, but McCann added an insurance run in the eighth with an RBI double, giving Robertson a two-run lead to protect.

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Yankees scouting Ian Kennedy for possible trade reunion

Ian Kennedy of the Padres came to the majors with the Yankees.

Having already completed a deal with the Padres for third baseman Chase Headley, the Yankees are monitoring what the NL West club is going to do with right-hander Ian Kennedy before the July 31 deadline.

The Yankees had scout Joe Caro at Wrigley Field Wednesday night to watch Kennedy beat the Cubs, 8-3, despite a bout of wildness. In six innings, the former Yankee allowed three runs, three hits and walked five. He is 8-9 with a 3.66 ERA in 22 games this season.

A first-round pick of the Yankees in 2006 from USC, Kennedy pitched for the Yankees from 2007 to 2009 and went to the Diamondbacks in the three-team deal that brought Curtis Granderson from the Tigers following the 2009 season.

In his last five starts for the Padres, Kennedy is 3-0 with a 1.97 ERA.

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New York Yankees' Chase Headley hits a fourth-inning RBI single, driving in Brett Gardner, in a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium in New York, Thursday, July 24, 2014.

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Jacoby Ellsbury of the New York Yankees steals second base in the fifth inning ahead of the tag from Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on July 24, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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Ichiro Suzuki of the New York Yankees follows through on a sixth inning base hit against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on July 24, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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New York Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances (68) winds up in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium in New York, Thursday, July 24, 2014. Betances pitched a scoreless inning and the Yankees went on to defeat the Texas Rangers 4-2.

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New York Yankees' Chase Headley, right, greets designated hitter Carlos Beltran (36) at the plate after Beltran scored on Brian McCann's eighth-inning RBI-double in a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium in New York, Thursday, July 24, 2014. The Yankees defeated the Rangers 4-2.

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New York Yankees relief pitcher David Robertson (30) delivers in the ninth inning of the Yankees 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Thursday, July 24, 2014.

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Ichiro Suzuki goes deep with three-run blast to help Yankees top Blue Jays, 6-4

Hiroki Kuroda went 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits and one walk while striking out three.

Ichiro Suzuki hits a three-run HR of his own in the third inning.

The Yankees might not own a potent lineup or a healthy starting rotation but they do own Mark Buehrle and the Blue Jays.

Behind Ichiro Suzuki’s first home run in nearly a year, the Bombers came from behind to beat Toronto, 6-4, at the Stadium Friday night — their 17th straight home win over their AL East rivals.

The Yanks remained three games behind the division-leading Orioles, who beat Seattle later Friday, 2-1, on Chris Davis’ 10th-inning home run, and moved a game ahead of third-place Toronto. The Bombers are also in sole possession of the AL’s second wild-card spot.

“The division is so tight right now that any game counts, so we’re happy being able to take the first one (of the series),” said Carlos Beltran, whose solo homer to left off Buehrle preceded Ichiro’s decisive blast. “Hopefully we can win tomorrow with the same intensity.”

The game got off to a rough start for Hiroki Kuroda, who surrendered a three-run homer to left by Toronto slugger Jose Bautista in the first inning. The Yankees got two runs back in the bottom of the second with an infield RBI single by Brian Roberts and a sacrifice fly to center by Brett Gardner.

Bautista homered again in the third on another Kuroda mistake for his 20th round-tripper of the season — also to left — to extend the Toronto lead to 4-2. But the Bombers struck back in the bottom half with Beltran’s blast — his 11th homer of the year — and Ichiro’s first longball of the season that broke a homerless streak of 294 at-bats dating back to last August.

“Obviously I know the stats, I knew that going in,” Suzuki said through a translator. “Now that it’s not a zero maybe (Yankee broadcaster) Michael Kay will go easy on me.”

The 40-year-old entered in a 6-for-41 (.146) slide but is hitting .431 in his career against Buehrle (25-for-58).

Kuroda (7-6, 3.99) settled down after the second Bautista homer and allowed just three more baserunners. The righty was relieved after 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on the two Bautista home runs, eight hits and one walk while striking out three.

“With the stuff I had, I was struggling all day, but at the same time I think I tried to hang in there. Even though I gave up the second homer, I think I was resilient,” Kuroda said through a translator. “(The Ichiro blast was) a huge homer. That sort of brought me back to life. It was a big hit.”

David Huff, Shawn Kelley and Dellin Betances combined for 2.1 scoreless innings before David Robertson nailed down his 26th save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Buehrle (10-7), who couldn’t hold leads of 3-0 and 4-2, was tagged for six runs on nine hits and fell to 1-12 lifetime against the Yankees, who are 26-10 overall against the Blue Jays since September of 2012.

Beltran and Ichiro supplied the two big blasts, but the Yankees got other contributions from the likes of Chase Headley (3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored), Roberts (1-for-4 with an RBI) and Francisco Cervelli (2-for-3 with a double). “The bottom of our order did a lot of damage tonight,” Joe Girardi said. “There were a lot of base hits down there and they set the table a lot so that’s good to see.”

The Yankees have undoubtedly suffered from some bad luck this season with injuries but have battled to stay afloat. They are currently 7-1 since the All-Star break, a stretch that coincides with their current 10-game home stand.

“It’s part of baseball man. As a team you’re going to go through ups and downs, you’re going to go through injuries,” Beltran said. “The most important thing is we have to stick together; we have to find a way for the guys who are replacing the other guys to step in try to keep the team. Hopefully when the guys come back we’re in contention. . . . At the end of the day we have to do it with what we have.”

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Offensively challenged Yanks could turn to utilityman Pirela

Jose Pirela.

When the Yankees spent over $450 million this past offseason, it underscored the lack of major league-ready talent in the team’s farm system.

Indeed, only one of the organization’s top 10 prospects (as rated by Baseball America) has reached so far as Triple-A this season, and that would be catcher John Ryan Murphy, who hit .286 in a brief spell in the majors earlier this season.

Despite the dearth of top prospects, there is a player at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre who could warrant a call-up: Jose Pirela, who has shaken off a slow start (he hit .230 in his first 19 games) to post a .328 batting average since late April, with an .838 OPS.

“He’s not a bad player,” a National League scout said. “He’s a Triple-A, emergency call-up kind of guy that can help you…Not a bad player, but he’d be a utility player.”

The 24-year-old second baseman, who hails from Valera, Venezuela, was signed before the 2008 season for $300,000 and has slowly climbed the organizational ladder, reaching Double-A Trenton in 2011 and spending the next three seasons there before receiving a call-up to Triple-A late last season.

Pirela, whose highest batting average in the minors is .295, which he achieved in Charleston in 2009, is having a career year. He entered Friday with a .308 batting average, eight homers and 41 RBIs.

“Physically, he can play the game,” Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hitting coach Butch Wynegar said. “[He can] swing the bat, use the whole field. [He has] good hands when he slows himself down. Sometimes he gets a little fast and jumpy. He has some power in his bat, he’s more of a line-drive, gap-to-gap type hitter.

“His bat is his best asset. He’s improved a lot at second base. He’s even played a little first base. The kid is an athlete, you could put him anywhere.”

Indeed, the RailRiders have put Pirela everywhere. He has seen time at first base, second base, shortstop, left field and right field. He has proven to be a steady fielder, with a .976 fielding percentage at his predominant position of second base.

“Defense is going to be an area to work on,” Wynegar said. “He feels so comfortable with a bat in his hands, defense has lagged behind just a hair…He needs to work on continuing to turn the double play.”

Wynegar said if Pirela gets called up to the Yankees, he could give Joe Girardi a lot of options.

“I could see him [eventually] being a No. 2 hitter,” he said. “When he first gets there, to get his feet wet, he’ll be at the bottom part of the order. I think he can play second and give the manager some real options in terms of versatility.”

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Yankees’ Chase Headley thriving in new Bronx digs

Chase Headley (left), congratulating Ihciro Suzuki on his three-run homer Friday night, is hitting .429 in his first four games as a Yankee.

When Chase Headley switched uniforms, his position in the standings wasn’t the only thing to change.

In his brief Yankees career, so has his luck.

The new third baseman, hitting .429 (6-for-14) through four games in The Bronx, produced his first multi-hit game for the Yankees on Friday night, going 3-for-4 in a come-from-behind 6-4 victory over the Blue Jays. He even had a bloop double down the left-field line, the kind of hit that eluded him this year in San Diego as he hit an anemic .229 while playing his home games at spacious Petco Park.

“It was perfect, wasn’t it?” he said, cracking a smile. “Haven’t had many of those in the first half of the year.”

He wasn’t part of many wins like Friday night’s with the dormant Padres, as the Yankees rallied from a three-run, first-inning hole to their seventh victory in eight games since the All-Star break. Headley had a big role. He singled and scored in the second and singled and scored again in the third, this time on Ichiro Suzuki’s three-run homer.

“I feel comfortable at the plate, I feel like I’m swinging at pitches for the most part I want to,” Headley said. “Sometimes, hitting is streaky, so when you’re swinging the ball well, things go your way. That’s how things have been going.”

Most importantly for Headley, when he arrives at the ballpark, he feels a tangible energy, the energy of excited fans and the Yankees pushing for October baseball after missing out on the playoffs last year.

“Coming from a team that was really not playing for a whole lot and coming into a pennant race, that’s great,” he said. “But also there’s something different about putting the pinstripes on. It’s a privilege, and I take it that way.”

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Yankees offense provides big cushion and David Robertson, bullpen use every bit of it in 12-11 win over Texas

Mark Teixeira and Brett Gardner hit home runs, offense puts together big inning but bullpen makes it interesting.

Chase Headley and Zoilo Almonte get some high-fives after scoring in a big sixth inning for the Yankees in a 12-11 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night.

ARLINGTON — Tuesday night was all lined up to be one of the Yankees’ best wins of the season. By the ninth inning, it looked like it might be their worst loss.

The Bombers exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning, then survived a bullpen meltdown for a nail-biting 12-11 win over the Rangers.

“It was a strange game, but it’s great to get out of here with a win,” Joe Girardi said. “It would have been a really difficult one to lose.”

The bottom five hitters in the lineup combined to drive in eight runs, including two each from Carlos Beltran, Zoilo Almonte and Brendan Ryan. Brett Gardner went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and three runs scored, while Mark Teixeira went deep in his first start since July 20, also scoring three times.

“Let (the bullpen) have a hiccup because they’ve been picking us up all year long,” Teixeira said. “We haven’t been picking them up. It was kind of our night for the offense to pick those guys up.”

Brandon McCarthy wasn’t as good as he was in his first three starts with the Yankees, but the righthander improved to 3-0 with six innings of four-run ball.

The bullpen made things interesting as Adam Warren loaded the bases in the seventh and Dellin Betances gave up a grand slam by J.P. Arencibia, who had two homers and seven RBI in the game.

Teixeira’s homer got the lead back to four, but Chase Whitley allowed a run in the eighth and David Robertson allowed two runs in the ninth to allow Texas to pull within a run. The Rangers had the bases loaded before Robertson got Adrian Beltre to fly out to end the game, recording his 27th save.

“That’s about as bad as you can suck out there and still get lucky enough to get one of the better hitters in baseball out and not lose the ballgame,” said Robertson, who gave up two hits and walked three. “The offense really stepped up today. I wish the bullpen would have done a little bit better, but we got a win. We’ll take it.”

Brett Gardner's unlikely home-run binge continues in Texas.

The Yankees had reached double digits in runs only two other times this season: April 17 at Tampa Bay and April 24 at Boston.

The Yankees remain 4.5 games behind the first-place Orioles in the AL East and two games behind the Blue Jays in the race for the second AL wild-card spot.

Gardner continued his hot streak with a leadoff home run, his third blast in two days and sixth of July. The Rangers rallied for three runs in the third — all with two out — against McCarthy, who also gave up a solo shot to right by Arencibia in the fifth.

The Yankees broke the game open — or so it seemed at the time — with seven runs in the sixth inning. Beltran and Ryan each had two-run hits to help the Bombers turn a three-run deficit into a 7-4 lead.

Mark Teixeira plays first base for the first time since coming off the DL and homers in the game.

As bad as the inning was, it only got worse for Texas. Gardner drilled a ball to right-center that glanced off Alex Rios’ glove and ricocheted into Leonys Martin’s head, the three-base error bringing him another run to cap the Yankees’ seven-run frame — their biggest inning since last Sept. 2.

Warren came in for the seventh with a six-run lead, but he walked two batters and gave up a hit, loading the bases.

Girardi wasted no time in bringing in Betances, but Arencibia drilled a 97 mph fastball into the left-field seats, slicing the lead down to two.

“I’m just trying to throw a strike in that situation; bases loaded, 3-2, I don’t want to walk him,” Betances said. “It wasn’t a strike, but he put a good swing on it.”

Teixeira pushed the lead back to four with a two-run homer in the eighth against Neal Cotts, his team-high 18th home run of the season.

“Very encouraged,” Teixeira said. “I haven’t been able to swing the bat like that righthanded in quite some time.”

Teixeira’s blast turned out to be the game-winner as Robertson endured one of his worst innings of the season before finally nailing it down in the ninth.

“I feel like the luckiest guy on Earth right now for escaping that inning as bad as I pitched,” Robertson said. “It was by the skin of my teeth that I got it done.”

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Yankees' Michael Pineda will make rehab start

Pineda threw 45 pitches in three innings of a simulated game on Tuesday in Tampa.

Michael Pineda is expected to throw four innings and 60-65 pitches.

ARLINGTON, Tex. — The clock on Michael Pineda’s return starts Sunday.

That’s when Pineda will make his first rehab start since going on the disabled list in early May. He’ll throw four innings and 60-65 pitches.

“He will make a start somewhere,” Joe Girardi said. “Not exactly sure where it’s going to be. They were talking about that today, but it will be a regular game.”

Pineda threw 45 pitches in three innings of a simulated game on Tuesday in Tampa, coming through without any problems. The 25-year-old has been out for three months with a strained muscle in his right shoulder, but Sunday will kick off his 30-day rehab assignment, lining him up for a return to the rotation sometime in August.

“I think you’ve got to get him to where he can go 90 pitches, and you feel good about it (and) where he’s not fatiguing,” Girardi said. “I think if you get there, then he’s a guy you think about.”

Pineda was 2-2 with a 1.83 ERA in four starts before being slapped with a 10-game suspension for using pine tar during a start against the Red Sox on April 23. He suffered his injury later that week while pitching a simulated game in Tampa.

The Yanks’ rotation has held up despite injuries to four of the five regular starters, but Pineda’s return should help bolster a unit that has already used 11 pitchers.

BACK IN PLACE

Mark Teixeira, who pinch-hit Monday night, returned to the starting lineup for the first time since July 20. Teixeira’s return meant Brian McCann could take his rightful place behind the plate after subbing at first base for the past seven games.

“I’m sure he’s glad to be back there,” Girardi said of McCann. “I thought he did a decent job for us. It’s not easy.”

Teixeira made his presence felt at the plate, walking three times, scoring three times while his one hit, a two-run homer (18th) in the eighth, gave the Yanks a 12-8 lead. . . . Brendan Ryan started at second base for the third time in the past week as Brian Roberts was given another night off. Roberts is 1-for-14 over his past four games and 7-for-41 dating back to July 12. Ryan went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI.

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Brandon McCarthy of the New York Yankees pitches against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the third inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 29, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.

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Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees hits an infield single against the Texas Rangers in the top of the sixth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 29, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.

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(EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Texas Rangers in the top of the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 29, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.

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Dellin Betances of the New York Yankees pitches against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 29, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.

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Brendan Ryan of the New York Yankees makes the throw to first for the out against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the eighth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 29, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.

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Chase Whitley of the New York Yankees pitches against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on July 29, 2014 in Arlington, Texas.

[sabugo]

I'm so glad we won't have to see more of Brian Roberts. I liked the guy, four or five years ago. Now he just seems...old!
I'm not sure Drew will be much of an upgrade though... Still, I never thought I'd have to thank the Red Sox for taking Johnson. Or for anything. We can always thank them for being in 'Implosion Mode'...

Prado will be a useful player. At least he has been all through his career.

You guys think we'll regret sending Murphy away instead of Cervelli? I'm kind of torn on that one.



EDIT: Someone had told me the Yankees sent a young catcher to the D'backs and I assumed it was Murphy. I don't know enough about O'brien to really have an opinion, but his numbers seemed promising. I've also read that he has no real position on the field and that his bat won't adapt well to the Majors, but with prospects who knows, really?