📌 Join the BPCrew Chapter in your city and meet up with more Yankees fans! 👉 CLICK HERE
Series Recap
·4 min read

Series Recap: Two if by Sea, Yankees take series

·

The New York Yankees left their figurative baggage in Oakland and Andrew McCutchen literally had his luggage lost. Both the Yankees and McCutchen found a nice respite in the Pacific Northwest, taking two of three contests from the Seattle Mariners. It was close to a clean sweep but a much cleaner series and a bounce back one at that for the Yankees.

GAME 1

KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. The Yankees tightened things up on defense, received solid starting pitching and timely power hitting. Didi Gregorius made a return late in the game and Aaron Judge took batting practice. This is what one would draw up in a Wild Card game scenario but the Mariners probably won’t be part of that equation after the Yankees blanked them 4-0.

TANAKA TIME FOR BED

Masahiro Tanaka was geared up for this outing. At one point Tanaka retired 13 consecutive M’s batters. The outing conjured up memories of Roger Clemens’ one-hit, 15-strikeout, shutout against Seattle in Game 4 of the 2000 ALCS. In eight scoreless innings of work, Tanaka whiffed 10, yielded three hits and zero walks. He wouldn’t allow Seattle to creep back into the game, recording a big strikeout of Robinson Cano with two outs and runners at the corners in the sixth inning. Tanaka would hand off to David Robertson, who would preserve the gem in the ninth.

MR. T IS MR. 100

Round number alert. Perhaps he’ll do this one day if he sticks around long enough to reach the 3,000 hit plateau but what Gleyber Torres accomplished during the second inning on Friday evening was good enough for career hit No. 100. After Luke Voit reached on a single, Torres hammered a 2-2 cutter from James Paxton to left, giving the Yankees a 2-0 advantage. Torres’ home run marked No. 23 on the campaign. Torres is the fourth youngest Yankee to reach 100 hits, only behind Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Ben Chapman. This rookie of the year chase is going to be fascinating.

CUTCH ‘EM ALL ANDREW

Following a Brett Gardner single, Andrew McCutchen provided the Yankees with some insurance in the fourth frame. McCutchen crushed a 2-1 knuckle curve from Paxton, doubling the New York lead to 4-0. The two-run tater marked McCutchen’s first in a New York uniform.

GAME 2

More timely home run hitting and a formulaic performance by the pitching staff, made for a 4-2 Yankees victory.

CUTCH ‘EM ALL

McCutchen set the tone in the first frame, leading off with a home run off a 1-2 changeup from Felix Hernandez. McCutchen’s second smash in as many days staked the Bronx Bombers to a 1-0 lead.

LANCE A LOT

In jeopardy of being shifted back to the bullpen, Lance Lynn bounced back with a representative outing. Aside from a Mike Zunino homer in the third and a Dee Gordon RBI-single in the fifth frame, which tied the game at two, after a Stanton sacrifice fly, RBI had given New York the lead in the top half, Lynn did virtually all one could ask of him. Lynn displayed impeccable control, issuing zero walks, allowing two runs on three this and striking out a pair.

ROBO BOP

With the game squared at two in the seventh, Austin Romine took Nick Vincent out of the yard on a 2-2 fastball. The solo oppo-taco gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead and their tenth players with double-digit home runs on the campaign.

A sacrifice fly RBI by Torres in the ninth would account for the Yankees fourth run.

BLOOD AND GUTS BULLPEN

Minus Aroldis Chapman, it was about how one would want to draw it up out of the bullpen. Zach Britton appears to be building up more strength and confidence with yet another scoreless inning in the seventh. Robertson struck out the side in the eighth. Dellin Betances, blood blisters and all, pitched around a hit, walk and hit by pitch and struck out the side as well, recording save No. 3 on the season.

Embed from Getty Images

GAME 3

They almost pulled off a sweep but a 2-for-15 effort with RISP proved to be the Yankees’ undoing in a 3-2 loss.

AN-DOUBLE-JAR

Another game, another extra-base hit for Andujar. Following a one-out double by Stanton, Andujar traded places with an RBI-double to left off Erasmo Ramirez during the first frame, providing the Yankees with  1-0 advantage.

KILLIN’ ‘EM SOFTLY

CC Sabathia stabilized from his Oakland outing but wasn’t quite as sharp as one would like. Sabathia worked five frames, yielding two runs on seven hits and one walk, fanning four. Seattle made soft contact but it was just enough in the first. Four consecutive two-out singles, including RBI-singles from Ryon Healy and Cameron Maybin, gave the M’s a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Otherwise, Sabathia’s offense didn’t provide him with much help.

Embed from Getty Images

CUTCH BUT NOT MUCH ELSE

During the top of the fourth, McCutchen was able to coax another clutch walk on this road trip, plating the tying run with the bases loaded. However, it was all the Yankees could muster, after starting the inning with the bases packed and zero outs.

LEAD OFF WALKS WILL HAUNT YOU

In the eighth inning, the Mariners would break through against Betances. Mitch Haniger drew a lead-off walk and stole second to put the Mariners in business. A Jean Segura sacrifice bunt would move Haniger to third. With the infield in, Cano was able to put the ball in play but the throw to home plate by the shortstop Hechavarria was wide and the M’s took a 3-2 lead.

Embed from Getty Images

ON DECK

At 89-54, the Yankees continue their road trip to Minnesota, where they take on the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series starting Monday evening.

Pitching probables, J.A. Happ vs. Kyle Gibson, Sonny Gray vs. TBD, Luis Severino vs. Jake Odorizzi.