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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 5, 2020 11:48:07 GMT -5
Yankees optioned RHP Deivi Garcia to their alternate training site.
Garcia gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings in his Friday start against the Orioles, and the team apparently decided to go in a different direction for starts moving forward. Perhaps that's Clarke Schmidt, who pitched in relief of Garcia on Friday, or maybe they've got a different plan altogether. Friday's up and down start doesn't do anything to Garcia's long-term outlook, which remains bright for the Bronx club.
Yankees activated SS Gleyber Torres from the 10-day injured list.
Torres hit the injured list on August 21 with strains to his left quad and hamstring, but he's been putting in work at the team's alternate training site and is ready to roll. Before the injury the 23-year-old was hitting a pedestrian .231/.341/.295, but he's still a supremely talented hitter in a great lineup. Get him back in your fantasy lineups.
Yankees optioned RHP Albert Abreu to their alternate training site.
The 24-year-old was with the club for roughly a week but didn't get into a game. He's still allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings of work thus far this year. The team sent him out to clear a spot for star infielder Gleyber Torres to return from the injured list.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 5, 2020 11:54:01 GMT -5
Doctor: Yankees’ Gio Urshela must manage pain, rest from bone spur Updated 11:28 AM; Today 11:22 AM New York Yankees practice before start of 2019 American League Championship Series
Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela has a right elbow bone spur that landed him on the injured list Friday.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela should be fine playing the rest of the season with a bone spur in his right elbow – provided he gets enough rest and possibly plays through some pain, a doctor told NJ Advance Media.
“The first thing that I would do is just rest the elbow,” Dr. Armin Tehrany, founder of Manhattan Orthopedic Care and an Honorary Surgeon for the New York Police Department, said Friday night. “The spur diagnosis means an overuse injury. A spur is the product of overuse, which a professional baseball player, specifically a third baseman or a pitcher, is prone to get. A spur just means he’s used his elbow a lot and it needs some time and rest – for now.”
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Tehrany hasn’t examined Urshela, but has years of experience treating the injury in athletes.
On Friday afternoon, the Yankees put Urshela on the injured list. He’d been playing through pain from the spur for more than a week, but it got worse when he tried to make a diving play Thursday night, manager Aaron Boone told reporters.
Fortunately for the Yankees, doctors gave Urshela what Boone called “very good news” later in the day.
“He’ll be down for a couple days,” Boone said, “but should be at baseball activities in the next couple of days and then likely to join us in the 10 days.”
Urshela received a cortisone shot. It’s possible he’ll have offseason surgery to address the spur, Boone said.
The Yankees badly need Urshela, one of the game’s slickest fielding third basemen who has developed quite a bit of pop since the start of last season.
Urshela has hit .272 with six homers, 23 RBI and a .873 OPS in 31 games this year. Last season, he broke out, clubbing 21 bombs with 74 RBI and a .314 average in his first work as a full-timer.
The Yankees expect all-star shortstop Gleyber Torres to return from the IL on Saturday, but they’ll still be without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and James Paxton.
Tehrany said it’s important for Urshela to manage the pain he might still have when the effects of the cortisone shot eventually wear off.
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“Conservative treatment is absolutely the right thing to do to let the elbow settle down and hopefully real soon it’ll feel better and he’ll have the perfect motion he needs and he’ll get back on the field,” Tehrany said.
“It’s important to treat the patient, not the imaging test. Lots of times the imaging test will show some things that are not his issue and don’t necessarily need to be managed aggressively. They can be managed conservatively. What matters the most is, how is he feeling? How is he doing day by day with the proper conservative treatment that his fantastic team is providing for him?”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 5, 2020 16:43:36 GMT -5
cole vs akin
1. Aaron Hicks (S) CF 2. Luke Voit (R) 1B 3. Gleyber Torres (R) SS 4. Clint Frazier (R) RF 5. Gary Sanchez (R) DH 6. Miguel Andujar (R) LF 7. Kyle Higashioka (R) C 8. Thairo Estrada (R) 3B 9. Tyler Wade (L) 2B
1. Hanser Alberto (R) 2B 2. Chance Sisco (L) DH 3. Jose Iglesias (R) SS 4. Pedro Severino (R) C 5. Ryan Mountcastle (R) LF 6. Rio Ruiz (L) 3B 7. Pat Valaika (R) 1B 8. DJ Stewart (L) RF 9. Mason Williams (L) CF
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 3:36:07 GMT -5
Yankees’ latest injury updates: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton improving Updated Sep 05, 2020; Posted Sep 05, 2020 Aaron Judge
New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99), wearing a "Black Lives Matter" shirt during team batting practice before the start of opening day baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon | AP)AP By Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Aaron Judge? Giancarlo Stanton?
Each has made strides in his rehab, according to manager Aaron Boone, who spoke to reporters prior to Saturday’s game at Baltimore.
Aaron Judge
Injury: Right calf strain.
On the injured list since: Aug. 28, but essentially since Aug. 14, because he played just one game over the span.
Boone: “He’s had a couple of good days and started to ramp up a little bit. I think Monday we’ll start the real progression as far as a lot of baseball activities, more aggressive with some of the running and the buildup.”
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Giancarlo Stanton
Injury: Left hamstring strain.
On the injured list since: Aug. 9.
Boone: “Giancarlo has had a really good several days. Think he ran some bases (Friday). Kind of half-speed running. He’s up to about 80% running. He’s been doing a lot of baseball activities as far as hitting off the high velocity machine, throwing. So he’s probably, possibly a little head of Judgey.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 3:37:05 GMT -5
Yankees, Gerrit Cole suffer inexcusable loss to Orioles | Rapid reaction Updated Sep 05, 2020; Posted Sep 05, 2020 Orioles
Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle (6) reacts next to New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres after hitting a two-run single during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in Baltimore. Mountcastle advanced to second as the throw went to another base. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) APAP By Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Brutal. Crushing. Terrible. Horrible. Awful.
Pick an adjective, any adjective to describe the Yankees’ 6-1 loss to the middling Orioles at Camden Yards on Saturday night.
Just make sure “unacceptable” is somewhere in there. Put it in bold. Underline it.
It was bad enough that $324-million ace Gerrit Cole once again couldn’t hold down an unimpressive offense. Yeah, he looked like the best pitcher on the planet early. He struck out eight of the first nine batters he faced.
Meant nothing when the Orioles hung five runs on him before his night was done.
Of course, it wasn’t like Cole got any help. The Yankees let 25-year-old Keegan Akin, making just his second career start, blank them over 5 1/3 innings, striking out eight while giving up three hits and walking four. The Yankees sat star DJ LeMahieu, wanting to give him rest in their long stretch of consecutive games. But they welcomed back Gleyber Torres from the injured list. He doubled.
The Yankees, again, were without sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, but that can’t be an excuse anymore. Neither have a timetable for their returns and the Yankees’ offense needs to figure it out without them.
Now, the Yankees have to seriously stop looking toward winning the American League East and set their sights on just hanging on to a low seed in the playoffs.
The Yankees remained 5 1/2 games behind the Rays, who lost earlier in the day to the Marlins. But they were on the verge of Toronto passing them for second place, as Toronto was beating the Red Sox. They started the day as the sixth seed.
Gary Sanchez struck out in all four of his at-bats. He’s fanned seven times in a row and is in a 4-for-41 slide. The Yankees keep playing him everyday, though he’s hitting .130.
For five innings, Cole looked unbeatable. But the Yankees didn’t score for him. With Kyle Higashioka behind the plate, Cole seemed on a mission, mixing his pitches well, hitting 100 mph and working fast. He struck out 10 total and walked two.
Cole just crumbled in the sixth.
He gave up a soaring home run to DJ Stewart to start the inning, the ball barely clearing the high wall in right field. Stewart had walked into the at-bat hitless in 17 at-bats on the year, but with nine walks. That broke the scoreless tie.
It got so much worse from there.
With one out, Thairo Estrada snagged Hanser Alberto’s hard groundball. It should have been a routine play, but Estrada threw it way wide right. Alberto was safe. Two-out walks from Jose Iglesias and Pedro Severino then loaded the bases.
A mound visit from Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake clearly didn’t help. Ryan Mountcastle immediately singled on a hard liner through the middle, bringing in two runs. And in the next at-bat — with nobody warm in the bullpen — Rio Ruiz tagged Cole for a two-run double. Ruiz smoked it down the first base line. It probably would have been extra bases regardless, but things got strange when the ball boy scooped the ball, which ended the play. Then it was 5-0 Baltimore.
Stewart would hit a bomb off reliever Miguel Yajure in the seventh for a 6-0 lead.
Clint Frazier hit a meaningless homer in the eighth. It was his fifth of the year.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 3:49:25 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 3:52:40 GMT -5
Gerrit Cole looks dominant as ever, then has meltdown as Yankees bats prove ineffective ... again By Kristie Ackert New York Daily News | Sep 05, 2020 at 11:46 PM
BALTIMORE — With just three weeks left in the season, Gerrit Cole and the Yankees have had no answers. Sure, the heart of their lineup is on the injured list, but their ace is struggling and the lineup that withstood a record number of injuries last season can’t score runs.
With an epic, sixth-inning meltdown Saturday night, the struggles continued. The Yankees were routed by the Orioles 6-1 at Camden Yards.
“Not happy,” Cole said crisply when asked to describe the reaction in the Yankees clubhouse after that embarrassing loss.
It was the second straight loss to the Orioles (18-21), who the Yankees had beaten up for 18 straight wins dating back to last season before this series. They not only dropped to 5.5 games behind the Rays in the American League East division race, but fell into third place, a half game behind the Blue Jays.
“I’d like to see us turn the corner and start going in the right direction,” Cole said, pointing out that the pitching, hitting and defense never seem sharp in the same game. “Results don’t always dictate exactly everything that’s been going on. It’s just like, all the things just aren’t clicking for us. So, by and large, we need to get all three areas of the game kind of going in the right direction.
“If we don’t rattle off five, six or seven wins in a row, that’s fine,” Cole continued. “But we’ve got to see improvement across the board and we got to start picking each other up.” Gerrit Cole unraveled in the sixth and it all went south from there for the Yankees. Gerrit Cole unraveled in the sixth and it all went south from there for the Yankees. (Nick Wass / AP)
The Yankees have 21 games left, including 10 with the Blue Jays, to get this turned around and heading in the right direction.
“We’re all aware It’s September 5 right now, we know that this season is coming to an end pretty soon,” Clint Frazier said. Frazier’s eighth-inning home run was the Yankees only offense of the game. “Obviously we know that we’re behind [the Rays], but we’re still competing with the others that are right behind us or tied with us right now. And I think it’s just a matter of trying to stay in the present moment, right now, because that’s all that we can do and not look so far ahead. Because we can’t control that, we can control now.”
When the night started out, Cole was in total control, striking out eight of the first nine batters he faced. He had a perfect game going with two outs in the fourth, when Jose Iglesias lined a double to the left-field wall.
Then it all fell apart in the sixth. [More Yankees] Yankees plan to keep Clarke Schmidt in the bullpen ... for now »
D.J. Stewart led off the sixth with his first hit of the season, a 353-foot home run to right field.
Thairo Estrada’s throwing error on Hanser Alberto’s grounder to third with one out, extended Cole’s efforts. After striking out Chance Sisco, he gave up back-to-back two-out walks. Ryan Mountcastle lined a two-run single to center and then Rio Ruiz was rewarded a double on “fan interference,” when the Orioles ball guy touched the line drive, allowing two more to score. Cole got the ninth batter of the inning to line out to third, needing 35 pitches just to get through that last inning.
The error contributed to the brutal inning, but the back-to-back walks certainly did too.
Cole knew that was on him.
“I should have stopped the bleeding,” Cole said when asked about Estrada’s error. “I should have picked him up.” [More Yankees] Gleyber Torres returns to Yankees lineup for penultimate game of series vs. Orioles »
But the Yankees offense should have been able to pick up Cole too — and they haven’t been able to for awhile now.
Aaron Boone rested DJ LeMahieu and the bottom five in his lineup were all hitting under .200 Saturday night.
The impotent lineup went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 base runners. Two were left there by Gary Sanchez, whose struggles at the plate have reached crisis level. He went 0-for-4 Saturday and after a home run in Friday’s first game of the doubleheader, has now struck out seven straight times.
“We hear all the time about who we have [on the IL], but the guys we ran out there tonight were a very capable lineup,” Boone said. “We need to do a better job there.”
Even the return of Gleyber Torres to the lineup, here in his favorite ballpark, couldn’t spark their offense.
“We got to continue to just dig in, compete and this is a time where we’re getting kicked in the mouth right now,” Boone said. “We’ve got to just stick our noses down and get after it and understand that this is not a time for us to feel sorry for ourselves. Nobody is. We’ve got to continue to work and string together quality at bats and trust that it’ll turn.”
For the Yankees, who are now looking at a fight to the end of the season to stay in the playoff seeds, it has to turn quickly.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 3:53:52 GMT -5
Yankees plan to keep Clarke Schmidt in the bullpen ... for now By Kristie Ackert New York Daily News | Sep 05, 2020 at 7:51 PM
BALTIMORE — Clarke Schmidt is here to stay.
The Yankees young pitching prospect made his debut out of the bullpen on Friday night and he will remain there for the foreseeable future, Aaron Boone said before Saturday night’s game against the Orioles at Camden Yards.
“We’re just trying to get him spots where obviously he can impact us,” the Yankees manager said. “We feel like he can be impactful, obviously, in a multi-inning length or role right now. There could be a start out there at some point for him. But right now, it’s just kind of getting him acclimated and feel like he has a chance in that multi-inning role to really play a big, big role for us here down the stretch.”
Schmidt was thrown right into the fire in his big league debut Friday. He was called on with two outs and two runners on in the fifth inning — he allowed the inherited runners to score, as well as two he was responsible for. Clarke Schmidt isn't going anywhere just yet. Clarke Schmidt isn't going anywhere just yet. (Nick Wass/AP)
He was not intimidated, however. [More Yankees] Gerrit Cole looks dominant as ever, then has meltdown as Yankees bats prove ineffective ... again »
“I talked to a few of the guys. I mean [bullpen coach Mike] Harkey is awesome back there,” Schmidt said of being in the bullpen for the first 4.2 innings of the game preparing for his moment. “He’s one of those guys who really knows his stuff. He’s been around the game for a very long time. And so it was good to kind of pick those guys’ brains.
“Yes, I was put in a tough spot. But from a competitor standpoint, I got to do a better job of getting out of that. You know, it’s cool to make my debut and it’s a very, I’m very, very blessed and very, very thankful to be able to make my debut. But at the end of the day, I’m trying to do a job and that’s helped this team win games, and I didn’t do it tonight. So moving forward, I just got to do a better job of getting out of that inning.”
The Yankees have a lot of confidence in Schmidt, who never pitched above Double-A before Friday night.
Schmidt had just come off Tommy John surgery when the Yankees drafted him 16th overall in 2017 out of the University of South Carolina. The righthander had a fairly meteoric rise in 2019. He notched 102 strikeouts in 90.1 innings while pitching to a 3.47 ERA.
Veteran catcher Erik Kratz, known for his ability to guide young pitchers, said Schmidt was ready for the big leagues. [More Yankees] Gerrit Cole looks dominant as ever, then has meltdown as Yankees bats prove ineffective ... again »
“Incredible. I mean, ever since I’ve seen him throw in the first spring training, his stuff is incredible,” Kratz said.
Schmidt threw 32 pitches Friday in 1.1 innings work, so he will need a few days to rebound.
“We’ll go careful there,” Boone said. “Obviously he didn’t throw it his normal workload of pitches last night, but we’ll certainly probably have him down a couple days and then have him back in play, determine if it’s on that third day.
“Then just it’ll be depending on if he goes and outing where he goes 50-60 pitches, then then it’s we’ll treat it more like a start. But we’ll be careful as he transitions to this kind of different role that he’s ever had.” HEY TAXI
Deivi Garcia was optioned from the active 28-man roster after his start Friday night, but the righthander who made two big league starts isn’t going far. He remained in Baltimore and will travel to Buffalo with the three-man taxi squad.
“The thought is that he’ll pitch that third day against Toronto,” Boone said.
Garcia had a rougher time in his second start. After allowing one unearned run in six innings pitched in his major league debut against the Mets on Sunday, Garcia managed to get through just 4.2 innings Friday. He allowed four earned runs, but battled through.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 3:56:59 GMT -5
Orioles in position to win series vs. Yankees FLM
All of a sudden, the Baltimore Orioles know how to beat the New York Yankees.
The host Orioles will try for a third straight victory -- and a series win -- when the two teams meet Sunday in the conclusion of a four-game series at Camden Yards.
New York had beaten the Orioles 18 straight times in Baltimore before the Birds beat the Yankees in the nightcap of a doubleheader after a loss Friday afternoon. The Orioles came back Saturday and rolled to a 6-1 victory thanks to two homers from DJ Stewart.
Stewart had not come up with a hit so far this season. He was 0-for-16 heading into the game but homered off Gerrit Cole and got another later off Miguel Yajure.
"It's very satisfying," Stewart told the media. "Back home my team (has) been supporting me and believing in me. That was a great team for us. Just want to be a part of it."
New York manager Aaron Boone was happy with how dominant Cole pitched, he told the media about a five-run inning that hurt the Yankees.
"He kept the Orioles quiet, striking out 10, but ... everything was playing for him. I know he's upset with the way it finished. Obviously, a rough inning for him."
Both teams ran into injury problems. Gio Urshela and Jonathan Loaisiga were placed on the 10-day injured list over the weekend. Urshela has problems with a right elbow bone spur, according to MLB.com, while Loaisiga is out because of a non-COVID-19 medical condition, the site said.
Baltimore has big problems with top hitter Anthony Santander, one of the best RBI men in baseball who injured his oblique muscle during the first game of Friday's doubleheader. The video shows him grimacing after the swing.
The Orioles took him for tests, and found that this type of injury can keep a player out for weeks. If so, Hyde said that Baltimore may not see him again in 2020.
They are already missing Trey Mancini (colon cancer recovery) and Austin Hays (broken rib, non-displaced). Jose Iglesias has been one of the team's top hitters but he's been slowed all season by a quad injury.
Despite that, the Orioles come into this game ranked second in the American League in hitting (.261). Baltimore has hit with power and used its speed to create runs.
Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (1-1, 3.38 ERA) will start for the Yankees. This is going to be his first time against Baltimore in 2020. He's got a 5-3 career mark in 15 starts with a 3.72 ERA versus the Orioles.
The Orioles were going to start Asher Wojciechowski, but manager Brandon Hyde said Baltimore will not announce its starter until Sunday.
Pitcher David Hess was sent down to the alternate training site, where the Orioles play at Double-A Bowie. That could mean the Orioles are going to make a move involving pitching as Wojciechowski hasn't gone as long in starts as the team would like. The Orioles have a bunch of young pitchers ready to go at the alternate site, and this could be the time to give them a good look for the last three weeks. It will help with next year.
--Field Level Media
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 6:57:46 GMT -5
Yankees’ Aaron Boone, Clint Frazier get matter-of-fact about struggles Today 7:00 AM Clint Frazier
New York Yankees' Clint Frazier (77) is put out at third by Baltimore Orioles third baseman Rio Ruiz during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) APAP By Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole didn’t have much to say about what the atmosphere was like in the clubhouse following their unacceptable 6-1 loss to the Orioles on Saturday at Camden Yards.
“I don’t mean to be short,” Cole said, “but not happy.”
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Aaron Boone, who hasn’t had to call out his club often during his successful run as manager, got straight to the point.
He had been asked if he worries about the confidence of the Yankees, who just watched Cole, their ace, get tagged once again as their offense sputtered and they remained 5 1/2 games back of the Blue Jays with 22 to play.
“I don’t worry about confidence. Looking at our guys, we have to play better, period,’' Boone said. “It is incumbent on all of us, and starts with me to set a good tone as far as putting a good plan in place and in position to succeed. I don’t worry about the confidence, because these guys have had a lot of success but we have to kick it in gear a little bit more.”
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How would they go about setting a good tone?
“Have some successes and then then all of a sudden, you kind of build off that and feed off of that and that’s what we got to do,” the manager said. “We’ve got to start having some small successes — a big play here, whether it’s defensively, maybe it’s a big base running play, maybe it’s a big-hit situation off a tough pitcher. Those are things that can kind of turn the tide for you and we’ve got to find a way to do that.”
Outfielder Clint Frazier said the team understands the heat its under.
“The pressure is mounting as every day goes by and we’re not in the win column,” he said.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 11:41:13 GMT -5
yanks @ orioles
1. DJ LeMahieu (R) 2B 2. Luke Voit (R) DH 3. Brett Gardner (L) CF 4. Clint Frazier (R) RF 5. Mike Ford (L) 1B 6. Miguel Andujar (R) 3B 7. Mike Tauchman (L) LF 8. Erik Kratz (R) C 9. Tyler Wade (L) SS
1. Hanser Alberto (R) 2B 2. DJ Stewart (L) RF 3. Pedro Severino (R) DH 4. Ryan Mountcastle (R) LF 5. Rio Ruiz (L) 3B 6. Pat Valaika (R) 1B 7. Mason Williams (L) CF 8. Bryan Holaday (R) C 9. Andrew Velazquez (S) SS
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 12:54:15 GMT -5
Yankees bench slumping slugger Gary Sanchez in hopes of reboot 2:21 PM ADT
Associated Press
BALTIMORE -- Slumping New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez has been temporarily benched by manager Aaron Boone, who hopes the rest will help the slugger regain his stroke.
Sanchez is mired in a 3-for-28 funk that has dropped his batting average to .130. He was not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Orioles and might not be back in action for a while.
"I kind of deliberated on it a lot last night and just feel this is the way I need to go right now," Boone said Sunday morning. "Hopefully a day off or two or however I decide to do it here can help get him going." Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, right, is getting a few days off in hopes of shaking off a batting slump that has his season average at .130. AP Photo/Duane Burleson
Boone discussed the move with Sanchez, who would have preferred to work his way out of the slump while on the field.
"Gary wants to play. To his credit, behind the scenes he's working his tail off and wants to be in there," Boone said. "But in the end, I think this is the best thing right now."
Sanchez does not have a multihit game this season and has only seven homers and 15 RBIs over 100 at-bats. Last year, he had 34 home runs and 77 RBIs in 106 games.
"There are some subtle adjustments that can be made that can hopefully unlock him, and he's got to find that inside," Boone said.
The move comes after the fading Yankees dropped two in a row to the Orioles to fall to 21-18 for the season after a 16-6 start.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 15:17:54 GMT -5
Yankees’ plummet continues in embarrassing loss to Orioles | Rapid reaction Updated 4:10 PM; Today 4:10 PM Masahiro Tanaka
New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka delivers against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, in Baltimore, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton) APAP By Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
What does rock bottom look like for the Yankees?
At what point do they stop tumbling, gather themselves and start punching back?
If they want to stay in the playoff picture, they need Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards to be as bad as it gets for the rest of the season.
Going into the weekend, it would have been unthinkable for manager Aaron Boone’s club to drop three of four games to Baltimore, a team its used as a punching bag for the past year. Yet there they were, uncompetitive at the plate for the second straight day. This time, they were shut down by Dean Kremer, who was making his major-league debut, and they couldn’t salvage a respectable start from Masahiro Tanaka. They had just fours hits, three from Miguel Andujar, who tripled in the ninth with no outs. He was stranded.
They did it as they benched the forever-struggling Gary Sanchez, and did it without an end date. They did it with all-star shortstop Gleyber Torres on the bench, the front office deciding he needed to rest after returning from the injured list Saturday, even if that meant playing the ineffective Tyler Wade. They also sat Aaron Hicks ... for more rest as they just keep losing.
With the defeat, the Yankees fell to 21-19. They have won just five of their last 18 games.
Aaron Judge (strained right calf) and Giancarlo Stanton (left hamstring strain) aren’t coming back any time soon. This is the lineup the Yankees need to produce — and there’s little reason to hope that it will as it heads to the Blue Jays on Monday for a three-game set. The Yankees started the day 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Rays and tied for second with Toronto.
Tanaka wasn’t the problem. He was strong most of the game, striking out five and walking just one. After a two-run shot to DJ Stewart gave Baltimore a 2-0 lead in the first, he switched his fastball-heavy approach and turned toward his slider and curveball, getting plenty of swings and misses (18).
He went 5 1/3 innings and asked Luis Cessa to bail him out with two runners on and one out in the sixth. Andujar contributed to the pain, letting a grounder kick off his glove that he should have let shortstop Tyler Wade handle. Cessa wasn’t up to the task.
Cessa immediately gave up a run-scoring single to Pat Valaika. Then, with two outs and the bases loaded, Cessa bounced a curveball in the dirt in a full count to walk Bryan Holaday and put Baltimore ahead, 4-1.
In the seventh, the Yankees thought it was a good time to abandon their safety measures. Pinch hitting Hicks for Mike Tauchman worked, when Hicks singled up the middle to move Miguel Andujar to second. Then with two outs, they pinch hit Torres for Tyler Wade, and Torres drove Ball 4 into the ground for an inning-ending groundout with runners on the corners. Torres immediately came out, replaced by Thairo Estrada at shortstop.
The Yankees got their first run off backup catcher Erik Kratz’s weak grounder to third base with the bases loaded and one out.
Kratz hit it softly enough and along the foul line enough to where Rio Ruiz was able to get the force out at third base but his throw to first to double off Kratz wasn’t in time. But Clint Frazier scored without contest to cut the Orioles’ lead to 2-1.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 6, 2020 15:28:02 GMT -5
Lineup changes haven’t fixed Yankees’ downward spiral on offense By Kristie Ackert New York Daily News | Sep 06, 2020 at 4:19 PM
BALTIMORE — The right balance is tricky. The Yankees desperately need offense, but they also need healthy players to finish the season. The Bombers also need their healthy players “right.”
So Sunday, though this may have been the biggest game the Yankees have had against the Orioles in a long time, Aaron Boone’s starting lineup was without Gleyber Torres, Aaron Hicks and the struggling Gary Sanchez.
The Yankees managed one run on four hits Sunday as they lost 5-1 to the Orioles Sunday at Camden Yards.
The Yankees (21-19) have lost three straight to the Orioles (19-21) after coming into this series with a 17-game winning streak against them. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games with 20 left to play in this coronavirus pandemic-shortened, 60-game season.
They head to Buffalo on Monday with their season in the balance while they try to keep their lineup healthy. [More Yankees] Gerrit Cole looks dominant as ever, then has meltdown as Yankees bats prove ineffective ... again »
Saturday night, Boone rested DJ LeMahieu, who bluntly said he did not need a day off. With the Yankees scoring one run, the lineup needed him.
When the Yankees were in a 4-1 hole in the seventh on Sunday, Boone had to go to both Torres and Hicks to try and salvage the game. Hicks singled, but Torres grounded into an out to end the inning. Boone inserted Thairo Estrada, not Torres, to play shortstop for the final two innings. Torres didn't start, then didn't play in the field after pinch-hitting. Torres didn't start, then didn't play in the field after pinch-hitting. (Kathy Willens/AP)
Erik Kratz, catching in Sanchez’s place, drove in the Yankees’ only run on a groundout with the bases loaded in the second. For the second straight game, the Yankees faced a rookie making his major league debut and struggled. Dean Kremer, who the Orioles acquired when they dealt Manny Machado two years ago, threw six innings of one-hit, one-run ball.
Miguel Andujar, playing for the injured Gio Urshela, had two singles, the only Yankees’ hits until Hicks’ pinch-hit bloop in the seventh. Andujar added a triple in the top of the ninth.
Masahiro Tanaka struggled in the first, allowing a two-run homer to DJ Stewart before working around two baserunners and get out of the inning. He allowed four runs, just two earned, on six hits. He walked one and struck out five in 5.1 innings of work. [More Yankees] Yankees plan to keep Clarke Schmidt in the bullpen ... for now »
But the Yankees’ current problems all stem from the lineup and the bullpen.
After watching Aaron Judge reinjure his right calf in the first game off the injured list last month, the Yankees had planned that Torres would be off Sunday and the team’s dire circumstances would not force them to change that.
Torres’ success at Camden Yards — and against the Orioles — last year was impressive. The 23-year-old infielder hit .394 with 13 homers, four doubles and 20 RBI against the Orioles last season. It helped him finish with 3.1 WAR, hitting .278 with 38 homers over the season.
“No temptation, because we brought him back a day early with the mind that Sunday, the day game, would be his recovery day as he’s ramped back up from Scranton,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Torres’ return from his leg injuries. “So it was either have him Sunday or have Saturday with the built in day off going into Toronto, so no temptation.
“It was really good to see him look as good as he did last night, see him moving around as well as he did,” Boone said. “I thought he had good at bats all night long, so excited to get him back, obviously, but today was important to have him down.”
Hicks, who is hitting just .200 but has an on-base percentage of .354 because of his 25 walks, was given a day off to rest after playing in 35 of the 39 games this season.
Sanchez was benched after having struck out in seven straight at-bats from Friday to Saturday.
The Yankees are missing vital parts of their lineup because of injuries. Judge is out with a right calf strain for the second time this season. Giancarlo Stanton has been out since Aug. 9 with a left hamstring strain. Gio Urshela just went on the IL with a bone spur that is causing irritation in his right elbow.
Boone said this weekend he is confident that he will have those players back in the regular season, which is just three more weeks. Judge is scheduled to begin baseball activities on Monday. Stanton is running the bases at about 80%. Urshela had a cortisone shot on Friday and Boone is hopeful that he will be back right at or around the 10-day mark.
But after going through a deluge of injuries in 2019, with the Yankees having revamped their health and training staff under celebrity trainer Eric Creesey last winter, the Bombers are being extremely careful.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Sept 7, 2020 3:26:58 GMT -5
Yankees Re-Sign Luis Avilan To Minor League Deal
By George Miller | September 6, 2020 at 5:18pm CDT
The Yankees have reached an agreement on a new minor-league contract with LHP Luis Avilan, according to Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News.
Avilan, who signed with New York on a minor-league deal last winter, was released from the Yankees organization in late August amidst a bit of a roster crunch due to the injury bug repeatedly striking in New York. At the time, though, it was expected that the Yankees would make an effort to bring Avilan back in some fashion.
Prior to his release, Avilan hit the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his left shoulder. Outside of a dud (two runs and three hits in just one-third of an inning) in his last appearance before going on the IL—which may be connected to his shoulder issue—Avilan has really been quite solid for the Yankees this year. All told, he has managed a 4.32 ERA in 8 1/3 innings in pinstripes, while striking out more than a batter per inning, on average.
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