Happ can become the first 17-game victor in the major leagues Wednesday afternoon when the Blue Jays conclude a three-game series with the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Advertisement
With the Yankees in the midst of a full-fledged youth movement, it was only right for Green to break out of his shell with fellow RailRiders teammates now on the roster.
“That’s a great team win”, Green said.
The Blue Jays will be looking to beat the Yankees for the ninth time in 12 meetings after storming back from a six-run deficit for a 12-6 victory Tuesday.
It’s unclear where the Yankees will sit in the standings come September, but with the team just 5.5 games behind the first-place Blue Jays, the early-month matchup might be imperative to playoff positioning.
The thought of leaving Pineda in might have crossed Girardi’s mind, of course, especially because the Yankees can no longer lean on the three-headed bullpen monster of Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances to nail down a game, with Chapman and Miller both traded away in the Yankees’ midseason fire sale.
“I’ve got no complaints, there’s no lack of effort, no lack of focus”, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said before Tuesday’s game.
“There’s a little more energy”, he said. At the time, it seemed innocent enough as the Yankees, who were leading 5-0 after four innings after belting three round trippers (Gregorious, Sanchez-2) off the usually reliable Marco Estrada, were hoping to retire the Blue Jays in the top of the fifth inning, making it an official ball game in the event that the rainfall was significant enough. He gave up two hits, walked none and outpitched Dickey (8-13).
Tyler Clippard entered in the seventh and tossed a scoreless inning.
Held scoreless over the first 14 innings of the series, Toronto’s big bats finally busted loose after a 42-minute rain delay in the middle of the fifth. His opposite-field fly ball skimmed over right fielder Judges glove and into the first row of seats for his 21st homer of the year, a two-run shot. However, the writing on the wall we do have suggests the 25-year-old has a bright future.
Josh Donaldson, owner of the fifth-best wOBA this season (.405), did not look the part on Monday, striking out twice against against Green with a groundout. The righthander fanned him with his 104th and final pitch, a 96 miles per hour heater, and Donaldson flung his bat toward the Toronto dugout.
Perhaps it’s a testament to how much better Sanchez has become in all facets as a backstop; calling a game, blocking pitches, and throwing out runners.
With Dickey out of the game in the sixth, Joe Biagini got himself into a heap of trouble, loading the bases with one out on two singles and a walk.
As for the Yankees, they’re 6-2 in their last eight games versus a left-handed starter and 5-2 in their last seven Wednesday games.
The first 1,000 fans at Thursday’s game receive the Pillar souvenir.
This was the second time Aaron Judge ever faced a knuckleball pitcher, and in his second at-bat, he got a first-pitch knuckleball up in the zone and pounced for an RBI double. The Yankees have a 6-0 record when they don’t allow any runs.
Michael Pineda was in the midst of one of the cleanest starts of his miserable 2016 season.
Green left the game after 6 innings because of a high pitch count (104 pitches), but finished with a line of 2 hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts. Stan Bahnsen was the first, in 1968. Outings like what he did on Monday could be a sign of things to come, especially if he’s able to use his slider like he did against the Blue Jays. LF Brett Gardner (sore right ankle) did not start for the third straight game.
In other American League East action on Tuesday night, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore by a score of five to three in Baltimore. Gary Sanchez has a hit in eight of his past 10, and Brian McCann has reached base in six of his past eight plate apperances. Wendelstedt stayed in for the rest of the inning, then left for the night.
Advertisement
The 6-2, 205-pound infielder/outfielder has played 10 games in three different stints with Toronto this season.
