In 16 appearances with the Yankees this season, Bleier has a credible 3.38 ERA. His next loss will tie the team record set by Tanyon Sturtze, who was 4-18 in 2002.
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“Baseball’s a amusing game”.
“I think they’ve brought enthusiasm”, Girardi said. Nolan Ryan is the only AL pitcher to ever lead the league in losses and strikeouts, doing it in 1976 with the Angels.
“That was a huge team win for us”, Austin said, “and a special moment”.
RHP Masahiro Tanaka (12-4) starts for the Yankees on Saturday against RHP Chris Archer (8-17). He’s pitched extremely well at home and struggled on the road.
Evan Scribner and Nick Vincent combined for three scoreless innings and rookie Edwin Diaz pitched a ideal ninth for his 13th save in 14 chances. And it was an important one as the Yankees inched closer to within-one game of the wildcard.
That’s how Archer wants it.
Tyler Austin slugged his first career walk-off home run as the New York Yankees moved to within two games of the second American League wild card spot with a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. They are now four games back from first place in the division, as well as being only two games back from the second wild-card spot. He struck out seven over six innings of one-run ball in a win against Toronto last time out and has a 2.61 ERA in two starts against NY this season. Brett Gardner opened the sixth with a single and drew three pickoff throws.One pitch after the last pickoff attempt, Ellsbury made it 2-0 by driving a full-count fastball into the right-center field seats.
The Yankees added two runs in the third. When manager Joe Girardi came to the mound with runners at the corners following a walk and an infield hit, Pineda avoided eye contact as he handed the ball to Girardi, then walked slowly to the dugout as Chasen Shreve relieved.
It’s hard to explain what’s happened to them in the last month and a half – at the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline, they appeared to all but stick a “Fire Sale” sign on their dugout – but what’s certain is that the inconceivable has become unmistakable. “That’s embarrassing, but we’re not going to talk about it any further than that”.
Considering where he was a year ago at this time, anything that keeps Tyler Austin here is something he’s going to hold on to.
NY was ahead 3-0 before Morrison and Souza hit consecutive home runs in the fourth, the first into the luxury suites below the third deck in right, the second off the left-field foul pole.
Tanaka won his sixth straight decision, giving up five hits and walking none. He was done in by the long ball as Jacoby Ellsbury and Gary Sanchez hit back to back homers in the sixth inning to give Tanaka all the run support he needed. It was his second home run in two days and the 13th in his short but memorable major-league career. The Rays closed to 7-4 and had the tying run at the plate with no outs in the eighth, but Dickerson (who earlier got picked off second), Alexei Ramirez and Nick Franklin all failed to deliver. Then, New York became much more than just a fun team.they became a good team. “He had the foot pad, shin pad all over him, but the ball found a part on the leather”, Cash said.
Rays: A day after he was hit by a pitch on his right elbow, Miller was at designated hitter rather than shortstop or first.
On a day when Chase Headley homered and old friend Chase Whitley returned from Tommy John surgery against his former team, the Yankees lost ground in their postseason pursuit.
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The Pirates, still on the fringe of the NL wild card race, won their second straight following an eight-game losing streak.
