OJTB: New York Yankees take three of four from Texas Rangers, sweep Reds

A recap of Thursday’s series finale is followed by notes highlighting the set’s first three games.

Consistent McCarthy

RHP Brandon McCarthy enjoyed his third straight quality start on Thursday afternoon, and the Yankees’ offense did enough to earn a 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers. The Yankees (53-48) took three of the four games versus the Rangers (40-62) and six of seven games overall since the All-Star break. New York trails the Baltimore Orioles by 2.5 games in the American League East and is tied with the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot. Seattle (53-48) hosts Baltimore (55-45) for four games beginning on Thursday night.

McCarthy (2-0; 1.45 ERA) fought his way through six solid frames for the Yankees, surrendering one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five. The Rangers battled McCarthy, working five plate appearances of at least seven pitches to elevate the hurler’s pitch count to 96 through five innings.

Brandon McCarthy

Despite entering the game with a 6.37 ERA, RHP Colby Lewis held his own against the Bombers. Lewis (6-8; 6.23 ERA) allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two over 6.1 innings. Lewis was mainly in control aside from the fifth inning, when he issued all three of his walks.

The Rangers jumped ahead, 1-0, in the third inning. After a 6-4-3 double play cleared the bases, 2B Rougned Odor, LF Shin-Soo Choo, and SS Elvis Andrus strung together three consecutive singles to get Texas on the board.

New York knotted the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the fourth inning, when LF Brett Gardner blooped a leadoff double inside the left-field line, and 3B Chase Headley lined a two-out RBI single off the right-field wall.

The Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. RF Ichrio Suzuki commenced the frame with a four-pitch walk, and C Francisco Cervelli promptly flared a RBI double into the left-field corner for a 2-1 edge. Two batters later, Gardner drove home Cervelli with a sacrifice fly.

Texas pulled to within 3-2 on a solo homerun by DH J.P. Arencibia against RHP Adam Warren in the seventh inning. 1B Brian McCann provided an insurance run for the Yankees with a RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning. RHP David Robertson worked around a one-out walk in the ninth inning to secure his 25th save in 27 chances this season.

Notes:

1) Lewis’ start was his first in the regular season against the Yankees since Aug. 5, 2003, when he allowed six runs over 4.2 innings in a 6-2 New York win. Lewis did, however, start and win two games against the Bombers in the 2010 ALCS.

Monday: Rangers 4 Yankees 2

1) The Yankees’ defense was terrible, committing five errors, including four in the first four innings. Three of these errors were charged to RHP Shane Greene. The rookie hurler dropped a flip from 1B Kelly Johnson and later airmailed a pair of throws to first base. With one on and two outs in the top of the second inning, Greene (2-1; 2.79 ERA) launched a routine comebacker down the right-field line. When he received another comebacker in the fourth inning, Greene tentatively ran the ball much of the way to first base.

The five errors were the most committed in a game by the Yankees since they made the same number in a 2-1, 13-inning loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on July 7, 2007. That game took place on New York’s annual Old-Timers’ Day.

The Yankees hadn’t committed five errors in a nine-inning contest since they did so in a 9-4 setback at Minnesota on Aug. 20, 1998.

2) Incredibly, the five errors weren’t the reason the Yankees lost the game. New York held a 2-1 lead into the sixth inning, when the Rangers rallied for three two-out runs; the Yankees didn’t commit an error in the inning.

3) The Bombers fared poorly against RHP Miles Mikolas, who entered the night with a 10.05 ERA over three previous starts. Mikolas (1-2; 7.48 ERA) surrendered only two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three over 7.1 innings. DH Carlos Beltran contributed a sacrifice fly in the opening frame, and CF Jacoby Ellsbury lined a solo homerun in the fourth.

4) The turning point of the game occurred with the Yankees leading by 2-1 and having loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning. New York failed to score as SS Derek Jeter bounced into a 4-6-3 double play.

5) Errors aside, Greene pitched competently until he abruptly lost his command with two outs in the sixth inning. There, DH Jake Smolinski lined a single up the middle, LF Jim Adduci walked, and C Geovany Soto ended Greene’s night with the tying RBI single. LHP Matt Thornton added fuel to the proverbial fire by allowing both of his inherited runners to score.

Overall, Greene allowed four runs, all of which were earned, on five hits, one walk, and one hit batter while striking out five over 5.2 innings.

6) Choo snapped a 0-22 slump with a one-out double in the third inning. He later drove home Texas’ final run with a single off Thornton.

7) The Yankees put the tying runs on base in the ninth inning, but 3B Yangervis Solarte flew out to end the game.

8) 1B Mark Teixeira missed the game, and eventually the entire series, with a “mild lat strain.” Teixeira went 0-12 in the Yankees’ sweep of the Cincinnati Reds last weekend.

Tuesday: Yankees 2 Rangers 1 (14 Innings)

1) The Yankees acquired Headley from the San Diego Padres prior to the game in exchange for Solarte, who had slumped badly after a strong first two months. Headley himself hit only .229 in 77 games with the Padres this season. Headley’s best season came in 2012, when he drove in 115 runs with a solid .286 batting average over 161 games.

In a “you couldn’t script that any better” moment, Headley, at exactly midnight, delivered the walk-off RBI single with one out in the 14th inning. 2B Brian Roberts commenced the rally with a ground-rule double before Cervelli singled Roberts to third base. Headley had gone hitless in his first three at bats since pinch hitting for 3B Zelous Wheeler in the eighth inning.

2) In a situation similar to Headley’s, LHP Jeff Francis earned the win in his first appearance as a Yankee. Francis, who had been acquired from Oakland on July 11, threw a scoreless 14th inning.

3) After the visitors escaped a bases-loaded jam with only one out in the 12th inning, Arencibia afforded Texas a 1-0 lead when he homered off LHP David Huff in the top of the 13th inning.

4) The Yankees rallied to tie the game, 1-1, against RHP Joakim Soria in the bottom of the 13th inning, when Gardner laced a leadoff double and scored on a one-out single by Ellsbury. A subsequent single by Beltran moved the winning run to third base with only one out, but McCann ended the threat with a 3-6-4 double play.

5) After several subpar outings, RHP Chase Whitley enjoyed arguably his best start of the season for the Yankees. Whitley scattered seven hits over six-plus shutout innings, showing good composure with men on base along the way. Most impressively, he didn’t allow a run when CF Leonys Martin reached third base with nobody out in the second inning.

6) The win was the Yankees’ first extra-inning triumph in four tries at home in 2014. New York is 6-5 overall in extra innings this season.

7) The 12 scoreless innings were the most played in a game involving the Yankees since Aug. 7, 2009, when 3B Alex Rodriguez snapped a scoreless tie against the Red Sox with a walk-off two-run homerun in the 15th inning.

Wednesday: Yankees 2 Rangers 1 (5 Innings)

1) The Yankees placed Kelly Johnson on the disabled list prior to the game with a strained left groin. LHP Chris Leroux was recalled from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Johnson’s place on the roster.

2) The Bombers won a game that lasted the minimum five innings for the first time since Sept. 17, 1969, when they defeated the Washington Senators, 2-1. Ironically, the Senators are now the Rangers.

3) Coupled with New York’s 3-1, five-inning setback at Baltimore on July 13, the Yankees have played multiple five-inning games in the same season for the first time since 1958. The Yankees dropped both such games in 1958, by 2-0 at the Kansas City A’s on July 30 and by 9-2 at the Cleveland Indians on Sept. 9.

4) The major reason why the game wasn’t restarted was the condition of the infield. When the delay was called for at 8:46, extremely heavy rain and wind prevented the grounds crew from promptly pinning the tarp down. Both managers deemed the infield dangerous when the game was set to restart at 10:05, and another batch of rain finalized the contest’s fate shortly after 10:30.

5) RHP David Phelps continued his solid performance, allowing only one run over the five innings. Importantly, Phelps (5-4; 3.77 ERA) stranded Martin at third base after the centerfielder’s one-out triple in the fifth inning.

6) Cervelli delivered a solid all-around performance. New York’s backup catcher collected two hits in as many at bats and threw out RF Alex Rios at second base to end the first inning. Cervelli scored the tying run in the bottom of the third inning on a balk by RHP Yu Darvish.

7) Immediately following the balk, Gardner homered off Darvish (9-6; 2.92 ERA) to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Gardner now has 10 homeruns on the season, extending his career high.

The Yankees will conclude their 10-game home stand with a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays (54-49) this weekend.

Reds Get Sweep’t Up

A recap of Sunday’s series finale is followed by notes highlighting the set’s first two contests.

For a moment, LHP Aroldis Chapman appeared intent on escaping a major ninth-inning jam and sending Sunday’s game between the Yankees and Cincinnati Reds into extra innings. His defense prevented such a result. C Brian McCann drove home the winning run with a high pop that fell between the drawn-in infield and the outfield, and the Yankees (50-47) completed a three-game sweep of the Reds (51-47) by a 3-2 score.

CF Jacoby Ellsbury almost literally stole the victory for New York. A perfect three for three at the plate entering the ninth inning, Ellsbury singled on the ninth pitch of his at bat against Chapman (0-3; 2.40 ERA), stole second, and moved to third base on a wild pitch. 1B Mark Teixeira fanned for the frame’s first out before McCann delivered the Yankees’ second walk-off win of the season.

RHP Hiroki Kuroda afforded the Yankees a quality outing. Kuroda allowed one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out six over 6.2 innings. He displayed a lethal splitter in the opening frame, when he struck out the side. Manager Joe Girardi curiously pulled Kuroda, who was cruising with only 99 pitches, in favor of RHP Dellin Betances with two outs and nobody on in the seventh.

RHP Johnny Cueto surrendered two runs on five hits and four walks while striking out seven over five innings. The Yankees worked Cincinnati’s ace, forcing him to throw 112 total pitches, including 22 pitches through one inning and 64 pitches through three frames.

Both teams saved runs with sparkling defensive plays. 1B Todd Frazier robbed Teixeira of a RBI double with a diving stop to end the first inning. Frazier got a taste of his own medicine when Ellsbury stole a RBI single from him with a sliding catch in the third inning.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the fifth inning. SS Zack Cozart reached on an error by 2B Brian Roberts, advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by 3B Ramon Santiago, and scored on a two-out ground rule double by 2B Skip Schumaker.

New York responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame. 3B Kelly Johnson and LF Brett Gardner worked consecutive one-out walks, and SS Derek Jeter singled home Johnson to tie the game. Ellsbury then lined a RBI single to right field for a 2-1 lead. Cueto mitigated further damage by striking out Teixeira and McCann with two runners aboard.

RF Ichiro Suzuki snapped a 0-18 slump with a single up the middle against LHP Manny Parra in the sixth inning. The Yankees loaded the bases in the frame but failed to score. New York went only 3-15 (.200) with runners in scoring position on the day.

The Reds tied the game, 2-2, when Frazier homered off Betances with one out in the eighth inning. Schumaker began the inning with a single but was caught stealing 1-3-4-1-6.

RHP David Robertson fired a perfect ninth inning to earn his first win of the season.

Notes:

1) The Yankees completed interleague play with a 13-7 (.538) overall record.

Friday: Yankees 4 Reds 3

1) RHP David Phelps enjoyed a solid outing. Phelps (4-4; 3.87 ERA) surrendered three runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits and one walk while striking out seven over 6.1 innings.

2) A two-run homerun by Ellsbury in the bottom of the fifth inning snapped a 2-2 tie and provided the winning runs for New York.

Saturday: Yankees 7 Reds 1

1) RHP Brandon McCarthy shined in his second outing since being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Over six innings, McCarthy (1-0; 1.42 ERA) allowed only one run on six hits while striking out nine. His cutter, sinker, and curveball were all effective for the most part.

2) The Yankees’ situational hitting was excellent on the afternoon. The team went 4-9 (.444) with runners in scoring position, and Gardner hit a pair of sacrifice flies.

The Yankees will welcome the Texas Rangers (39-59) to town for a four-game series beginning on Monday night.