Andy Pettitte. |
Through 77 Games:
Giancarlo Stanton following the path of his three-run home run in the third inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Yankees had yet another comeback win on Wednesday afternoon, 5-3 over the Athletics, to complete the sweep of their three-game series at Yankee Stadium, as they improved their record to 56-20. They are now 22-5 in June, with one game in the month remaining, tomorrow at Houston.
Justin Verlander pitching to Pete Alonso in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Houston Astros, backed by a stellar performance from pitcher Justin Verlander and a two-run home run from Jason Castro, beat the Mets, 2-0, on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field to sweep the brief two-game series, and win all four games between these top teams in the past week.
Josh Donaldson standing at second base after his game-winning two-run double in the seventh inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Yankees completed yet another comeback on Monday night at Yankee Stadium, as they beat the Oakland A's 9-5, as they scored six runs in the seventh inning, including Josh Donaldson's game-winning two-run double, to make up an early 5-1 deficit.
Tylor Megill walking off the field with the trainer and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner on Thursday, June 16. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets announced on Monday afternoon that starting pitcher Tylor Megill was transferred to the 60-day injured list. The Mets also announced that they claimed infielder Kramer Robertson off waivers from the Atlanta Braves, and that Colin Holderman has been returned to the roster after his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse.
Pete Alonso celebrating one of his home runs on Saturday with Mark Canha. @Mets. |
The Mets, after a mixed road trip in which they dropped a pair of games in Houston to the Astros before taking two of three from the Miami Marlins over the weekend, return home on Tuesday night for the start of a five-game homestand with a pair of interleague matchups.
The three pitchers (Ryan Pressly, Hector Neris, and Cristian Javier) surround catcher Martin Maldonado (second from left). @Astros. |
A trio of Houston Astros pitchers - starter Cristian Javier and relievers Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly - no-hit the Yankees on Saturday afternoon, as they won 3-0, the second straight win for Houston at Yankee Stadium.
Justin Verlander pitching to Josh Donaldson in the second inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Yankees looked like they were on the verge of another comeback, but it fell short in a 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros and their ace, Justin Verlander, who outdueled Yankees starter Luis Severino Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
Aaron Hicks after connecting on his home run Thursday night. @Yankees on Twitter. |
When Aaron Hicks hit a three-run home run to tie Thursday night's Yankees game against the Houston Astros, it capped off a week full of clutch hits, as the Yankees' left fielder is becoming the hitter once again they are used to seeing.
Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Yankees will pay tribute to New York's Legacy of Pride on Thursday night in pregame ceremonies ahead of their game with the Houston Astros, with representatives involved with the creation of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, and the fourth-annual Yankees-Stonewall Scholars honored.
David Peterson striking out Bryan De La Cruz in the second inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets shutout the Marlins, 6-0, on Monday afternoon at Citi Field to win three out of the four games in the weekend series. The Mets improved to 45-24 and, for the moment, lead the Atlanta Braves by 6 games in the National League East.
David Peterson got the start for the Mets, and he threw 5 1/3 shutout innings, in which he scattered six hits and two walks, with seven strikeouts, to earn the win and improve to 4-1.
Peterson battled throughout the game, starting with a wacky first inning, which started with Jon Berti reaching on an error by third baseman Eduardo Escobar, but the then picked him off first base, as he was leaning, obviously looking to run (he stole three bases on Saturday. Then, with two outs, Jorge Soler lined one off the third base bag for a single, but Garrett cooper then struck out to end the frame.
The Mets then had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the first against Miami starter Trevor Rogers, like Peterson a left-hander, who entered with a 3-5 record and a 5.87 ERA.
Nimmo doubled up the right-center field gap, then Staling Marte reached on an error before Francisco Lindor reached on an infield hit down the first base line.
Pete Alonso was up next, and he worked it to a full count before striking out as he took a big cut. Mark Canha then drew a walk to bring in Nimmo and make it 1-0, but that was all they would get, as J.D. Davis struck out and Jeff McNeil flew out to left.
Miami had a big chance in the top of the second, as Miguel Rojas and Jacob Stallings led off the frame with singles. Peterson got out of it, as Jerar Encarnacion, Sunday's hero who hit the game-winning grand slam in his Major League debut, hit into a fielder's choice for the first out, and then Bryan De La Cruz and Luke Williams struck out.
Peterson worked out of another two runners on base and nobody out jam in the third, and then retired Miami in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Rogers really got into a groove, as he retired nine straight Mets up until Canha opened the fourth with a strikeout.
Davis then drew a walk, and McNeil laced one to left field that looked like a single, but because Davis hustled and went to third on it, and then throw from Williams went there, McNeil snuck into second for a double.
Eduardo Escobar hit a sacrifice fly to relatively shallow left field, but Davis still tagged and he beat the throw at home plate with a pretty acrobatic slide. Then, with Tomas Nido up, a pitch bounced off Stallings' gear, barely getting past the dirt of the home plate area, but McNeil hustled and got in there, beating Rogers to the plate, to score and make it 3-0 Mets. Nido then grounded to third to end the inning.
McNeil exited the game at the start of the fifth with tightness in his right hamstring, with Luis Gullorme coming in to play second base. The Marlins once again put two runners on base with one out against Peterson in the fifth, but he got Soler to hit into a 5-4-3 double play to get out of it.
The Mets got another rally going in the bottom half of the fifth, as Nimmo and Marte led off with singled, but once again, they couldn't make it a big inning. Lindor flew out to center field for the first out, which was notable if only for the fact that De La Cruz had to retrieve an errant balloon, and then when it looked like he would toss it up to a fan, he popped it, and the crowd laughed.
Then, Alonso got a sacrifice fly to bring in Nimmo and make it 4-0 and give the Mets first basemand 64 RBI on the season. Canha couldn't keep it going, as he struck out.
In the top of the sixth, Peterson got Cooper to ground to short for the first out before allowing a single to Rojas and walking Stallings. Since he was at 100 pitches and with Encarnacion due up, that was all for the lefty.
Adam Ottavino came in to face Encarnacion, and he had a better fate than Seth Lugo on Sunday, as he got the big right-handed hitter to bounce into an inning-ending double play. He stayed on for the seventh and retired Miami in order, with two strikeouts. Drew Smith pitched the eighth, and the Mets tacked on two in the bottom half on an Eduardo Escobar two-run single before Yoan Lopez pitched a scoreless ninth.
From now until the end of the season, we will be tracking the progress of the Yankees with their 1998 World Championship team, which won 114 games in the regular season.
Through 66 Games:
Jerar Encarnacion nearly caught up to his teammates rounding the bases on his grand slam. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets lost a heartbreaker to the Miami Marlins on Sunday at Citi Field, 6-2, as Miami's Sandy Alcantara outdueled the Mets' Chris Basssitt, and they got a game-winning grand slam from Jerar Encarnacion, who was making his Major League debut, in the seventh inning.
Taijuan Walker rears back and fires a pitch to Jorge Soler. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets beat the Marlins, 3-2, on Saturday evening at a brisk, breezy Citi Field, powered by a great outing from starting pitcher Taijuan Walker.
The Mets improved to 44-23, and they increased their lead in the National League East to 6 1/2 games over the Atlanta Braves, who lost to the Chicago Cubs, 6-3, their second straight loss at Wrigley Field after they won 14 in a row.
Pete Alonso took a curtain call after his grand slam Friday night. @Mets Twitter. |
When Pete Alonso hit a grand slam to give the Mets a 10-1 lead in the sixth inning Friday night, it certainly was a big moment in the game to cap off a seven-run inning, but as with most homers the Mets first baseman hits, there was some a historic nature to it.
Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets dominated the Miami Marlins, 10-4, on Friday night at an energetic Citi Field. The Mets improved to 43-23, an even 20 games over .500 and gained a game on the Atlanta Braves in the National League East race making it a 5 1/2 game edge. The Braves’ 14-game winning streak was snapped with a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Friday afternoon.
It was Pride Night at Citi Field, with plenty of festivities including members of the LGBT Network participating in an on-field Pride flag presentation during the National Anthem which was performed by Krystofer Maison, a queer, non-binary singer and recording artist based in New York City. During the seventh inning stretch, drag queen Jan Sport performed "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." As seen about, the Coca-Cola sign above right field was illuminated in the colors of the Pride Rainbow flag.
Carlos Carrasco fires a pitch to Jon Berti. Photo by Jason Schott. |
Carlos Carrasco got the start for the Mets, and he was superb, a nice bounce back after a tough outing last Saturday night against the Angels in Anaheim. Carrasco went 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs as he scattered eight hits and two walks, with seven strikeouts. He improves to FILL IN on the season.
The right-hander ran into trouble in the first inning when he allowed a two-out walk to Jorge Soler and a single to Avisail Garcia, and got out of it by getting Jon Berti to ground out to second.
Pablo Lopez got the start for Miami, and he got no help from his defense early. Brandon Nimmo led off for the Mets, and he hit a one-hopper that came up on Jazz Chisholm, Jr., at second base, so he had a single. Then, Starling Marte hit a routine fly to center field that popped out of the glove of Bryan De La Cruz.
Francisco Lindor was up next, and he made Miami pay for the defensive miscues, as he hit a bomb to deep center that went off the black around the Home Run Apple to make it 3-0.
Francisco Lindor being greeted on his way back to the dugout after the home run. Photo by Jason Schott. |
Now that Carrasco was working with a lead, he settled in, as he retired Miami in order in the second, and worked around a Garrett Cooper single in the third. Miami got singles from Garcia and Miguel Rojas to give Miami two runners on and one out in the fourth, and Carrasco got Willians Astudillo to pop out to second and Jacob Stallings to dribble one to first base.
Miami got on the board in the fifth when De La Cruz hit one into the left field corner for a sacrifice fly to cut the Mets' lead to 3-1. Carrasco then struck out Jazz Chisholm, Jr. (his second K of the night to that point) and Cooper before giving up a single to Jorge Soler, who then was erased in a force out hit into by Garcia.
The Meta rallied in the sixth, as Jeff McNeil and Mark Canha opened the frame with singles. Luis Guillorme then hit a rocket to center field that De La Cruz appeared to have made an amazing catch on. McNeil and Canha were off to the races, so when the out was called, Miami threw the ball around and it looked like it could have been a triple play, as both would have been doubled-off.
A replay then showed that the ball hit the fence, and De La Cruz trapped it on the fence, then, as he fell back and the ball came loose, he made it appear that he caught it again as he was falling down.
The Mets challenged, and after about a minute of review, Guillorme was given a single, and McNeil and Canha moved up to second and third to load the bases with nobody out. In my opinion, if the correct call were made, Guillorme gets at least a double, if not a triple. To give him just one base is not exactly fair, or at least let McNeil score, which he certainly would have.
J.D. Davis was up next, and he hit a quick single to right to bring in McNeil and make it 4-1. Since everyone moved up just one base, the bases were still loaded for Tomas Nido, who struck out, and that was the last batter Lopez would face.
Tommy Nance came in from the Miami bullpen as the Mets lineup turned over, and he got Nimmo to fly out to left field for the second out, but it was too shallow, so Canha could not tag up.
Marte then drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in Canha, and Lindor then got hit by a pitch to bring in Davis and open up a 6-1 lead.
Alonso was up next, and he cleaned the bases with a blast to left field for a grand slam that made it 10-1 Mets. It was the Mets' first baseman's second grand slam, and his 125th career home run in 435 games, the second-quickest in Major League Baseball history to Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies, who did it in 405 games. Alonso passed Yankee Aaron Judge, who did it in 447 games.
That closed the book on the Marlins starter Lopez, as he went 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and a walk, with five strikeouts.
Carrasco came back out for the seventh, and he got to work with a nine-run lead, and he struck out De La Cruz to open the frame. He then walked Chisholm and allowed a single to Cooper to end his night.
Adonis Medina came in to face Jorge Soler, who hit a shot to left field that Canha caught up to, got a glove on it, but couldn't corral it, so Soler had an RBI double. Garcia then got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Berti hit into a force out to bring in another run and make it 10-3 Mets. Luke Williams pinch-hit for Rojas, and he struck out to end the threat.
Tylor Megill walking off the field with the trainer and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner on Thursday night. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets have been looking forward to July as the estimate for when their pair of aces, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, are set to return. On Friday afternoon, they can add another top pitcher to the "Waiting For July" theme.
The Coca-Cola sign illuminated in the colors of the Pride Rainbow flag. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets will host their sixth Pride Night at Citi Field tomorrow night, Friday, June 17 when the Amazin's take on the Miami Marlins, with first pitch at 7:10 p.m., and gates open at 5:10. It will be a celebration of the many New Yorkers and Mets fans from around the world who comprise the LGBTQ+ community.
Tylor Megill pitching to Christian Yelich in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets made up a three-run deficit and overcame their starting pitcher, Tyler Megill, leaving early, to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4, on Thursday night at Citi Field. This was the Mets' 16th come-from-behind win of the season.
Kyle Higashioka being greeted by three of his teammates starting with Aaron Judge (in the high socks) after his three-run home run on Wednesday night. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1, on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, to run their Major League-best record to 46-16, an incredible 30 games over .500 just two months into the season.
Clay Holmes after closing out last Thursday's win in Minnesota. @Yankees. |
Yankees reliever Clay Holmes has become one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball this season, so much so that when closer Aroldis Chapman went to the injured list on May 24, there was no question who would step into the role.
Chris Bassitt pitching to Rowdey Tellez in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
Chris Bassitt had possible his best start of the season on Tuesday night, as he threw eight shutout innings to lead the Mets to a 4-0 win over the Brewers at Citi Field. The Mets are now 41-22, and remain five games ahead of the Atlanta Braves, who beat Washington, 10-4, for their 13th straight victory.
From now until the end of the season, we will be tracking the progress of the Yankees with their 1998 World Championship team, which won 114 games in the regular season.
Aaron Judge touching third base on his first inning home run. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Yankees cruised to an 8-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium, what Manager Aaron Boone called "almost a perfect night out," as they bashed six solo home runs, including two from Aaron Judge, to back up starter Jordan Montgomery, who threw seven shutout innings.
Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Yankees beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1, in 13 innings on Friday night at Yankee Stadium, as catcher Jose Trevino won it on an RBI single, giving the Yankees their ninth win in their last 10 games and running their Major League-best record to 42-16. It might not be noticeable what the most noteworthy part of that sentence is.
Aaron Judge at bat on May 11 when the Yankees took on the Toronto Blue Jays. Photo by Jason Schott. |
Major League Baseball announced their various Player of the Month awards for May, and the Yankees cleaned up, as two of the biggest reasons they are off to their best start since 1998 were honored.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was honored as the American League Player of the Month, and Clay Holmes was named the American League Reliever of the Month.
Yankees Manager Aaron Boone was asked on Friday afternoon in his pregame press conference before they open a new series with the Detroit Tigers about what they have meant to this team, and he said, "As big a reason as any that we're off to such a good start, have such a good record. Clay's been amazing for us, obviously, out of the bullpen,and Judgie's consistency, and you know, really being consistently dominant, 19 homers now, hitting for a high average, playing really well, whether it's right field, center field, wherever I put him, you know, he's off to kind of that MVP-type start. So, those guys have been huge for us."
Judge is putting together a season to rival his 2017 campaign, when he ran away with the Rookie of the Year Award, leads the Major Leagues with 19 home runs, and his .659 slugging percentage also leads the league. Judge is hitting .303 with a .374 on-base percentage, and he has 39 RBI, 23 walks, nine doubles and 40 runs scored, which ranks second in MLB, along with his 1.033 OPS. (All stats are through June 2nd).
In 27 games in May, Judge posted a slash line of .311/.378/.699 with 12 home runs, 25 RBI, 32 hits, 25 runs scored, four doubles. and two stolen bases. Judge had three multi-homer games in May (May 1st (2 HR at Kansas City), May 17th (two HR at Baltimore, and May 23rd (2 vs. Baltimore).
This is the second time Judge hit .310-or-better with at least 12 home runs in a month since September 2017, which clinched him that Rookie of the Year award. The last Yankee other than Judge to accomplish the feat was Mark Teixeira in May 2009.
Holmes, whom the Yankees acquired from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline last season, has been a revelation out of the Yankees bullpen this season.
The tall right-hander earned his seventh save of the season in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Angels, and he recently became the closer when Aroldis Chapman was placed on the injured list on May 24 with Achilles tendinitis, although, since his pitching has been so superb, he might have been put in the role anyway.
Holmes delivered 12 scoreless appearances in May, while converting each of his four save opportunities. He went a perfect 3-0, and pitched 14 innings, in which he struck out 15, didn't allow a walk, and allowed just eight hits. He became the second pitcher in Yankee history to not allow a single run or walk while notching at least 15 K's in a month, joining the big lefty Andrew Miller, who did it in April 2016.
Holmes had already been on the rise, but he made a major statement when he completed a four-out save in a chaotic 7-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on May 21. Boone said of Holmes in his postgame comments that day, "He's been special. You know, probably as good a reliever as there's been in the league, I would think to this point, I can't imagine anyone better. To come in, obviously there in a big spot, I wanted him facing the top of their order with all those righties coming up, and to be as pitch-efficient as he was doing it against some great right-handed hitters, yeah, he's off to a really special start, and it's fun to watch him go out and do his thing."
Boone said of the secret to Holmes' success, "He's got the best sinker in the world, as simple as that."
The Yankees skipper was asked that day if Holmes would get more save opportunities, especially with the struggles Chapman had to that point, and he said, "I mean, that was as big a save opportunity as you could have today in a four-out situation. I think that kind of speaks for itself."
From now until the end of the season, we will be tracking the progress of the Yankees with their 1998 World Championship team, which won 114 games in the regular season.
Through 51 Games:
Seth Lugo pitching to Riley Adams in the sixth inning Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Mets completed their sweep of the Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon with a 5-0 win at Citi Field, and it was their second straight shutout. They went a perfect 6-0 on the homestand to improve their National League-best record to 35-17.