Source: FanGraphs
Bah, that was an annoying loss. The Yankees simply ran out of good relievers in the 12th inning — really the 11th inning, but they survived that — and dropped a very winnable game to the Tigers after holding a multi-run lead. No fun. The final score was 4-3. Let’s recap with bullet points since I got home late:
- One, Two, Three Runs: David Price was making his first start for the Tigers, but the Yankees have seen him plenty of times before, so there wasn’t much “facing the new guy” hype. The Yankees got to him for one run in the second (Brian McCann solo homer), the third (Jacoby Ellsbury doubled in Brendan Ryan), and the fifth (Martin Prado solo homer) before Price settled down and retired 14 of the final 17 men he faced. He struck out ten, walked none, and allowed the three runs on eight hits in 8.2 innings.
- Out of Gas: It seemed like Hiroki Kuroda flat out ran out of gas in that seventh inning, when the Tigers rallied to tie. He gave up a quick run in the first on two singles and a sac fly, then settled down and retired 14 straight until Andrew Romine took him deep leading off the sixth. The seventh inning rally was an infield single (Victor Martinez) and two outfield singles (Nick Castellanos and Alex Avila) to tie game. Kuroda allowed three runs in seven innings and was gone after only 91 pitches. Given his recent history of late-season fades, that’s not exactly encouraging.
- Battle of the Bullpen: Hands down, my favorite moment of the night was Dellin Betances vs. Miguel Cabrera. Miggy got ahead in the count 2-0 but Dellin got him to swing and miss at the next three pitches, the last a 100 mph heater on the outside black. I needed a cigarette after that. It was wonderful. Betances, Shawn Kelley, David Huff, and Esmil Rogers combined to allow just one base-runner in 3.2 innings. Rich Hill hit the only batter he faced and eventually Matt Daley served up the game-winning homer to Avila. He’s allowed four homers in 14.1 innings this year. The bullpen has been worked very hard of late and at some point the crack in the dam was going to break open. It happened in the 12th. That’s life.
- Leftovers: So how about that infield defense? Chase Headley made several excellent plays, Brendan Ryan and Derek Jeter both made nice lunging catches (Ryan bobbled his but still caught it), and Mark Teixeira made a few nice scoops at first. The defense is so, so much better than it was earlier in the year … the Yankees didn’t have a hit after Carlos Beltran’s leadoff single in the ninth. They had two runners reach scoring position in the final seven innings (Prado’s leadoff double in the seventh, Ichiro Suzuki’s stolen base with two outs in the ninth) … Prado and Ellsbury each had two hits while Brett Gardner, Teixeira, and Headley went a combined 0-for-14. Headley hit a ball to the wall off Joe Nathan in the 12th. I thought it was gone off the bat, but alas.
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights — go watch the highlights if only to see Dellin fan Miggy again — while FanGraphs has some other stats and ESPN has the updated standings. The Orioles beat the Blue Jays and both the Mariners and Royals won, so the Yankees are six games back in the AL East and one game back of Toronto for the second wildcard spot. FanGraphs has their playoff odds at 19.1%. Chris Capuano and Justin Verlander will be the pitching matchup on Wednesday night, in the third game of this four-game set.
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