Source: FanGraphs
The Angels blew the Yankees out on Saturday, so the Yankees returned the favors on Sunday. Led by their captain, the Bombers topped the Halos by the score of 11-5. Here’s a bullet point recap…
- Vintage: I dunno about you, but I’m loving this vintage 1999 model of Derek Jeter. The Cap’n has been the team’s best hitter all season, and he beefed his season line up to .366/.395/.610 with a double and a homer int this game. He also hit another ball to the warning track (off a righty!) and is just flat out locked in. Love it.
- Middle of the Order: The 3-4-5 hitters have been struggling in the early goings this season, but they broke out a bit on Sunday by going a combined 5-for-12 with three walks. Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira each doubled and stole a base. Yes, stole a base. Once those two plus Alex Rodriguez really get going, it’ll be glorious.
- Not So SuperNova: The good news is that Ivan Nova struck out eight in six innings, but the bad news is that he allowed four runs and was again pitching into and out of trouble all night. He only had one 1-2-3 inning and gave up two homers — a solo shot to Mark Trumbo and a two-run Yankee Stadium cheapie to Chris Iannetta — plus a number of other balls to the wall. He didn’t allow a single multi-run homer last season. The increased strikeout rate is great, but it appears to be costing Nova some ground balls. He was good enough, not great.
- Sorianope: Staked to a four-run lead, Rafael Soriano couldn’t escape the seventh inning before loading the bases and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. He allowed two hits and two walks before David Robertson bailed him out. Robertson also pitched the eighth inning even though the Yankees tacked on some insurance runs, likely because he missed all that time in Spring Training and is still trying to catch up.
- Leftovers: Russell Martin drew his team-leading ninth and tenth walks of the season, pushing his OBP to .455 despite a .182 AVG … Raul Ibanez’s two-run bomb landed in the suite level just below the upper deck; only two others (Russell Branyan and Brandon Allen) have been hit up there … I’m legit surprised Albert Pujols didn’t hit his first homer of the season in this series … I enjoyed Terry Francona in the ESPN booth, it was neat to hear him talk openly about his thoughts on various Yankees, including Manny Banuelos … Nice grab by the ball boy on a Nick Swisher line drive in the fifth; the Yankees have had a couple of good glove kids on the left side in recent years, none better than Skippy.
MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerdy stats, and ESPN the updated the standings. The Yankees welcome the lowly Minnesota Twins to town for a four-game series starting Monday. It’ll be Freddy Garcia and old buddy Carl Pavano in the opener. RAB Tickets can help get you in the door if you want to catch the game.
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