River Avenue Blues

River Ave. Blues » Giancarlo Stanton » Page 8

Yankeemetrics: Bombers snap Canadian Curse (July 6-8)

by Leave a Comment

(Getty)

Gray skies forever
The Yankees kicked of their 11-game, 10-day road trip with the type of loss that has become all too familiar for this team recently — a disaster outing by Sonny Gray, who was pummeled by the Blue Jays on Friday night.

If there was any team and/or place where Gray might finally show the Yankees he deserved a permanent spot in the rotation this summer, it would have been in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Over his previous six road starts, Gray had produced a 2.27 ERA. He also entered Friday’s matchup with a career 1.88 ERA in seven starts at the Rogers Centre, the third-best mark by any pitcher with that many starts at the ballpark; and in four starts there as a Yankee, his ERA was 1.50.

All of that historical, positive momentum was quickly obliterated as Gray was pounded early and often by the Blue Jays lineup. He gave up five runs on six hits, including a home run, before getting yanked after the second inning. He retired only six of the 15 batters he faced, as he also walked two batters and hit a guy — and don’t forget about the two wild pitches he threw. Congrats, Sonny, you get our Obscure Yankeemetric of the Series!

The list of Yankee starters that were able to cram all of that awfulness — five earned runs, nine baserunners, two wild pitches — into an out of two innings or fewer is short: Gray, Ivan Nova (Sept. 12, 2015) and Tommy John (May 25, 1980). Somehow, each of those three games were against the Blue Jays.

Yet, this might not have been Gray’s most embarrassing start in the past week. In his previous start against the Red Sox on June 30, he gave up six runs on seven hits while lasting one out into the third inning. And with those back-to-back ugly games, he joined this group of pinstriped anti-legends:

Through Friday, the Yankees were 7-10 in games started by Gray and 49-19 in games started by all other Yankee pitchers. He had started 20 percent of all Yankees games, but was the starter in 34.5 percent of their losses.

We’ll end with one highlight, Aaron Hicks hitting his 16th home run of 2018, the most he’s ever hit a single season. It was also his 10th homer in his last 19 games; the only other Yankee switch hitters to hit 10 homers in a span of fewer than 20 games were Mark Teixeira (2009) and Mickey Mantle (many times).

(USA Today)

Gardy Party, All Rise
The Yankees wasted no time in erasing the bad taste from Friday’s miserable loss. Brett Gardner cranked the very first pitch that J.A. Happ threw into the Rogers Centre seats, igniting the Yankees offense en route to a bounceback 8-5 win.

Judge followed Gardner’s shot with another home run, the second time this season that the Yankees opened a game with back-to-back homers (also on May 26 versus the Angels). The only other time in franchise they did that twice in one season was 2003.

For Gardner, it was his 14th career lead-off homer, tied with Frankie Crosetti for the sixth-most in franchise history:

Yankees Most Career Lead-off HR
Name HR
Derek Jeter 29
Rickey Henderson 24
Alfonso Soriano 21
Hank Bauer 17
Chuck Knoblauch 15
Brett Gardner 14
Frankie Crosetti 14

Judge’s blast was his 25th home run of the season, the second straight year he’s reached that milestone before the All-Star break. Since the first All-Star Game in 1933, the only other Yankee to hit 25-plus homers prior to the break in consecutive seasons was Roger Maris in 1960-61.

Miguel Andujar, an extra-base hit machine, recorded his 25th double of the season in the top of the ninth. The 23-year-old is the youngest Yankee ever to hit at least 25 doubles and 12 homers before the break (since 1933). The only other Yankees to do it at any age were Robinson Cano (2012), Hideki Matsui (2005), Alfonso Soriano (2002), Mel Hall (1992), Don Mattingly (1986) and Reggie Jackson (1977).

(Getty)

The Blue Jays worked Luis Severino hard from the start, and Severino clearly lacked his best stuff as he gave up three runs on five hits, including two homers, in five innings. Still, he was able to extend his streak of starts with three or fewer runs allowed to 16, the longest such streak by any major-league pitcher in 2018. It’s also the longest streak within a season by any pitcher in franchise history.

Finally, the win snapped their Canadian Curse, as they clinched their first .500 or better season at the Rogers Centre since 2009. The run of eight consecutive losing seasons there (2010-17) was the Yankees longest active drought at any ballpark.

(AP)

Two is enough
The Yankees capped off their trip north of the border with —shocking! — another series win, edging the Blue Jays 2-1 in 10 innings on Sunday. The Yankees are now 5-4 in extras this season, matching their win total from all of last year.

Coupled with their 13-inning victory in Toronto on June 6, this is the second time ever that the Yankees won multiple extra-inning games at the Rogers Centre in a single season. The other time it happened? Yup, 1998.

The Yankees also showed off their ability to win with smallball: their first run was scored on an RBI groundout, and the game-winning RBI single was set up with a hit by pitch (thanks Tyler Clippard!) and sacrifice bunt. They are now 8-10 when not hitting a homer, the same number of homerless wins they had the entire season last year (8-27). #toomanyhomers

Domingo German, who entered the game with the second-highest whiff rate (15.0%) in the AL among pitchers with at least 60 IP, dominated the Blue Jays with his typical swing-and-miss stuff — 16 swinging strikes among his 100 pitches (16%) — and allowed only one run over six strong innings. Twelve of the 16 whiffs came with his two-seam and four-seam fastball, the most he’s gotten with those pitches in a game this season.

Giancarlo Stanton chipped in with his team-leading 89th and 90th hits of the season, including a third-inning single he drilled into left field with an exit velocity of 120.3 mph. It was the fifth base-hit of at least 120 mph by any player since Statcast tracking began in 2015; Stanton has four of the five, and Judge has the other one.

(AP)

Brett Gardner was the hero, lacing an opposite-field single in the 10th to score Tyler Wade. It was his first extra-inning go-ahead hit this season and sixth of his career. That’s tied for the fifth-most by a Yankee outfielder since 1925; the only guys ahead of him are Mickey Mantle (14), Bernie Williams (8), Joe DiMaggio (7) and Charlie Keller (7).

Chapman, Judge, Severino, Torres selected to All-Star Game

by Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

Four Yankees are heading to the 2018 All-Star Game. MLB announced the All-Star Game rosters Sunday and the Yankees will be represented by Aroldis Chapman, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, and Gleyber Torres in Washington next week. Judge was among the fan voting leaders and will start the All-Star Game for the second straight season. Here are the full All-Star rosters.

Last season Judge joined Joe DiMaggio and Hideki Matsui as the only Yankees to start the All-Star Game as a rookie. This year he joins DiMaggio as the only Yankees to start the All-Star Game in each of their first two big league seasons. Pretty amazing. Judge is the first Yankee to start back-to-back All-Star Games since Robinson Cano started four straight from 2010-13.

So far this season Judge is hitting .280/.399/.572 (163 wRC+) with 25 home runs in 85 games. That is down a tick from last season but still places him among the game’s most productive players. Judge is second in baseball in home runs and both versions of WAR have him as a top five position player (+4.9 bWAR and +4.6 fWAR). Once again, he’s been the team’s best player all year.

“First and foremost, I have to thank my team for always putting me in the right position,” said Judge in typical Aaron Judge fashion following the All-Star Game selection. “They’re always getting on base, always just helping me out. I wouldn’t be in this spot without them.”

Like Judge, Severino was selected to his second All-Star Game. He did not pitch in last year’s game but is a serious candidate to start the All-Star Game this year, especially since Justin Verlander is scheduled to start next Sunday and will thus be ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game. Here are Severino’s ranks among the 87 pitchers with enough innings to quality for the ERA title coming into today:

  • ERA: 2.12 (third)
  • FIP: 2.47 (fourth)
  • Strikeouts: 29.8% (tenth)
  • fWAR: +4.3 (third)
  • bWAR: +5.0 (fourth)

If Severino does get the All-Star Game starting assignment, he’ll be the first Yankee to start the All-Star Game since Roger Clemens in 2001. And, at age 24, he’ll be the youngest Yankee to start the All-Star Game since 24-year-old Lefty Gomez start the very first All-Star Game in 1933. The starting pitchers will be announced the day before the All-Star Game. Even if he doesn’t start, Severino is very deserving of the All-Star Game selection.

As for Chapman, this is his fifth All-Star Game selection and first with the Yankees. He went to four straight All-Star Games with the Reds from 2012-15. Chapman has been nails this season, going 24-for-25 in save chances with a 1.42 ERA (1.41 FIP) in 38 innings. His 66 strikeouts are fourth most among all relievers. Chapman pitched in all four prior All-Star Games and threw three scoreless innings total.

Torres is, obviously, going to the All-Star Game for the first time. He’s currently on the disabled list with a hip injury and it seems unlikely he’ll actually participate in the All-Star Game, but being selected is still pretty cool. Torres is hitting .294/.350/.555 (144 wRC+) with 15 home runs in 63 games this season. He leads AL rookies in basically everything, including homers, wRC+, bWAR (+2.2), and fWAR (+1.6 WAR).

“I called him in and was like, ‘Have you done any work today?'” joked Aaron Boone following Gleyber’s All-Star selection. “‘What’s going on with your leg? You’re probably going to have to get that right so when you go to DC next week you can tip your cap properly.'”

The Yankees could have a fifth All-Star as well. Giancarlo Stanton is on the Final Vote ballot alongside Andrew Benintendi, Eddie Rosario, Jean Segura, and Andrelton Simmons. Stanton is hitting .267/.341/.510 (130 wRC+) with 21 home runs on the season. It’s a down year for Stanton and an amazing season for most players. Here’s the Final Vote ballot. Voting closes Wednesday at 4pm ET.

Did any Yankees get snubbed? Of course. It wouldn’t be tough to argue to Dellin Betances and Chad Green deserve to be All-Stars. Heck, even Gary Sanchez has a case because the AL catching crop is so impossibly bad. Sanchez hasn’t played in two weeks now and he still leads all catchers with 14 home runs. Betances or Green could still make the All-Star Game as an injury or Sunday starter replacement.

The 2018 All-Star Game will be played Tuesday, July 17th, at Nationals Park. The Yankees will be represented by Justus Sheffield at the Futures Game on Sunday, July 15th. We’re still waiting on the Home Run Derby field announcement. Judge has already said he won’t do it again. I suppose Stanton could be selected. We’ll see. The Home Run Derby is Monday, July 16th.

Update: Stanton is skipping the Home Run Derby, apparently. “I don’t want to. I’ve done it plenty of times. I can take a year off. I can take two years off if I want,” he said to Mike Mazzeo. So that’s that. Looks like no Yankees in the Home Run Derby this year. A bummer, but I’ll live.

Better late than never: Giancarlo Stanton is finally performing like everyone expected

by Leave a Comment

(Al Bello/Getty)

For the second time in as many games, Giancarlo Stanton smacked a home run en route to a win over the Braves on Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday night Stanton hit a cheap short porch homer to plate two insurance runs. Wednesday’s homer was one of those home runs only a handful of players can hit. A missile the other way into the right field bleachers.

Here’s video of Wednesday’s three-run home run, which more or less put the game to bed:

Opposite field into the bleachers? How many times have seen that at the new Yankee Stadium? Not many at all. That ball was 111 mph off the bat and it traveled 411 feet. Do you know how many batters have hit a ball 410+ feet with a 110+ exit velocity to the opposite field this season? Five. Only Stanton’s done it twice:

  • Giancarlo Stanton (Wednesday plus 117.3 mph and 426 feet on Opening Day)
  • Jorge Alfaro (114.1 mph and 433 feet on April 7th)
  • Mac Williamson (114.2 mph and 434 feet on April 20th)
  • Joey Gallo (110.9 mph and 416 feet on April 22nd)
  • Bryce Harper (110.5 mph and 416 feet on May 1st)

Like I said, it was one of those home runs only a handful of players can hit. Stanton went 1-for-4 with that three-run home run in Wednesday’s game and 7-for-24 (.292) with two homers during the six-game homestand, raising his season batting line to .267/.338/.515 (130 wRC+) overall. That is still below Stanton’s career .268/.358/.551 (143 wRC+) batting line, but he’s trending in the right direction.

“I’m getting there. I still have work to do, but it’s good for right now. In the box, I feel pretty close to where I need to be,” said Stanton to Howie Kussoy following Wednesday’s game. “(I have) better plans, better approach overall, letting the ball get deeper, and putting the barrel on it. As long as I keep my approach right and keep not giving away at-bats, the numbers should be there.”

Stanton has been progressively better with each passing month this season, going from a 102 wRC+ in April to a 126 wRC+ in May to a 155 wRC+ in June. (He has a 187 wRC+ in the super early going in July.) There always seems to be a lot of chatter about his batting stance because it is unconventional — I can’t remember ever seeing another hitter this closed — and, when he was struggling earlier this year, there were calls for Stanton to open up a bit. Has that happened?

Kinda? If Stanton has opened up, it’s rather slight. For weeks now Stanton has said he has no plans to change his stance, mostly because he’s comfortable with it and he’s had success with it, so why change it? A few sluggish weeks to begin the season aren’t grounds for an mechanical overhaul. Stanton (seems to have) stuck with his closed stance and now the results are coming.

Beyond mechanical changes, it looks to me Stanton is really starting to settle in and get comfortable with the Yankees. There were times earlier this season when it looked like he was trying to hit a five-run home run every at-bat. I mean, I get it. New team, new city, new fans, first time on a contender … Stanton wanted to impress and he wanted to help the Yankees win. He wound up twisting himself into knots at the plate.

The sluggish April gave way to a productive May and then a great June, and now Stanton has been even better so far in July. It’s not just home runs either, though there have been plenty of those. Giancarlo is hitting .303/.368/.598 (159 wRC+) with ten homers in 31 games since June 1st. He’s hitting for average and power. And his home/road and right/left splits are starting to even out:

Stanton at home: .225/.297/.445 (97 wRC+)
Stanton on the road: .314/.384/.595 (166 wRC+)

Stanton vs. RHP: .238/.313/.427 (101 wRC+)
Stanton vs. LHP: .345/.404/.759 (208 wRC+)

Remember how bad Stanton was at home and against righties earlier this season? Now he’s basically league average at Yankee Stadium and against same-side pitchers. Give it a little more time and he’ll be an above-average hitter both at home and on the road, and against lefties and righties. Stanton is looking very dangerous and very comfortable at the plate these days. Arrows are pointing up.

“I think there’s another gear. We’ve seen that other gear when he ran off and won the MVP,” said Aaron Boone to Kussoy. “Whether we see that kind of run, I don’t know, but all I know is we’re starting to see a consistent performer that I feel like is putting himself in a good position night in and night out. Does that mean he goes on a run like last year? That would be great, but who knows? It’s certainly in there. We’ve seen it.”

It would be unfair to expect Stanton to repeat his .287/.383/.702 (175 wRC+) second half effort from last season — the guy hit 30 homers in 48 games at one point! — because basically no one does that consistently. Stanton is still the game’s preeminent power hitter though, and at age 28, he’s right smack in his prime. Now that he’s comfortable, we’re seeing the type of force he can be at the plate. It took a little longer than we all hoped, but Giancarlo has arrived, and better later than never.

Yankeemetrics: Bronx fireworks spark Bombers (July 2-4)

by Leave a Comment

(New York Post)

Choking, silent bats
Monday’s 5-3 loss in the series opener was one of the most frustrating losses of the season, as the Yankees wasted numerous scoring chances and repeatedly failed to bring runners home in key situations. They were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, their most hitless at-bats with RISP this season.

Jonathan Loaisiga flashed some dominant off-speed stuff (career-high 13 combined whiffs on his curve and changeup) but really struggled to put away batters. Four of the five hits (including two doubles and the homer) he gave up came with two strikes; in his first three starts, batters were 7-for-35 (.200) with two strikes against Loaisiga.

Aaron Judge gave the Yankees an early lead when he poked an 0-2 cutter over the wall in right field. With a projected distance of 340 feet, it was the second-shortest home run Judge has hit; the only shorter one was a 337-foot shot on May 2 last year. It was also his 12th homer in a two-strike count this season, the most in MLB and two more than any other player through Monday.

Gleyber Torres was only other offensive star with a career-high three hits and two runs scored. At age 21 years and 201 days, he was the youngest Yankee with a three-hit game at Yankee Stadium since a 19-year-old Bobby Murcer on September 25, 1965.

One of those hits was his 10th career double, making him just the third Yankee with at least 10 doubles and 15 homers in his age-21 season or younger. The others? You guessed it, Mickey Mantle (1952, 1953) and Joe DiMaggio (1936). Even more impressive (maybe), he is the only rookie second baseman age 21 or younger in MLB history to hit at least 10 doubles and 15 homers in a season.

David Robertson wore the goat’s horns, coughing up the game-winning homer to Ronald Acuna in the top of the 11th. It was the first dinger Robertson had allowed to a right-handed batter since re-joining the Yankees last summer; Acuna was the 170th righty he had faced in that span.

(USA Today)

Survive and advance
Although it might have been the ugliest win of the season, Tuesday’s 8-5 victory still counts the same as the others and — most importantly — helped the Yankees keep pace with the equally scorching-hot Red Sox in the division race.

The Yankees sprinted out to a 6-0 lead thanks to the good ol’ power/patience formula. Aaron Hicks put the Yankees on board in the first inning with a two-run blast, his 15th homer of the season, matching the career-high he set last year. He is the fifth Yankee to hit 15 dingers in 2018, the only team in MLB with that many 15-homer players this year. This is the first Yankee team ever to have five players hit at least 15 homers before the All-Star break.

Kyle Higashioka extended the lead to 3-0 with his second career homer — and second career hit — in the second inning. He became the third player in franchise history to have his first two MLB hits go over the fence, joining Alfonso Soriano (1999-2000) and Joe Lefebvre (1980). Before joining the Yankees last week, he was slugging .328 at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which ranked 177th out of 198 players with at least 200 PA across all Triple-A leagues this season.

The Yankees scored two more runs in the third inning without a hit, walking five times, including twice with the bases loaded. It was their ninth and 10th bases loaded walks of the season, tied with the Diamondbacks for the most in the majors. They had just seven bases-loaded walks all of last year.

And it was the first time in more than seven years they scored two runs in an inning without getting a hit or reaching on an error, since the third inning of a game against the White Sox on April 28, 2011.

Miguel Andujar reached another milestone when he doubled in the fifth inning, his 40th career extra-base hit. He is the third Yankee to compile 40 extra-base hits in their first 78 career games, along with Bob Meusel and Joe DiMaggio.

Giancarlo Stanton joined the milestone party in the eighth inning with his 20th longball of the year, the ninth time in nine MLB seasons he hit 20 or more homers. He’s the 11th player in MLB history to go deep at least 20 times in each of their first nine major-league seasons, joining this elite group:

Mark Teixeira
Albert Pujols
Darryl Strawberry
Eddie Murray
Frank Robinson
Eddie Mathews
Ralph Kiner
Ted Williams
Joe DiMaggio
Bob Johnson

Happy Fourth of July in the Bronx
The Yankees celebrated Independence Day in style, beating the Braves 6-2 behind a solid effort from CC Sabathia and a dose of power from their relentlessly deep lineup.

Sabathia was in vintage form and delivered another gutsy performance, giving up just two runs in six innings despite putting 10 of the 27 batters he faced on base. At the midpoint of 2018, his ERA is 3.02, on pace to be the second-best by any pitcher in franchise history in his age-37 season or older (min. 25 starts), behind only Spud Chandler’s 2.10 in 1946.

Giancarlo Stanton homered for the second straight day, giving him five homers in his last 11 games at Yankee Stadium; he had six homers in his first 34 home games. Kyle Higashioka lived up to his John Sterling nickname (Kyle Higashioka, the Home Run Stroker!) when he went deep again for his third career homer — and third career hit. He is the ninth player since 1920 to have each of his first three career hits be homers — the only other Yankee on the list is Alfonso Soriano.

Aaron Judge capped off the dinger fireworks with a moonshot in the seventh inning …

The poor baseball left his bat at an angle of 45 degrees, the highest home run of Judge’s career. In the Statcast era (since 2015), only two other Yankees have hit homers with a higher launch angle: Mark Teixeira (48 degrees on July 3, 2016) and Ji-Man Choi (46 degrees on July 7, 2017).

Giancarlo Stanton hasn’t yet thought about participating in the 2018 Home Run Derby

by Leave a Comment

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

At some point soon, likely within the next week, MLB will announce the eight participants for the 2018 Home Run Derby. The Home Run Derby itself will take place Monday, July 16th, at Nationals Park.

We know this much: Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres will not be there. Judge has said he’s “one won and done” with the Home Run Derby and Torres says he’ll pass on the event. Gary Sanchez is hurt, so you can rule him out too. Others like Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez have indicated they’ll pass on the Home Run Derby as well. Mike Trout’s never done it and there’s no reason to think he’ll do it this year.

What about Giancarlo Stanton? “I haven’t thought about it,” he said to Pete Caldera earlier this week. MLB typically asks players to participate two weeks before the event and Stanton said that’s when he’ll consider whether to participate. Giancarlo is a Home Run Derby veteran who won the event in 2016. Some numbers, since I know many of you out there are wondering:

First Half Second Half
2014 .295/.395/.538 (157 wRC+) .274/.396/.586 (168 wRC+)
2016 .233/.328/.495 (119 wRC+) .254/.322/.478 (109 wRC+)
2017 .277/.360/.572 (140 wRC+) .287/.393/.702 (175 wRC+)

Three career Home Run Derbies with no notable drop in performance in the second half. Heck, Stanton’s been better in the second half in two of this three Home Run Derby years, and last season he went on that insane second half tear after the Home Run Derby. Stanton is a Home Run Derby veteran who knows how to produce before, during, and after the event. Not worried about it at all, if he chooses to participate.

Stanton went into last night’s game hitting .265/.337/.510 (128 wRC+) with 19 homers in 77 games, including .306/.373/.602 (161 wRC+) with eighth homers in June. He’s got a pretty good chance to be an All-Star reserve. Players have participated in the Home Run Derby without being an All-Star — Stanton himself did it in 2016, though that might’ve been because it was near home in Southern California — so that’s not a prerequisite.

I know this much: MLB is going to want a Yankee in the Home Run Derby. The Yankees are good and the Yankees are popular, and they’ll help draw eyeballs to the event. With Judge and Torres passing, and Sanchez hurt, Stanton is the team’s obvious candidate to participate in the Home Run Derby. If he passes, would they ask Didi Gregorius? Miguel Andujar? Aaron Hicks? We’ll see.

Judge of course won the Home Run Derby last season. Robinson Cano (2011), Jason Giambi (2002), and Tino Martinez (1997) also won the event while with the Yankees.

Yankeemetrics: Nightmare at the Trop (June 22-24)

by Leave a Comment

(Getty)

Terrible at the Trop, Part I
The Yankees hit the road this weekend but left their bats at home, opening the series in Tampa with a pathetic 2-1 loss. They were held to just five hits, extending their recent clutch-hitting slump. Friday’s 1-for-9 RISP performance made then 12-for-94 (.128) over their last 15 games dating back to June 6 against the Blue Jays. That was the worst batting average with RISP of any MLB team in that span (June 6-22). Prior to June 6, the Yankees were hitting .275 with RISP, the third-best mark in MLB at that point.

But … the Yankees still went 11-4 over those 15 games, the second-best record by any MLB team from June 6-22. The answer to that riddle isn’t too hard to figure out:

Yankees June 6-22
Stat MLB Rank
Opp BA with RISP .144 1st
BA with RISP .128 30th
Team W-L 11-4 2nd

There was really nothing spectacular to highlight from this game, so let’s have some fun with a few Obscure Yankeemetrics.

  • This was just the second time in the last 20 years that the Yankees lost a game in which they allowed at least 10 hits but no more than one earned run (it also happened on May 18, 2004 at Anaheim).
  • The only other time in franchise history they were held to one run or fewer by at least six different pitchers — and none of them got more than 10 outs — was when they were no-hit by the Astros staff on June 11, 2003. Thanks, #TheOpener.
  • Brett Gardner’s GIDP in the top of the ninth sealed the Yankees loss. It was the first time in his career he grounded into a game-ending double play with the potential winning or tying run on base.

Ok, that’s the end of #FunFacts for this series.

(Getty)

Terrible at the Trop, Part II
As a wise Hall of Fame catcher used to say … it was deja vu all over again for the Yankees on Saturday afternoon. Yet somehow it was even worse than Friday, as they were blanked for just the second time this season and held to four hits in a 4-0 loss.

It’s the first time ever that the Yankees have scored no more than one run and had no more than five hits in consecutive games within a series against the Rays. It’s also the first time they lost back-to-back games to any team this season since May 22-23 at Texas. In that month-long span since then, every other team had lost at least two games in a row.

Tropicana Field has been a legit house of horrors for the Yankees this decade. After dropping the first two games of this series in Tampa Bay, they fell to 30-43 (.411) at the Trop since 2010, their worst record at any AL ballpark in that span.

(AP)

Terrible at the Trop, Part III
The Yankees capped off their worst stretch of the season with a horrible 7-6 loss in 12 innings to the Rays. There were a bunch of firsts in this game, all of them forgettable:

  • First three-game losing streak of season; they were the only MLB team this season without a losing streak of three or more games. This was the farthest the Yankees went into a season with losing more than two games in a season since 1954 (games 122-124).
  • First time swept in a series of at least two games; the only other teams this season that haven’t been swept in a multi-game series yet are the Red Sox and Astros.
  • First walk-off loss of season; they were the only MLB team this season without a walk-off loss. This is just the fourth time in last 80 years that the Yankees had zero walk-off losses in their first 74 games. The other seasons? 2005, 1999, 1998. #SilverLining?

It hardly seemed like the Yankees would even have a chance to play free baseball on Sunday based on the first few innings when Domingo German was pummeled by the Rays. He gave up six runs on nine hits, six for extra bases, before getting pulled with no outs in the fourth. Only three other pitchers in franchise history have allowed at least six earned runs and six extra-base hits in a game: Mike Mussina (2002), Dave Eiland (1991), Doyle Alexander (1982).

Giancarlo Stanton was in full beast-mode, the lone offensive star in this game. He went 5-for-5 with two doubles and a game-tying homer. He’s the first Yankee with a five-hit game in more than six years, when Curtis Granderson did it on April 19, 2012 vs Twins. Since that date, every other MLB team has had at least one player get five hits in a game.

It was also his fourth game with at least four hits this season, tied with Jose Altuve for the most in MLB; the rest of the Yankees have combined for four four-hit games (no one else has more than one).

The Yankees bullpen held the Rays scoreless for eight innings after German’s early implosion, until … Mr. DFA (uh, Chasen Shreve) entered in the bottom of the 12th and gave up a solo homer to Jake Bauers on the very first pitch he threw.

(Hey everyone, free meatball subs in the breakroom!)

Gross. It’s no secret that Shreve has been awful recently. In his last nine appearances, he’s pitched eight innings, given up nine runs on 13 hits, including four homers. The more insane stat might be that he’s literally been the lone weak link in the Yankees bullpen over the last three weeks:

Yankeemetrics: Bomber Brooms, Seattle Sweep (June 19-21)

by Leave a Comment

(Getty)

Domingo+Dingers=Win
After a quick trip to the nation’s capital, the Yankees were back at the friendly confines on Tuesday night and opened their series with an easy 7-2 win over the Mariners.

Domingo German was absolutely brilliant in his eighth career start. After giving up a run (unearned) in the first inning, he retired 19(!) straight batters before Nelson Cruz tagged him with a solo homer in the seventh. He pitched a career-high seven innings, surrendering just two hits while striking out nine and walking none.

It was the second time this season he’s allowed no more than two hits and gotten at least nine strikeouts, earning our #funfact of the series: Since his first start on May 6, the only other MLB pitcher to have two games with those stats (2 or fewer hits and 9 or more strikeouts) is Chris Sale.

German’s dominance has peaked in the last two weeks. Over his last three starts, 28 of the 51 outs (55%) he’s recorded have come via strikeout. And for the season, he’s shown elite swing-and-miss stuff, with a 15.7 percent swinging strike rate that is the second-highest among all pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched.

Highest Whiff Rate This Season (Min. 40 IP)
Whiffs/Pitches %
Max Scherzer 16.6
Domingo German 15.8
Jacob deGrom 15.7
Shohei Ohtani 15.7
Noah Syndergaard 15.0
Chris Sale 15.0

Giancarlo Stanton ignited the Yankees home run derby with a game-tying solo shot in the bottom of the first inning off Mariners southpaw Marco Gonzales. He entered the game with a .435 ISO (Isolated Power) against lefty pitchers, the highest mark in the AL (min. 50 PA).

Miguel Andujar made sure the fans at Yankee Stadium would go home happy, crushing a career-long 427-foot home run in the fifth inning that put the team ahead 3-1. Aaron Hicks added a few insurance runs with his own two-run bomb later in the fifth, going deep in back-to-back-to-back games for the first time in his career.

Finally, Gleyber Torres capped off the dinger party with monster blast in the eighth inning, his 14th of the season. It wouldn’t be a Gleyber Day without the obligatory Mickey Mantle/Joe DiMaggio comparison:

The newest True Yankee
The Comeback Kids were back in the Bronx on Wednesday as the Yankees staged yet another improbable rally to beat the Mariners, 7-5, after trailing 5-0 in the fifth inning. It was their biggest comeback win of the season; before Wednesday, they were 0-6 when trailing by at least five runs in a game. It’s been a couple weeks since their last walk-off victory, so let’s recap and update some of the statistical goodness that’s defined this never-say-die 2018 Yankees season:

  • Sixth walk-off win of the season, one more than they had all of last year and tied for the most in the AL. The last time the Yankees had six walk-off wins this early into the schedule (71st game) was 2009.
  • Third walk-off homer of season, tied for the most in the AL and the same number they had all of last year. The last time they had three walk-off dingers this early into the season was 2009.
  • 23rd comeback win of season, the most in the majors. By the way, the 2009 team also had 23 comeback wins in their first 71 games.

Hmmm … sensing a trend there.

(Getty)

Gary Sanchez was the first hero of the night, tying the game in the eighth with a massive 439-foot two-run homer. It was his team-best third home run in the eighth inning or later that either tied the game or gave the team a lead; he had never hit one of those before 2018. The Yankees are now 11-0 in games that Sanchez goes deep this year.

Giancarlo Stanton then capped the rally with a two-out, two-strike mammoth shot over the wall in left-center. It was his fourth career walk-off longball and first as a Yankee. The poor baseball went a projected 453 feet, the longest walk-off home run recorded by Statcast (since 2015).

(USA Today)

Based on his season-to-date numbers this season, Stanton might have been the last guy you’d think would have been drenched in Gatorade at home plate after his at-bat. His splits entering Wednesday as he faced righty Ryan Cook:

BA Slug Pct AB/HR
Home .213 .411 17.6
High Leverge .208 .250 0.0
Late & Close .132 .184 0.0
vs RHP .217 .379 24.8

And to celebrate his first True Yankee Moment, let’s give Stanton our Obscure Yankeemetric of the Series: Over the last 30 years (when we have reliable pitch data), he is just the second Yankee to hit a two-out walk-off homer in an 0-2 count. The other was Jason Giambi on June 5, 2008 against the Blue Jays off reliever B.J. Ryan in the bottom of the ninth.

Nifty Fifty
Because this team simply refuses to lose … the Yankees completed the sweep of the Mariners on Thursday afternoon, holding on for a 4-3 win.

They are now 19-18 when scoring four runs or fewer this season; every other team is at least three games under .500 in that situation. Looking ahead, the last MLB team to finish with a winning record in games when scoring no more than four runs was the 1979 Astros (57-56), and the last AL team to do it was the 1954 Cleveland Indians (41-39).

(Newsday)

The Bronx Bombers did all their scoring in the first inning, as Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar both smashed two-run homers to give the Yankees an early 4-0 advantage.

Andujar’s blast was his 10th of the season, making the Yankees the only team in MLB with seven double-digit homer players in 2018 (Red Sox have six). The only other time in the last 15 seasons that the Yankees had seven players hit at least 10 dingers before July 1 was 2009.

The third baseman joined Gleyber Torres in the 10-homer club, producing yet another pinstriped record: they are the first set of Yankee rookie infielders to hit at least 10 homers in the same season. The last pair of Yankee rookie teammates at any position to do it were Gil McDougald and Mickey Mantle in 1951.

Finally this was also their 50th win in 2018, an important milestone considering this stat: It’s the eighth time that the Yankees have reached the 50-win mark in their first 72 games, and here’s how the previous seven seasons ended: