by Paul Semendinger
August 31, 2022
***
Life is better when you wake up to a win. It just is.
It's much more fun to write about good news than bad. (it sort of reminds me of the old Sesame Street song, Sing, with the lyrics, "Sing of happy, not sad...")
Let's get right to it:
About Last Night:
The Yankees scored early and often. They did it enough times to put the game out of reach quickly enough and then then (basically) cruised to a nice victory. The scoring began in the first inning and took place in each of the first four innings:
FIRST INNING - one run on an Andrew Benintendi homer
SECOND INNING - one run on an Anthony Rizzo homer
THIRD INNING - two runs coming after a bases loaded throwing error by Luis Rengifo at third base (after he made a diving stop)
FOURTH INNING - three runs on an Aaron Judge homer
It was close for a while there, as the Angels were able to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the second inning on a homer by Max Stassi.
The Angels also got a run in the fifth inning on a Mike Ford home run - his second homer against the Yankees in as many days. (This made the score 7-3 in favor of the Yankees.)
In the ninth inning, the Angels scored after a bloop single to right by Taylor Ward scored Shohei Ohtani who had doubled. This made the score 7-4, which was the way the game ended.
Of note - Jameson Taillon was struck in the arm by a line drive to close out the second inning. He was removed from the game. As such, the Yankees used six pitchers to cover the final seven frames.
Quick Stats:
Aaron Judge's home run was his 51st of the year
Anthony Rizzo's blast was his 30th.
Greg Weissert pitched two innings allowing no hits or walks and striking out two immediately following the removal of Jameson Taillon. He was awarded the win. This was Weissert's first MLB victory.
The Big Stories:
After losing three games in a row, the Yankees won a game again in California.
Aaron Judge is on pace to tie Roger Maris' 61 home runs.
Jameson Taillon did not seem to suffer an injury after being hit by a line drive. He may make his next start.
Harrison Bader is hitting off a tee and running. He has not played since the Yankees acquired him. In fact, he has not played since June, but it is possible that he will be ready to play next week.
Player of the Game:
Aaron Judge had three hits, two runs scored, and three runs batted in
Better to Forget:
The fact that this game was on Amazon Prime and not available to many Yankees fans.
Next Up:
The ace, Gerrit Cole, goes tonight (9:38 p.m.) in the rubber game of this three-game series.
