By Mike Whiteman 10/2/2022
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Happy Birthday Aaron Hicks!
A couple of Yankee-Red Sox classics to cite this morning:
Forty-four years ago, the Yankees edged Boston, 5-4, to take a one-game playoff for the American League East championship. The crucial blow was the famous three-run home run off the bat of Bucky Dent. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS197810020.shtml Seventy-three years ago the Yanks and Bosox went into the last game of the season tied at 96-57. Ace righthander Vic Raschi stymied the potent Boston lineup which featured Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr, and Casey Stengel soon came away with his first of seven managerial World Series wins. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA194910020.shtml
Quick Stats: The Yankees are 97-60 on the season. The Yankees are 18-8 since the beginning of September. During this time, they have scored 5.5 runs per game and allowed 3.7 per contest, numbers gravitating towards those from the first half of the season. Aaron Judge was hitless in two at bats, walking twice. As he pursues the Triple Crown, his batting average is .313. Minnesota’s Luis Arraez leads the AL at .315. With three more wins in the last five games of the season, Aaron Boone will have won 100+ games in three of his four full seasons at the helm of the Yankees.
Big Story: The Yankees jumped on the O’s early, putting up a three-spot on the scoreboard in the first inning. Giancarlo Stanton smacked a greatly needed (for him and the team) home run to highlight the scoring. Kyle Higashioka ripped a solo home run in the second. The 4-0 lead was huge the way Nestor Cortes was dealing, as the Yankee ace lefty allowed only a single in 7.1 innings of work, striking out twelve. Yesterday, Nestor was truly “nasty.” Any possible suspense was averted when Yanks blew the game open in the seventh, scoring four more runs. All in all, it was a balanced offensive attack, with the team cranking out fourteen hits. The only players in the starting lineup without hits were two you would not expect – Aaron Judge and Oswaldo Cabrera. That’s baseball, Suzyn.
Jacob Barnes, just added to the roster, came on for Cortes in the eighth and kept Baltimore scoreless. Yankees 8, Orioles 0.
Player of the Game: Cortes was in total control. He has allowed two or fewer runs in 21 of his 28 starts on the season. What a great year for the Yankee lefthander, and he has earned the number one starter position for the playoffs. Notable Performances: Oswald Peraza is batting, .306, and has looked solid in the field. Could he be forcing himself into consideration for the playoff roster?...Higashioka had three hits, including his home run in the second inning. “Higgy” has quietly batted .287 in the second half of the season…Gleyber Torres had two RBI hits and is hitting .323 with 25 RBI in 24 games since 9/1.
Better to Forget: Cabrera was hitless in four at bats, ending a seven-game hitting streak.
They Said It: “I got a chip on my shoulder every time I go out there. A sense of urgency when I go out there. Every single time” – Nestor Cortes My take: This was a fun easy win and was great to watch. The recent injury news about Zack Britton and Clay Holmes was disappointing, as both looked to be in the mix for high leverage postseason innings. Britton’s injury shouldn’t really be a surprise as recovery from Tommy John surgery isn’t always a straight road back to full health. The Yanks are hoping for a return from Holmes in time for the postseason, but with a shoulder strain, nothing is guaranteed. Injuries may serve to make postseason roster decisions a bit easier, and perhaps create opportunity for someone like Aroldis Chapman, who just a week ago looked down and out, to make the team. Will Aaron Boone select someone to serve as closer or just go by matchups? Rookies Ron Marinaccio, Clarke Schmidt, and Scott Effross are likely to be handed the ball in some tough situations, with early indications that Boone trusts Effross in closing situations. We’ve come a long way from the bullpen of May/June! With his last regular season start in the books, we can say congratulations to Nestor Cortes on his impressive season (12-4, 2.44). The lefthander established himself as a crucial part of the Yankee staff and a fan favorite as well. The Yankees as an organization catch some flack for not developing starting pitching, but in Cortes has transformed into a very good pitcher since rejoining the team last year. They now have a 28-year old lefthanded starting pitcher coming off an All-Star season. Hopefully he will be a pillar in the staff for a long time. Next Up: The last home game of the regular season! Luis Severino (6-3, 3.41) toes the rubber against Kyle Bradish (4-7, 5.11); 1:35 start. Here’s hoping Judge rips#62!
