Yankees Fall To O's,but Gardner Impresses

The New York Yankees already knew their game plan was going to be a little different this year. The big home run hitting machine is no more. It's time to get back to the basics - moving runners, stealing bases, putting on the hit and run, etc. The ability to play small ball will be even more important with the loss of Curtis Granderson for a minimum of 10 weeks due to the broken right arm he suffered on Sunday.

One of the Yankees that Joe Girardi will be counting on the most is center fielder Brett Gardner. Girardi was hoping to give Granderson a look in left and move Gardner back to center where it is felt he is the superior defensive player of the two. With Granderson's injury Gardner gets center field back by default. Now they need his bat and speed to pick up some of the slack with Granderson's home run power out of the lineup.

Gardner missed all but 16 games of the 2012 regular season after he injured his right elbow in April and had to have it surgically repaired. This afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles, Gardner led off, played center field, and was 3-3 at the plate. Speed played a factor in two of the three hits as Gardner beat out an infield grounder (and dove into first base much to the dismay of everyone on the Yankees side of the field) and later bunted his way on.

 It's that speed that the Yankees will count on to help produce runs. In a healthy 2011 season, Gardner swiped 49 bases in 62 attempts. In 2010 he was even better with 47 steals in just 53 tries. Gardner knows though that he has to be more aggressive when the game is on the line and not be worried about being thrown out. It's something that even the casual observer has noticed during Gardner's career.

The Yankees fell 5-1 to the Orioles Monday afternoon, breaking up the shutout in the 9th on a Walter Ibarra RBI. The Yankees had eight hits with Jayson Nix picking up a pair. Vidal Nuno started for the Yankees, who threw all minor leaguers on Monday. Brian Matusz started for the Orioles and tossed a pair of scoreless innings as he attempts to make it back to the rotation after a successful second half stint in the O's 2012 bullpen.

The Yankees play the Phllies in Clearwater on Tuesday at 1. The game will be televised live on the MLB Network.

The Yankees CAN Win A Game

Ivan Nova proved last night that you can throw Spring Training numbers out the window. Nova, after pitching to an 8.06 ERA in exhibition games, limited the Baltimore Orioles to two runs over seven innings to help the Yankees to their first win, 6-2.

The Yankees have now scored six runs in three of their four games, but last night was their first win. Nova gave up an early home run to Matt Wieters, but scattered 10 hits and mixed off speed pitches with a fastball that averaged 94 mph and occasionally topped out at 96.

Nova got plenty of support in the field and at the plate. Derek Jeter had four hits, plus a sac bunt, run scored, and an RBI. Andruw Jones had a long home run, and he Curtis Granderson scored two runs a piece.

Eduardo Nunez, whose error got the ball rolling in the wrong direction on Saturday, made a leaping grab at third base to take a way a base hit and RBI.

David Robertson and Mariano Rivera, in a non-save situation closed out the win over lefty Brian Matusz.

Notes

Joe Girardi used his 4th DH in four games, sitting Alex Rodriguez.

What Jesus Did Do

New York Yankees fans have been waiting for Jesus Montero's arrival for some time. He made his Yankee Stadium debut this past Saturday, but this afternoon is when he arrived. Montero hit a go ahead solo home run in the 5th and added a 2-run home run in the 7th that proved to be the difference in an 11-10 Yankees win.

Montero hit his first Major League home run off of Orioles reliever Jim Johnson (5-5) into the seats in right-center and took a curtain call when the Yankee Stadium crowd beckoned. His second home run came with a man aboard wasn't far from the landing spot of his first one. Montero wasn't alone in having a big day though as the two teams used 12 pitchers.

Orioles' starter Brian Matusz lasted only in 1.1 innings and was charged with five runs while Yankees' starter Freddy Garcia didn't fare any better, allowing seven runs in 2.2 innings. Reliever Aaron Laffey picked up his first win with .2 scoreless innings. Mariano Rivera notched his 38th save, but it didn't come easy either. He allowed a run on two hits and hit a batter before he struck out J.J. Hardy with two on and two out to end the game.

The Orioles had 1-0 and 5-2 leads, but Curtis Granderson's 2-run double cut the lead to 5-4 and Robinson Cano capped the 2nd inning with his seventh career grand slam for an 8-5 Yankees lead. But Mark Reynolds smacked a 2-run home run off Garcia and Robert Andino welcomed Scott Proctor back to Yankee Stadium with a game tyng solo home run in the top of the 5th.

But then Jesus Montero rose to the occassion and, Yankees fans hope, a star was born.

Notes

Nick Markakis (15) and Mark Teixeira (36) each hit home runs in the 1st inning.

The Yes Network's Jack Curry tweeted this afternoon that the Yankees are considering promoting prospect Dellin Betances to add depth to the pitching staff.

Yankees Take Nightcap In Grandy Style

Curtis Granderson may insist he's not a home run hitter, but he's going to have to stop hitting them before anyone starts to believe him. Granderson added two more blasts tonight as the Yankees topped the Baltimore Orioles 8-3 to gain a split of the day-night doubleheader.

Granderson had already hit a 3-run shot in the 3rd when he came to bat again in the 7th and unloaded his Major League leading 38th home run of the year. It's the first time he's been in sole possession of teh home run lead. That was the cherry on top of the sundae for the Yankees who broke the game open in the 6th inning.

After a Mark Teixeira single, Robinson Cano blasted an opposite field 2-run home run off of start Brian Matusz for a 5-3 Yankees lead. Nick Swisher followed with a solo shot and Andruw Jones made it three straight with a long home run of his own.

That would be plenty of run support for Yankees' starter Ivan Nova, who earned his 14th win of the season. In doing so he became the first Yankees rookie pitcher to win 14 games since Ron Davis in 1979 and the first start since Doc Medich in 1973. The 24-yr old gave up single runs in each of the first three innings before settling down. He pitched into the 8th inning before giving way to David Robertson after he allowed a pair of base runners to reach to start the inning.

Robertson gave up a single to Adam Jones to load the bases, but baseball's Houdini performed his great escape act again. Robertson struck out Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Reynolds and Ryan Adams in succession to get out of trouble.

Notes

Derek Jeter was scheduled to play in the second game, but was a late scratch due to a sore knee. Alex Rodriguez also sat with his sore thumb. Marc Carig of the Star Ledger tweeted that neither is likely to play in the series finale Monday night according to Joe Girardi.

FullCountPitch - The Full Count: Jen Royle

Jen Royle talks with Orioles starter Brian Matusz

After seven years covering the New York Yankees for the YES Network, MLBAM and SIRIUS/XM’s Baseball Channel, Jen Royle moved to Baltimore to cover the Orioles and Ravens on MASN and 105.7 The Fan.

You can catch Jen from 6-7:15 on “Baltimore Baseball Tonight’s” O’s pregame show with Jim Duquette and Joe Orsulak for Baltimore’s 105.7 The Fan, and you can also follow her on Twitter.

Today, Jen becomes the latest victim guest for “The Full Count”.

FCP: You were a Red Sox fan growing up, how did you put that aside when you starting working for other teams?

Jen Royle: YES! I was a huge Red Sox fan growing up. I literally grew up at Fenway Park. My parents were both born and raised in the city of Boston and my grandparents lived 10 minutes from Fenway Park when I was a child. So needless to say, I spent a lot of time at the ballpark. I vividly remember my father putting me on his shoulders so I could see Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Mike Greenwell, Dwight Evans, etc. And I grew up watching Roger Clemens. Fast forward 20 years later, who would have thought I would end up covering Clemens with the New York Yankees.

In terms of the fan in me disappearing, it just sort of happened naturally. Once I started working for the YES Network in New York, I didn’t care at all about the Red Sox. I sort of just naturally turned into an unbiased, objective reporter. And let me make this clear, I didn’t care about the Yankees either in terms of winning or losing. I did, however, start to pull for certain people.

I think what most fans don’t understand is once you start covering ONE team on a daily basis, you start to build really nice relationships so it becomes difficult to hope they fail. So that also played a part in me not caring about the Red Sox anymore.

FCP: You came to Baltimore after working in the New York market for the YES Network. What’s the biggest difference you see in the way the Orioles and Yankees are covered?

Jen Royle: I mean, you can’t even compare. From a fan standpoint, a media standpoint and an organization standpoint, it’s just COMPLETELY different. In fact, to be completely honest, I think it was a culture shock for me my first month on the job. I started to question my decision to move to Baltimore because the team started off 2-16 and there were maybe 10,000 fans in the ballpark. Not to mention, I was the new girl in town and was under an abundance of scrutiny because of where I came from — Boston and New York. I had no friends in town and I was driving for the first time in 10 years. So I was a “Negative Nelly” at the beginning.

There are maybe six Orioles reporters in the clubhouse after a game, compared to 30-50 in New York. The Orioles organization doesn’t have the “win now” mentality that the Yankees have, mostly because they don’t have the financial resources and they know competing in the American League East is a much tougher task. Andy MacPhail is doing the best job he can, but he is certainly at an unfair advantage when competing with Brian Cashman.

When I covered the Yankees, we didn’t leave the clubhouse until the last player was one, we stayed on the field with them during batting practice and we went back into the clubhouse after batting practice. In Baltimore, with all due respect, the team isn’t as news-worthy. Things that may be a big deal in New York simply aren’t an issue in Baltimore. I can’t stress enough how different of an atmosphere it is.

Click here to read the rest of this free Q & A w/ Jen Royle at FullCountPitch.com

FullCountPitch - Will We Ever Get Out Of This Place?

FullCountPitch - Will We Ever Get Out Of This Place?

The Baltimore Orioles were once the beasts of the AL East, the monsters of MLB. They were a dominant team and a contender from the mid-1960s through the early 1980′s and again in the mid to late 1990′s. But it’s been hard times in “Balmor” since then, with the team usually in last or next to last place in the division. Is there any hope for the O’s to once again join the American League elite?

Some of my most vivid childhood memories include watching players like Frank and Brooks Robinson, and Boog Powell thrash Yankees’ pitching. I remember watching in awe as Dave McNally, Mike Cueller, and Jim Palmer pitched lights out baseball. Of course, I also recall watching manager Earl Weaver manipulate his players, the field, the umpires, etc., to ensure an Orioles win.

Those teams were the O’s teams of the the 3-run home run. There was no small ball; the Orioles just methodically out-pitched, out-hit, and out-defended everyone in their wake. And man could those teams field! Brooks with 16 straight Gold Gloves at 3rd base, Mark Belanger providing no pop, but fielding with the grace of a ballerina, and center fielder Paul Blair running down any ball hit to the gaps.

The Orioles, not the Yankees or Red Sox, were the team that everyone wanted to be. While Boston and New York had their heated moments and a few players exchanged punches to the face in the 1970′s, they were always looking up at Baltimore in the standings. Today Yankees and Red Sox fans hate one another and each other’s team, but back then any animosity I felt towards the Orioles was out of jealousy. The Orioles simply did everything right. And yet despite all of that, the Orioles won the World Series only twice (1966, 1970) during the era of their AL dominance from the mid 1960′s through the 1970′s. They lost to the Amazing Mets in 1969, blew 3 -1 leads in games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in both the 1971 and 1979 World Series, and ran into the Oakland A’s juggernaut in the 1973-1974 ALCS’.

Read the rest of the free article at FullCountPitch.

Brian Roberts Nick Markakis Buck Showalter Matt Wieters Brian Matusz

Burnett Gets Burned Again

Roberts Slams Burnett and Yankees

Written for Baseball Digest Online

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: a.j. burnett • Baltimore Orioles • Brian Matusz • Brian Roberts • Derek Jeter • Mark Teixeira • NY Yankees • Yankees 9/12 recap • Yankees vs. Orioles

If the Yankees are going to go far in this year’s post-season they’re going to need A.J. Burnett to be at the top of his game. For most of the past month two months, Burnett’s been anything but at the top of his game. That trend continued earlier today when Burnett was hammered by the Baltimore Orioles for six runs in the 2nd inning and dropped to 11-9 in the Yankees 7-3 defeat.

The Yankees took a quick 1-0 lead in the 1st inning when Derek Jeter picked up hit number 2,724 and eventually came around to score on a Mark Teixeira sacrifice fly. But it was short lived as Burnett couldn’t get anyone out in the top of the 2nd. Nolan Reimold tied the game with a solo home run to start the frame and Robert Andino put the O’s ahead with an RBI single. With the bases loaded, Brian Roberts, who to that point hadn’t achieved the same success this season as he had in the past against the Yankees, belted a grand slam over the fence in right-center field for a 6-1 Orioles lead.

Burnett allowed just one hit over the next five innings, but the damage was done. Rookie Brian Matusz improved to 5-2 by allowing just a run on four hits over seven innings. The Yankees added a couple of meaningless runs in the 9th inning on RBI hits by Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada.

Burnett was 5-0 with an ERA just over 2.00 from late June to late July, but since then he’s gone 1-5, 6.19 ERA in nine starts since. He’s also allowed a career high 24 home runs. In winning 18 games with the Toronto Blue Jays last season, Burnett was 10-4 after the All-Star break.