Games
Monday, March 14
The Yankees began this week with a much-deserved day off. There were no games or workouts scheduled.
Tuesday, March 15
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| Red Sox | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
It’s always fun to beat Boston, even in spring training. Ivan Nova continued to impress in his third Grapefruit League start, allowing one run in four innings while striking out four. Bryan Mitchell followed with another three scoreless frames before handing it over to the Nicks to finish it off. Rumbelow and Goody made the game far more interesting than it needed to be, each giving up a run in their inning of work and allowing seven hits combined.
Aaron Hicks hit his first home run in a Yankee uniform in the third inning. The rest of the offense came from the reserves during a five-run eighth inning.
Box Score and Video Highlights
Wednesday, March 16
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Yankees | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Nathan Eovaldi was solid but inefficient in his second start of the spring, reaching his pitch count after only two innings of work. Aroldis Chapman was impressive as always in the fourth, striking out two of the three batters he faced. Six fringe bullpen candidates (Vinnie Pestano, James Pazos, Kirby Yates, Branden Pinder, Richard Bleier, Diego Moreno) combined for another six innings of one run ball against the world’s best offense.
Starlin Castro provided all the offense with his first longball of the spring, a two-run shot in the bottom of the second. This game was notable for being Brett Gardner’s Grapefruit League debut. He went 0-2, striking out looking and chopping a grounder to 2B. Not a great day at the plate, but it’s good to have him back out there.
Box Score and Video Highlights
Thursday, March 17
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| Pirates | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
This was a shaky outing for Masahiro Tanaka. He continues to surrender the longball with alarming frequency, this time a blast to Andrew McCutchen in the first to give the Bucs an early 1-0 lead. Tanaka threw over fifty pitches in his two innings of work, allowing two runs on hour hits while only striking out one. Luckily, Luis Severino rode to the rescue. He put together four scoreless innings, striking out five and putting the memory of his early-spring command problems behind him.
Starlin Castro continued his torrid start to the year by homering for the second straight day. Rob Refsnyder added a two run shot in the top of the fourth. Dustin Ackley went 2-3 and Chase Headley knocked in a run as well. Slade Heathcott was originally supposed to appear in this game but ended up being scratched because he missed the bus to Bradenton. Not a great look for a guy competing for a big league job.
Box Score and Video Highlights
Friday, March 18
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orioles | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 0 |
| Yankees | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
There’s no sugar coating it — CC Sabathia looked downright awful in this start. Nothing was working for him as he gave up seven runs in four innings. The three run bomb by Mark Trumbo was the big blow. Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances followed him and did their thing, striking out three combined in 1.1 innings of work. Didi Gregorius drove in the Yankees’ only two runs in the second, but the offense was otherwise held at bay.
Box Score and Video Highlights
Saturday, March 19
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 7 | 0 |
It’s always fun to count the Yankee castoffs when the Braves come to town. Nick Swisher, Adonis Garcia, and Kelly Johnson were in the lineup, while Jose Ramirez closed out the game. That actually seems like fewer than usual.
Big Mike was on point, striking out four in four innings while allowing only one run. I’m sorely tempted to pick him as my pre-season Cy Young award favorite for the second year in a row.
Beltran, Castro, and Headley each drove in a run for the Yanks. Jacoby Ellsbury left the game in the fifth inning after being hit in the wrist by a 90 mph fastball from Julio Tehran. X-Rays showed no major damage was done.
Box Score and Video Highlights
Sunday, March 20
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Twins | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
Coming into this game, it seemed like Nova needed to be nearly perfect to have any chance of winning the fifth starter job out of camp. This start didn’t do him any favors by more than doubling his spring ERA to 4.05. The control problems that plagued him in 2015 were back, as he allowed eight baserunners including three walks in 4.1 IP.
Bryan Mitchell continues to make a compelling case this spring to replace Adam Warren in the swingman role. 2.2 scoreless innings of relief lowered his ERA to 0.84 with 7 Ks and 1 BB.
Ervin Santana helped the Yankees cause by walking in a run in the third and allowing Ben Gamel to score on a bunt in the fifth. The reserves put the Yankees over the top in the eighth as Cesar Puello smacked his first home run of the spring off of J.R. Graham and Eddy Rodriguez followed with an RBI double to drive in Deibinson Romero.
Box Score and Video Highlights
General News
- On Monday, Vicente Campos was optioned to Class A Tampa. LoHud’s Chad Jennings reports that he will continue to work as a starter this season despite being limited to just 54.1 IP in the past two seasons.
- The Yankees made their second round of roster cuts Saturday, optioning Ben Gamel to AAA and sending Jonathan Diaz, Donovan Solano, Tyler Cloyd, Richard Bleier, Mark Montgomery, and Vinnie Pestano to minor league camp.
- Mariano Rivera made a surprise appearance in Yankees camp Saturday. Very cool to see number 42 back in uniform.
Injuries
- After making his spring debut Wednesday, Brett Gardner has returned to more or less regular activity. It’s unclear to what extent the bone bruise on his left wrist remains an issue and whether it will linger into the season. In his first three games of the spring, Gardner is 0-8 with one walk and one strikeout.
- Jacoby Ellsbury is also suffering from a sore left wrist after being hit by a pitch in Saturday’s game. X-rays and a CT scan found no serious injury, but he remains day to day until the wrist heals completely. Girardi told the New York Daily News’s Mark Feinsand that he does not expect Ellsbury to return until next Thursday’s game at the earliest. With two weeks left to rehab until Opening Day, he should be ready to begin the regular season barring any setbacks.
- Brian McCann sat out a few games this week after fouling a ball off of his left knee. He returned to the lineup Thursday against the Pirates and reportedly is fully recovered. He told reporters that he would have played through the injury during the regular season, but took the opportunity to be cautious because it was spring training.
- The only other injury this week was a stye that caused Aaron Hicks to be scratched from Thursday’s game. He saw an eye doctor and the issue appears to be resolved.
Position Battles
- Fifth Starter: Both Sabathia and Nova had ugly starts this week. A scout on hand to watch CC had the big man at 86-89 mph with his fastball in his latest appearance and described his stuff to Newsday’s Erik Boland as “weak” and “flat.” Nova struggled with his control against the Twins Sunday, walking three in 4.1 IP. One encouraging sign is he began experimenting with his cutter for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery. Another weapon in Nova’s arsenal can’t hurt. With two weeks remaining until Opening Day, it still seems as if Sabathia will be the will crack the rotation as long as he’s healthy. The Yankees have too much invested in him the next two seasons not to give him every opportunity to succeed, and do not have a history of making major decisions based on spring training results.
- Backup Catcher: Joe Girardi told George A. King of the New York Post that he thinks Gary Sanchez might be pressing at the plate this spring as he tries to earn his first big-league job. So far, he’s 1-16. Given the service time benefits of leaving Sanchez in the minors to start the season, it seems all but a certainty that Austin Romine will begin the season as Brian McCann’s backup.
- Backup Infielder: Rob Refsnyder has now played more games at the hot corner than at second base this spring, and the early results are undeniably positive. Given the infrequency with which he’ll be called upon to play the position, it appears he’s convinced the team he can be a competent backup. Two of his rivals for the job were removed when the Yankees reassigned Donovan Solano and Jonathan Diaz to minor league camp. Pete Kozma and Ronald Torreyes remain viable option, but neither possess the offensive upside of Refsnyder.
- Final Three Bullpen Spots: Girardi told Yankees.com’s Bryan Hoch that he is beginning to evaluate his bullpen options in earnest now that we have reached the midpoint of Grapefruit League play. The second round of roster cuts removed some relievers from the mix, but no real surprises. Cloyd, Bleier, Pestano, and Montgomery were all non-roster invites. With the glut of young relievers on the 40 man, anyone without a spot on the roster already is an extreme long-shot. Mitchell has stood out from the crowd, but there are rumblings the team may prefer to keep him stretched out as a starter in Scranton. Based purely on results, Johnny Barbato, Branden Pinder, and Tyler Olson may have a leg up on the competition, but this race is still way too early to call.
Lead Photo: Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports