Rangers 9, Yankees 6
You are entering a time warp! No this isn’t the Rocky Horror picture show. It is the top of the ninth in what once was shaping up to be an average little game in the Bronx between the Yankees and Rangers. It had rained all game, but nothing that was cause for alarm. Just a drizzle. In the bottom of the eighth inning the drizzle turned to a steady rain and by Chapman’s fourth pitch to Choo in the top of the ninth the rain gods had opened the heavens.
Minutes turned to hours and hours turned to what felt like days. At one point I fell asleep and dreamt the game had been called giving the Yankees the win. I dream, but alas it was not the case. I woke to find myself staring at the same game that more than five hours ago graced my television set. In fact, it felt as if I had been locked in a space time continuum that Doc Brown himself would have found perplexing. In place of Chapman stood Kirby Yates ready to deliver the fifth pitch to Mr. Choo of the Rangers and there sat Marlins Man in his standard behind-home-plate seat – apparently making sure he got his money’s worth – making the game just that much more bizarre.
Yates struck out Choo on two pitches (you don’t get to say that often). He then hit Ian Desmond and Nomar Mazara setting the bases loaded. What happened next can only be explained by the twenty-four nyctophiliacs – including the cleaning crew – that was left at Yankee stadium. Beltre hits a single to left scoring two – one of which was charged to Aroldis Chapman. Two batters later Elvis Adrus hits a bloop single to right which scored two more runs essentially sealing the comeback.
Engage flux capacitor…..
Nova started the game and didn’t exactly have a great outing, but he got it to the bullpen with the lead albeit that lead came in the bottom of the fifth. He went five innings, allowed four runs on six hits with four strikeouts. He did allow three walks which has been a worrisome trend for Nova since he switched from reliever to starter. His counterpart on the Rangers – Chi Chi Gonzales – also pitched five innings and allowed one more run than Nova (5) with two strikeouts and two walks.
The Yankee hitters were led by Mark Teixeira who went three for five with a home run. However, the three hit club was not limited to Teixeira. Didi and Beltran also had three hits in this game.
After tonight’s losss the Yankees are one game below .500 and PECOTA projects they won’t be much better than this going forward. PECOTA predicts they will have a .511 winning percentage by the end of the season and finish fourth in the AL East.
The Play: Beltre’s 2 Run Single (+.407 WPA)
Top Performers
Yankees: Mark Teixeira (3 for 5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI)
Rangers: Shin-Soo Choo (2 for 5, 1 R, 2 RBI)
Notes
– Ivan Nova lasted five innings which is the eighth start out of sixteen starts this season he has done this.
– Mark Teixeira hit his second homerun in as many days and I’m sure the Yankees are hoping this mini power surge carries over into the second half of the season.
The Quote
“It rained really hard” – Everyone watching the game
The Highlight: Rain
Up Next
Game two of the four game series between the Yankees and Rangers will begin Tuesday, June 28th at 7:05 p.m. ETÂ at Yankee Stadium. The probable pitcher for the Rangers is Cole Hamels who has been hot of late. He has a 1.84 ERA in June which includes five starts. His FIP in those five starts was an average of 3.97. At first glance you might think he is due for a bad outing. Take a closer look though and you can see that while the results have been there in his last few outings, Hamels’ FIP is actually above his career average of 3.52 so one could estimate he is actually due for positive regression.
CC Sabathia – who will start against the Rangers in game two – came back down to earth in his last start. Granted, he was facing the Colorado Rockies who have a formidable offense, but regardless he was due for a bad outing. It just seemed like one was going to come sooner or later. Unfortunately for Sabathia, he will once again be going against a tough offense. Colorado was ranked second in the league with regard to run scoring and Texas ranks sixth so Yankee fans may be in for a long night.
Photo: Brad Penner, a brave soul that worked until 2:30 a.m. at Yankee Stadium / USA Today Sports