Orioles 2, Yankees 0
The season is not over. The season is not over. Why does it feel like the season is over? Overall I would consider myself an optimist in life. However, when it comes to sports the pessimism in me comes out. I try to look at the season with an objective eye, but it is difficult to do at times. With the Yankees losing to the Orioles in this game, and Boston creaming Oakland, the Yankees are 5 1/2 games back of the second wild card spot.
There are still 28 games left in the 2016 season so by no means are the Yankees done, but with every loss the pessimistic thoughts become more and more warranted. The bottom line is the Yankees need a few series sweeps to assure they will be in contention for the rest of the season assuming the teams they are trailing keep winning at the same clip.
This game offensively was bad. Both teams struggled at the plate and while the Orioles had 8 hits there weren’t many that were hit hard. Even Adam Jones’ homerun in the fifth only left the bat at 95 mph. The offensive woes were mainly due to the solid performance of both starting pitchers.
CC Sabathia had a decent outing by going six innings, allowing as many hits and only one earned run which was the Jones home run. Kevin Gausman was even better. He allowed just two hits and struck out eight in six scoreless innings. Both teams’ bullpens did their job by not allowing a single run in the final three innings.
As mentioned before, the hitting for both teams was atrocious – partly due the great pitching – but the Yankee hitters were especially awful. The Yankees collected only four hits and only one was a ball hit in the air. They were slightly better than last game where they only managed to get two hits. They have now been shut out two games in a row.
I see this game as a big loss. The clock is ticking and the team needs to find a sense of urgency. At this point, I don’t know if Joe Girardi will be able to find that insistence of winning in the veterans, rookies or both. Expectations – for the most part – are low considering the team shipped out key veterans at the trade deadline, but with the playoffs within smelling distance one can’t help but hope that the baby bombers put together a little run.
The Play: Adam Jones’ 5th Inning Homer (+.117 WPA)
Top Performers
Yankees: CC Sabathia (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 K)
Orioles: Adam Jones (2 for 4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI)
Notes
– The following players were called up from Triple A on September 2nd: Nick Goody, Rob Refsnyder and Luis Severino.
– Sabathia reached a career mark of 2,700 strikeouts.
The Quote
“Sunday’s game is probably the most important game of the season.” – Manager Joe Girardi talking about the upcoming game against the Orioles.
The Highlight: Hardy in a Pickle
Up Next
The Yankees will play the final game of this three game series against Baltimore at 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The starting pitcher for the Bombers will be the seemingly unpredictable Michael Pineda. Pineda has been really good and really bad at times this season. However, he may be more predictable than one might think. According to his earned runs allowed by game, he seems to be good for a solid outing about every third start. He hasn’t really had more than three terrible starts in a row. He allowed five earned runs in his last two outings meaning he may be a strong candidate for fantasy players looking for a solid spot starter. That being said the Orioles – with their power potential – can blow up any starter at any time.
The Orioles will send Wade Miley to the mound to face the Yankees. Miley has be underwhelming this season, but has been more effective than his numbers show. His DRA of 3.90 is not great, but his ERA is greatly underperforming his FIP which confirms the notion that his numbers aren’t telling the whole story. Miley has struggled somewhat in the second half of the season, but he has looked better in his last two outings. However, much like his counterpart in this game Miley has not been consistent from start to start.
Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today Sports