On a day that was all about Alex Rodriguez’s impending departure from the team, the Yankees still had to play baseball.
They did just that, and won, too. New York defeated Cleveland 3-1 behind a strong six-inning, one-run, eight-strikeout effort from Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees’ ace stymied Cleveland batters for his entire outing with a strong mix of breaking pitches, and the one run scored after he had exited the game. Tanaka like could have completed an additional inning had it not been for a twelve-pitch at-bat from Lonnie Chisenhall that ate at his pitch count.
On offense, the Yankees opened with a triple from Brett Gardner and a sac fly from Jacoby Ellsbury gave the Yankees the lead in the first, and they never relinquished it. A home run from Didi Gregorius and an opposite-field double from Mark Teixeira would supply the other two runs.
A relief trio of a resurgent Adam Warren, Tyler Clippard and Dellin Betances locked down the victory for the Yankees. They now sit at 56-55, one game over .500, and will begin A-Rod’s ever so brief and fleeting farewell tour.
The Play: Didi Gregorius goes yard (+ .101 WPA)
The short porch giveth, and the short porch taketh away. This time, it gave. It just so happened to be Didi’s bobblehead day, too.
Top Performers
Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka (6 IP, 1 ER 6 H, 8 K, 0 BB)
Indians: Roberto Perez (2-3, 2B, 1 RBI)
Notes
- Noted Yankee killer Mike Napoli was ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes. Sad!
- After Rob Refsnyder singled to lead off the second, Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco seemed to be rather obsessed with throwing over to first base to check on him. The Tribe’s pitching coach had to come out to tell him to knock it off. Carrasco would go on to strike out the side.
- Adam Warren has yet to allow a run since returning to the Yankees. He inherited Tanaka’s runner, who eventually scored, but none of his own.
- Mark Teixeira’s opposite-field double continued a trend that’s seen the slugger drive the ball the other way more often while batting left-handed. That’s neat.
- Per Jon Heyman, Brian McCann has cleared waivers and can now be traded to any team. Cleveland is in need of a catcher, especially after having Jonathan Lucroy yanked away from under their nose. Hmmm…
The Highlight: Jacoby Ellsbury commits a TOOTBLAN for the ages
Oh, Jake, Buddy. No. Just… no.
Up Next
The Yankees are off on Monday, and then they’ll fly up to Boston for three with the Red Sox. Hopefully A-Rod will be in the lineup. Luis Severino and Rick Porcello will be the starters in the opener.
Photo: Andy Marlin/USA Today Sports