Going into Sunday’s game, the New York Yankees had dropped four straight games, and were close to being swept by the somewhat struggling Seattle Mariners. The matinee game featured a pitching matchup of two former teammates, Masahiro Tanaka and Hisashi Iwakuma. Both pitchers were teammates on the Rakuten Golden Eagles, a Japanese professional baseball team. The Yankees hoped to get a solid start out of Tanaka after his first two starts of the 2016 season resulted in two no-decisions. The Yankees’ ace was struggling, and they needed a bounce back start from him in order to avoid being swept.
Tanaka labored though the first inning, but settled in after, and went on to pitch seven impressive innings, giving up three runs (2 earned, 1 unearned) on six hits. The Yankees’ ace pitched very well, he located his pitches and was able to consistently throw in the low 90’s throughout the game.
However, the Yankees can’t rely only on solid starts. They need to be able to produce runs, which had proven to be a very difficult task for the Yankees during their 4 game skid. Today, the bats woke up, not a lot, but enough to get the win.
In the top of the first, the Mariners hit the ball to areas that the Yankees couldn’t cover, and they hit the ball well against the shift. After three straight singles, Kyle Seager grounded into a fielder’s choice at second. Seth Smith scored on the play. This would be the only run to come out of a bases loaded, one out situation for the Mariners, as Tanaka was able to work himself out of the jam.
In the bottom of the second inning, a struggling Alex Rodriguez stepped into the box hoping to end a nineteen at bat hitless streak. With no outs and Brian McCann on first, the Yankees’ DH deposited a baseball into the left field seats, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead. (Watch Arod’s HR here : http://m.mlb.com/nyy/video/v596092083/seanyy-arod-crushes-a-tworun-shot-to-left-field/?tcid=mm_nyy_vid&c_id=nyy) The Yankees would then extend their lead to two runs on a Brett Gardner ground-rule double to left field in the bottom of the third inning.
The Mariners would not go down quietly. In the top of the fourth, Kyle Seager scored on a Steve Clevenger line drive single to left. This cut the Yankees’ lead down to one. Then, in the top of the fifth, Norichika Aoki tripled on a line drive to center field. It appears as though Jacoby Ellsbury took a strange route to the ball, causing him to miss it by inches. Ells bury lost his hat, glasses, and glove in the diving attempt (Watch it here: http://m.mlb.com/nyy/video/v596301383/seanyy-aoki-lines-a-triple-to-rightcenter/?query=Aoki+Triple). Aoki would score on a Seth Smith single, tying the game at three.
The tie game did not last long. In the bottom of the fifth, Brett Gardner singled to right. The next batter, Carlos Beltran, singled on a line drive to right. Brett Gardner advanced to third on the play. With one out and runners on the corners, Iwakuma threw a wild pitch. Gardner scored, giving the Yankees the lead. This run would be the difference in the game. Delia Betances and Andrew Miller shut the door for the Yankees. Betances came into to pitch in the eighth inning. He struck out the side . Miller came in to close in the top of the ninth. He struck out the side, earning his third save of the year. Both relievers dominated during their short outings. The two have proven to be a great combination in the past, as they dominated during the 2015 season. The Yankees had a dominant bullpen last year, but they added another big piece during the offseason. With the addition of Aroldis Chapman, an electrifying closer who often hits over 100 mph on the radar gun, Yankee fans have a lot to be excited about this season.
