Game 86: Going for three straight

After getting the Fourth of July off, Derek Jeter is back in the Yankees' lineup this afternoon as the Bombers look to make it three straight wins over the Minnesota Twins to begin this four-game series at Target Field. The Twins plan to honor Jeter before the game today. Last year, they gave Mariano Rivera rocking chair made out of bats he broke in his career and called it the "Chair of Broken Dreams."

That was a really cool gift -- maybe the best of his farewell tour -- so it'll be interesting to see what Minnesota gives Jeter today.

The Yankees won the battle of the bullpens yesterday, with starter Chase Whitley only going three innings. David Huff was perfect in his three innings of work -- I started thinking about what would happen if the Yankees give Huff a chance to start, then I remembered how that worked out last season -- then Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and David Robertson finished off the final three innings.

With the loss to the Bombers yesterday, the Twins fell to 0-7 in their last seven games against the Yankees at Target Field. It's basically the Yanks' home away from home.

Today's lineup against Minnesota:

SS Derek Jeter
2B Brian Roberts
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Carlos Beltran
RF Ichiro Suzuki
LF Alfonso Soriano
C Francisco Cervelli
3B Zelous Wheeler

* Brian McCann was a late scratch from the lineup today because of some soreness in his foot that also kept him out of Friday's game. Joe Girardi thought that McCann would be good to go, but that was obvisouly not the case. The lineup has been moved a around: Jeter will now lead off rather than Ellsbury, and Roberts will slot in the No. 2 spot, where he hit yesterday.

We saw something happen to McCann during Thursday night's game after reaching first base on a single, but he stayed in the game and everything was fine for the rest of the night. Don't really know the problem other than that it's sore.

Pitching matchup preview:

Maybe David Phelps could give the Yankees some innings today and let the bullpen have a nice easy day off. Phelps will be on the mound for the Bombers this afternoon, and has been pitching well lately, allowing two or fewer runs in three of his last four starts.

Phelps is coming off of a no-decision against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium this past week, when he gave up two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Rookie right-hander Yohan Pino will be taking the mound for the Twins today, looking for his first career victory after going winless in his first three starts.

Pino allowed four runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in his last outing against the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Yankees made trade proposals with Cubs for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel

It's not a secrete that the Yankees have an obvious need to add a starting pitcher or two in order to make a run for October. CC Sabathia is likely done for the year, joining Ivan Nova, and Michael Pineda won't be back until probably August.

The trade deadline is still a few weeks away, but Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman hasn't been sitting around, rather is is trying to get deals done.

As you may have heard by now, the Oakland Athletics pulled off a big blockbuster deal on Friday night, acquiring both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Cubs last night, sending a couple of top prospects the to Chicago, including MLB.com's 11th ranked prospect for 2014.

The A's weren't the only team going after either one of those pitchers. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that the Yankees and Cubs swapped proposals regarding both Hammel and Samardzija, but in the end, Oakland came out on top with Addison Russell, the centerpiece of the deal.

There was never really a sense that the Yankees would be able to pull off a deal surrounding Samardzija given how much less talent their farm system has compared to other teams, like the A's, but Hammel was a much more realistic for the Bombers, who, like I said, really need to add at least one starting pitcher before the trading deadline, but two would be nice -- and a reliever, and an infielder.

Adding on to that, since Russell is a shortstop, that gives the Cubs more than enough of those in their system, putting him in line with Javier Baez, and the team's current big league shortstop Starlin Castro.

With Derek Jeter retiring after the season, and the Yankees also needing to add an infielder, Joel Sherman of the NY Post says that the Yanks have checked in with the Cubs on their shortstop surplus, but Chicago is currently planning to hold onto all of their infield players, and thus nothing is going to happen right now -- at least this season -- between the two side regarding that.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Minor League Recap - 7/4/14: Rob Refsnyder's walk-off homerun lifts Scranton to victory

Triple-A Scranton: 7-6 walk-off win vs Buffalo Bisons

1B Jose Pirela: 0-for-4, R, K -- still hitting .318
2B Rob Refsnyder: 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI -- three-run walk-off homerun, 4th dinger in AAA
LF Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-4, 2 K
RF Adonis Garcia: 1-for-4, 3 K
DH Kyle Roller: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, BB
3B Scott Sizemore: 3-for-4, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI
C John Ryan Murphy: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K

Joel De La Cruz: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
Pat Venditte: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Danny Burawa: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Jose Ramirez: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

Double-A Trenton: Rained out

High-A Tampa: 1-0 win vs Lakeland Flying Tigers

CF Jake Cave: 0-for-5, K -- still hitting .305 this season
SS Cito Culver: 0-for-4, BB, K
DH Gregory Bird: 2-for-5, R, HR, RBI -- go-ahead homerun in the 12th, fourth of the year
3B Dante Bichette Jr: 1-for-5, 3 K
RF Aaron Judge: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 3 K

Miguel Sulbaran: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Jaron Long: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Ramon Benjamin: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Nick Rumbelow: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Brett Gerritse: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Low-A Charleston: 6-1 loss vs Rome Braves

RF Michael O'Neill: 0-for-4, 2 K
SS Tyler Wade: 0-for-4
DH Miguel Andujar: 2-for-4, R, 2B
1B Mike Ford: 1-for-4, RBI

Omar Luis: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Giovanny Gallegos: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Chad Taylor: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Short-Season Staten Island: 4-1 loss vs Hudson Valley Renegades

CF Devyn Bolasky: 1-for-4, K
SS Thairo Estrada: 1-for-2, R
LF Chris Breen: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K
2B Ty McFarland: 0-for-3, BB
DH Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, 2 K
1B Connor Spencer: 1-for-4

Justin Kamplain: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Dillon McNamara: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Matt Wotherspoon: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Who was the Baby Bombers performer of the day, you guys? Comment below.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Yankees 6, Twins 5: Brian Roberts has his best game of the season

A night after snapping a five-game losing streak by scoring seven runs against former Yankee Phil Hughes, and Bombers and Twins took the field on Friday afternoon for their second Fourth of July matchup against each other in as many years.

The Yankees jumped all over Twins starter Kyle Gibson early in the game, scoring six runs in the first two innings. The Yanks, throughout the game, were ripping extra-base hits all around the park. Brett Gardner kicked off the game with a triple to left, then Brian Roberts doubled him home to put the Yankees up 1-0. After Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out, moving Roberts to third base, Mark Teixeira double to deep center field, scoring Robert easily to make it a 2-0 game. Teixeira moved to third on a past ball, then scored on a sac-fly by Carlos Beltran for the third run of the inning.

Brian Dozier put the Twins on the board with a lead off homerun in the bottom half of the 1st inning against Chase Whitley, who also gave up a single and a walk in the inning before get third out.

Francisco Cervelli opened up a three-run 2nd inning for the Yankees with a double into the left field corner. Kelly Johnson grounded out to move Cervelli over to third, then Brendan Ryan hit a sac-fly to bring home Cervelli, extending the Yankees' lead to 4-1. Brett Gardner followed with a walk, moved to third on a ground-rule double by Roberts, who had one helluva game at the plate, batting second in place of Derek Jeter, who got the day off. Roberts doubled three times, with also his fourth triple of the season. It should also be noted that Roberts was wearing high socks today, so maybe he should do that more often.

Ellsbury followed up with single that brought home both runners to put the Yankees up 6-1.

Again in the 2nd inning, Chris Colabello started the frame with a solo blast off of Whitley to put the Twins with four, making it a 6-2 games. Whitley worked around a pair of infield singles in the 2nd but only made through one more inning after giving up two runs in the 3rd.

After Kendrys Morales hit a one-out single to right, Oswaldo Arcia tripled to deep center field, scoring Morales. A batter later, Trevor Plouffe singled to put the Twins down by just two runs.

Whitley was done after 74 pitches in just three innings of work. He's been hit around hard in his past few starts, giving up four runs on eight hits in this one, with his ERA inflating up to 5.14. Even worse, the Yankees have no options to replace him without making a trade -- and don't say Adam Warren.

David Huff took over to start the 4th inning, and he tossed his best outing of the bullpen since joining the Yankees this season for the second time in his career. He pitches three perfect inning, striking out three on just 35 pitches. Warren faced three batters in the 7th, record two outs before giving the ball to Dellin Betances, who finished off the 7th, then pitched the entire 8th inning, giving up a run that brought the Twins within a run, making it a 6-5 game.

David Robertson pitched the 9th inning, striking out the side around a two-out double by Kurt Suzuki to seal the Yankees' second consecutive victory and his 20th save of the season.

The Yankees are back ot being above .500, and will try to go two games over on Saturday afternoon with David Phelps on the mound against Yohan Pino at 2:05 pm ET.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

David Robertson's first season as Yankees' closer off to a good start

We started living in a new world this year -- one where Mariano Rivera isn't the closer of the New York Yankees. For the first time in more than a decade, the Yankees were forced to name a new closer with Rivera heading into retirement after last season.

The man taking over was David Robertson, who many trusted after several excellent years as the setup man ahead of Mariano, while many doubted his ability to handle the 9th inning. There was talk over the offseason after Brian Cashman bringing in a free-agent closer, such as Fernando Rodney or Grant Balfour, to replace Rivera, but in the end, the job was given the most deserving candidate in Robertson.

We're half way through Robertson's first season as the closer, so I though it would be a good time asses how he's pitching.

Robertson recorded his 19th save of the season on Thursday night against the Minnesota Twins, striking out the side around just his 10th walk of the season. Rivera issued a quite a few walks early in his career, but never walked more than 12 batters in a season after 2005, including just nine free passes last season.

Robertson's three strikeouts last night put him at 51 in 28.2 innings this season. A lot of people have been focusing on Dellin Betances' incredibly high 14.33 strikeouts per nine innings rate this season, while the fact is that Robertson's is actually higher, at 16.01 strikeouts per nine innings. To be fair, though, Betances has pitched nearly 20 more innings than Robertson, so it wouldn't be surprising to see that number lower a little bit over the season.

Robertson's 19 saves this season are out of just 21 chances up to this point. Entering July 4 last season Rivera was 28-for-29 in save opportunities. Robertson obviously hasn't had as many chance to record a save, and that could probably be due to the two weeks he spent on the DL with a groin strain earlier in the season. During D-Rob's DL stint, Shawn Kelley was 4 of 5 in saves as the temporary closer.

So only two blown saves to this point, and none since June 1 against the Twins at Yankee Stadium. Many of the Robertson haters would have expected more by now.

Probably the biggest part of this season that he is having is the fact that he'll be a free-agent after the season. A pitcher with his abilities and experience, there will be a lot of teams out there that would love to have Robertson in their bullpen.

It's not often that the Yankees hand out contract extensions to players, which was what made the Brett Gardner extension during spring training such a surprise, given that he, too, was headed for free-agency after the season. The Yankees gave Gardner a new four-year, $54 million pact, and something very similar to that before the season would have been a great deal for the Yankees, but now that Robertson is very much succeeding as the closer, the price will go likely go up this winter.

Plenty of teams nowadays are having a tough time finding a closer that can stick in for several years in their bullpen, and the Yankees have a great one in Robertson following up the Hall of Famer Rivera.

We've been living in this new world for a few months now, and I have to say: I'm really liking it.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

CC Sabathia is likely done for the season because of knee problems

Just two rehabs starts into his return to the big leagues, CC Sabathia was shut down by the Yankees on Thursday after waking his with fluids in his knee following a start with Double-A Trenton on Wednesday night. Sabathia was sent for an MRI on Thursday, which we haven't yet heard the results of.

When asked on Friday is we would see Sabathia on the mound for the Yankees this season, the pinstripes' skipper said that it's "probably fair to say" he won't be pitching against in 2014.

The Yankees don't yet know if there is any structural damage in his knee, but Sabathia will visit Dr. James Andrews to determine the next step.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported this morning that "there continues to be a possibility" that Sabathia will require microfracture surgery on his right knee, which would put his pitching future very much in question.

If Sabathia really is done for the season, then we can finish this off by sharing his stats from the only eight games he started this seas before going on the DL on May 11. He was 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA in 46 innings.

In even more bad news: this means more Vidal Nuno.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Game 85: Happy 4th of July, America

For the second year in a row, the Yankees are in Minnesota with an Fourth of July matchup with the Twins.

They're hoping to keep the momentum going this afternoon at 3 pm ET after taking the opening of this four-game series last night with a 7-4 win over their former teammate, Phil Hughes. Zelous Wheeler made his major league debut last night, batting 8th in the lineup and playing third base. He hit s solo homerun in his second big league at-bat and singled later in the game to finish 2-for-4.

Wheeler, however, is not in the lineup this afternoon for some reason, and neither is Brian McCann, who singled last night, and Derek Jeter, who I presume is just getting a day off.

Mark Teixeira was back in the Yankees' lineup last night, a day after getting his knee drained. Teixeira showed no lingering signs of the draining, going 2-for-4.

Today's lineup against Minnesota:

LF Brett Gardner
2B Brian Roberts
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Carlos Beltran
RF Ichiro Suzuki
C Francisco Cervelli
3B Kelly Johnson
SS Brendan Ryan

*  CC Sabathia is on his way to see Dr. James Andrews about his knee. There is still a good chance that surgery will be needed, and the future of his return to a big league mound is more unclear than ever right now.

Pitching matchup preview:

Right-hander Chase Whitley will get the ball for the Yankees today, following up fellow rookie Masahiro Tanaka, who picked up his 12th win of the season last night. Whitley looked good in his first handful of big league starts, but has been roughed up lately, having allowed 13 runs on 19 hits in 7 1/3 innings over his last two starts.

His last start was against the Boston Red Sox, in which he gave up five runs on eight hits, including a three-run homerun to David Ortiz.

"He just made some mistakes that looked like they were in the middle of the plate," Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters after that loss. "He was able to escape the first two innings and minimize the damage with some double-play balls, but then he gave up the big three-run homer."

On the mound for the Twins is right-hander Kyle Gibson, who will be facing the Bombers for the third time in the last two seasons.

Gibson allowed 11 runs (10 earned) over 10 1/3 innings in the first two outings against the Yankees, but has pitching better of late, with a 2.61 ERA and an 0.94 WHIP in his last five starts.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Minor League Recap - 7/3/14: Aaron Judge and Luis Severino lead Tampa to victory

Triple-A Scranton: 4-1 win vs Buffalo Bisons

LF Jose Pirela: 3-for-5, R, K
2B Rob Refsnyder": 0-for-3, 2 BB, K
DH Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-3, R, 2B, 2 BB
RF Adonis Garcia: 1-for-5, 2 K
1B Kyle Roller: 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
3B Scott Sizemore: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI

Chris Leroux: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Francisco Rondon: 1.2 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Double-A Trenton: 8-0 win vs Portland Sea Dogs

CF Mason Williams: 2-for-5, R, K
DH Ben Gamel: 2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K
RF Tyler Austin: 1-for-4, R
C Peter O'Brien: 3-for-4, 3 R
1B Rob Segedin: 3-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, K -- 7th dinger of the season

Matt Tracy: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Cesar Cabral: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Tyler Webb: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

High-A Tampa: 4-3 win over Lakeland Flying Tigers

CF Jake Cave: 0-for-5, 2 K -- hitting .310 this season
SS Cito Culver: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Greg Bird: 1-for-4, R, 2 K
3B Dante Bichette Jr: 1-for-3, R, BB
RF Aaron Judge: 1-for-2, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, K -- 3rd homerun in High-A

Luis Severino: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K -- this kid has been really impressive in Tampa so far
Chris Smith: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Low-A Charleston: 10-5 loss vs Savannah Sand Gnats

CF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-5, R, HR, 3 RBI -- 8th homerun of the season
RF Dustin Fowler: 2-for-5, R
SS Tyler Wade: 0-for-4,
2B John Murphy: 2-for-4, R, RBI

Caleb Smith: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Eric Ruth: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Short Season Staten Island: Game vs Aberdeen Iron Birds postponed to to rain

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Yankees 7, Twins 4: Zelous Wheeler goes yard for his first big league hit

Zelous Wheeler waited eight years to make his Major League debut, bouncing around the minor leagues, getting over 2,000 at-bats in the minors before the Yankees called-up on Wednesday night.

In his second big league at-bat, Wheeler hit a 412 foot homerun into the left-center field bullpens, a few batter after Carlos Beltran launched hit 9th homerun of the year, back up Masahiro Tanaka, who in the first time in 18 starts this season failed to record a quality start, as the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-4, on Thursday night at Target Field.

It was clear from the start that Tanaka was not on the top of his pitching game, coming off of two straight losses -- even though he pitched well in both starts -- as the Twins jumped on the board with a quick run in the first inning.

Brian Dozier opened the inning with a single off of Tanaka, then two batters later, Chris Parmelee hit a one-out double into the right field corner, scoring Dozier to put the Twins up 1-0. Parmelee was tagged out trying to stretch the double into a triple.

Minnesota went up 2-0 in the 3rd inning after Sam Fuld and Dozier reached on singled to kick off the inning, putting runners on 1st and 3rd,

The two runs gave Phil Hughes some room to work with, having beat the Yankees in his first start against them back on June 1 when he tossed eight innings of two-run ball. Hughes retired 11 of the first 12 batters that he faced through four innings, having set down the first six to make it 24 straight Yankee hitters going back to that June start at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees' lineup finally broke through against it's former teammate in the 5th inning. Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann hit back-to-back singles open the frame, then Beltran cleared the bases and gave Bombers a 3-2 lead with a three-run shot to right field. Both Beltran and McCann are hitting in the .220's, and need to start hitting better, obviously. Two batters later, Wheeler prompted John Sterling to debut "Wheels up for Zelous" for his first big league homerun, making it a 4-2 game.

Minnesota gained a run back on Tanaka in the bottom half of the 6th inning on an RBI groundout by Kendrys Morales, scoring Kurt Suzuki, who doubled then moved to third base on a Parmelee groundout. That cut the Yanks' lead to 4-3.

The Bombers, though, would extend their lead up to four runs in the next half inning with a three-run frame. Ichiro Suzuki drew a one-out walk and Wheeler followed up with a single. The next batter, Brendan Ryan, doubled to score Ichiro and move Wheeler to third, making this a 5-3 game.

Brian Duensing relieved Hughes to end his night. Hughes, and All-Star Game candidate two weeks ago, has been roughed up lately, and was tagged for seven runs on eight hits tonight, with a walk and six strikeouts.

Brett Gardner welcomed Duensing to the game with an RBI single that scored Wheeler and put Ryan on third base with just one out. A batter later, Derek Jeter grounded out, which was enough to score Ryan, giving the Yankees a 7-3 lead.

Tanaka in the 7th inning gave up his fourth run of the game for the very first time in his big league career. Trevor Plouffe doubled with one out, then Edurado Escobar singled home Plouffe to pull the Twins within three runs.

Like I said, this wasn't Tanaka's best game, facing the Twins for the second time in his career. He was charged with four runs on seven hits, with just three strikeouts and no walks on 85 pitches in seven innings of work.

He handed the ball off to Dellin Betances, who shut down the side in the 8th while striking out a pair, during his normal Betances thing. That lead to David Robertson, who issued a two-out walk, but still struck out the side to end the game for his 19th save of the season. Robertson has been really good in his first season as the closer, and as a free-agent at the end of the season, the Yankees need to lock him up.

Back to .500, the Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound on Friday afternoon for a special 3 pm start time on Independence Day, going up against right-hander Kyle Gibson. The game will be aired on ESPN.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

CC Sabathia likely headed for an MRI for fluids in his knee

CC Sabathia is heading for an MRI on his knee after waking up to some fluids and swelling in his knee this morning following a rehab start with Double-A Trenton last night, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters before the game.

He'll be shut down for a bit, and now his expected return date will be pushed back even further than what nobody already knew what it was going to be. The Yankees are awaiting results of the MRI before figuring out how they should move forward with this.

Sabathia will down on the DL back in May and it was revealed that he has a degenerative issue in his knee, which could be a major problem in the future. The Yankees were hoping to get him back sometime around the all-star break, but that was eventually pushed back to at least August.

With both Sabathia and Michael Pineda on the DL until who knows when, the Yankees' rotation has been in need of a boost, relying on Vidal Nuno, whose last two starts have actually been decent, David Phelps and Chase Whitley, a career minor league reliever that got off to a hot start in the big leagues before struggling in his last two starts, to carry this rotation behind an on again, off again Hiroki Kuroda and staff ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Getting him back just after the all-star break could have been like adding a pitcher through a trade, in that there was a chance Sabathia comes back to be a steady pitcher in the rotation, giving the quality innings and good starts that he's paid to produce.

Instead, the unknown timetable becomes even more of an unknown.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Game 84: Time to turn things around

Struggling to score runs and, more importantly, win games, the Yankees made change to their 25-man roster on Thursday, optioning Yangervis Solarte, who has been awful since about mid-May, to Triple-A Scranton, and calling up third baseman Zelous Wheeler, who is in the starting lineup tonight for his big league debut.

The Yankees have lost five straight games and 9 of their last 11 as they open up a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins tonight at Target Field, where the Yankees are 16-3 all-time, and 73-24 against the Twins during the Ron Gardenhire era.

Minnesota, 38-45 and sitting in last place in the AL Central, just lost two of it's three games against the Kansas City Royals this week, and has dropped seven of it's last nine games. The Yankees and Twins met at Yankee Stadium a couple weeks ago, with Minnesota taking two of the three games.

The Yankees are struggling right now, so if there was any team they'd want to be playing right now to help turn things around, it would be the Twins -- hopefully.

Tonight's lineup against Minnesota:

LF Brett Gardner
SS Derek Jeter
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
1B Mark Teixeira
C Brian McCann
DH Carlos Beltran
RF Ichiro Suzuki
3B Zelous Wheeler
2B Brendan Ryan

Pitching matchup preview:

Every team needs to have a stopper to help end a losing streak, and with the Yankees having lost five straight, they'll be counting on Masahiro Tanaka, the team's best pitcher this season.

Tanaka enters his start tonight tied with Felix Hernandez for the American League in ERA (2.10), tied with the Tigers' Rick Porcello for the Major League lead in wins (11) and has recorded a quality start in all of his outings.

Tanaka is coming off of his second straight loss, but it has nothing to do with bad pitching. He tossed a complete game against the Boston Red Sox last Saturday, giving up just two runs, both solo homeruns, including one to Mike Napoli with two outs in the 9th to break a 1-1 tie.

On the mound for Minnesota is a guy that the Yankees are very familiar with, right-hander Phil Hughes, who has already faced his former club one this season. Hughes faced the Yankees in the Bronx in June 1, getting the win after tossing eight innings on two-run ball.

Hughes has been impressive with the Twins this season after an awful 2013 campaign, but has hit a wall lately, giving up a combined 10 runs in 12 2/3 innings over his last two starts.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Minor League Recap - 7/2/14: CC Sabathia rehabs for Double-A Trenton

Triple-A Scranton: Game One - 1-0 walkoff loss vs Buffalo Bisons in eight innings

2B Jose Pirela: 3-for-4, 2B
DH Rob Refsnyder: 1-for-4, K
LF Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-4, K
3B Zelous Wheeler: 0-for-1, K -- was called up to the majors mid-game
C John Ryan Murphy: 0-for-4, K

RHP Shane Greene: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 4/5 GB/FB — 63 of 99 pitches were strikes
RHP Matt Daley: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Game Two: 3-1 loss vs Buffalo Bisons in seven innings

RF Jose Pirela: 0-3, 2 K -- fielding error
2B Rob Refsnyder: 1-3, K
LF Zoilo Almonte: 0-for-3
1B Kyle Roller: 0-for-3, 2 K
SS Dean Anna: 0-for-3, 2 K
3B Scott Sizemore: 2-for-3
C Austin Romine: 1-for-3, K

Nik Turley: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 2 K
Edgmer Escalona: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Double-A Trenton: 8-6 loss vs Portland Sea Dogs

CF Mason Williams: 0-for-4, R, BB
LF Ben Gamel: 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB
C Gary Sanchez: 2-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI -- hitting .378 in his last ten games
1B Peter O’Brien: 1-for-3, BB, K
RF Tyler Austin: 1-for-3, RBI

CC Sabathia: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HB -- 33 of 55 pitches for strikes
Bryan Mitchell: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

High-A Tampa: Game postponed due to rain

Low-A Charleston: 7-4 loss vs Savannah Sand Gnats

RF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-5, R, 2B, 3 K
1B Mike Ford: 0-for-4, 2 K -- hitting .282 this season
2B Gosuke Katoh: 1-for-4, 3 K

Brady Lail: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Angel Rincon: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Jacob Lindgren: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K -- Low-A debut

Short Season Staten Island: 9-5 win vs Aberdeen IronBirds

SS Thairo Estrada: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K, SB
CF Austin Aune: 0-for-4, R, BB, 4 K
LF Chris Breen: 1-for-5, R, RBI
C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K, 3 past balls
RF Nathan Mikolas: 0-for-1, R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
1B Conner Spencer: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI

Jordan Cote: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Coner Mullee: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Rony Bautista: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Zelous Wheeler called up, Yangervis Solarte optioned; Dean Anna designated for assignment

Confirming reports from Wednesday night, the Yankees announced on Thursday that infielder Zelous Wheeler has been called up for Triple-A Scranton, earning the first promotion of his professional career. On the short end of things, the struggling Yangervis Solarte was optioned to Triple-A, and Dean Anna was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
]
If there was anybody that I did not see as a call-up option this season, it would have been Wheeler, who really worked hard this season to get into this position.

Wheeler is batting .300/.368/.469 with seven homeruns and 31 RBIs in 65 games with the Triple-A team this season, spending most of his time at third base, with shortstop and right field mixed in. So he's a versatile option for Joe Girardi's bench.

Solarte is in a is in a 3-for-41 (.073) slide after going 0-for-4 on Wednesday. On a larger scale, he's been batting .187/.270/.268 since mid-May. As much as you wanted to believe otherwise, Solarte was a career minor leaguer that didn't last very long. Not only his bat, but his defense at third base has taken a hit, too.

Anna, meanwhile, was traded to the Yankees during the winter, and played well enough in the spring to earn a spot on the Yankees' Opening Day roster. He was optioned down to Triple-A near the end of April after batting .162 in 12 games for the Yankees. Things weren't much better in Scranton -- he spent some time on the DL, hitting .196 down there. He was a nice guy, a good fielder, but couldn't live up the batting potential with the Yankees.

The Bombers are in Minnesota today to open up a four-game series with the Twins.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Yankees sign international prospects Dermis Garcia and Nelson Gomez

The plan has been in place for quite some time, and with the international signing period opening up today, the Yankees are finally able to put the plan of spending wildly on international players to restock the farm system in action.

The Yankees have officially signing Dominican prospects Dermis Garcia, a shortstop, and third baseman Nelson Gonzalez, per multiple reports.. Both players were rated the No. 1 and No.2 international prospects, according to MLB.com. Combined, the two will cost the Yankees about $5.5 million.

Garcia is a big 6-foot-2,182-pound right-handed shortstop with a lot of raw power and a good arm in the field. Scouts really like his bat speed and easy power, and I would imagine that this kid could move through the farm system pretty quick if he follows to course properly. An average fielder (45-grade), he has an above-average arm (60-grade) and can hit for both average (55-grade) and power (65-grade). Scouts have compared him to a teenage Alex Rodriguez, and we all remember how gifted A-Rod was as a teenager with the Seattle Mariners. Huge signing for the Yankees if this kid pans out.

Gonzalez is a right handed third baseman, and also a pretty big kid at 6-foot-2 and close to 220 pounds. Scouts have given him a reputation as a pure hitter and is considered the best hitter in the entire class by some, ranked No. 2 by MLB.com. The scouting report on him give him a 60-grade hitting, 60-grade power, 60-grade arm and 50-grade fielding. Some believe that his offensive game is ahead of his defense, so he still has some things to workout before being MLB-ready.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Minor League Recap - 6/30/14: Zelous Wheeler hits his 7th homerun of the season in Scranton

Triple-A Scranton: 9-7 loss vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs

RF Jose Pirela: 1-for-5, RBI -- hitting .314 this season
2B Rob Refsnyder: 1-for-4, BB, K -- hitting .364 in Triple-A
LF Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-3, R, 2 BB, K
3B Zelous Wheeler: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, K -- 7th homerun of the season
DH Kyle Roller: 0-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
C John Ryan Murphy: 1-for-3, R, BB, K
1B Scott Sizemore: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 3B, 2 RBI, BB -- 4th and 5th triples of the season
SS Dean Anna: 0-for-4, K

Bruce Billings: 6 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR -- 66 of 103 pitches for strikes
Matt Daley: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Double-A Trenton: 2-0 win vs Portland Sea Dogs

CF Mason Williams: 1-for-3, R, BB
LF Ben Gamel: 0-for-4, 2 K
C Gary Sanchez: 0-for-4, K
1B Peter O'Brien: 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2 K
RF Tyler Austin: 1-for-2, BB

Eric Wooten: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

High-A Tampa: Off-day

Low-A Charleston: 4-2 loss vs Kannapolis Intimidators

SS Tyler Wade: 1-for-5, RBI, 3 K
1B Mike Ford: 1-for-4, 2B, K -- hitting .291 this season
DH Reymond Nunez: 2-for-4, K
2B Gosuke Katoh: 2-for-4, RBI

Chaz Hebert: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Short Season Staten Island: Off-day

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More

Yankees scouting Padres third baseman Chase Headley regularly

As the calender flips to July, the trading deadline is just a few weeks off. The Yankees, who are 41-40 midway through the season, need help all around the diamond if they want any chance of making the playoffs in Derek Jeter's finally season. The starting rotation, the bullpen and the infield are the main area's of concern right now for a team that is still very much in the American League East race.

According to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees have been scouting San Diego Padres third base Chase Headley "regularly," which isn't much of a surprise given their need for another infield bat and that they have been seemingly interested in him for the past couple of years.

Headley, who had a breakout season for the Padres back in 2012, hitting career-highs in homeruns (31), RBIs (115), batting average (.289) and slugging percentage (.875), has really struggles at the plate this season, hitting a terribly low .201 with six homeruns and 23 RBIs this season.

Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune reported on Friday that the Blue Jays are also interested in acquiring Headley, who admitted on Tuesday that he expects to have to deal with the herniated disc in his back for the rest of the season. He was given epidural last weekend, but has since been back in the Padres' lineup. There would be some risk in getting him with those issues, so waiting to see how that plays out could be key.

I don't really mind the first half numbers, and think that with a change of scenery, the Yankees could spark a turnaround for Headley, who is a free-agent after this season. He would be an immediate upgrade over Kelly Johnson, who is hitting hit .224 this season.

Follow @GavinEwbank

Read More