|
 10/06/2015 MLB Note - New York Yankees Ellsbury, Jacoby
CF Jacoby Ellsbury was the most sought after Yankee for the media
after batting practice because he was not in the starting lineup for
Tuesday's wild-card game against Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel. Ellsbury
batted .253 against left-handed pitching this year and ended the
regular season with three hits in his last 21 at-bats. Manager Joe
Girardi said he mulled over the decision to sit Ellsbury for about
two days before reaching a final conclusion. In the brief time he
spoke to the media on the field, Ellsbury said he did not have a
problem with the move. "I told him I wanted to play," Ellsbury said
hours before entering the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth
inning. He popped out, then stayed in the game on defense.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - New York Yankees Refsnyder, Rob
2B Rob Refsnyder was one of 11 players not on the Opening Day roster
to make the roster for Tuesday's wild-card game. He wound up going
0-for-3 with a groundout and two flyouts. Refsnyder emerged as an
option at second base in the final weeks of the season due to
getting a hit in each start against left-handed pitching and
improving defense. "He's done a real good job seizing his
opportunity," manager Joe Girardi said, "and he's been patient at
the plate. He has never seemed overwhelmed whether it's been
defensively, offensively. He's done a really good job, and that's
why he's playing."
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - New York Yankees Gardner, Brett
CF Brett Gardner has always been a favorite of manager Joe Girardi,
and despite a dreadful second half, he remained in the lineup
against LHP Dallas Keuchel over CF Jacoby Ellsbury. Manager Joe
Girardi cited Gardner's .273 average off southpaws as the reason for
keeping him in. After Gardner was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts
against Keuchel, Girardi defended his thinking, saying: "It was a
tough decision. And Gardy's body of work against lefties was better
than Jake's. And if it doesn't work, obviously I'm going to be
questioned about it. Does Jake hit three home runs and it's 3-3? I
don't know, but we didn't solve Keuchel the whole year."
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - New York Yankees Tanaka, Masahiro
RHP Masahiro Tanaka made his postseason debut, allowing two runs and
four hits in five innings in the Yankees' wild-card loss to the
Astros. He gave up solo home runs to LF Colby Rasmus on his fastball
and CF Carlos Gomez on his slider. Both pitches were the first
pitches of innings, with Rasmus connecting in the second and Gomez
homering in the fourth. Tanaka threw 83 pitches and tied a season
high with three walks. He allowed 27 home runs in his second season
with the Yankees, 21 of them with the bases empty.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - Houston Astros Keuchel, Dallas
LHP Dallas Keuchel has pitched 30 innings against the Yankees and
held the Yankees scoreless in 29 of them. Including his six innings
in the AL wild-card game Tuesday -- on three days' rest -- he has
held the Yankees scoreless in 28 consecutive innings. Keuchel became
the third starting pitcher in Houston history to hold the opponent
without a run in a postseason game. The others were Joe Niekro in
Game 3 of the 1980 NL Championship Series against the Phillies and
Mike Scott in Game 1 of the 1986 NLCS against the Mets.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - Houston Astros Valbuena, Luis
INF Luis Valbuena made just eight starts at third base during the
regular season, but he wound up starting there in the AL wild-card
game. He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Valbuena finished the
regular season with a .438 average (14-for-32) and a 1.357 OPS over
his last 15 games, and those numbers were difficult for manager A.J.
Hinch to overlook.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - Houston Astros Lowrie, Jed
INF Jed Lowrie, who made 45 starts at third base, did not start in
the AL wild-card game because he is not 100 percent. Lowrie was
limited to 69 games this season due to a torn ligament in his right
thumb, and he batted .137 over his last 20 games after Sept. 7.
Lowrie is in the postseason for the fifth time after making
appearances for the Red Sox in 2008 and 2009 and Athletics in 2013
and 2014.
-----------------------------------------------
[to top of second column] |
MLB Note - Houston Astros Gomez, Carlos
CF Carlos Gomez returned to the starting lineup, even though he was
not 100 percent, and he wound up hitting his second career
postseason home run. Gomez's other postseason home run came in Game
4 of the 2011 NL Division Series against the Diamondbacks. Gomez
missed most of September with a left intercostal strain and did not
play in the regular season after Sept. 30. After Tuesday's game, he
said there was no way he going to sit out even it is painful to
swing a bat. "I can't be out of the lineup tonight because we don't
know if we're going to win," Gomez said. "So if we lost, I go home
with my (heart) broke because I can be playing that day and make the
difference, like the difference I made today."
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - Houston Astros McHugh, Collin
RHP Collin McHugh (19-7, 3.89 ERA) will pitch the opener of the AL
Division Series against the Royals on Thursday.
"I'm excited," he told the Houston Chronicle after the Astros' AL
wild-card win. "I've been telling everybody all day today, 'I want
to pitch. I want to pitch, want to pitch, give me a chance to
pitch.' To be able to have that chance on Thursday is a real
blessing. It's going to take some preparation the next couple of
days, but I like our chances."
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - New York Mets Harvey, Matt
RHP Matt Harvey did not show up for a mandatory workout Tuesday, and
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson expressed his displeasure.
Harvey, who had a late-season rift with the team over limiting his
innings to preserve his surgically repaired throwing arm, eventually
showed up and said he was stuck in traffic. He said he apologized to
teammates for not being there.
"Never happened before and unfortunately it happened kind of a bad
time and a mandatory time. Truly I just screwed up," said Harvey,
who is scheduled to pitch Game 3 of the NL Division Series against
the Dodgers.
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - Los Angeles Dodgers Kershaw, Clayton
LHP Clayton Kershaw, despite his poor postseason record, will start
Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Mets.
Kershaw went 16-7 with a 2.13 ERA this season, leading the league
with 301 strikeouts. The primary knock on Kershaw is his woeful
playoff history: 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA in 11 career postseason
appearances, including eight starts. Each of the past two years, he
lost twice in the NL Division Series to the St. Louis Cardinals,
allowing a total of 18 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings (7.15 ERA).
Manager Don Mattingly said, "I don't need to defend him. This year
is this year. We'll see what happens."
-----------------------------------------------
MLB Note - Miami Marlins Suzuki, Ichiro
OF Ichiro Suzuki re-signed with the Marlins on Oct. 6. According to
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, Suzuki will receive $2 million in 2016, and
the Marlins will also hold a $2 million option for 2017 season.
Suzuki, who will be 42 years old on Oct. 22, will be entering his
16th season in the U.S. major leagues. He is just 65 hits shy of the
milestone 3,000 in North America. Between Japan and the United
States, Suzuki has 4,213 professional hits. The major league record
for hits is 4,256, held by Pete Rose. Suzuki, who had a
229/.282/.279 hitting line with one home run and 11 stolen bases
this season, figures to be a reserve outfielder for the Marlins in
2016.
-----------------------------------------------
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
