The Yankees Come Back From the Dead on Easter Sunday to Beat the Royals
Nothing like a little Easter Sunday Resurrection huh? This baseball team is going to put us all in the hospital before the All Star Break. Paxton pitched his balls off and only has a no decision to show for it because the bullpen absolutely shit themselves. Luckily the team clawed back with some late small ball and grabbed the W. Let’s break it down.
James “Randy Johnson” Paxton
6+ IP | 3 H | 0 R | 12 K | 1 BB |
Another masterful outing from Big Maple. We need to build Carlos Beltran a goddamn statue for fixing Pax after his rough first few starts. Paxton joined David Cone as the only Yankees pitchers EVER to strike out 12 guys in back to back games. Today he was filthy again, striking out eight in a row at one point. He was flat-out dominant today and is looking more and more like the man we traded for. He thrives off the New York crowd and big moments where he pumps himself up. The Pax Man and Tanaka at the helm is a pretty good 1-2 punch until Sevy gets back. We needed these last two starts from him big time. Shout out Beltran and sports psychologists everywhere for their fine work. Can Chad Green see the person?
Clint Frazier
With all the injuries to this team we obviously need guys to step up. Many have been given large roles and also huge opportunities to prove themselves. No one has been better than Clint Frazier. Today he continued his assault on Major League Baseball.
Dude is hitting .339 while slugging .661 with a team-high 17 RBIs and a 1.149 OPS. He’s been a machine at the plate and is giving this lineup some life while seemingly everyone else is hurt. He did snap his bat in half over his leg late in the game and I’d prefer if he didn’t do that moving forward. With this team’s luck a splinter would be lodged in his leg and kill him. Someone bubble wrap Clint Frazier for the love of god.
The Bullpen
You’d think with a 5-0 lead in the 8th we’d be able to sit back and relax for a change. Nope, not today. Chad Green entered in the 8th and immediately loaded the bases with nobody out. Thanks fuck face. What is his problem? I don’t get it. Chad is completely broken and can’t be used for the foreseeable future in any reasonably close game. Adam Ottavino came in to try and clean up his mess and just didn’t have it. Dude got rocked plain and simple. He probably didn’t think he was going to be used at all with a 5-0 lead in the 8th, but I mean he just left pitches all over the plate and got tattooed. I think we can all give him a pass based on what he’s given us this year, Chad Green on the other hand not at all. Fuck that guy. Chapman was vintage Chapman in the 9th and Britton (despite almost getting hurt on the pickoff) was solid in the 10th. Kahnle was good in the 7th eliminating both runners that Paxton left him with. It’s just always someone in this bullpen that ruins it for the rest.
Small Ball Wins
After the Royals took the lead in the 8th, the Yankees used small ball and the bottom of their order to tie it in the 8th and then again in the 10th to win it. Tauchman’s double. Ford moving him off on the ground ball. Romine coming through with a 2 out ground ball past short and third. Again in the 10th two walks to lead off the inning. Boone calls back Ford to bring up Thairo Estrada for his first ever Major League at bat. Estrada gets down a PERFECT bunt to move both runners and then Romine delivers again with the walk off single. You see nerds? Bunting is good sometimes! Do whatever it takes to win man. It’s never going to be easy, but these guys can still win ball games.
Gary back on Wednesday. Maybe Hicks and Stanton not too far behind. The Yankees head west now for a three series road trip. Who knows what to expect but at least they’re fighting right now. Winners of five of six, and wrapping up a 6-3 homestand. I’ll take it. They’re back to over .500 and I’ve got a crazy idea that we should keep it that way. Lets go win some games out west, shall we?
P.S. Congrats to Mike Ford on picking up his first big league hit with an opposite field double early in the game.
Dude has been grinding in the minors since 2013 and finally is getting his shot. He’s seen a TON of pitches and worked counts since being called up and has a very good presence at the plate. Now that he’s got this out of way hopefully more hits can keep falling.