Game 150 / 83-67 / 2nd / -2.5 GB : With 12 games left in the season and claim to the AL East crown literally in the balance, this was the contest that could tilt it — not by math per se, but by momentum. And thanks in no short measure to the ‘kids’, the Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 6-4, and brought the division race back to a 2.5 game deficit — with yet another pivotal contest tomorrow, their last head-to-head matchup of the regular season.
Here’s the box score, full recap, and video highlights.
Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4
The Game Winner
Division On The Line
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- “Betances Drives You Nuts” As eloquently stated on the radio side by John Sterling, but truer words not spoken. With the game and in turn probably the division itself on the line in the bottom of the 8th — Betances loaded the bags, then got out of it with a strikeout of Edwin Encarnación. Full-pack indeed.
- More Wasted Opportunities Talk about driving you nuts, the Yankees numbers with runners left on base, especially in scoring position makes you reach for that rusty screwdriver to puncture an eye socket with. Tied at 2 in the top of the 7th, the Yankees loaded the bases yet again in this series and came up empty. These are the instances that separate the teams that a) make the post-season, and b) go deep in the post-season. The Yankees simply cannot continue blowing these chances to put a game away at this point in the campaign.
- Bucket List With his blast in the top of the 8th, Carlos Beltran is now the only active player to have clubbed at least one home run against every Major League team. It would have been the game-winner if not for Miller’s mistake pitch to Dioner Navarro in the 9th.
- Andrew Takeith Away, Andrew Giveth After giving up an improbable game-tying home run to Navarro leading off the bottom of the 9th, and loading the bases only to strike out Josh Donaldson — incredible, no justice to reading this — you had to see it. Huge!
- Note to Baserunners Don’t run on Joey Bats. He’s killing us with the arm, too. Anything hit to right, do not try to advance.
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“The much-maligned Yankee farm system is carrying this team right now.” ‐ David Cone (on YES post game show)
MEMORY LANE : On today’s date in 1966, with only 413 patrons in attendance to see New York’s 4-1 loss to the White Sox, Red Barber‘s request for a camera to scan the empty stands is denied by the team’s head of media relations. The veteran broadcaster will reportedly lose his job when he continues to tell his audience, “I don’t know what the paid attendance is today, but whatever it is, it is the smallest crowd in the history of Yankee Stadium, and this crowd is the story, not the game.” …
Today in 1985, one night after scuffling with a patron in the bar of the Yankees’ Baltimore hotel, manager Billy Martin has his right arm broken by pitcher Ed Whitson in an early-morning brawl in the same bar …
(h/t: NationalPastime.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Today in Baseball History)
FOOTNOTES : Happy 54th Birthday to former Yankees backstop (1988-1991), and current skipper of the Oakland A’s, Bob Geren…
