But last night's game was so long (How long was it?), the Angels actually gave up the designated hitter, forcing their pitcher to bat. So that led me to believe that their new manager was Joe Girardi.
J.A. Happ started for the Yankees, and certainly pitched well enough to win, going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. Luke Voit hit a home run in the 1st inning, and the Yankees got a 2nd run on a sacrifice fly by Gleyber Torres in the 3rd.
Gio Urshela singled in the 4th. After that, the Yankees didn't get another hit until the 12th. Their only baserunner in the interim was a walk by Brett Gardner in the 8th. That's 23 batters, only 1 reaching base.
I'd say, "That's what the injury crisis has done to the Yankees," but, the truth is, they weren't hitting well when they had a lineup full of All-Star caliber players, either.
At any rate, that Torres sac fly made it 2-2, and that score held from the 3rd inning until the top of the 12th. Clint Frazier kept up his hot streak by leading off with a double to right. Mike Tauchman grounded out, getting Frazier to 3rd with 1 out. Mike Ford was intentionally walked, so that Angels reliever Taylor Cole could pitch to the rookie Gio Urshela. That made sense, because, while Ford is also a brand-new rookie, making it men on 1st and 3rd set up the inning-ending double play.
But it didn't work: Urshela hit a long fly to center, and it was deep enough to score Frazier. 3-2 Yankees.
There was some concern that, during this sequence, Frazier might have become the latest Yankee to get hurt.
So we just needed our closer, Aroldis Chapman, to get 3 outs without allowing a run in the bottom of the 12th, and put and end to this long night: It was already after 1:00 AM, New York time. But he couldn't do it: He allowed a leadoff single, allowed a stolen base, got a strikeout, induced a fly out, hit a batter, and allowed a game-tying single, before inducing an inning-ending groundout.
Cue Danny Glover as Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh: "I'm too old for this shit." (And before you say I'm not, let me remind you: In the 1st Lethal Weapon film, he's about to turn 50, and I'll turn 50 at the end of this year.)
Finally, in the 14th, the Yankees made another bid to end "this shit." Torres, who is in a nasty slump, struck out, but Angel catcher Jonathan Lucroy mishandled the 3rd strike, and managed to reach 1st because Lucroy also made a bad throw.
Lucroy should get down on his knees and thank God that Angels fans aren't like Arsenal fans. If they were, he'd be getting some serious online harassment.
Frazier, remaining in the game despite his ankle hurting, struck out, but Angel reliever Luke Bard (younger brother of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard) threw a wild pitch that got Tauchman to 2nd. Bard then struck Tauchman out, and walked Ford intentionally to set up the inning-ending force play. But, again, Urshela foiled the strategy, singling to right-center and scoring Torres.
Jonathan Holder had pitched a perfect 13th, so Aaron Boone sent him out to pitch the bottom of the 14th. He got a strikeout and a groundout. Then, because Ausmus had maneuvered himself into losing the DH slot, the pitcher, Bard was up. Nearly out of options, Asumus sent Trevor Cahill up to pinch-hit. Cahill is a starting pitcher, and a former National Leaguer, whereas Bard has never come to bat. So, even though Cahill's career on-base percentage is .141, Asumus decided he might as well go with a guy who can throw more than a couple of innings, just in case.
Holder struck him out. At 2:42 AM New York time, it was finally over: Yankees 4, Angels 3, in 14 innings. WP: Holder (1-0). No save. LP: Bard (0-1).
Much like the baseball season as a whole, this game was a marathon, not a sprint. In the end, we won the game. We are still 2 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division.
The series with the Angels continues tonight, with Domingo German starting against Felix Stratton.