Taking more than half, at least 4 of the 7 -- taking 2 of 3 vs. Tampa, and at least splitting the 4 with Houston -- is a must. If we can take 3 out of 4 from the Astros, that would send quite the message.
But, one game at a time. Last night, Masahiro Tanaka showed what happens when, A, a pitcher has his stuff working; and, B, his manager lets him keep working said stuff. He didn't allow a baserunner until Austin Meadows led off the 4th with a single. Willy Adames singled in the 5th. Meadows drew a walk in the 6th. That was it: 3 baserunners, none of whom even got to 2nd base. (After his walk, Meadows tried to steal 2nd, but was caught.) He struck out 10.
He didn't need much backup, but he got it. In the 3rd, Cameron Maybin singled, and DJ LeMahieu hit a home run. In the 5th, Maybin hit a homer of his own.
As it turned out, that was plenty for 'Hiro. Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone let him throw 110 pitches and finish the game, because he was that good. It was a Masa-terpiece. Yankees 3, Rays 0. WP: Tanaka (5-5). No save. LP: Yonny Chirinos (7-3).
There was one down note: In his Yankee debut, Edwin Encarnacion went 0-for-4. That wasn't that surprising, though: The Yankees only got 8 hits: The aforementioned homers by LeMahieu and Maybin, the Maybin single, a double by Aaron Hicks, another single by Maybin, and singles by Brett Gardner, Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez.
With the win, the Yankees move to a game and a half ahead of the Rays in the AL East, 2 games in the loss column. The Boston Red Sox are 5 1/2 back, 7 in the loss column. In the race for Playoff seeding, they trail the Central Division-leading Minnesota Twins by 3 games (also 3 in the loss column), and the Western Division-leading Astros by 3 (2 in the loss column).
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Today, the Yankees activated Giancarlo Stanton from the Injured List, and sent Mike Tauchman back down to the minor leagues. Still waiting on Aaron Judge, and hoping that he'll be back in time to face Houston on Thursday.
The series is scheduled to continue tonight, with the starting pitchers being J.A. Happ against Ryan Stanek. However, as I type this, it is lightly raining in Central Jersey, and was pouring within this hour.
The Yankees organization has tweeted that they plan to open the gates on time at 5:30 tonight, and will make a decision on a potential postponement later. In other words, they'll open the gates and get as much concession and souvenir revenue as they can before calling it, and setting up a separate-admissions doubleheader for tomorrow.
I understand, but it is cynical. I expect better from the team I have loved for 42 seasons.
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Hours until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 9, tonight at 10:00 PM Eastern Time (9:00 Central/local), against the South American nation of Guyana, at the brand-new Allianz Field in St. Paul, home of Minnesota United, in the opener of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The women's team is doing quite nicely in its defense of the Women's World Cup in France, and will play Sweden on Thursday, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time, in Le Havre.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 10, a week from this Friday night, home to the Chicago Fire.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 11, on Saturday, June 29. This is the 2-game series at the London Stadium, home base of the 2012 Olympics, and home field of soccer team West Ham United.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 26, on Sunday night, July 14, home to New York City FC. The next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, August 17, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Sunday night, September 22, at Red Bul Arena.
Days until Arsenal play again: 27. A little under 4 weeks. Following their debacle in the UEFA Europa League Final, the Gunners' next game will be in America.
Days until Arsenal play in America: 37. On July 15, they will visit the Denver suburbs to play the Colorado Rapids. On July 17, they will visit the Los Angeles suburbs to play Bayern Munich. On July 20, they will visit Charlotte to play AS Roma. And on July 23, they will visit the Redskins' stadium in the Washington suburbs to play Real Madrid.
Days until the 2019-20 Premier League season begins: For Arsenal's purposes, 54, on Sunday, August 11, at 9:00 AM New York time, away to Newcastle United. Yes, the next season's schedule -- sorry, forgot to speak English there, fixture list -- has been released.
Days until the next North London Derby: 74, on Saturday, August 31, at the Emirates Stadium. It is unusual for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to play each other so early in the season, but not unprecedented: As recently as the 2013-14 season, they did so on September 1.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 74, on August 31, at 12:00 noon, home to the University of Massachusetts. Under 11 weeks.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 80, on Friday night, September 6, at 7:00 PM, home to arch-rival Old Bridge. Under 12 weeks. This schedule has now been released as well. Like most of the local rivalries that were once played on Thanksgiving Day, this one has been moved back to the opening game. It will also be the head coaching debut of Andy Steinfeld, a longtime assistant and a two-way lineman on the school's 1984 Conference Champions. It will also be the start of a Yankees-Red Sox series. So I'm getting a double dose of "Scum" on the night. Lucky me. At least it'll be at Jay Doyle's Green Grove off Cranbury Road, instead of at the purple shit pit on Route 9.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: Unknown. The new NHL season will begin on Friday, October 4, which is 108 days from now. Under 4 months. But that doesn't mean the Devils will open that night. The new schedule is usually released around this time of the year. We shall see.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: Unknown. But the Devils never open against either the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum; the New York Islanders; or the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 165, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Under 6 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 183, on December 18, 2019. Exactly 6 months.
Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 185, on December 20, 2019.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 217, on January 21, 2020. A little over 7 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 402, on July 24, 2020. A little over a year, or a little over 13 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 504, on November 3, 2020. Under a year and a half, or under 17 months.
Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 565, on January 3, 2021. About a year and a half, or under 19 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 582, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or a little over 19 20 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 962, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 32 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,252, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little over 41 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.