One night after Jameson Taillon pitched 7 perfect innings against the Los Angeles Angels, and then nearly lost the game because he got no run support, and then finally got just enough, the Yankees started a 3-game home weekend series against the Detroit Tigers.
Gerrit Cole started, and pitched like he deserved the big bucks and the term "ace." He took a perfect game into the 7th inning, then allowed 2 singles, before getting a strikeout to end the threat. Despite still having a shutout going, he was done for the night: No runs, 2 hits, no walks, 13 strikeouts.
The Yankees' public relations department has been referring to Gerrit as "the Cole Train," a plan on the jazz legend John Coltrane, a man so skilled (How skilled was he?), he could make "My Favorite Things," a silly song from The Sound of Music, sound cool.
Well...
Pitching so fine it keeps men off the bases
aiding the ballclub in its Playoff races
backed up by defense and powerful swings:
These are a few of my favorite things.
Jose Trevino and Aaron Judge hit home runs in the 3rd inning, and the game was effectively over. It was Judge's 20th home run of the season. He's on a pace for 62 home runs, which would break not just the Yankee record, but the un-steroided record of "61 in '61" by Roger Maris.
Personally, I don't care who hits how many. Stats don't matter. Winning does. As with Maris in 1961, if Judge hits 59, and the Yankees win the World Series, I'll take it; if he hits 61 and the Yankees don't win, then what was the point?
The Yankees got 3 more runs in the 4th, and 7 in the 5th, including home runs by Anthony Rizzo and Matt Carpenter. So Cole pitched his last 2 innings with a 12-run lead.
Remember Manny Bañuelos? From 2008 to 2012, he was one of the Yankees' top prospects. He was going to be one of the pitchers of the future. He and Dellin Betances were known as "The Killer B's." (So was the Miami Dolphins' defense of the early 1980s, getting them to 2 Super Bowls but losing both.)
Then he got hurt, and was never the same: He had Tommy John surgery, missed the entire 2013 season, spent 2014 in the minors, and got traded to the Atlanta Braves, making his major league debut for them in 2015. He made just 14 appearances, all in the minors, in 2016. He didn't get called up in 2017 or '18, either, but made 16 appearances for the Chicago White Sox in 2019. He pitched in Mexico's Winter league, and spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons in Taiwan's league.
Now, at age 31, the Yankees have brought him back. After 7 appearances in Triple-A ball, he finally made his Yankee debut last night -- oddly, wearing Betances' old number, 68. He pitched the 8th inning, allowed a long fly ball that was caught and an infield single, but no runs. The Yankees got 1 last run in the 8th, before Bañuelos pitched a 3-up-3-down 9th.
Yankees 13, Tigers 0. I'm sure, somewhere, some alleged Yankee fan is blaming Joey Gallo (who didn't even play last night) for missing the extra point. WP: Cole (5-1). No save. LP: Elvin Rodriguez (0-1).
The Tampa Bay Rays won last night, but the Toronto Blue Jays lost, so the Rays jumped ahead of the Jays: The Yankees lead the Rays by 6 games, and the Jays by 6 1/2.
The series continues this afternoon, with Luis Severino starting against Beau Brieske. I don't need another explosion of runs, or another near-perfect pitching performance. I just need another win.
Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson have been activated from the Injured List. However this means that Miguel Andújar has been sent back down. Tim LoCastro has also been activated, but assigned to Triple-A Scranton.
In other injury news, Jonathan Loáisiga and Domingo Germán are expected back in mid-June, Aroldis Chapman in late June, backup catcher Ben Rortvedt in late July. Zack Britton will probably be a September callup, and since he was out due to injury, not in the minor leagues, he would still be eligible for the postseason roster. And Chad Green underwent Tommy John surgery, so we shouldn't expect him back before the 2023 All-Star Break.