(I know, the words still look strange. But it happened.)
Last night, the Yankees struck like we vote here in New Jersey: Early and often. They gave starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery a 5-0 lead before he even had to throw a pitch. The previous game's hero, Brett Gardner, led off with a double. Aaron Hicks tried to bunt him over, and Cub starter Brett Anderson tried to get the lead out at 2nd base, but threw it away. Hicks reached 2nd, and Gardner scored.
Starlin Castro doubled Hicks home. Aaron Judge struck out, but Gary Sanchez singled home Castro. Didi Gregorius singled Sanchez over to 2nd. Chase Headley doubled home Didi and El Gary. 5-0 Bronx Bombers.
Anderson, who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, was stunned. He wrote on Twitter today, "Pretty simple, really, I'm embarrassed...get healthy and pitch better otherwise I don't need to be here, simple as that."
A Yankee Fan I saw (whose name and Twitter handle I don't remember) tweeted that you know your team is doing well when it's making opposing pitchers question their careers.
The Yankees added a run in the 3rd, and astro hit a 2-run home run in the 4th, to make it 8-0. The Cubs began to claw back, scoring 2 runs in the 5th and 1 in the 7th. But in the 8th, a walk to Rob Refsnyder and a single by Gardner set up Hicks, who hit one out to make it 11-3. For both Castro and Hicks, his home run was his 6th of the season.
Tommy Layne got into trouble in the 8th, and it was Adam Warren who had to close it out. Yankees 11, Cubs 5. WP: Montgomery (2-1). No save. LP: Anderson (2-2).
The Yankees have taken this series, away to the defending World Champions. It concludes tonight, as the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game of the week. Luis Severino starts against former Red Sock Jon "Mo" Lester.
*
Days until the Red Bulls play again: 7, a week from tonight at 6:00, home to the Los Angeles Galaxy. They really laid an egg last night, losing 3-0 away to the team with the worst record in Major League Soccer, the Philadelphia Union.
Days until The Arsenal play the FA Cup Final: 20, on Saturday afternoon, May 27, at 12:30 (5:30 in the afternoon, their time), against West London club Chelsea, at the new Wembley Stadium. That's a little under 3 weeks. They are doomed to finish behind their North London neighbors Tottenham Hotspur for the 1st time in 22 years, but their 2-0 victory over Manchester United this afternoon gives them a little hope that they can finish at least in the Top 4 and thus at least qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 27, on Saturday night, June 3, at 8:00 local time (10:00 Eastern), against Venezuela, in an international friendly at Rio Tinto Stadium, the Sandy, Utah home of MLS' Real Salt Lake. Under 4 weeks. This is a warmup for the following week's CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, the following Thursday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburbs, against Trinidad & Tobago, and the following Sunday against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. At the very least, the T&T game is a must-win.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 42, on Sunday, June 18, again away to the Union again, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. They will next play the New England Revolution on Saturday, May 27, at Red Bull Arena. They will next play a Hudson River Derby against New York City FC on Saturday, June 24, at Red Bull Arena. And they will next play the D.C. Scum on Saturday, September 27, at Red Bull Arena.
Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, as the schedule for the 2017-18 season can't be released until after the season is over, since we don't yet know which 3 teams are being relegated and which 3 are being promoted. The soonest it would be is the 1st Saturday of the new season, which would be August 12. That's 97 days. But derbies rarely kick off the season, so it will probably be a lot more.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 107, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. Under 4 months.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, as the 2017 schedule hasn't been released yet. I now know that high school football games have been scheduled in Middlesex County, New Jersey on Friday night, September 8. That's 114 days from now.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: We don't know, as the 2017-18 NHL schedule has yet to be released. The NHL season usually begins on the 2nd Friday in October, which, in 2017, would be... ugh... Friday the 13th. That's 149 days. A little over 5 months.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: See the previous answer, although the 1st game isn't likely to be against either the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers.
Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 167, on October 31.
Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 174, on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. Exactly 6 months.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 178, on Saturday, November 11, 2017, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 190, on Thursday morning, November 23, 2017, at 10:00. Under 7 months, and thank God it's at home at Jay Doyle's grove, rather than at the purple shit pit on Route 9.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in PyeongChang, Korea: 268, on February 9, 2018. A little over 9 months.
Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 383, on June 14, 2018. A bit over a year, or a little over 13 months. Has Bruce Arena turned our chances around? Or will Trump ruin them? Maybe, with the tournament on his soil, Putin will tell Trump to tell Bruce Arena to tank the games. Maybe not. Or maybe just if we end up playing Russia. I don't think Arena will listen. I hope his life insurance is paid up, because Putin kills people.
Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing some of those wonderful "prospects" for whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman threw away a chance at the 2016 Playoffs: 462. Under a year and a half, or a little under 16 months. Of course, we could end up seeing one or more of them sooner than that, but since most of them are at Double-A Trenton now, if that, who's kidding who? Then again, at the rate the Yankees are going now, we may not need them!
Days until the next Congressional election: 528, on November 6, 2018. Under 2 years, or a little under 19 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 592, on January 9, 2019. Under 2 years, or a little over 20 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 957, on January 8, 2020. Under 3 years, or 32 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,164, on July 24, 2020. A little over 3 years, or a little over 38 months.
Days until the next Presidential election: 1,265, on November 3, 2020. Under 4 years, or a little under 42 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 1,343, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 4 years, or a little over 44 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad.