Hey, guys, I’m back and I have some great news: I have survived!
Besides these three Yankee games, these past few days were an absolute blur of beer, shots of tequila, too much food, and the random wildness of New York City bars. Oh and getting kicked out of an Uber. But that is a story for another day.
Long story short: My friend opened a damn beer can in the car…never a good move when dealing with an Uber driver.
But, I have persevered through all the struggles and I, Johnny Pinstripes, have survived.
Before I pull a Trey Songz and dive right in (for those of you living under a rock like Patrick Star, Trey Songz has a song called “Dive In”), I just want to wish all of you guys a belated, but Happy 4th of July!
Hope you guys all had a great day!
Overall, these last few days have been pretty solid – good vibes and good Yankee baseball.Well, except for Monday night’s game…which…GUESS WHAT…I went to. And it sucked.
Okay, it didn’t really suck until the end of the game, but damn – it really fucking sucked. Yes, I contradicted myself there.
For those of you who don’t know, this was my third in-person Yankee game of the year. It is also, unfortunately, the second extra inning loss I have witnessed. And I am straight up tired of them.
The first of these was from that terrible Orioles series way back in early April. That is one game that I have long since tried to forget. I tried everything.
I went to a psychic, I went to therapist, I even went to a local high school and asked one of the bullies to hit me so hard that I’d get amnesia. Full disclosure: his name was Turbo and his punch didn’t even hurt.
Thanks a lot, Turbo. I was counting on you to help me with this Orioles issue. Okay, okay, just kidding.
But, shout out Youtube comedian, Jimmy Tatro. I got the Turbo nickname from one his classic vids.
Anyways, that Orioles loss in early April was a rough one. In case you forgot, Judge grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the 12th (down 12-11) and then Giancarlo struck out. Sucked.
After this game, I got to see a great win in-person against Boston. But now?
Monday night was my SECOND EXTRA INNING LOSS. HOW?!
You know what the odds of that are? First off, just attending 2/3 extra innings games in the first 3 months of the season is crazy enough…
And then we had chances to win both of them. But we blew them both. And I witnessed both of them in person. Not fun.
Walking out of the Stadium at 11 PM, after this 11 inning loss, was definitely one of my low points in recent memory.
Here was a live look at me, in case you’re interested:
But, at least the team bounced back to win the series. If it meant sacrificing my own happiness at the first game, I’ll accept it…for now….
I’m going to be going to a few more games after the All-Star Break. If I witness another loss in extras, holy shit. I’m going to want to slam my head with a brick repeatedly.
Or slam somebody else’s head with a brick repeatedly. Either or. Actually, probably the latter…
Why infect the pain on myself, when I can take it out on a random bystander? Maybe a Red Sox fan, perhaps?
KIDDING. I AM KIDDING. I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Unless it was a mosquito because fuck those things.
Alrightttt, I have ranted long enough. Let’s get to the recap!
Game 1, Monday:
Beautiful night for some Yankees baseball!!
All in all, this was a fun game to see in person, except for the ending. I got to see Johnny Lasagna for the first time! He wasn’t at his best, but he still had some pretty solid stuff:
4 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 3 K’s
As for our offense on Monday….AARON JUDGE! What a guy, what a guy
I was running a little late to the game and this is no joke – I think I was sitting in my seat for a total of 7.5 seconds before Aaron launched that solo shot. I know, perfect timing, right?!
I had a nice little pep in my step when I grabbed my first beer after the inning ended.
Seats might be far, but life is good
Braves tied it at 1 with a solo shot of their own, before GLEYBER got us the lead back in the 3rd.After a leadoff double, he came around to score, thanks to TWO wild pitches by Anibal Sanchez.
The Braves took the lead in the 4th, but a Didi sac fly tied it, once again. This game was a total back and forth, momentum shifter. When we tied it in the 5th, I was feeling pretty conifident that we’d be able to score a couple more runs.
In retrospect, maybe that was a twinge of false confidence from all the beer I was drinking at the Stadium. Regardless, we know how good our team is. We should’ve had no problem getting the dub.
We were holding the Braves in check, after all, when Lasagna exited the game.
Holder, Chad Green, Chapman, and Dellin all threw innings of shutout ball. Unfortunately we were incapable of having any runs cross the plate. We got close a few times, though.
But wow, we stranded A LOT of runners on base. To be more specific, we left 12 total men on base, as well as going 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position – worst of the season.
And finally, Atlanta fought through with a 2-run homer in the 11th, with the ball justout of Judge’s reach.
5-3 Braves. And they hung on to win.
Okay, I don’t want to get into any more of this game. I love watching games live at Yankee Stadium, but this was a straining one. Let’s shift to Game 2…
Game 2, Tuesday:
WOOO! This one was much more fun than the previous night’s outing.
With Domingo German on the mound, I’ll admit, I was a little nervous. He was able to make it through the first inning without pulling a Masahiro Tanaka, though. No earned runs!
Even with his scoreless first inning, I knew we’d have to jump on them early. Thankfully for us, Aaron “Mr. Triple Cheeseburger” Hicks, has been playing like a goddamn monster lately.
AARON HICKS KEEPS HOMERING!
#YANKSonYES
http://yesnet.me/ATLvsNYY
In the next inning, our backup’s backup catcher, Kyle Higashioka, got the 2nd base hit of his career. And the 2ND HOMER OF HIS CAREER!
EACH BACKSTOP HAS POP
HIGGY! 2 hits and 2 homers! And a 3-0 lead!
Later on, in the 5th inning, the Atlanta pitchers felt like giving us some freebies. Hey, I’m all about free stuff. Did you ever get free t-shirts or koozies back in college? That shit was the best!
For a 23 year old guy, like myself, I’m all about free stuff. Soo, those two walked-in runs were awesome! Tack on a couple RBIs for Drury and Higgy! 5-0! Oh, and Gardy scored on a wild pitch in the next inning to give us a 6th run.
Okay…at this point, it looked like this game was as good as done. But, remember how I mentioned being nervous about Domingo? Well, us writers in the biz call that FORESHADOWING. All the great writers implement foreshadowing, at some points, in their writing. It’s vital!
I’m being sarcastic here but yeah, Domingo began to choke – big surprise. He gave up back to back homers, one of which being a 2 run shot.
Thanks, Hermione.
AJ Cole, making one of his rare appearances, was able to shut the door on any more Atlanta scoring in in the 5th.
An AJ Cole relief appearance is more rare than seeing Big Foot. Or the Loch Ness monster. Those guys are way more likely to be seen than Cole stepping onto the mound wearing a Yankees hat.
But, he also gave us a shutout 6th, before turning the ball over to Adam “We traded you to Chicago for Starlin Castro and traded back for you in the Gleyber/Chappie trade” Warren.
Hmm, is that nickname too much of a mouthful? I don’t think so. I think it rolls right off the tongue.
Well, Warren gave up a 2-run homer to our former AL East neighbor, Nick Markakis. Anddd, we now led 6-5. What the fuck?! Were we really about to blow a 6 run lead AT HOME?!
And to make matters worse, and by worse I mean more stressful, Boonie called upon Shreve in the 8th. After using Dellin and D-Rob last night, the ‘pen was pretty thin.
It would have been so apropos if Chasen fuckin’ Shreve was the culprit who gave up the final run of this lead. But, amazingly, he got two big outs and ended the inning!
WOO CHASEN! I’m still not a fan of yours, but I’m getting around to the idea of possibly liking you again…progress.
In need of some insurance (runs)? Call 1-800-STANTON for all of your insurance needs!
(so perfect that his name is 7 letters)
SEE BALL. HIT BALL.
Giancarlo Stanton smashes this one!
Giancarlo Stanton is here to save you money! And win you baseball games. And destroy your enemies. They don’t call him The Terminator for nothing!
8-5! And 3 quick outs from Chappie and that is a victory!
Game 3, Wednesday 4TH OF JULY
The Big Guy gets us the series win!
CC was great yesterday, notching his 6th win of the year. God damn – this guy is awesome. So fun to watch. I honestly will probably tear up when he retires. And I also really hope that it will not be this season! Anyways, here’s his stat line:
6 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 3 walks, 5 K’s.
His only runs were a RBI grounder and a solo shot. Pretty good stuff for a 37 year old.
Since the game was never really in doubt, let me just run through the bullpen performances before going through the offense. I don’t think its necessary to go back and forth right here.
Chad Green came into the game in the 7th, gave up a couple hits, but no runs. Dellin followed in the 8th – giving up a base hit, but striking out 2.
Holder pitched the 9th, also giving up a hit but zero runs. That’s what I like to see!
Greggy got the scoring going with a RBI single in the 2nd.
In the 3rd? The Terminator, himself, continued to MASH.
Giancarlo Stanton HOME RUN... But what's even more impressive is @RealMichaelKay's impersonation of John Sterling. #YANKSonYES live stream: http://yesnet.me/2KNfaVA
GIANCARLOOOOO. 3 RUN HOMER
And then in the 4th? HIGGY AGAIN
Every Kyle Higashioka career hit has been a home run ... LITERALLY.#YANKSonYES live stream: http://yesnet.me/2KNfaVA
Unbelievable. Every hit he has gotten has been a home run! This is crazy. Absolutely bonkers.
And, to make things even better, every one of his 3 homers has been an absolute MOONSHOT. When this guy gets a hold of one, he sends it into outer fuckin space. He also tied Alfonso Soriano as the only Yankees to hit 3 homers for their first 3 hits.
Fun fact: My mom calls our family dog “Alfonso Soriano” as a nickname. And no, he wasn’t her favorite player or anything. She just likes the way the name sounds when she greets him. Go figure. (Also, I’ve been out of my family home for a while now and I really REALLY miss my dog)
Our last run was from my (big surprise) favorite player on our team. If you guys have been reading these blogs for the last couple months, you should know who I’m describing.
WHAT A GUY, WHAT A GUY, himself, of course! A solo shot!
And that concluded the scoring for us! A nice, casual 6-2 victory on 4th of July! I was able to drink copious amounts of beer in celebration after this game.
Isn’t that what Georgie Washington, Tommy J, and Benny Franklin envisioned all those years ago? To fight for our freedom so Americans in 2018 could get drunk at 4 PM on a Wednesday?
I think so!
Off-day today before starting a 3-game set against those pesky Blue Jays up in Canada, eh?
I’m hoping for a nice sweep so I can post a punch of Sorrey! gifs…stay tuned!
LET’S GO YANKS
Follow me on Twitter @JohnFerraro_