New York Looks To Bounce Back In Opener At Detroit
As New York visits Comerica Park Friday night to begin a three game series with Detroit not only will they look to bounce back but their starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery will as well.
Left-hander Jordan Montgomery comes into the game against Detroit with a record of 0-0 with a 4.82 earn run average. Montgomery allowed a career -high 10 hits in his last start, taking a no-decision. after permitting four runs in 4 1/3 innings to the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. He will be facing the tigers for the first time. He will oppose Detroit right -hander Mike Fiers who has a record of 1-0 to go along with a 0.00 earn run average. Fiers impressed in his Tiger debut Sunday against the White Sox, delivering six scoreless innings on three hits with six strikeouts. He mixed his pitches well enough to make hitters late on a fastball that didn't top 90mph on a cold afternoon. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-tigers/2018/04/13/529604#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=529604
New York comes into their game with Detroit with a record of 6-7 "according tohttps://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-tigers/2018/04/13/529604#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=529604 after their series finale loss to Boston at Fenway Park Thursday night.
There was no noticeable carryover from the hubbub of one day prior, a spirited affair during which members of the Red Sox and Yankees exchanged punches across the infield turf. Rick Porcello's sparkling effort Thursday seemed to take some of that fight out of the visitors early on."according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
Held hitless until Aaron Judge extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a seventh-inning double, the Yankees' ninth-inning rally materialized too late to change the final outcome, concluding a wild first rivalry series of the season with a 6-3 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park."according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-y
To come in here and get this one after last night and after getting beat up in game one would have been nice, but we'll turn the page," manager Aaron Boone said. "We have to turn the page, and these guys will. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
Porcello permitted two hits over seven frames, striking out six without a walk as Boston opened a season 10-2 for the first time since 1952. The right-hander retired the first 11 batters on 49 pitches before drilling Giancarlo Stanton's elbow guard for a hit-by-pitch. Porcello then set down the next four hitters, leading into a 45-minute rain delay prior to the sixth inning.
"He was attacking us," Sanchez said through an interpreter. "He was getting ahead early and I think that made the difference. He had a great night tonight."
New York starter Sonny Gray watched most of that action from the clubhouse. Gray turned in a clunker, charged with six runs and seven hits over three-plus innings. Boston assembled a four-run second inning against the right-hander, with Sandy Leon, Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland driving home runs. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
Gray did not have much help from his defense. Second baseman Tyler Wade made a wild throw home in the second inning that allowed a run to score, and Sanchez seemed to have difficulty syncing thoughts with his pitcher. Gray shook off signs repeatedly, tying a career high by uncorking three wild pitches in his 68-pitch outing."according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
"Sometimes throughout the course of a game and throughout the course of certain innings, you kind of have an idea," Gray said. "Depending on what happened earlier in the inning, where runners are and whatnot, it can change. I just didn't execute very well. It made it hard all the way around." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
Jackie Bradley Jr. added a third-inning ground-rule double that eluded Stanton in left field, and Betts knocked home another run with a fielder's choice. That wrapped the scoring on Gray, who has lost three of four career starts at Fenway Park and is 0-3 against the Red Sox since joining the Yankees last July. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
"Sonny has a lot of ideas about how he wants to attack certain things," Boone said. "It could have been [Gray and Sanchez] just struggling to get on that same page together. It's something that's got to happen, and we feel like will happen." according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
Domingo German pitched three scoreless innings of one-hit ball in relief for the Yankees, who dropped a game below .500 at 6-7. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Yankees avoided being shut out in the ninth inning, loading the bases via two walks and a double error charged to third baseman Rafael Devers. Sanchez cleared the bags, scorching a rocket double to center field that came off his bat at 114.2 mph. That prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to call upon closer Craig Kimbrel, who retired the next three hitters to log his fourth save. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
"You know how baseball is," Sanchez said. "Until they make three outs in the ninth, we're still in the game. Once we scored those three runs, I thought we had a chance to at least tie the game." "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
SOUND SMART
Sanchez's 32 RBIs against the Red Sox are his most against any club, and pace the Majors against Boston since the beginning of 2016. He is a .291 (21-for-71) hitter with 18 RBIs over 16 games at Fenway Park, his most RBIs at any ballpark other than Yankee Stadium. "according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
HE SAID IT
"I had it as three or four rows in the seats. I was about ready to jump over the fence. It just kicked back on me. … It doesn't matter what was the factor. What matters is, it gave them more runs and docked Sonny's ERA. It doesn't help the squad, either way." -- Stanton, on Bradley's ground-rule double"according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/gary-sanchez-hits-3-run-triple-but-yanks-lose/c-271935150
Meanwhile Detroit comes into the opener with New York with a record of 4-8 and like New York is also coming off a loss Thursday night but to Cleveland.
Michael Fulmer looked like he was ready to march quickly through the visiting dugout and down the steps to the clubhouse as he exited in the fourth inning Thursday with nobody out and eight runs in. Just before the steps, however, he threw his glove against the dugout bench. "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
It was a rare flash of frustration from a pitcher whose composure has defied his age. It was an apt punctuation mark on a four-game series sweep the Tigers would rather forget, culminating in a 9-3 loss to the Indians at Progressive Field. "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
It was a rare flash of frustration from a pitcher whose composure has defied his age. It was an apt punctuation mark on a four-game series sweep the Tigers would rather forget, culminating in a 9-3 loss to the Indians at Progressive Field. "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
The Tigers have dropped 11 consecutive games in the rivalry dating back to last season. Fulmer is the last Detroit pitcher to beat the Tribe, delivering six quality innings in Cleveland on a Sunday night before the All-Star break. He hadn't faced the Indians since then."according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
"Just one of those games," Fulmer said of the rematch. "Command wasn't there. They were hitting everything. … No matter what I threw, no matter where I threw it, mistakes, good pitches, they were all hitting the ball pretty hard. I just have to do a better job of kind of limiting the damage." "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
If Justin Verlander's trade in August elevated Fulmer to Tigers staff ace, Thursday's outing felt like a transfer of the angst the Indians used to inflict on Verlander. Francisco Lindor's nine-pitch at-bat to lead off the opening inning, including four foul balls with two strikes to continue the battle, set the tone for the night, culminating in an opposite-field loft to the left-field bleachers off Fulmer's 95-mph fastball. "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
Of the 34 fastballs Fulmer threw, he induced no swings-and-misses and just four called strikes. The ones Cleveland put in play had an average exit velocity of 100 mph, according to Statcast Lindor's two-run double in the second inning was actually hit harder (109.8 mph) than the leadoff homer (105.5). The double followed hard-hit ground-ball singles from Roberto Perez (111.9) and Tyler Naquin (108.1). "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
"They were hitting his fastball," catcher John Hicks said, "so we went to something else. We threw more changeups and sliders than in any other outing that I've caught him." "according tohttps://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
Said Fulmer: "As it went on, I just tried to slow their bats down a little bit. Fastball away, fastball in, they wore the four-hole out, they went to the opposite field. They were just hitting everything." "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
When Fulmer went away from the heater, the Tribe waited on mistakes. He threw one fastball in a 12-pitch stretch in the second against Jose Kipins and Jose Ramirez despite falling behind on 2-0 counts to both. After Ramirez declined to chase a slider off the plate, running the count full, Fulmer threw another. This one, he left up enough for Ramirez to golf over the right-field fence for a two-run homer."according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
"That's a really good hitting team," manager Ron Gardenhire said, "and when you make mistakes, it doesn't matter how hard you threw or what you threw. If you get the ball up, they're going to bang it." according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
Indians pitchers have surrendered just 11 earned runs to the Tigers in the last 11 meetings, including a pair of Nicholas Castellanos RBI singles plating Leonys Martin to account for Detroit's first two runs Thursday. Martin's second consecutive three-hit game paced the Tigers offense against Trevor Bauer (1-1), who struck out seven Tigers over as many innings. "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Miggy milestone: Miguel Cabrera said after Wednesday's loss that he needed to adjust his swing after trying too hard to pull hard. He was 4-for-45 over his last 13 games against the Indians before sending a Bauer pitch the other way for a ground-ball single to right. Cabrera's 2,646th career hit tied him with Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx for 78th on the all-time Major League list. It also extended the seventh inning for Castellanos' second RBI single. "according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
JaCoby Jones , getting the start in left field a day after Mickie Mahtook was was optioned to Triple -A Toledo , turned in a highlight catch in the eighth inning when he tumbled over the railing in foul territory to bring in Jose Ramirez's fly ball."according to https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/tigers-drop-11th-straight-game-against-indians/c-271958692
First pitch is set for 7:10pm from Comerica Park. The game will be televised on Yes and Fox Sports Detroit. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-tigers/2018/04/13/529604?#game_state=preview,lock_state=preview,game_tab=,game=529604