*Cavs-Warriors for the 4th time. Did some looking at the behest of a friend. The Yankees and Dodgers played each other in the World Series four times in five seasons from 1952-1956, but - as far as I can tell - no two teams have faced each other four seasons in a row in the World Series. Anyone that tells you that the 1950s were the Golden Age of Baseball is from New York. Baseball pretty much sucked if you weren't a Yankees/Dodgers/Giants fan.
*Oh yeah, the Astros. They lost. The Yankees committed five errors. The Astros were 3x17 w/Runners in Scoring Position. 6-9 in the lineup (Davis/Marisnick, Marwin, Stassi, Kemp) were a combined 1x8 w/RISP. Marwin had the lone hit w/RISP from that stretch of the lineup, and it resulted in two runs.
*Yankee bullpen: 4IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:3BB
Astros bullpen: 3.2IP, 6H/3ER, 7K:1BB
*Hinch:
We had a tough time finishing a few hitters that paid off big for them. Obviously, our bullpen has been beat up a little bit. We had a number of guys we weren't going to use tonight. That was changing as the game was going. We feel it a little bit on a night like this, where a leadoff walk ends up coming back and scoring on a home run, or a two-strike double that leads to another expanded opportunity with Torres at the end.
*The Astros are 34-3 when leading after the 8th inning. They were 33-1 after Saturday's game.
*Thanks to Brian McTaggart, I can safely tell you that it's the 6th time in franchise history that the Astros have lost a game in which their opponent committed five or more errors. The last time was June 12, 1993 when the Rockies committed five errors and still won 14-11.
*Charlie Morton: 6IP, 8H/3ER, 10K:1BB, 2HR. It's the 3rd 2HR game Morton has allowed this season. It's the 4th 10+ strikeout game he's thrown this season.
Charlie Morton 10+ strikeout games, 2008-2016: 1 (161 starts)
Charlie Morton 10+ strikeout games, 2017-2018: 7 (35 starts)
*Joe Smith, May 2018: 8IP, 2H/1ER, 8K:1BB. This is probably more what the Astros had in mind when they signed him than Smith's April 2018: 8.1IP, 10H/8ER, 9K:3BB.
*Chris Devenski allowed the game-tying home run to Brett Gardner after walking the leadoff hitter.
The walk is what killed me. That walk is unacceptable in that situation, it caused a lot of damage there.
*Brad Peacock has now pitched on May 26, May 27, and May 29. Those three games: 3IP, 4H/3ER, 2K:2BB. Peacock has allowed a run in three consecutive games, after having thrown a scoreless outing in 16 of his previous 18 appearances in 2018.
*Brett Gardner - who has the facial features of a thumb - was 4x5 with 3RBI, all of which came on home runs including the game-tying home run in the 9th. Gardner:
Any time you make five errors and can hang around and sneak away with a win, you'll take it.
*Every Yankee in the lineup struck out at least once, racking up 17 on the night. So this team committed five errors, struck out 17 times, and still won. Baseball is, occasionally, very stupid. For instance, the 10th inning:
Holy crap. #yankees pic.twitter.com/Np1A5m6J3f— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) May 30, 2018
*The Yankees have five wins when trailing entering the 9th - the most in MLB.
*Evan Gattis, May: .283/.348/.633. After having drawn one walk in 22 games from April 22-May 25, Gattis has drawn four walks in his last four games.
*The Astros placed Brian McCann on the DL with right knee soreness and called up Fresno catcher Tim Federowicz. McCann is back in Houston to be evaluated by team doctors. Hinch:
It just developed over the course of the game. It's something that he's battled before and something that he's had to deal with, and as we talked to him after the game, we felt like we needed to send him back to Houston to get him evaluated further. We won't know the extent of any sort of issue until he gets to Houston.
After 16 games McCann was hitting .306/.443/.469. In his 21 games since he's hitting .154/.200/.262/, and was dealing with a 1x26 slump.
FACT: It is far more satisfying to pronounce "Federowicz" as though you are a Bond villain:
FEHD-URR-ROE-VITCH. (Ed. Note: This is more satisfying if you're drinking out of an oaken bucket of vodka)
*Jon Paul Morosi has a fascinating interview with Justin Verlander, who thought his career (Verlander, not Morosi's, though...) was over four years ago, after the first inning of an August 2014 start in Pittsburgh. Stay for the part about how long he wants to pitch, his role as a mentor, and also his "body reclamation project." Verlander:
I've been part of some pretty special staffs. It's fun with a group of guys that's as tight as we are. We all love our craft. We all love pitching. Talking with these guys, watching their success on the mound, watching Gerrit's transformation and whatever small part I had in that...it's a good feeling. It's just fun.
*Jake Kaplan: How Charlie Morton has found success by getting away from his signature pitch.
*Astros #7 prospect Jorge Alcala has been promoted from Buies Creek to Corpus. In 38.2IP at High-A Alcala has allowed 25H/13ER, 45K:18BB. Tyler Ivey (3rd Round - 2017) has gone from Quad Cities to Buies Creek. Ivey had allowed 36H/16ER, 53K:8BB in 41.2IP.
*Friday pitching matchup: Gerrit Cole v Chris Sale. Saturday matchup: Justin Verlander v David Price.
*In The Athletic, how a "country lawyer" in Mt. Pleasant, Texas turned Michael Kopech into a future superstar.
*Seeing as how it's been 1939 years and that is definitely out of the Too Soon Statute of Limitations, I low-key laughed all day at this headline and the corresponding picture.
