Yankees and Dutchies in MLB, Wednesday April 8
The Yankees won their first game of the season by beating the Blue Jays 4-3 and are still on track for a 161-1 record. 😉
Michael Pineda pitched six strong innings in which he allowed two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out six. Nevertheless he got a no-decision as the Yankees were trailing 2-1 when he was pulled. Dellin Betances earned the win (1-0) but showed that his struggles aren’t over yet. In one inning he gave up one run on a hit and two walks. He needed 32 pitches to get out of the inning and less than half were called for strikes.
DIdi Gregorius went 0 for 2 and hit into a double play once. When the Yankees started the second half of the eighth inning, they trailed 3-1, but rallied in that inning and scored three runs for the win. Andrew Miller pitched a perfect ninth inning with a K for the save.
The Red Sox were beaten by the Phillies 4-2. Xander Bogaerts got his first hit of the season with an RBI single but he also struck out twice and left a runner on base.
The Braves stayed perfect as they beat the Marlins 2-0. Andrelton Simmons, who saw the ball very well in the previous game, went 0 for 4, leaving two runners on base. He hit into a double play twice.
The Orioles lost to the Rays 2-0. Jonathan Schoop went 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a runner left on base. On the defensive side he was part of two double plays: 6-4-3 and 4-6-3.
At the request of many, I will add Pedro Strop from now on. I never reported about him because he opted for the Dominican Republic instead of the Netherlands with the 2013 WBC. But he has a mother from Curacao, so that makes him partially Dutch too. And I have to admit that not playing for the Dutch team is a silly reason. If that should be the criterium, Matt den Dekker should not have been mentioned too.
Anyhow, the Cubs beat their arch rivals, the Cardinals, 2-0 at Wrigley Field. Pedro Strop entered the game in the eighth inning to face one hitter (the famous micro managment of Joe Maddon). Strop retired Matt Adams, who lined out to shortstop Starlin Castro.