Series Recap: Yankees Win 3 Out of 4 in Texas With Kluber No-Hitter
Photo Via: USA TODAY SportsSix straight series wins! A no-hitter by Corey Kluber, a win on a getaway day, and somehow a loss on a Gerrit Cole start day. This series was unpredictable in every aspect, except for the fact that the Yankees continued to ground into double plays like they are going out of style. Overall, it was a great series and a successful road trip for the Bombers.
Game 1 (Yankees 2, Rangers 5)
The Yanks grabbed a first inning lead on a Gio Urshela single, but of course followed it up by grounding into a double play. Gerrit Cole looked promising in the 1st inning. He allowed a leadoff double to Willie Calhoun, but immediately struck out the next three batters. He did so in record-setting fashion, shattering the recently-set mark for consecutive strikeouts without issuing a walk.
Cole ended his streak at 61 consecutive strikeouts, beating Corbin Burnes’ 58. The rest of the start was not nearly as fun for Cole, but at least he even got a great moment out of his worst outing on the season.
Adolis García spearheaded a 3-run 2nd inning for Texas by hitting a leadoff home run. Cole gave up 4 hits in the frame (3 were extra-base hits).
Willie Calhoun launched a solo jack in the 5th, giving the Rangers a 4-1 lead. Nothing much happened from there out, other than Luke Voit’s mammoth home run (his first of the season).
Albert Abreu did not allow an earned run in 3 innings of relief, but the Yankees were unable to get a rally going and took the 5-2 loss.
Yankee of the Day: Luke Voit (1): 2 for 4, HR, R, RBI.
Game 2 (Yankees 7, Rangers 4)
Jameson Taillon has been an interesting case for the Yanks this season. He has 11 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, but also a horrendous 5.73 ERA. He lacked the strikeouts this time out, but did not keep the Rangers off the scoreboard to make up for it.
Most of the damage occurred in the 3rd inning. With 2 outs and 2 strikes, Taillon allowed a single to Nick Solak, which drove in the Rangers’ first run. After two walks in a row, Taillon surrendered another 2-strike hit. Adolis García knocked in two runs, bringing the score to 3-0.
The Yankees answered RIGHT back. Judge singled, Urshela doubled (Judge scored), Sánchez doubled (Urshela scored), Miguel Andújar singled (Sánchez scored). This series of events tied the game 3-3. Then, Mike Ford singled and Ryan LaMarre walked to turn the lineup over to LeMahieu with the bases loaded. LeMahieu delivered with a 2-RBI double down the right field line.
Taillon threw a scoreless 4th inning, but gave up a 1-out solo shot to Nick Solak in the 5th. It was the final pitch of Taillon’s outing. The bullpen was tasked with protecting a 1-run lead for 4.2 innings, and it pulled through.
Wandy Peralta, Jonathan Loaisiga, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman handled it. The group combined for only 1 hit allowed and 8 strikeouts.
Yankee of the Day: D.J. LeMahieu (4): 1 for 4, 3 RBI. Sacrifice fly.
Game 3 (Yankees 2, Rangers 0)
Corey Kluber’s no-hitter was absolutely incredible. It is deserving of its own blog post, so it got one. Click here to read about the full Corey Kluber no-hit game.
Yankee of the Day: Corey Kluber (3): 9 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 9 K, W. First career no-hitter.
Game 4 (Yankees 2, Rangers 0)
Domingo Germán versus Dane Dunning turned out to be a real pitcher’s duel. Neither starting pitcher allowed a run, partially thanks to some stellar infield defense by the Yanks.
Germán operated as some sort of magician on Thursday. Just constantly getting himself out of any situation where the Rangers could even sniff a run. In the 4th, he had runners on first and second with a 3-0 count, and turned it into a strikeout and an inning-ending double play.
The Yankees entered the 7th inning in a 0-0 tie with Texas, but then decided to get their best bats into the game. It might seem obvious, but that is when the runs were scored. Gio Urshela got the first one across with a pinch-hit RBI.
Then Aaron Judge picked a great time to get his first ever pinch hit of his career, which knocked in the second run. The Yanks ran the bases poorly all game. Urshela was thrown out twice on the base paths and Ford made the mistake of rounding too far at third base and was caught flat-footed. Luckily, the two runs were enough.
Simply put, the two runs were enough because the Yankees have a closer who is not human. Aroldis Chapman converted his 11th save in as many opportunities. He was dealing with his finger issue on his pitching hand again, which is concerning, but was still able to throw 102 to seal the win.
Yankee of the Day: Domingo Germán (2): 7 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K, W.
Series Talking Points
Kluber Dominance: Corey Kluber being dominant is so, so important for the Yankees. You just cannot get by with only one reliable starter — and that is not to say Kluber is the only other pitcher to step up — but he has been everything you could ask for. Kluber now has a 2.86 ERA on the season. He started the season with a lot of command issues, so his BB/9 and WHIP is still not sparkly and shiny, but is going in the right direction (1.17 WHIP and 3.6 BB/9). The changeup seems to be a big addition for the Klubot. He threw half of his changeups to the final 9 batters of his no-hitter, giving him a completely new weapon to deploy for the 3rd time through the order. It has completely changed his arsenal and made him better for long outings.
Double Plays: The Yankees WILL NOT STOP hitting into double plays. Here is a list of all of the double plays hit into in the series.
Gary Sánchez (Game 1)
Kyle Higashioka (Game 1)
Aaron Judge (Game 2)
Luke Voit (Game 3)
Miguel Andújar (Game 3)
Miguel Andújar (Game 3)
Brett Gardner (Game 3 - this was a line drive double play, not a ground ball)
Tyler Wade (Game 3)
Gary Sánchez (Game 4)
D.J. LeMahieu (Game 4 - this was when Ford rounded third base on a fielder’s choice)
That is a list from only 4 games! That is absurd! 10 times! I am not sure what the solution is. More hit and run? Well, then you better make contact. Elevate the ball? That could lead to more popups and strikeouts. Maybe it is partially bad luck, but the Yankees have a ton of guys in the lineup who do not exactly fly to first base and who hit the ball hard, so it is a recipe for double plays. It is just frustrating to watch.
Series Totals
Hitting
D.J. LeMahieu: 3 for 14 (.214 AVG), 1 BB (.235 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0 K (.521 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Judge: 4 for 14 (.286 AVG), 1 BB (.333 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.619 OPS), 0 SB
Gio Urshela: 3 for 14 (.214 AVG), 1 BB (.267 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 K (.552 OPS), 0 SB
Luke Voit: 2 for 10 (.200 AVG), 2 BB (.333 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 4 K (.833 OPS), 0 SB
Gleyber Torres: 3 for 6 (.500 AVG), 1 BB (.571 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 K (1.071 OPS), 1 SB
Gary Sánchez: 2 for 11 (.182 AVG), 0 BB (.182 OBP), 2 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4 K (.455 OPS), 0 SB
Clint Frazier: 0 for 3 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Brett Gardner: 5 for 14 (.357 AVG), 2 BB (.438 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (1.009 OPS), 0 SB
Kyle Higashioka: 1 for 6 (.167 AVG), 2 BB (.375 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (.542 OPS), 0 SB
Mike Ford: 3 for 5 (.600 AVG), 1 BB (.667 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (1.267 OPS), 0 SB
Miguel Andújar: 3 for 11 (.273 AVG), 0 BB (.273 OBP), 2 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4 K (.545 OPS), 0 SB
Rougned Odor: 2 for 8 (.250 AVG), 0 BB, 1 HBP (.333 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5 K (.708 OPS), 0 SB
Tyler Wade: 1 for 7 (.143 AVG), 0 BB (.143 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (.571 OPS), 0 SB
Ryan LaMarre: 0 for 4 (.000 AVG), 1 BB (.200 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (.200 OPS), 0 SB
Pitching
Gerrit Cole: 5 IP, 5 R, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 HR, 7 Ks, 9.00 ERA
Jameson Taillon: 4.1 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 1 HR, 3 Ks, 8.31 ERA
Corey Kluber: 9 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 9 Ks, W, 0.00 ERA
Domingo Germán: 7 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 5 Ks, W, 0.00 ERA
Albert Abreu: 3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 4 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Wandy Peralta: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, W, 0.00 ERA
Chad Green: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Jonathan Loaisiga: 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 5 Ks, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA
Justin Wilson: No appearances.
Mike King: No appearances.
Luis Cessa: No appearances.
Lucas Luetge: No appearances.