Finally a win. After 5 straight losses where the Yankees had been pitted against great pitching night after night (except T.J. Zeuch) — Hyun Jin Ryu shut them down; Michael Wacha pitched vintage Wacha Wacha; Tyler Glasnow struggled early then shut them down; and Ryan Yarbrough and the vaunted Tampa pen shut them down. Don’t mean to pick on Zeuch he’s a good pitcher but not considered elite, and the Yanks did get to him for 4 runs in 5 innings — but that day Corey Kluber didn’t fare well.
This time, they were up against another elite pitcher and Yankee killer Charlie Morton. And he threw down — his off-speed pitchers baffling the Yankees for 6 innings.
But the Yankee starter — Jameson Taillon — pitched great and the Yankee bullpen did their job and the Yanks got “just enough” runs — their 3 runs standing tall in a 3-1 win.
1. Taillon Pitches Great
The highlight of the evening and best news for the Yanks was the pitching performance of James Taillon — 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 5 strikeouts on 80 pitches, 55 of them for strikes.
Jameson Taillon rings up his 4th strikeout of the night!
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— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 20, 2021
Aaron Boone on Taillon: “I thought the stuff was really good again and maybe ticked up again; he worked the top of the zone with his fastball — we saw some 93, 94, 95 consistently; he mixed in a slider really well tonite; shaped some really good curveballs; and was fairly pitch efficient — the pitch count got up on him a little bit in the 3rd and then he came out and had a really strong inning there; and pitched really well against a good hitting team.”
2. Just Enough Runs
Gio Urshela finally broke through for the Yankees against Morton with a homer in the 5th to tie the game.
Gio Urshela goes yard to tie the game up!
Stream #YANKSonYES LIVE: https://t.co/C0O9ubjD9H pic.twitter.com/sLSlmhE3gW
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 21, 2021
And then in the 8th, against reliever Tyler Matzek, the Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out on an Aaron Hicks leadoff walk (pinch hitting for Mike Tauchman — Brett Gardner started the game in center with Tauchman in left), DJ LeMahieu single and Aaron Judge single.
Atlanta’s Nate Jones came in to pitch, and he immediately threw a wild pitch to put the Yankees up. Ballgame.
Yankees take a 2-1 lead in the 8th on a wild pitch! pic.twitter.com/5iJ7Uvok9Y
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 21, 2021
Clint Frazier popped up; Giancarlo Stanton was intentionally walked and Mike Ford — playing 1st base for the 1st time this year as Jay Bruce retired — walked on 4 straight balls for an insurance run; a 3-1 Yankee lead. Jubilation on Yankee Twitter.
Ford draws a walk with the bases loaded, LeMahieu scores!
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— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 21, 2021
3. The Yankee Bullpen
And then it was on to Aroldis Chapman who was FILTHY in the 9th.
YANKEES WIN! pic.twitter.com/qCAkzCNA8U
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 21, 2021
The Yankee bullpen did a phenomenal job in this game — Luke Luetge, Chad Green, Justin Wilson, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Chapman combining for 4 shutout innings.
The Yanks got only 5 hits and 3 runs — but it looked like 14 hits and 10 runs in the 3-1 win, breaking their 5- game losing streak. They are now 6-10.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/team/_/name/nyy/new-york-yankees
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