Stroman Ripped; Boone Does a Billy Martin on Gleyber. Toronto 8 NY 5

August 3, 2024 paperbacklou 2024 0

Marcus Stroman was ripped for the 2nd straight start — allowing 7 runs and getting yanked in the 3rd inning — and manager Aaron Boone made like Billy Martin in yanking Gleyber Torres from the game for a lack of hustle on a single in the bottom of the 2nd — a line shot off the wall in left that looked like it might go for a homer.

Gleyber didn’t get out of the box quickly — thinking it would go out, and remained with a single instead of a double. The play was magnified when Gleyber was thrown out at home plate after Anthony Volpe doubled a batter later — Gleyber would have easily scored with a run that would have tied the game 3-3 had he been on 2nd.

Yankee twitter convulsed on the play before and after Gleyber was out at home — with many immediately smashing Gleyber for not running hard to 1st; another in a long line of bonehead baserunning and fielding plays that Gleyber has become known for. But when Boone yanked him — many pointed the fickle finger of blame at Boone — asking why Gleyber and why now — when so many other Yanks have blundered or been caught not hustling on a play this year.

The Yanks pulled back into the game with homers by Aaron Judge in the 1st and Anthony Volpe in the 5th, but lost 8-5 as old friend Chad Green came in like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Monster in “Ghostbusters” and shut them down in the 9th. Toronto 8 NY 5 on a HOT, HUMID, MUGGY Friday night in the Bronx — the game delayed an hour due to a massive thunderstorm.

After being yanked, Gleyber didn’t sulk — instead staying in the dugout the whole game rooting his teammates on, and afterwards, had this to say — in English — as he has steadfastedly learned the language and no longer speaks through an interpreter: “He didn’t like the way I didn’t run in the moment to 2nd base. I think he did the right thing — especially in the moment. As a professional you have to take the consequences. I have to get better. I feel really sorry for what I did tonite, especially for the fans and my teammates. I feel like for whatever I did tonite, I want to learn a lot”

NY falls to 65-46 and remain in a 1st place tie with Baltimore, which also lost. Baltimore lost before the Yanks did, so the Yanks were back in 1st by themselves for the 7th thru the 9th innings. Toronto loses to go 51-59.

1. Stroman Rocked

Boone said Stroman’s sinker looked off.

Boy was it off.

Stroman got the 1st out of the game, but then triple by leftfielder Joey Loperfido, RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. groundout, single by Daulton Varsho, and 2-RBI double by 3rd baseman Ernie Clement and it was 3-0 Toronto.

The Yanks came back on a 2-run homer by Aaron Judge in the bottom of the 1st, and Stroman pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd, but in the top of the 3rd, Stroman allowed a leadoff single to Loperfido, double to Guerrero, and RBI single to 2nd baseman Spencer Horwitz for a 4-2 game.

Stroman struck out Varsho but Clement reached on an infield single, scoring a run to make it 5-2. Stroman got a groundout, but then walked shortstop Leo Jimenez to load the bases with 2 outs and was pulled.

Michael Tonkin came in and allowed a 2-RBI single to make it 7-2. Tonkin then allowed another single but Alex Verdugo gunned down Jimenez at home to end the inning.

“This one is definitely on me; offense gave us enough to win the game,” said Stroman afterwards. “Just didn’t execute; out of rhythm mechanically; had no feel for my pitches; just a frustrating one.”

“Just mechanically I just got to get back to where I was,” added Stroman. “Not being able to repeat my mechanics pitch after pitch; there’s too much variance from inning to inning and pitch to pitch.”

Stroman said he felt good physically. “I’m very out of synch; everything is not fluid right now.” When asked how he’d fix it, Stroman said “Just weight room and spend a lot of time mechanically just figuring it out.”

2. Judge 477-Foot HR Brings Yanks Back in 1st

Down 3-0 in the top of the 1st, Aaron Judge got the Yanks right back in the game. Juan Soto hit a 1-out double off Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, and Judge hit a 477-foot homer to left center for a 3-2 game.

3. Gleyber Boone-doggle

Then came the bottom of the 2nd — a 3-2 game with Toronto on top — when with 1 out, Gleyber RIPPED a drive to left that looked like it might tie the game, but the line drive bounced off the top of the wall and in play. Gleyber — who hesitated out of the box after Ripping it — ended up only at 1st.

A batter later, Anthony Volpe doubled, and Gleyber was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the inning. His run would have tied the score but instead it was still 3-2 Toronto.

“I just felt like I needed to in that spot,” said Boone of yanking Gleyber. “Simple as that. It is what it is. It’s over with. Have to move on. He and I have spoken. And hopefully this is a good learning moment for all of us.”

When asked why Gleyber and why now, when Boone has had other players in his tenure who have not hustled on a play, Boone said “Everyone is going to make judgements on this guy and that guy — the reality is I have a ton of grades; because a lot of people don’t know the whole story on every situation and what a guy is dealing with and I think it is one of the more overrated things of defining a player who plays hard or not — that part of it. We can go back and say why didn’t you pull a guy on this one. The reality is those guys — including Gleyber — play their asses off. So I don’t have any issues with that; I felt like in this moment at this time I needed to do this.”

Judge’s View

“Yeah, we already talked. We already talked,” said Team Captain Aaron Judge when asked about Gleyber. “Getting pulled in a game like that and for Gleyber to come back out and be at the top step and the fence cheering the guys on speaks volumes about the kind of guy he is deep down. That’s a tough situation, anytime you get pulled like that — drill a ball off the wall, don’t get out of the box hard; he could have run and hid and saw you guys tomorrow — but he was out there front and center.”

“Us as teammates, battling ever single day and we know how hard he works, to see him out there grinding with us in a game that was 7-2 at the time and we’re down; he was there with us. That’s what I saw today.”

4. Volpe HR & Wells RBI Get Yanks Back in 5th

Down 7-2, the Yanks knocked Gausman out in the 5th — Ben Rice led off with a walk, and Anthony Volpe ripped a 403-foot homer to opposite-field right center for a 7-4 game.

Juan Soto then worked a 1-out walk, Aaron Judge singled to center, and Austin Wells singled to center — with Soto scoring on an error by Varsho in center. Toronto 7 NY 5.

With 2 runners on, the Yanks had a chance to tie it — but Giancarlo Stanton fouled out and G Cabrera came in and struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr.to end the inning.

5. Tonkin Gets thru Middle Innings

After allowing 2 singles to the first 2 batters he faced in relieving Stroman in the 3rd, Tonkin pitched a shutout 4th and 5th. He allowed a leadoff single in the 6th, struck out George Springer, and was relieved by Tim Hill.

Hill struck out Loperfido, but then walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr.and allowed an RBI single to Horwitz — with Aaron Judge throwing out the runner at 3rd to end the inning. Toronto 8 NY 5.

6. De Los Santos Good

Tim Hill got the 1st out of the 7th with help by Jazz Chisholm at 3rd.

Enyel De Los Santos then made his debut as a Yankee — relieving Hill and getting an out but then yielding a double and a walk before getting the last out of the 7th.

De Los Santos pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th — a good first outing. De Los Santos was helped by Ben Rice with a terrific play at 1st to start the 8th.

NFL star Kirk Cousins’ cousin Jake Cousins pitched a shutout top of 9th.

7. Yanks Threaten in 6th & 7th

The Yanks threatened in the 6th — a 1-out walk by Rice and single by Volpe and a groundout by Verdugo put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs — but Juan Soto grounded out.

Giancarlo Stanton doubled with 2 outs in the 7th but NY didn’t plate him.

In the 8th, Zach Pop got them out 1-2-3.

8. Old Friend Green as Sta-Puff Marshmallow Monster

And so it was to the bottom of the 9th, NY down 8-5, and in came old friend Chad Green — who has been lights-out this year as Toronto’s closer — with a 1.62 ERA; 33 innings, 31 K’s, and only 19 hits and 9 walks allowed.

Green struck out the side — Verdugo, Soto, and Judge — for the old ballgame.

Etcetera

  • Judge went 2-4 with the HR and a walk and is now slashing 40-101-.318 (.449 OBP).
  • Soto went 1-4 with a walk and is now slashing 27-77.309 (.436 OBP).
  • Volpe went 3-4 and is now slashing 10-41-.259 (.308 OBP) with a 3.2 WAR. Volpe is 19th in the American League in WAR. By comparison, Toronto All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette is having a tough year — currently out on the 10-day IL, and is slashing 4-30-.223 (.276 OBP) in 305 at bats.
  • Austin Wells went 2-4 and is now slashing 8-27.239 (.336 OBP) in 209 At Bats.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401570125

 

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