Luis Severino pitched 5 gutsy innings, the Yankee lineup produced small-ball runs, and the Yankee bullpen stood tall at the end to gain NY another win, 5-3 over the Tigers on a cold Tuesday night in Detroit (temps in 40s).
The Yanks improve to 7-5, tied for 1st in the AL East.
1. Severino Good & Gutsy
Luis Severino pitched a gutsy 5 innings, allowing 1 run, and leaving with the lead.
Detroit Ran themselves Out of Big 2nd
He ran into trouble in the 2nd inning — but Detroit ran themselves out of the inning. Severino allowed a leadoff double, then a single, and then a single by Victor Reyes to plate a run — but Miguel Cabrera was thrown out by Giancarlo Stanton trying to leg it to 3rd.
Defense on display in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/VAoskxCVHf
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 20, 2022
Reyes then tried to steal 2nd and was thrown out by Kyle Higahioka.
Severino walked hot-shot rookie Spencer Torkelson but got a groundout to end the inning.
So it was a single, single, double, walk — and only 1 run.
Severino Escapes Jam in 4th
Severino escaped a JAM in the 4th — he got the leadoff man but then single, single, walk loaded the bases with 1 out. But Severino hung tough — getting Harold Castro to hit a soft liner to shortstop, and striking out catcher Tucker Barnhart.
Severino Empties Tank in 5th
Severino emptied the tank in the 5th — striking out 2 for a 1-2-3 inning and he was done for the night with 88 pitches.
A good, and gutsy, performance.
2. Judge Ties It; Rizzo Puts NY Ahead
Isiah Kiner-Falefa is now red hot after a cold beginning of the season. He doubled to lead off the 3rd off Detroit starter Eduardo Rodriguez, and after Kyle Higashioka walked, Aaron Judge doubled Falefa home for a tie game with 1 out, sending Higgy to 3rd. Anthony Rizzo plated Higgy with a small-ball groundout giving NY a 2-1 lead.
2 runs on the board in the 3rd 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Y2PbLoTj5C
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 20, 2022
In the 6th Rizzo extended the lead with a bomb to right center.
Nobody beats the Rizz. #TeamRizzo pic.twitter.com/GdyQivpI8Q
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 21, 2022
3. Green Blows It
But Chad Green blew Sevy’s possible win in the 6th — two bloop hits and a double for a 3-3 tie.
4. Yanks Take Lead on Small Ball
Tied 3-3 in the top of the 7th, Josh Donaldson led off with a walk and was pinch run for by Tim Locastro. The speedy Locastro was safe at 2nd on a groundout by Gleyber Torres, when the pitcher hurried the throw to 2nd — throwing the ball away — and everyone was safe, Locastro sprinting to 3rd.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa then singled Locastro home for a 4-3 Yankee lead. Small ball indeed. This is a different Yankee team than last year.
Clutch knock for @Isiahkf11 👊 pic.twitter.com/ip1qZsR3bI
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 21, 2022
When asked if he made any mechanical adjustments to find his groove at the plate, Kiner-Falefa said, “Just grinding. Grinding, getting my confidence back. I kind of forgot who I am, what I do, and my game a little bit. So just getting back to who I am and what I do best and spraying the ball all over.”
“I learned last year and the year before, it’s a bumpy season,” Kiner-Falefa added. “I’m going to have those stretches. Just so happen the stretch was in the beginning of the year. I’m going to have hot stretches. Just maturity. Understand it’s a marathon. Last year I started off unbelieveably and then I slowed down. For me to overcome the little slump I had in the beginning of the year, shows I can do it at any time.”
5. Small Ball Insurance
In the top of the 8th, Anthony Rizzo led off with a double, and stole 3rd base. Giancarlo Stanton struck out but DJ LeMahieu hit a grounder to 1st and Rizzo scored to make it 5-3.
6. Yankee Pen Lights Out
Meanwhile Jonathan Loaisiga and Chad Holmes pitched lights out in the 7th and 8th, and Aroldis Chapman entered for the 9th with a 5-3 lead.
Yankee fans at home and on Twitter buckled up their seat belts.
They tighted them up for the ride when Chapman allowed a 2-strike single to lead off batter Willi Castro. But then Chapman got a fly out, groundout, flyout for the old ballgame. An old fashioned way to win — good starting pitching, efficient small-ball hitting, and good pen.
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