The Yankees could not recover from C.C. Sabathia's ugly start and lost the season opener, 6-2., to the Houston Astros. Continue reading for highlights and analysis.
10:08 P.M. Yankees Lose Opener, 6-2
The Yankees could not recover from Sabathia's ugly start and lost the season opener, 6-2.
Was there any good news tonight? Well, there are 161 more games to play, so that's good.
No Yankees got hurt, including Jeter, who was hit in the left forearm by a pitch in the first inning.
Sabathia did settle down after yielding six runs in the first two innings, striking out five in the four scoreless innings that followed.
The bullpen was very sharp, with Betances and Vidal Nuno striking out a combined five of six batters.
The only runs came in the eighth inning, two of them on singles by McCann and Teixeira.
The Yankees will try again on Wednesday night with Hiroki Kuroda making the start against Jarred Cosart.
9:47 P.M. Yankees Get on the Board, Trail 6-2
Ellsbury led off the inning with a walk and Jeter followed with his first hit of the season, a single to right field. Ellsbury eventually scored on a McCann single, and Teixeira nudged the ball through the left side of the shift to bring home Jeter. But before hopes got too high, Soriano grounded into an inning-ending double play.
9:34 P.M. 'Killer B' Sighting
Yankees fans will remember Dellin Betances as one of the "Killer B's," the trio of Yankees pitching prospects (along with Manuel Banuelos and Andrew Brackman) that were highly thought of just a few years ago.
Brackman is no longer with the Yankees and Banuelos is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but Betances is still very much relevant. Betances, once thought of as a possible future anchor of the rotation, reinvented himself as a relief pitcher this past spring and earned a spot in the bullpen.
Betances just showed us why, striking out two in a perfect seventh inning, mixing his four-seam fastball (in the high-90s) with a nasty knuckle curve. The Yankees bullpen has question marks, so there's room for Betances to play a major role.
9:24 P.M. Astros Lead, 6-0, Seventh Inning Stretch
Johnson was retired easily on a dribbler back to the mound.
Sabathia's night also appears to be over. He managed to settle down after two scary innings, which gives Girardi something positive to say during the postgame press conference.
9:20 P.M. Yankees Finally Threatening
The Yankees have their first major threat of the game. The bases are loaded with two outs, and Kelly Johnson is stepping up. Feldman is finished after a stellar first start, but a walk, hit batsman and a single to Teixeira led to his exit.
Teixeira, who has reached base twice now (walk and single), is one of the many question marks in the Yankees' infield as the former All-Star is attempting to come back from wrist surgery.
"Everyone can go out after major surgery and say they feel fine," Teixeira said earlier this spring. "But you never really know it until you go out there."
Last season, the Yankees sorely missed the player who averaged 34 home runs and 106 runs batted in over his first four seasons with the club and whose defense is second to none at first base.
Teixeira's numbers this spring were anything but impressive, with only three hits in 35 at-bats. But more importantly, he did not suffer any setbacks regarding his health. Yankee fans will also be quick to remind skeptics the Teixeira is a notoriously slow starter.
9:02 P.M. Houston Fans Have Not Forgiven Beltran
I've been a bit surprised to hear the reaction that Beltran has gotten by the Houston fans. He played for the Astros for just a few months in 2004, but almost carried them to the World Series that fall, batting .435 with 8 home runs 14 runs batted in during the playoffs. But he chose to sign with the Mets that following season, and the Astros fans are still angry about that, apparently.
Beltran still has the only Yankees hit here in the seventh inning, Astros still lead 6-0.
8:54 P.M. At Least Jeter Looks Good on Defense
For any Yankees fans looking for good news on this bleak opening night, Jeter has looked like his old self playing the field. There have not been any highlight reel moments, but on the balls hit to him tonight, he is having no issues with his footing and making strong throws. Exciting, I know. But it is encouraging.
8:30 P.M. Yankees Get First Hit, Still Looking for First Run
The first Yankees hit of the 2014 season came off of the bat of Carlos Beltran, who signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Yankees this off-season.
For Beltran, who will turn 37 on April 24, this is his second tour with a New York club, so he knows what to expect playing in a big market.
"I learned that you have to be strong mentally," he said this spring. "Don't worry about what people say about you, what you hear on TV, read in the newspaper. I came from a small-market team, the Kansas City Royals, so that first year in New York was hard for me. I was too nice. I tried to accommodate everybody. I forgot about the reason I was brought to New York — to play baseball. Instead, I tried to please people."
His hit did not lead to a run. The Yankees had two on with two out, after a Teixeira walk, but Feldman got Soriano out swinging. They still trail, 6-0, heading into the bottom of the fourth.
7:59 P.M. Astros Lead 6-0 After Two Innings
It was not supposed to start like this for Sabathia.
The Astros tacked on two more runs in the second inning, one on a solo homer by L.J. Hoes and another on a single by Altuve.
While it's true Sabathia had the worst season of his career in 2013, including his highest earned run average (4.78) and his lowest winning percentage (.519), he did finish the season strong, or at least better, with a 3.90 E.R.A. in September. He also didn't allow a home run over his last four starts.
The improvement came after Sabathia rediscovered some old things and figured out some new things, like how to get by with a fastball in the lower 90s rather than mid-to-high 90s. That success carried over to the spring for Sabathia.
"I feel unbelievable," he said recently. "All the work in the off-season this spring has really paid off. My arm feels great, my knees feel fantastic. I have no complaints. I feel really strong and ready to start the season."
Maybe that will translate to success this season, eventually.
7:46 P.M. Who Are These Astros Anyway?
The differences between the Yankees and Astros are stark and obvious. Most glaring is in team payroll, with Houston having the lowest in the majors ($45 million) and the Yankees the second-highest ($204 million).
After finishing with the worst record in baseball (51-111), the Astros made a few changes, trading for the outfielder Dexter Fowler and signing starting pitcher Scott Feldman.
Feldman, tonight's starting pitcher, is earning more than a quarter of the team's total payroll for 2014 ($12 million) after going 12-12 with a 3.86 E.R.A. with the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles.
But the thing to know about the Astros is that they are loaded with young talent, with their best players waiting in the wings. Their top prospects include: shortstop Carlos Correa, first baseman Jon Singleton, starters Mark Appel and Mike Foltynewicz, and outfielders Delino DeShields Jr. and George Springer.
"Nobody knows when this team's going to turn the page and start winning a lot of ballgames, but everything is headed in that direction right now," Feldman said this spring. "We've got the No. 1-rated farm system. You know when that wave of talent reaches this level, they're going to be here for a while."
The future looks bright, and so does the present. They lead the Yankees, 4-0, heading into the bottom half of the second.
Has Andy Pettitte come out of retirement yet?
— Harvey Araton (@HarveyAraton) 1 Apr 14
7:35 P.M. A Disastrous Start for Sabathia, Astros Lead 4-0
Sabathia has had a very rough first inning, allowing a long lead-off double to Dexter Fowler, who came around to score on a single by Jose Altuve.
But it got much worse from there. Altuve stole second and ended up at third on a wild throw by McCann and eventually scored on a fielder's choice. Then, Jesus Guzman launched one over the left-center field wall.
lets recap: Jeter hit by pitch in his first at-bat, CC gives up long 2B in Stros first AB, Yankees have 1 error and 2 more def. miscues…
— David Waldstein (@DavidWaldstein) 1 Apr 14
7:19 P.M. Jeter Starts Last Season By Getting Plunked
Jeter got a nice hand from the Houston crowd before the first at-bat of his last season. The mood quickly shifted after Jeter was hit on his left forearm with the second pitch. He did not appear to be seriously injured as he stayed in the game. But he was stranded on base as the three big-name additions, Ellsbury, Beltran and McCann, all made outs.
Jeter's spring numbers were weak (.137 average) but, more importantly, his body held up.
"I'd rather get out three times and have three good at-bats as opposed to getting three hits." Jeter said about his spring stats. "In the regular season, it's the complete opposite."
Overall, Jeter was happy with his spring, saying his timing at the plate was steadily improving.
7:12 P.M. Similar to 2009?
With all the new additions this off-season, one can't help but think of the Winter of 2009, when the Yankees added several high-priced free agents like Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. The result: a World Series championship.
"I think it has a lot of the same feel," Joe Girardi said this spring. "I think there's a high expectation with the names that we've added. We addressed a lot of situations because of all of the things we went through last year, and there's a lot of the same feelings."
We're a long way from October. But we're just moments away from the first pitch.
The great Nolan Ryan threw out the first pitch so wide that Craig Biggio couldn't catch it. Inauspicious.
— David Waldstein (@DavidWaldstein) 1 Apr 14
6:47 P.M. The Very New Yankees Lineup
Tonight is our first chance to see the new and improved Yankees lineup in action. The difference from last year's opening day squad is drastic, with Brett Gardner the only starting offensive player remaining from April 1, 2013.
2013: Brett Gardner CF; Eduardo Nunez SS; Robinson Cano 2B; Kevin Youkilis 1B; Vernon Wells LF; Ben Francisco DH; Ichiro Suzuki RF; Jayson Nix 3B; Francisco Cervelli C.
2014: Jacoby Ellsbury CF; Derek Jeter SS; Carlos Beltran RF; Brian McCann C; Mark Teixeira 1B; Alfonso Soriano DH; Brett Gardner LF; Brian Roberts 2B; Kelly Johnson 3B.
By the end of the season, the Yankees' lineup didn't look any closer to what it looks like tonight. In fact, the starting lineup for the last game of the season, against these same Astros, has zero similarities with tonight's starting nine.
Sure, the final game for a team out of the playoff hunt will often feature late-season call-ups, but Curtis Granderson, Cano, Wells, Mark Reynolds, Nunez and to some extent, Travis Hafner, were all regulars on last season's squad.
I heard Derek Jeter had lunch with George H.W. Bush today — the 1st President Bush, who "may make an appearance" here at Minute Maid Park
— David Waldstein (@DavidWaldstein) 1 Apr 14
6:39 P.M. Can the Yankees Have Their Ace Back Now?
Much has changed for the Yankees since C. C. Sabathia last pitched in a regular-season game.
One just has to look at the starting lineup from that Sept. 20 game against the San Francisco Giants. Only one player from that lineup, Alfonso Soriano, is expected to be in Tuesday night's batting order when the Yankees open their 2014 season against the Astros in Houston.
Yes, the Lyle Overbay era came to an end this winter with the infusion of the highly paid, proven talents of Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann, along with the $155 million Japanese import, pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.
The Yankees are also banking on the healthy return of Mark Teixeira at first base and Derek Jeter at shortstop, and of pitcher Michael Pineda, an All-Star in 2011 with Seattle at age 22 whose impressive spring earned him the fifth spot in the starting rotation.
But one thing that has stayed true since September is that Sabathia is the ace of the pitching staff, and he will need to look the part more than he did last season if the Yankees want to make the playoffs.
After the worst season of his career, 14-13 with a 4.78 earned run average, Sabathia made changes this spring. No longer able to rely on an overpowering fastball, he worked on adding a cut fastball and mixed in more changeups, and the results were promising. He finished the exhibition season 3-1 with a 1.29 E.R.A.
Sabathia is also stronger physically than he was entering 2013, when he was recovering from elbow surgery.
"Last year, I kind of had some doubts going into the year, not feeling strong, weak, my elbow, just questions," Sabathia told David Waldstein. "And this year feels great. I feel like I don't have anything to worry about."
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