Tag: frankie montas

Yankees spoil Derek Jeter night in rough loss to Rays

After relishing in a pregame ceremony Friday, during which it bestowed lavish cheers and love on Derek Jeter, a boisterous Yankee Stadium crowd spent much of the next few hours voicing its frustrations with the current Yankees. 

While the loudest boos were reserved for Aaron Hicks, who was pulled mid-game after a pair of defensive miscues in left field, the rest of the Yankees were not immune from the grumblings as they lost to the Rays 4-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 46,160. 

After the rough start to a critical series against the Rays (78-58), the Yankees (83-56) now lead Tampa Bay by just 3 ½ games in the AL East. That’s the smallest their division lead has been since May 9. 

Another stripped-down Yankees lineup could not mount any offense against Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who struck out 10 over six shutout innings. The Yankees scored a pair of runs against the Rays bullpen, but it wasn’t enough. 

“The season waits for no one,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “Our job is to prepare as best we can for a really good opponent. … We know where we are, we know we’re banged up, we know we’re certainly in the midst of some adversity from a roster standpoint. But it’s opportunity for guys and we gotta get ready to play.” 

Aaron Hicks reacts after striking out to end the first inning.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

A reprieve from the boos came in the seventh inning, when Aaron Judge, naturally, roped an RBI single off lefty reliever Jalen Beeks that scored Oswald Peraza — who ducked under the tag at home and was ruled safe upon replay review — to get the Yankees within 4-1. 

Another came in the ninth, when Kyle Higashioka crushed a solo homer to make it 4-2. After Marwin Gonzalez flew out to the warning track, Judge drew a walk to bring up Gleyber Torres, who also flew out to the warning track to end it. 

The Rays, meanwhile, got to Frankie Montas for four runs across 5 ²/₃ innings. Three of those runs scored on a pair of rough plays from Hicks in left field that led to him being pulled after the fourth inning. 

Hicks’ first mishap came with one out and runners on first and second. Rays star Wander Franco, who went 3-for-5 in his return from an extended stay on the injured list, hit a fly ball to left field. Hicks ran to track it down, but dropped the ball just before he stepped across the foul line. He then took a few seconds to pick it up, seemingly thinking it was foul. In the process, both runners scored and Franco reached second for a double and a 3-0 lead. 

Frankie Montas walks back to the dugout after the second inning.
Frankie Montas walks back to the dugout after the second inning.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

After Hicks was showered with loud boos and a brief “Joey Gallo” chant, Randy Arozarena came up and ripped a line drive to left that got over Hicks’ head and dropped for an RBI double that put the Rays up 4-0. 

Boone then called on Estevan Florial to replace Hicks in left field to begin the fifth inning, a move that drew cheers from the exasperated crowd. 

Hicks had lost his everyday job last month after the arrival of Andrew Benintendi, but recent injuries to Benintendi and a slew of other Yankees led to Hicks getting back in the lineup more regularly — as the No. 3 hitter, no less, on Friday night. He went 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts. 

Derek Jeter looks at his Hall of Fame plaque.
Robert Sabo for the NY POST
Gleyber Torres reacts after striking out.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The Rays quickly jumped on Montas in the first inning. They swung at each of the first three pitches he threw, with the latter two going for back-to-back doubles from Franco and Arozarena that gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead. 

The Yankees threatened to answer in the third inning against Rasmussen, as a Judge single put runners on first and third with one out. But Torres and Hicks followed with strikeouts, each drawing boos from the crowd.

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Frankie Montas finally delivers in best Yankees outing

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — If ever the Yankees were in need of a good start, it was Sunday, with the offense inept and their lead in the AL East slipping away.

Frankie Montas delivered, tossing five shutout innings in the Yankees’ 2-1 win over the Rays, in his best start since arriving in a trade from the A’s in July.

The right-hander, who had a 7.01 ERA in his first five starts as a Yankees, was much better on Sunday.

“I wouldn’t say [I felt] pressure,’’ Montas said. “I wanted to keep the team in the game.”

While he was excellent, Montas wasn’t especially efficient.

Despite giving up just one hit — and no walks — he needed 93 pitches to get through his outing before being replaced by Lou Trivino, who tossed a scoreless sixth.

Trivino, Ron Marinaccio and Jonathan Loaisiga backed up Montas with three scoreless innings before Clay Holmes allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth before picking up the save.

Frankie Montas pitches on Sunday during the Yankees’ win over the Rays
Getty Images

Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing a catcher’s interference call on Kyle Higashioka in the bottom of the fifth, with the Yankees up, 1-0.

Boone and the Yankees were already frustrated by a call in the top of the inning, when DJ LeMahieu popped out and the Yankees thought the ball hit the screen behind the plate before Christian Bethancourt caught it.

The Yankees ended up challenging the play, which was confirmed, so they couldn’t ask for a review when Taylor Walls was awarded first base on catcher’s interference.

An exasperated Boone argued with home plate umpire Vic Carapazza and as he headed back to the dugout, was tossed for the seventh time this season.

Boone defended Josh Donaldson, who had a heated reaction when he was nearly hit by a pitch up and in during the second inning. Benches cleared briefly and both teams were warned, but there were no other issues. The Rays visit the Yankees for another series in The Bronx on Friday.

“It gets your attention,’’ Boone said of getting a pitch thrown near your head. “It was the heat of the moment.”

Benches cleared after Josh Donaldson took offense to an inside pitch.
AP

Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s woes at shortstop aren’t going away, as he booted another routine grounder for an error in the first and nearly threw a ball away on another easy play in the third, but was saved by a leaping grab by LeMahieu at first.

He made two good plays on the run later in the game, further evidence that he struggles more on routine plays than on more difficult chances.

Anthony Rizzo remained back in New York following the epidural he got this past week.

Boone said still hoped to have Rizzo go through baseball activities on Monday with a potential return to the lineup on Wednesday.

Boone said again the team isn’t considering an injured list stint for Rizzo, who has missed games due to lower-back issues three times in the past two months.

“He felt good [Saturday],’’ Boone said. “They were being really careful the first couple days after he had to fly across the country.”

Nestor Cortes is slated to rejoin the rotation Thursday against Minnesota in The Bronx after coming off the 15-day IL due to a groin strain.

Scott Effross still has some hurdles to clear before he can rejoin the bullpen. Boone said the right-hander, on the IL with a shoulder strain, has started a throwing program with a target date of Friday for his first bullpen session since the injury.

Zack Britton reported no problems on Sunday following his rehab appearance on Saturday for Low-A Tampa.

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Aaron Judge history spoiled by Shohei Ohtani as Yankees fall to Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Aaron Judge made history on Monday night, becoming just the third Yankee to reach the 50-homer milestone multiple times in his career. 

But it was his main challenger for AL MVP — Shohei Ohtani — who had the biggest blast of the night, as Ohtani’s two-run homer in the fifth put the Angels ahead for good in their 4-3 win at Angel Stadium. 

Josh Donaldson’s pinch-hit single with two outs in the ninth gave the Yankees some life before Oswaldo Cabrera flied out to deep center to end it. 

It sent the Yankees to their third straight loss after a five-game winning streak that now seems a distant memory. 

Frankie Montas gave up three homers — tied for a career high — and for a fourth consecutive game, the Yankees couldn’t score more than three runs. 

It left the Yankees seven games ahead of the second-place Rays in the AL East, which is as small as their lead has been in the division since June 5. 

Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Getty Images

Montas entered with a 1.20 ERA in five starts in Anaheim, his best mark at any ballpark, but that previous success didn’t carry over into Monday night. 

Against an Angels team that just swept Toronto after losing nine of its previous 10 games, Montas gave up a leadoff homer to Luis Rengifo in the bottom of the second, as the Yankees fell behind, 1-0. 

After left-hander Jose Suarez retired the first seven batters of the game, Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked and Cabrera singled down the right-field line to put runners on the corners for the Yankees. 

Frankie Montas pitches on Monday during the Yankees’ loss to the Angels.
AP

DJ LeMahieu, one of many slumping Yankees, then laid down a safety squeeze bunt to score Kiner-Falefa. It was another indication of how bad the Yankee offense has been, that they bunted with their leadoff hitter. 

Judge was walked intentionally before Andrew Benintendi grounded out to end the inning. 

The Yankees went ahead with Rizzo’s two-out solo shot to right in the fourth. 

It was Rizzo’s first homer since Aug. 17 and just his second since Aug. 2. 

Shohei Ohtani, left, celebrates after his home run.
USA TODAY Sports

Former Yankee Mike Ford answered with his first homer of the season with one out in the bottom of the inning. 

Kiner-Falefa opened the fourth with a double to left-center, but Cabrera struck out and LeMahieu grounded to third, keeping Kiner-Falefa at second. Judge was walked intentionally for a second time and Benintendi flied to right. 

Ohtani’s blast to right-center gave the Angels their first lead of the night, 4-2. It was Ohtani’s 29th homer of the season. 

Judge got the Yankees back to within a run, but Suarez — who gave up just two runs in six innings — and the Angels’ bullpen did enough to keep the struggling Yankee offense down. 

Aaron Judge hit his 50th home run Monday night.
AP

Gleyber Torres went hitless again and made a careless mistake in the bottom of the seventh, when he failed to touch second base on what should have been an inning-ending double play. 

And Montas, the team’s consolation prize when they couldn’t land top target Luis Castillo, now has a 7.01 ERA in five starts as a Yankee.

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Yankees look to continue new-found momentum on West Coast trip

Three wins can’t fully erase a rough monthlong slide, but perhaps they can send the Yankees on their way out of it.

For the first time in a while, the Yankees were feeling good about themselves Tuesday night after they finished off a two-game sweep of the Mets. That series victory followed a win Sunday over the Blue Jays, and gave the Yankees a three-game winning streak for the first time since July 28-30.

The Yankees’ mojo had largely gone missing during a 9-20 stretch coming out of the All-Star break (at which point they were still playing at a 113-win pace), especially during the more recent 2-9 skid in which their offense went ice cold. But they looked like a team that was starting to rediscover it over their last three games.

Giancarlo Stanton is expected to return to the Yankees’ lineup against the A’s.
N.Y. Post/Charles Wenzelberg

Now, they will have a chance to reinforce that winning feeling — and to get Giancarlo Stanton back from the injured list to help — when they open a four-game series against the last-place Athletics on Thursday in Oakland, Calif., before visiting the struggling Angels next week.

“I think it’s tough to have a little bit of swagger when you keep losing games and dropping series and not playing your brand of baseball,” Aaron Judge said late Tuesday night before the Yankees flew west. “But I think the swagger’s always been there. I think it just took a little reminder of who we are and what type of baseball we play and going back to doing the basics. We got it back.”

Of course, it helps that Judge has returned to MVP form. After he went through a small rut while the rest of the lineup was also struggling, Judge crushed a home run in each of the two wins over the Mets.

“The dude is pretty much the best hitter right now,” Frankie Montas said after turning in his best start as a Yankee on Tuesday night.

In addition to Judge’s resurgence and signs that Montas is settling in, the Yankees have recently displayed other reasons to believe that they might just be emerging from their funk.

They played two mostly crisp games against the Mets, with their strong defense flashing once again — especially on a pair of double plays between Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres on Tuesday night. There was a dropped pop-up between Oswaldo Cabrera and Marwin Gonzalez in right field on Monday and Torres (unsuccessfully) racing Jeff McNeil to second base while allowing Pete Alonso to score from third on Tuesday, but manager Aaron Boone attributed both to the amped-up crowd noise.

Timely hits from Andrew Benintendi also played a key role in all three wins. After a cold start in pinstripes, he is batting .310 with nine extra-base hits and a .892 OPS over his last 16 games.

“He’s been big-time,” Judge said. “I told him, ‘Hey, keep leading us. Keep being a guy that can come up in big spots.’ ”

Then there is Cabrera, whose arrival has also given the Yankees a boost. The versatile rookie seemingly has made his presence felt in at least one way every game.

There are still a few areas that offer cause for concern, though, leading with the bullpen. While some unlikely arms helped close out three straight 4-2 wins, the relief corps remains unsettled, with a mix of inconsistency and injuries popping up of late.

And in the lineup, not everyone is out of their slumps just yet. Josh Donaldson is still batting 6-for-44 (.136) with 17 strikeouts and a .445 OPS over his last 12 games, though his walk-off grand slam on Aug. 17 against the Rays certainly helped.

But the Yankees still came out of a tough nine-game homestand looking much better than when they started it.

“I think the most important thing is we learned from it,” Judge said. “We learned about what not to do. That if we don’t do the little things, we don’t make the little plays and prepare the right way, teams are going to come after us. I think it comes back to learn from those mistakes, learn from those series and time to move on to the next one.”

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