About Last Night: The Yankees Beat the Rays 2-0

About Last Night: The Yankees Beat the Rays 2-0

By Tim Kabel

May 11, 2024

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The Yankees returned to their winning ways last night by beating their division rival, the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-0. They combined the masterful pitching of Clarke Schmidt and the offense of Anthony Rizzo, who drove in both runs, to shut down the Rays. Except for the scare Clay Holmes gave everyone in the 9th inning, it was an efficient and masterful victory. I'd like to order about 60 more just like it. We can also add in some blowouts to make things interesting. Again, my concern with this team, or any team managed by Aaron Boone, is inconsistency. They won the first game. Now, they need to win the series. 

Quick Stats – 

·       The Yankees have the most wins of any American League team with 26.

·       Clarke Schmidt recorded 14 outs with three or fewer pitches, which helped him go deeper into the game. He pitched 6.2 innings for the first time this season.

·       Clarke Schmidt is now 4-1 with a 2.95 ERA this season.

·       Luke Weaver has now made eight consecutive scoreless relief appearances. 

·       Clay Holmes had not pitched in 5 days prior to last night.  He made up for it by throwing 34 pitches in the ninth inning to earn the save.

·       Prior to the game, the Yankees activated Nick Burdi off the IL and optioned Ron Marinaccio to Scranton. They kept Michael Tonkin over Marinaccio. That's surprising.

·       In 1934, Lou Gehrig led the Yankees to a 13-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. He tied a Major League record with four extra base hits, (two doubles and two home runs). He also drove in seven runs. The amazing thing is he did all this in only five innings of work because he was battling a cold.

Big Story – 

The Yankees are playing very well right now. That is fine and dandy but, as I have written ad infinitum over the past few years, consistency is not a hallmark of the Yankees during the Aaron Boone era. Consequently, they need to accumulate as many wins as they can while things are going well. Boone’s teams tend to be somewhat mercurial, so you never know when they could go into a tailspin. Remember in 2022, they were on pace to have one of the best seasons in Yankees’ history. Then they didn't. Right now, they are on a pace to win over 104 games. Will they? They could but, I wouldn't bet on it. They are just a couple of bubble gum bubbles and vacant stares away from a losing streak. Let's keep the winning going as long as we can, shall we?

Player of the Game – 

Clarke Schmidt was dominant, pitching 6.2 innings while allowing 5 hits, striking out 6, and walking 2. He only threw 87 pitches. I have heard a lot about how the Yankees cannot develop starting pitching. Well, look at this year's rotation. Schmidt, Luis Gil, and Nestor. Cortes are all products of the Yankees’ system, although Cortes did leave home a couple of times.

Notable Performance – 

Anthony Rizzo had two hits, including his 7th home run of the season and drove in both runs for the Yankees.

Better to Forget – 

Clay Holmes walked a tightrope, blindfolded in the 9th inning, giving everyone a good fright.

Gleyber Torres once again was hitless. He has fewer hits than Nicolas Cage.

My Take –  

Now that Jon Berti is back from the IL, it seems that he will be playing. I can't really argue with that. He did have two hits and a stolen base last night. However, if he is going to play at the expense of Oswaldo Cabrera, that is a problem. Cabrera is doing much better offensively this year than he did last year. He is batting.256, even after a recent slump, and he has nineteen RBI, which is very solid. If Berti is going to play, Gleyber Torres is the one who should be sitting. I guarantee that Aaron Boone will not do so. He might give him a day off here and there but, he will keep trotting him out there. The team is winning now, so it is not as glaring an issue. However, if Gleyber Torres were to approach a pinata at a birthday party, the pinata would not be worried.

This is one of the problems with Aaron Boone, he is loyal to a fault. Remember when he kept playing Isiah Kiner-Falefa right up until the playoffs of 2022, when everyone knew he shouldn't be playing? Finally, he caved into the criticism and benched IKF. Once Boone forms an opinion regarding a player, it is immutable. From the player’s point of view, this is wonderful. No matter how awful a player is, if Boone believes in him, he will play every day. That is not a good thing for the long-term success of the team. Torres needs a few days off, at a minimum.

I read an article yesterday that stated many scouts believe Caleb Durbin could be at very least a utility player for the Yankees right now, if not the starting second baseman. He has been told his whole career that he is too small, but he is hitting .300 in the minors and steals bases the way the Cookie Monster steals well, you know.

For now, Giancarlo Stanton is playing well. Gleyber Torres is not. We are 1/4 of the way into the season. He projects to hit four home runs with 28 RBI. That's a good ten game stretch for Aaron Judge or Juan Soto. Right now, Torres has no trade value. It is foolish to believe that continuing to play him will increase his trade value. That ship has sailed. Unless a team is desperate for a second baseman, the Yankees are probably stuck with him for the rest of the year. That does not mean that he must play every day. If it starts to hurt the team, he should sit. But with Boone as the manager, he won't.

Next Up – 

Today, the Yankees play the second game of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at 4:10 PM at Tropicana Field. Nestor Cortes, (1-3, 3.72 ERA) will face Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell, (1-2 3.00 ERA). Let’s hope Littell comes up small.