Yankees 5, Astros 3

By Mike Whiteman March 31, 2024 Happy Birthday to Chien-Ming Wang. From 2005 until July 2008, Wang was 54-20, 3.79, 117 ERA+ in Pinstripes. He broke his foot while running bases in a game in 2008, was 1-6 9.64 during the rest of his Yankee tenure, and 14-14, 6.01 the remainder of his his career.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wangch01.shtml Wang's comeback attempt was documented in this really interesting Netflix documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQRnKNWfGgY

Quick stats: Oswaldo Cabrera has an OPS of 1.615. Juan Soto's OPS is 1.433. Anthony Volpe's is 1.371. The Yankees are 3-0 for the first time since 2003. The Yankee bullpen has spun 11 2/3 scoreless innings over the first three games of the season. Big story: The Astros got on the scoreboard first last night in the second inning, when Mauricio Dubon doubled in Yainer Diaz and Jeremy Pena. Diaz originally reached on Cabrera's throwing error. The Yanks scored their first run the next frame with their own bit of good fortune, when Jose Abreu's miscue on a Anthony Rizzo grounder allowed Soto to score. Houston picked up another gift run when the Yankees turned a possible double play into a mess when errors by Anthony Volpe and Marcus Stroman allowed Yordan Alvarez to score from second. The Astros were up 3-1. As has been the Yankees' mantra in the early going, they didn't give up when behind. Austin Wells led off the seventh with a walk after going down 0-2 in the count. Cabrera's dream start continued with a two-run homer to tie, then Soto smacked a solo shot to left and suddenly the Yanks were ahead 4-3.

Anthony Volpe's first home run of the year in the eighth gave the Yanks a 5-3 advantage. Mr. Excitement, Clay Holmes, got the heart beating a little bit when he hit Jeremy Pena, but threw a scoreless inning for the save. Yankees win, 5-3. Player of the Game: How much fun has it been to watch Cabrera's start? He gets the Player of the Game for bringing the team back from behind. I could be convinced to give it to Soto as well! Notable performances: Marcus Stroman gave the Yankees exactly what they needed. He allowed only four hits and two walks over six innings, yielding no earned runs...Ian Hamilton threw two perfect, efficient, (only 20 pitches) innings after Stroman exited. Better to forget: Trent Grisham walked after Cabrera's homer, but was picked off before Soto's (though the replay sure cast some doubt on that). Thankfully neither Grisham's lapse, or for that matter Aaron Boone's for not challenging the play hurt the team. They said it: "I feel like he never even gives away a pitch. So to have someone who's that locked in, each and every time in the lineup, no pitcher wants to face that." - Marcus Stroman on Juan Soto. My take: It doesn't get better than this! I've watched parts of each game this season, and Soto plate appearances are clearly must-see TV. He oozes confidence, and never, never gives in. In the very early going, his grit looks contagious.

I was struck by Aaron Boone starting Austin Wells at catcher last night. The more traditional route of breaking in a rookie catcher would be to have the veteran Jose Trevino get the lion's share of the playing time in the early going, then have the young player take on more responsibility as the season goes on - think Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada in the late 1990s. The team sure looks high on Wells, and comfortable with his work behind the plate. He made a couple of nice stops on balls in the dirt with runners on third base. We learned that DJ LeMahieu has not just a contusion, but indeed a fracture in his right foot. He will next be evaluated in two weeks, which means in a best case scenario we'll first see DJL play in late April or maybe even early May after his layoff. So, Cabrera's early hot streak is certainly timely! Back in New York, Luis Severino made his first start with the Mets yesterday, and was lit up to the tune of twelve hits and six runs allowed. Sevvy was always a favorite of mine, and I'm rooting for better things for him this year. Next up: Go for the sweep! Clarke Schmidt (9-9. 4.64 in 2023) takes the mound against righty J. P France (11-6, 3.83)