Tag Archives: yankees

18 Aug

the full spectrum

Ah, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Mississippians experienced both on Friday — and something in between, as well — in the wide world of big league baseball. Start with the agony. In the big Houston-Oakland showdown, former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout Tony Sipp, an Astros reliever, surrendered a walk-off home run to Matt Olson that gave the A’s a 4-3 win in 10 innings and cut Houston’s lead to 1 game in the American League West. Sipp has been very good this season. His ERA entering Friday’s game was 1.50. He hadn’t allowed a run since June 24. He hadn’t allowed a home run all season. So, yeah, that one hurt. On to the thrill: Mitch Moreland, the Mississippi State product, is also having a helluva year — and so is his team, the Boston Red Sox, who have the best record in the game. They trailed early on Friday against Tampa Bay in Fenway Park but rallied, going ahead to stay in the fifth inning on an RBI hit by Moreland, his 62nd RBI of the year. He scored a run in the seventh inning as the Red Sox, 87-36 and 43-15 at home, stormed to a 7-3 win. Meanwhile, at Yankee Stadium, ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, who had been lights out in his first three appearances for New York, gave up four runs in the first inning against Toronto but his personal agony was erased by a thrilling Yankees rally. They won a rain-shortened affair 7-5, staying within shouting distance — if only barely — of the Red Sox in the AL East. Lynn now has a 2.61 ERA in four games, three starts, with the Yanks since arriving in a trade with Minnesota.

07 Aug

around the horn

Two games into his New York Yankees career, ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn looks like a good fit. The big right-hander played stopper on Monday night, throwing 7 1/3 fairly brilliant innings to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-0 and end the Yanks’ five-game skid. He hasn’t allowed a run in 11 2/3 innings over two appearances since his trade from Minnesota. His ERA for the season is now 4.58. Lynn won 72 games in six years in St. Louis, pitched in 24 postseason games and won a World Series ring in 2011. And yet: “When playing for the Yankees, it’s a little different,” Lynn said in an mlb.com story. … Meanwhile, UM alum Bobby Wahl, pitching for that other New York club, notched his second hold on Monday night in his third appearance for the Mets, who beat Cincinnati 6-4. Wahl, acquired in a trade with Oakland, has three strikeouts among the five outs he has recorded in his three scoreless outings. … Though not all of his numbers are great, former Southern Miss ace Kirk McCarty does lead all low Class A pitchers in strikeouts with 132. The 5-foot-10 left-hander from Hattiesburg is 4-8 with a 4.29 ERA in 115 1/3 innings for Lake County in Cleveland’s system. He has won three of his last four decisions. … Joe Gray, drafted in the second round in June by Milwaukee, isn’t hitting much in the rookie Arizona League – .175 in 17 games – but the Hattiesburg High alum has shown a knack for drawing walks – 14, boosting his on-base percentage to .342. The 18-year-old outfielder has a homer, eight RBIs, 10 runs and six steals. … The NJCAA National Team, featuring several MACJC stars, is 1-1 in the National Baseball Congress World Series after a 6-3 loss to the San Antonio, TX Angels on Monday. Jones County JC’s Tyler Spring took the loss, though he allowed just one earned run in 5 1/3 innings. Northwest’s Brant Blaylock was 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI and Gulf Coast’s Brandon Parker 0-for-2 with two walks and a run. Blaylock went 3-for-6 with an RBI and Parker 1-for-4 with two walks and an RBI in a 7-6, 12-inning win vs. the San Diego, CA Force in the team’s opener on Saturday. Shermar Page of Pearl River pitched a scoreless inning in that game.

03 Aug

one step closer

Bobby Bradley has taken another step toward the big leagues, moving from Double-A to Triple-A in the Cleveland system. The lefty-hitting first baseman out of Harrison Central High went 0-for-4 in his debut with Columbus on Thursday night. He had 24 homers at Akron, though he was hitting just .214 with 105 strikeouts in 389 at-bats. Still only 22 years old, Bradley is rated the Indians’ No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Power is his calling card; in five pro seasons he has 111 bombs. … The Indians also bumped Nick Sandlin up a level, from low Class A Lake County to high-A Lynchburg. The Southern Miss product, a second-round pick in June, had a 1.74 ERA in 10 games at Lake County after making three scoreless appearances in the rookie Arizona League. He has 19 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings and has not walked a batter. Sandlin won a national pitcher of the year award and was the C-USA pitcher of the year in addition to claiming the Ferriss Trophy. P.S. Sandlin’s 2018 USM teammate Luke Reynolds, a 10th-round pick by the Chicago Cubs, has caught fire in the short-season Northwest League, batting .400 over his last 10 games and .358 in 15 games overall for Eugene. The C-USA hitter of the year has a homer and nine RBIs. … While things are looking up for former Golden Eagles Sandlin and Reynolds, Mason Robbins may have reached a dead end. The 25-year-old outfielder is currently out of the game, having been released by the Chicago White Sox on July 22. Robbins was hitting .265 at Triple-A Charlotte in his fifth pro season. He is a .283 career hitter but apparently lacks the power and/or speed to be a corner outfielder. … The Ugly Stat of the Day – maybe the year – in MLB goes to Jonathan Holder, who faced seven batters and saw all seven score in the New York Yankees’ 15-7 loss to Boston on Thursday. Former Mississippi State star Holder’s ERA jumped from 2.06 to 3.50.

02 Aug

triad

This might have happened before, but it’s gotta be pretty rare. A pitcher from each of the state’s Big 3 appeared in the same big league game on Wednesday. Southern Miss alum Cody Carroll made his MLB debut with Baltimore, ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn made his New York Yankees debut and Mississippi State product Jonathan Holder also worked an inning for the Yanks. Combined, the three pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a game won by Baltimore 7-5 at Yankee Stadium. Lynn, acquired from Minnesota, replaced struggling starter Sonny Gray in the third inning and delivered a solid 4 1/3 innings, yielding five hits and fanning five. Carroll, acquired from the Yankees by the Orioles last week, pitched the seventh inning and allowed one hit. Holder, who has become a significant piece of New York’s formidable bullpen, worked the top of the ninth, reducing his ERA to 2.06. P.S. As if following a Hollywood script, former USM star Brian Dozier introduced himself to Dodgers fans with a 3-for-4 debut, including a home run and a double, in Los Angeles’ 6-4 win against Milwaukee. Dozier now has 17 homers on the season. … Down on the farm, Atlanta’s No. 5 prospect, Cristian Pache, made his Mississippi Braves debut on Wednesday at Trustmark Park, going 2-for-2 in the second game of the night against Birmingham. Pache, 19, is an athletically cut 6 feet 2, 185 pounds. He batted .285 with eight homers at Class A Florida and is reportedly a plus defender in center field. He is one to watch.

25 Jul

arms talks

Mississippi-connected pitchers were in the MLB news on Tuesday. And much of the news wasn’t good. Drew Pomeranz, the former Ole Miss star, came off the disabled list to make his first start for Boston since May 31. He lost. Mississippi State alum Brandon Woodruff, who has been on the elevator between Milwaukee and Triple-A Colorado Springs this season, went down again. For ex-State standout Kendall Graveman, the news was far worse. Oakland announced that Graveman will have Tommy John surgery, which could mean he’ll miss all of 2019. “It’s going to take him a little while to get back,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told mlb.com. “So we’re all feeling that a little today.” Then there’s Southern Miss product Cody Carroll, who was among the three minor leaguers traded by the New York Yankees to Baltimore for Zach Britton. For Carroll, who has been pitching very well at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the move from the powerhouse Yankees to the moribund Orioles might mean a clearer path to the big leagues. So there’s that. … Pomeranz allowed six hits – two homers – two walks and four runs in 4 2/3 innings vs. Baltimore and fell to 1-4, 6.91 in nine starts for the Red Sox. He did not seem discouraged. “Literally two bad pitches, so that’s about it,” he told mlb.com. … Woodruff has a 4.80 ERA in 12 games with the Brewers. Optioned out for the fifth time in 2018, he’ll no doubt be back with the big club soon. … Graveman was 1-5, 7.60 for the A’s this year and was demoted to Triple-A Nashville in late April. He made four Triple-A starts before being shut down in late May. … Carroll, in his fourth pro season, was rated the No. 15 prospect in the Yankees’ system. He was 3-0 with nine saves and a 2.38 ERA at SWB and over his last 10 games had a 0.82 ERA and four saves. He might get a look with the O’s before season’s end.

29 Jun

watch for it

In the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees clash slated for the next three days at Yankee Stadium, we might be lucky enough to see a matchup of Mississippians in a crucial spot: Amory native Mitch Moreland of the BoSox vs. Gulfport’s Jonathan Holder of the Yanks. Moreland, having a strong year (.290, 11 homers, 40 RBIs), typically hits in the middle of Boston’s order. (A left-handed hitter, he isn’t in the starting lineup tonight against lefty CC Sabathia.) Holder, having a breakout season (1.78 ERA in 26 games), has been getting more calls in key late-inning situations for New York. Moreland is 0-for-1 this year and 0-for-2 career against fellow Mississippi State product Holder, a right-hander. Boston hitters are 0-for-8 against Holder in 2018 and were 1-for-15 against him last year. Moreland is 4-for-14 vs. the Yanks in 2018, with a homer, against Masahiro Tanaka, currently out with an injury. He was 10-for-50 last year, with homers against Tanaka and Sonny Gray, Saturday’s scheduled starter. The Red Sox currently lead the Yankees by a game in the American League East. P.S. Former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, currently pitching on a one-year deal with Minnesota, is considered an attractive trade piece, and one of the teams mentioned by mlb.com as a good fit is – drumroll – the Yankees. After a sluggish start in 2018, Lynn, a veteran who eats innings, is 4-2, 2.40 over his last seven starts.

25 Jun

next man up?

The first – and so far, only – Mississippian to make a big league debut this season is Braxton Lee, the Ole Miss alum from Picayune who played his first game back on March 30 for Miami. Next man up might be Zac Houston, the ex-Mississippi State star who has reached Triple-A in Detroit’s system in just his third pro season. Houston, 6 feet 5, 250 pounds, has posted a 1.59 ERA in nine relief appearances with one save and 18 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings for Toledo. He began 2018 at Double-A Erie and earned the promotion after putting up a 2.60 ERA in 13 games there. Houston dominated in the Arizona Fall League last year, allowing no earned runs with 18 punchouts in 11 1/3 innings. Rated the Tigers’ No. 14 prospect by Perfect Game, the former 11th-round draft pick has fanned 183 batters in 116 1/3 career innings, an average of 14.2 per nine. He appears to be ready for a shot with the Tigers, though they’d have to clear a 40-man roster spot for him. P.S. If Houston isn’t the next to make it, it could be Cody Carroll, the former Southern Miss star from Tennessee (not to be confused with the Cody Carroll from Florida who is currently at USM). Tennessee Cody Carroll is having a fine season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the New York Yankees’ system. He has a 2.76 ERA, three wins and seven saves for SWB. Featuring an upper 90s fastball, he has punched out 44 hitters in 32 2/3 innings. Drafted in 2015, the 6-foot-5 Carroll has a 2.74 career ERA with 20 saves. The depth of the Yankees’ big league bullpen might make it tough for Carroll to get a promotion this summer, but stuff happens. And he’s surely opened some eyes.

19 Jun

lights out

Jonathan Holder made the New York Yankees’ staff out of spring training but didn’t figure to hold a prominent role in a deep and talented bullpen. That has changed. The Mississippi State alum from Gulfport is pitching in high-leverage situations now. Case in point: Monday’s second game against Washington. Holder came on in the sixth inning with runners at first and third, no outs and the Yankees gripping a one-run lead. The right-hander got two strikeouts and a pop up to escape the jam, and New York went on to win 4-2. “After he did that you could feel a jolt across the bench,” Yankees starting pitcher Sonny Gray told mlb.com. Holder has gone 22 innings without allowing an earned run. In 23 appearances, he has a 2.19 ERA. Holder, who debuted in the majors in 2016, actually started slowly this season and was sent back to Triple-A. His response? “Go down and work on stuff,” he told nj.com. He reportedly refined his slider a bit and regained some velocity on his fastball. Since his recall on April 21, he has been lights out. For State fans, whose focus has been elsewhere (Tallahassee, Nashville, Omaha) in recent weeks, Holder’s performance should ring familiar. He was the closer on the 2013 Bulldogs team that made it all the way to the College World Series finals. That squad included six players who already have played in the majors and a couple more who might yet get there. Holder, a sophomore in 2013, went 2-0 with 21 saves and a 1.65 ERA for a 51-20 team. The Yankees drafted him in the sixth round in 2014, and he moved swiftly through their system.

16 Jun

bark in park

It’s a Dog Day in Omaha, where Mississippi State plays Washington in a College World Series opener. Meanwhile, some former Dogs enjoyed a day of their own on Friday in the big leagues. Atlanta Braves TV broadcasters, Jeff Francoeur in particular, were effusively impressed with the arm of Hunter Renfroe, the ex-State star who made a couple of cannon-shot throws from deep right field to third base for San Diego. More impressive was the two-strike, two-out, two-run single Renfroe stroked in the seventh inning, putting the Padres up a run in a game they would go on to win 9-3. Renfroe has been in the throes of a skid and was batting just .229 at the time. He got another hit in the ninth and finished with a .245 average. At Yankee Stadium, Bulldogs alum Jonathan Holder pitched a scoreless sixth inning for his third hold of the year as New York beat Tampa Bay 5-0. Holder trimmed his ERA to 2.28. At Seattle’s Safeco Field, former State standout Mitch Moreland drove in a run and scored in Boston’s six-run third inning against Mariners ace James Paxton, but the Red Sox squandered a lead and lost 7-6. P.S. Southern Miss product Brian Dozier hit his 10th homer — off Cleveland’s Corey Kluber — to help Minnesota beat the Indians 6-3. It was Dozier’s 161st career bomb, moving him into sixth place alone on the all-time list of Mississippi natives. … Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day disabled list by the Los Angeles Angels.

11 Jun

story time

If you could gather together in some astral realm all the Mississippi natives who’ve ever played in the big leagues, oh, the stories they could tell. Willie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth in his first at-bat. Gee Walker cycled on opening day. Claude Passeau threw a one-hitter in the World Series. Dave Parker was an All-Star Game MVP. Jay Powell won a Game 7 in the Series. Billy Hamilton stole four bases in his first start. But for sheer shake-your-head wonderment, it’d be hard to top Marcus Thames’ tale of his first major league at-bat. Sixteen years ago Sunday – June 10, 2002 – Louisville native Thames, playing for the New York Yankees, walked to the plate at Yankee Stadium to face Arizona’s Randy Johnson, reigning Cy Young award winner, and smashed the first pitch he saw for a home run. Thames, a 30th-round pick by the Yankees in 1996 out of East Central Community College, took a while to reach The Show but was not a one-trick pony. He hit 114 more MLB bombs – including seasons of 26 and 25 – over his 10-year career and averaged one homer per 15.9 at-bats, which, a Cut4 article on mlb.com points out, is one of the best ratios in history. Thames is now the Yankees’ hitting coach. P.S. Ex-Mississippi State star Brandon Woodruff returned to the majors with Milwaukee on Sunday and, sans red beard, threw four strong innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter in a game the Brewers would lose to Philadelphia. … Ole Miss alum Mike Mayers, back up for a seventh stint this season with St. Louis, worked 2 1/3 innings in two games over the weekend. … Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton contributed a triple, two runs and two outfield assists in Cincinnati’s win against the Cardinals on Sunday. A two-week slump has seen Hamilton’s average dip to .193. … Former State standout Adam Frazier was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis by Pittsburgh, presumably to get regular at-bats. In his third big league season, Frazier is batting .237 in 135 ABs.