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New York Yankees Reaction: Nova Dazzles, Three-Headed Monster Roars

Quality pitching was the name of the game as the New York Yankees bounced back to take game two of the three-game set with the White Sox.

  • Chicago White Sox: 1 (24-13)
  • New York Yankees: 2 (15-20)
  • American League, FINAL, Box Score
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

By Christian Kouroupakis

This homestand will be a triumphant homestand for the New York Yankees as they defeated the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. They will officially conclude the ten-game stretch with a winning record.

Ivan Nova has proven he deserves to be in the rotation as he shut down Chicago’s lineup today. He dominated in 5.2 innings of work and only surrendered one run with the gameplan of attacking hitters. Amazingly, he only tossed 74 pitches to outduel Jose Quintana and deliver the ball over the tremendous bullpen.

Offensively, there wasn’t anything too significant going for them but the two runs the Yankees scored were plenty enough to do the job.

In the bottom of the second inning, Aaron Hicks doubled to right center to score Chase Headley from first which gave New York a 1-0 lead but they weren’t finished there.

The next batter, Didi Gregorious, slapped a ball to right field that scored the Yankees’ fourth outfielder and gave the Bombers a small but efficient cushion. Didi finished the game 3-for-3.

The lone run the White Sox would put on the board was thanks to Todd Frazier who cranked solo homer in the fourth inning to left field. His twelve long ball of the year was not enough though as the monstrosity of the Yankees bullpen closed out a 2-1 victory.

No-Run DMC:

That phrase invented by Jack Curry of the YES Network matches what the “three-headed monster” is to perfection.

After Nova parted in the sixth inning, Dellin Betances came on and fanned all four batters he faced. In addition to that, the 6’8″ reliever has struck out 32 of the 61 batters he’s faced this season (52.5%).

Andrew Miller relieved him and struck out two out of the three he squared off against. Aroldis Chapman and his 103-MPH fastball came on in the ninth to close it out for the third time (second save) of the season.

The back-end of the ‘pen combined for eight strikeouts in 3.1  innings of shutout ball.

Super Nova:

Nova, who’s in the rotation to fill CC Sabathia’s spot in the rotation after a groin injury landed the lefty on the 15-day disabled list, dazzled in his second start back from the rotation.

The Yankees were hoping they would get at least six innings out of him and only got 5.2 but they were more than effective. Nova only threw 74 pitches and recorded 13 ground ball outs.

Roster Moves:

How many miles has the Scranton Shuttle traveled? It has to be creeping up towards an immeasurable amount. Anyway, the shuttle was in full swing this morning.

According to the Yankees’ PR Department, the team signed pitchers Chad Green and Conor Mullee to Major League contracts and called them up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

New York also placed Luis Severino on the 15-day disabled list after leaving last night’s game with a right triceps strain. They also optioned Gary Sanchez back to the Railriders after his cup of coffee in the pros.

Lastly, the Yankees transferred Bryan Mitchell and first baseman Greg Bird to the 60-day disabled list. Someone check the Shuttle’s engine, please.

What’s Next:

The Yankees will play the Sox at the same place, same time tomorrow as they look for their third series win in a row. They will send their ace Masahiro Tanaka to the hill against Miguel  Gonzalez.

Tanaka tied a career-high with six earned runs and surrendered three home runs last outing against the Kansas City Royals. However, he showed his grit by grinding through seven innings with only 79 pitches thrown. That outing was the first time he surrendered for than two runs in 2016.

Against the White Sox, Tanaka is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA with six strikeouts in his lone start in which he tossed 6.2 innings.

Gonzalez is a new addition to the White Sox went 5.2 innings in a no-decision effort against the Texas Rangers. The former Baltimore Oriole is 3-4 in a dozen starts against the Yankees with a 4.03 ERA.

First pitch will be among us at 1:05 PM ET but coverage will begin on the YES Network at noon.

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