The New York Yankees kicked off a nine-game west coast trip on Monday with a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Well, it’s that time of the year again. We’ve reached the portion of the season when the diehard fans separate themselves as truly psychotic. A time when day job production hits an all time low due to the consistent sleep deprivation that accompanies 10 PM start times on the East Coast.
This is the start of the New York Yankees first West Coast road trip of the season and the team walked away with a win after 14 innings. J.A. Happ had a great outing while a subpar offense was just enough to come away victorious.
Is J.A. Happ Back To His Usual Self?
J.A. Happ has been struggling to start the year and has become the target of Yankees Twitter overreactions. Following his dominant end to the 2018 season, many fans expected him to pick up right where he left off.
That quite simply hasn’t been the case. Happ has been downright bad to start the 2019 season with no clear explanation as to why.
Now, it seems as though Happ may have turned the corner. He turned in seven innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits and recording his second consecutive quality start. He worked quickly and effectively to keep the Angels silent outside a two-run shot by Jonathan Lucroy in the second inning.
This is what happens when your team isn't used to leading ballgames pic.twitter.com/d60JtVbw7f
— James Kelly (@jkellyESNY) April 23, 2019
Hopefully we are finally seeing the J.A. Happ we expected to receive from the Toronto Blue Jays. He may not be blowing batters away, but he’s showing he can still keep the team in the ballgame long enough for the offense to hand a lead over to the overly capable bullpen.
Adam Ottavino came on in the eighth and had a good bounceback outing after giving up three earned runs against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. The reliever got through two clean innings with some solid defense behind him, sending the game to extra innings.
Luke Voit And Gleyber Torres Are Ready To Carry This Offense
It is well documented that the 2019 Yankees are completely cursed with injuries. As a couple of the few Yankees left standing, Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres will carry a large portion of the offensive duties on their shoulders.
Voit lived up to his new responsibilities early on Monday, taking Matt Harvey to deep center in the first inning.
Luke Voit extends his on-base streak to 33 games in true Luke Voit fashion. pic.twitter.com/54zdAM1N3U
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 23, 2019
Voit also flashed some nice leather in the field to save Happ from surrendering a leadoff double in the third inning.
Voided by Voit. pic.twitter.com/RyhG1ljgYR
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 23, 2019
The Yankees tied the game at two on a sac fly from Torres in the third inning.
Gleyber Torres' sac fly scores Kyle Higashioka to tie the game at 2. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/f4mFJsLNOT
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 23, 2019
Ultimately, the offense struggled once again. The team failed to record a hit in 23 plate appearances in a row until a Clint Frazier leadoff double in the 12th.
Frazier’s double ended a streak of 23 plate appearances in which the Yankees didn’t have a hit. He later scored the go ahead run on Urshela sac fly so Yanks lead 3-2 in 12th.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) April 23, 2019
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Tommy Kahnle and Luis Cessa worked clean innings in the 10th and 11th respectively.
Following the leadoff double by Frazier in the 12th inning, Mike Tauchman managed to move him over to third with a grounder to the right side. Gio Urshela stepped up with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Frazier easily and giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
Also of note in the 12th inning was a potential ankle injury suffered by Clint Frazier while sliding back into second on a pickoff attempt. He seemed uncomfortable putting pressure on it but ultimately remained in the game.
Aroldis Chapman entered in the bottom of the 12th inning with a one-run lead and blew the save, surrendering a two-out RBI single to Brian Goodwin.
Jonathan Holder threw a great 13th inning, striking out Mike Trout and giving the Yankees one more chance to come away with the win in the 14th.
Urshela proved to be the hero again in the 14th with an RBI single to the right-center gap to score Torres, who had reached on a throwing error by Lucroy and stolen third.
Gio Urshela's 14th-inning RBI single put the Yankees ahead for good on Tuesday morning. pic.twitter.com/chRuGicm0m
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 23, 2019
Holder returned for the bottom of the 14th inning, recording the final out of the game with a strikeout of pitcher Trevor Cahill, who was pinch hitting for another pitcher.
On a personal note, I’d like to thank Holder for wrapping this one up before 3 AM. Yankees win a weird one in the fourteenth inning by the score of 4-3.
What's Next?
More baseball into the wee hours of the morning! The Yankees continue this road trip against the Angels at 10:07 PM.
The original plan was to have Jonathan Loaisiga start on Tuesday but with the game spanning 14 innings Monday night, the Yankees will send Domingo German to the mound and save Loaisiga’s arm for the ‘pen if needed.
The Angels will counter with Chris Stratton. Stratton is 0-1 on the season with a 7.00 ERA.
The game will be broadcast on the YES Network.
