NEW YORK — If there is a common theme for the Atlanta Braves and New York
Yankees through two games at sweltering Yankee
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right field and right-center field.
Heading into Wednesday afternoon’s series finale, the teams have combined to
hit nine homers with both teams capitalizing on dimensions to right and
right-center.
On Monday, Aaron Judge made a half-swing and golfed a first-inning homer off
Anibal Sanchez down the right-field line, where it is 314 feet, but the Braves
wound up getting a 5-3 victory by also capitalizing on the dimensions. Rookie
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a two-run homer in the 11th off David Robertson over
Judge’s leaping attempt and into the front row of the right-center field
seats.
A night later, both teams capitalized again as the Yankees evened the series
with an 8-5 victory.
Aaron Hicks homered down the right-field line in the first inning off
left-hander Sean Newcomb and Giancarlo Stanton homered just inside the
right-field foul pole in the eighth off Evan Phillips.
“Balls get kind of sucked up out there so that’s just frustrating,” Newcomb
said after pitching a season-low 2 1/3 innings.
Stanton was also involved in two straight plays in right-center in the
seventh. First, he appeared shaken up after crashing into the wall in an attempt
to catch Nick Markakis’ 364-foot two-run homer off Adam Warren but he stayed in
to make a leaping catch on Kurt Suzuki’s 360-foot fly ball.
“You just never know here with fly balls that are homers,” Atlanta manager
Brian Snitker said.
Still, with both teams benefiting and getting burned by the dimensions, the
first two games have been tight ballgames decided in the late innings. The teams
have combined for 21 runs and 38 hits in a combined seven hours, 39 minutes
while playing in humid conditions.
“We’re obviously capable of those nights where we have a big night and can
run away from a team, but we’ve seen time and time again that we can scratch and
claw our way,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I think the one thing about
this club that they’ve shown through the first 80-plus games is that we’ve shown
an ability to win games in a lot of different ways.”
After neither team received a lengthy start and Atlanta will hope for some
distance from Julio Teheran while New York is seeking the same from CC
Sabathia.
Regardless of how long their starters go, both teams will have different
situations with their closers.
Atlanta’s Arodys Vizcaino is expected to be available for a save situation
after being activated off the disabled list Tuesday. He experienced shoulder
discomfort after pitching four times in a span of five days from June 13-17,
resulting in two weeks on the DL.
New York’s Aroldis Chapman has pitched three straight days for the first time
all season. While he has thrown 48 pitches in those outings, it would seem
unlikely the Yankees would use him for a save situation Wednesday.
Sabathia will continue his climb up various leaderboards. Sabathia is getting
his first chance to tie Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for 55th place on the
all-time wins list with at 243.
Sabathia is 5-3 with a 3.02 ERA and is the 12th pitcher to get at least 125
wins with the Yankees. Sabathia also has 1,519 strikeouts for the Yankees and is
seven away from tying Red Ruffing for fourth on the team’s all-time list.
Sabathia last pitched Friday in an 8-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox when
he allowed one run and six hits in seven innings.
Sabathia is 3-1 with a 3.31 ERA in four career starts against Atlanta.
Sabathia’s start will take place before the Yankees focus on events in
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where Masahiro Tanaka will make a rehab start. Tanaka has
been out since injuring both hamstrings running the bases June 8 against the
Mets but said Monday he feels better and could have started in the majors
Wednesday.
Teheran (6-5, 4.21 ERA) is making his 17th and seeking consecutive wins for
the first time in nearly two months.
Teheran was 4-0 with a 2.06 ERA in six starts from April 16-May 14. He is 2-4
with a 5.12 ERA in seven outings since.
Teheran’s last two wins have been scoreless outings. He fanned 11 in six
scoreless innings June 17 against San Diego but then gave up seven runs in 4 2/3
innings June 23 against Baltimore before pitching six scoreless innings Friday
at St. Louis.
Teheran is making his fourth start since a brief absence because of a thumb
contusion that impacted his velocity. In his last start, he walked the first two
hitters but settled down and retired 15 of the next 16 hitters.
“Velocity is
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he’s been really, really good. His stuff has picked up.”
Teheran will be making his second career start against the Yankees. In a 20-6
loss in Atlanta on Aug. 30, 2015, he allowed eight runs on nine hits in 4 1/3
innings but the only Yankees he faced still on the team are Brett Gardner, Greg
Bird and Didi Gregorius.
After an anemic first couple months of the season,
the Dodgers are powering balls out of the stadium at a near record rate.
Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger each hit a solo home run, Joc Pederson added a
two-run shot and Los Angeles defeated the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Wednesday
night.
The Dodgers improved to 17-6 in June and have slugged a major league-leading
51 homers this month. That’s the second-most during any month in franchise
history. With three days remaining, they have a chance to overtake last year’s
team that set the record with 53 while the single-season record of 58 in a month
is within reach, too.
”It just seems like they’re taking really good swings,” Dodgers manager Dave
Roberts said. ”When there’s a mistake in the strike zone, we hit it hard.”
The Dodgers hit 25 home runs in late March and April and 31 in May. The
current surge is being generated by a variety of players.
”It’s scary facing us,” Bellinger said. ”We’re clicking right now.”
After not homering in a 9-4 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday that snapped their
four-game winning streak, the Dodgers got going early despite not having Matt
Kemp in the lineup. The outfielder, who is hitting .311, served a one-game
suspension after losing his appeal with Major League Baseball for a scuffle with
Texas catcher Robinson Chirinos on June 13.
Muncy homered over the center-field wall in the first for his ninth long ball
this month and 16th of the season. The ball hit something beyond the wall and
bounced back onto the field, grazing center fielder Albert Almora Jr. in the
head.
Later in the inning, Yasmani Grandal’s two-run double with two outs gave the
Dodgers the lead for good, 3-2.
Pederson followed in the second with his 10th homer of the month to make it
5-2. Enrique Hernandez extended the lead with an RBI single.
Alex Wood (4-5) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings to earn
his third straight win. The left-hander struck out six and walked none, retiring
the final seven batters he faced.
Kenley Jansen earned a four-out save, his 21st of the season.
Chicago made it close after Wood exited. He was replaced in the eighth by
Scott
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Javier Baez before Willson Contreras hit a two-run double to pull the Cubs to
6-5.
Ben Zobrist grounded back to Alexander, putting the potential tying run on
third, but Jansen came in and struck out Addison Russell to end the inning.
”The at-bats had great approaches,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”I thought
we hit the ball all over the place. Javy hit it to right and right center. Same
with Contreras. Good approaches. We played our butts off, we just didn’t get
it.”
Bellinger homered leading off the eighth against Randy Rosario, tying Muncy
for the team lead with 16 homers and making it 7-5.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (5-8) gave up six runs and eight hits in 2 2/3
innings, failing to go at least five innings for the first time in 16 starts
this season. The team has lost five of his last six starts.
”I’m just searching right now, it’s just bad,” Hendricks said. ”I don’t know
mechanics and I’m trying to focus mentally and go pitch-to-pitch. Something is
just off. I’ve had troubles in my career, but this is up there as one of the
toughest.”
Chicago took the lead in the first on a two-run homer by Contreras.
In the fifth, Heyward reached on an infield single that Wood raced to pick up
along the first base line. He flipped to Bellinger, and first base umpire Alan
Porter signaled that Heyward was out. But the ball came loose and second baseman
Logan Forsythe, backing up the play, fired to the plate. Ian Happ, who singled
leading off, was called safe to leave the Cubs trailing 6-3.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: Chicago closer Brandon Morrow (lower back tightness) was activated off
the DL. He had been sidelined since June 20 after experiencing back spasms while
taking his pants off. … RHP Tyler Chatwood will be available soon. Chatwood has
been on paternity leave after his wife gave birth last Sunday.
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (right rib microfracture) will throw three
innings in a rehab start at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday. If it goes well,
he will have a bullpen session this weekend and could possibly return to the
rotation next week. … INF-OF Chris Taylor (left hamstring) wasn’t in the lineup
for the sixth straight day but pinch hit in the seventh and will start on
Thursday.
UP NEXT
Cubs LHP Jose Quintana (6-6, 4.26 ERA) starts the series finale against LHP
Clayton Kershaw (1-4, 2.94). Quintana is better on the road (3.22 ERA) than at
home (6.00). Making his second start since coming off the disabled list, Kershaw
is 5-3 in nine career starts against Chicago with a 2.64 ERA.
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