Category: Oakland Athletics

Michael Duca on A’s and Giants: A’s Abad non suspension good;Giants Panda out with flu cold

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by Michael Duca

SAN FRANCISCO–A’s reliever Fernando Abad who was not suspended for throwing inside to Baltimore Orioles hitter Manny Achado last Sunday but was ejected from the ball game unlike Orioles pitcher Wei-Yin Chen who actually hit A’s hitter Josh Donaldson a couple of games earlier. Abad didn’t hit anybody.

Yoenis Cespedes: The glove, there’s a famous cartoon character named Orphan Annie in which the character arrived and it talked about things that go bump in the night and I would have to say that sometimes Cespedes’ glove goes bump in the night however whenever you’ve got litterally a guided missle at the end of your shoulder that you can launch it at will talk about compensation.

That throw by Cespedes to nail down the Angels Howie Kendricks at the plate that’s the best right field to catcher throw I’ve ever seen, it’s purely beautiful as the throw. Former M’s outfielder Ichiro made a spectacular throw from the rightfield corner to throw out former A’s runner Terrence Long at third base years ago. It was amazing in it’s own right it was 320 feet in the air.

Basically Cespedes throw he rainbowed it and part of that play a lot of people don’t give enough credit to is A’s catcher Derek Norris who deaked the runner until the last second and just sort of laid the glove out in front of him and Kendrick tagged himself out and it was just an amazing thing to watch. It should be a play that should make Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers proud but it probably won’t he’s got a huge ego but he’s a kid we were all kids at one time.

San Francisco Giants update: Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval who missed Wednesday night’s game at AT&T Park against the Washington Nationals due to sickness. There’s a cough going around and that’s a fact because I’ve got it. Sandoval was reportedly coughing in the clubhouse before the game and he had the cough for about a week and he thought this was a good time to take time off.

He was replaced by Joaquin Arias at third just before Wednesday’s game, the virus that Pablo has, coughing is a part of it and you feel pretty run down. Keep in mind it doesn’t beat you up like the winter time flu does but you would notice it out there if your standing out there in the cold.

Giants pitcher Matt Cain who struggled in the first inning giving up three runs to the Nat’s has struggled and wasn’t getting some of the calls from plate umpire Phil Cuzzi but Cain managed to settle down and he got a couple calls that might have changed things a little bit. You have to give credit to the Nationals for being very paitent waiting Cain out which is not a very easy thing to do considering he didn’t allow a base runner in the proceeding innings until the Nats picked up another run in the top of the fifth to increase their lead 4-1.

The job that former Giant Matt Williams is doing for the Nats: The results are good, the reports are there are things that Wiliams has some things he has to learn yet. Most rookie managers have their challenges, he had some challenges with handling the pitchers and it takes awhile to learn that. Williams had six weeks without the Nats star hitter Bryce Harper in the line up.

Michael Duca does commentary each week on the A’s and Giants for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Clipped In The 14th, lose to Angels 2-1

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Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols, center, slides into home after being tagged out by Oakland Athletics catcher Derek Norris while trying to score on a single by Josh Hamilton during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols, center, slides into home after being tagged out by Oakland Athletics catcher Derek Norris while trying to score on a single by Josh Hamilton during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

By Kahlil Najar

ANAHEIM – Drew Pomeranz pitched seven innings of one run ball and Yoenis Cespedes had one of the best throws you’re going to see this year but Collin Cowgill hit a homer in the bottom of the fourteenth to lead the Angels over the A’s 2-1.

Jeff Francis (0-2) went 1 2/3 innings and gave up two walks and of course the solo shot to Cowgill to end the game. Cory Rasmus (2-0) got the win for the Angels and kept the A’s hit-less in the last two innings of the game. The A’s used a three other relievers tonight in addition to Francis and they gave up four hits in five innings. Sean Doolittle had a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the 12th.

The highlight of the night for the A’s was in the bottom of the eighth when Cesepedes bobbled Mike Trout’s double to left field and after picking up the ball he saw Howie Kendrick rounding third and threw a laser to Derek Norris who was able to tag out Kendrick. Check out the video of the throw below:

 

Th Angels got on the board first in the bottom of the sixth when after a Mike Trout walk to start the inning, Josh Hamilton singled on a line drive to right field and made it a 1-0 lead for LA. The A’s tied the game in the top of the 8th when after Nick Punto double and a Stephen Vogt ground out, jed Lowrie hit a sac fly to right field and Punto scored after tagging up. Then came the homer in the bottom of the 14th to end the game.

Even though they lost the game, the talk of the night for the A’s was the throw by Cespedes.

“If you hadn’t seen it, you probably wouldn’t have believed it. Flat-footed, he threw it 325 feet on the fly, right to DeNo’s chest,” said Sean Doolittle.

Coco Crisp echoed Doolittle’s sentiments, “Probably the best recovery I’ve ever seen. An amazing throw.”

The A’s and Angels head back at it tomorrow when Tommy Milone (3-3, 3.68 ERA) goes up against Jered Weaver (7-4, 3.31 ERA), game time 7:05PM.

Former Oakland Athletic and Cy Young Award winner Bob Welch passes at 57

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By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Former Oakland Athletic and Cy Young Award winner Bob Welch passed away today at the young age of 57. The cause of death was unavailable. In a press release from the the Athletics, A’s President Michael Crowley said, “We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Bob Welch. He was a legendary pitcher who enjoyed many of his best seasons with the Oakland A’s. He will always be a significant part of our franchise’s history, and we mourn his loss. We send our greatest sympathies to his family and friends.”

General Manager Billy Beane expressed his sentiments on this sad occasion, “This is a sad day for the entire A’s organization. Those of us who knew Bob as a teammate and a friend will miss him greatly. My condolences go out to his family.”

Current A’s closer Sean Doolittle posted on Twitter, “Devastated to learn of Bob Welch’s passing. The A’s organization lost not only one of its best pitchers, but one of its best people.”

In 17 seasons in the majors, Welch earned a 211-146 record and 3.47 ERA. Bay Area fans might remember him being a key member of the A’s from 1988-90 when he and Dave Stewart were the aces of the staff and lead them to the World Series in 1989 when they swept the San Francisco Giants. In 1990 when Welch won the Cy Young he compiled an unbelievable record of 27-6 with an era of 2.95. In 24 years, no one has come close to winning at least 25 games.

After his playing days, Welch was the pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks when they won the 2001 World Series and he shared time with current A’s coach Bob Melvin.  His son Riley was selected by the A’s in the 34th round of the 2008 MLB First-Year Players Draft.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Angels set to turn things around in chase of A’s and first

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–The Los Angeles Angels are playing great ball right now, their playing to win and the last few years the A’s have won the west. Everybody on the Angels is healthy, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout is back, Josh Hamilton and the Angels have a great line up.

I challenge anybody who knows baseball to compare the Angels position by position. The Angels are a better team than the A’s. The A’s at present are playing much better no doubt about that. Looking at the Angels you have Pujols at first, you have Howie Kendrick at second, Erick Aybar is a great shortstop with a gold glove.

The Angels have a great team with Hamilton, Trout, they have great pitching with Jerod Weaver and C.J. Wilson and on Monday night they had starter Garrett Richards who pitched a tremendous game. The Angels are going for it they have won four in a row beating Oakland for their fourth on Monday night.

NCAA players making move for pay: It’s very simple I got one opinion I don’t agree with it, I don’t think college athletes should be paid to play sports. You go to college for academics and if you excel in sports that’s great.

There are a small amount of players that become professionals, you have to work hard, you have to have some kind of God given talent. I don’t agree I don’t think the players in college should get paid. This country is huge and it’s the richest country on earth.

There are still plenty of opportunities, you got four terrific leagues here. you have the NFL, MLB, NHL and the NBA. There are so many outlets if your good at the sport. I don’t think we should be paying kids to be playing sports in college.

World Cup in Brazil: Brazil is a huge country territory wise and it’s larger than the United States and population wise it’s still a third world country and their still very poor. There is a lot of criticism about FIFA.

FIFA has been for three years loaded with corruption and scandals and they have a lot of beautiful stadiums in Brazil and the people there are kind of complaining about what is going to happen when World Cup ends?

They cannot eat those stadiums there, what are they going to do with those stadiums? There are still a lot of people there still suffering. The World Cup should help them though in their economy. Brazil still has a lot of problems, the Brazilians are so proud to have the World Cup.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for Angels baseball and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Flounder Against Richards, Angels as Trout Makes Splash

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By Matthew Harrington

Starter Garrett Richards and the Los Angeles Angels stifled the Oakland Athletics offense Monday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, besting the A’s 4-1 while limiting the visitors to four hits. Yoenis Cespedes and Stephen Vogt combined for all the Oakland offense, collecting two hits apiece. The A’s (39-25) scored one run for just the sixth time this season a day after exploding for 11 runs at Camden Yards.

Jesse Chavez (5-4, 3.04 ERA) pitched gave six strong innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits against the Halos, but the A’s offense failed to figure out Richards in support. The 26-year-old righty (6-2, 3.09) stymied the green and gold to only four hits over his seven innings.

The A’s took the lead in the top of the second after Yoenis Cespedes scored on a softly-hit Stephen Vogt single to left with two outs. Vogt proved steady at the plate and behind the dish in place of starting catcher Derek Norris. Norris sat out Monday night after taking a Manny Machado backswing to the back of the head yesterday afternoon in Baltimore.

Angels superstar Mike Trout collected his 44th and 4t5th RBIs on a sac fly in the third and a controversial fifth-inning ground-rule double respectively. With Hank Conger on second, Trout aboutfaced a 2-2 Chavez delivery to deep right field that looked labeled for the bleachers. Originally called a home run on the field, an umpire review revealed a fan reached below the railing to catch the ball for fan interference. Crew chief Bob Davidson overturned the play, placing Trout back on second base to the chagrin of Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia. Scioscia argued the play, resulting in an ejection from Davidson with the Angels leading 3-1. Hank Conger and Raul Ibanez also plated runs for the Halos.

After Richards, Joe Smith and Closer Ernesto Frieri locked down the A’s bats, pitching a scoreless inning a piece. Smith struck out two while Frieri k’d the side to pick up his 11th save of the season. Ryan Cook and Fernando Abad pitched a third of an inning a piece and Jim Johnson wrapped up the A’s pitching performance, allowing an unearned run in his 1 1/3 innings of work.

With the win, the Angels (35-28) move 3.5 games back of the A’s for the lead in the American League West. They’ll look to put together a fifth-consecutive victory Tuesday night, sending Hector Santiago to the mound in his return. Santiago seeks his first win of the season in his return to the rotation after Los Angeles placed Tyler Skaggs on the disabled list Monday afternoon with a right hamstring strain.

The A’s counter with Drew Pomeranz fresh off a bounce-back outing in which he narrowly outdueled Yankees sensation Masahiro Tanaka in a 2-1 loss in the Bronx. Pomeranz pitched seven innings, his longest start of the season, just one appearance after allowing five runs to the same Angels in a fortunate 9-5 home field triumph May 30th.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Attention K-Mart shoppers and bandwagon fans!

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–There are bandwagon fans in baseball everywhere. The Bay Area is no exception, however Boston and St Louis, win or lose they show up all the time, they are there for baseball not because of a Bobblehead or Towel Day. The 12,350 fans that show up for Monday night games at the Oakland Coliseum to see the A’S are as good, if not better than the fans at Boston and St Louis, and the same can be said about the 8,560 fans that used to show up until 1999 to watch the Giants play at Candlestick, those were real baseball fans.

Not there for the “selfies”with their I-Pods, or to post a photo with their girlfriends on their Facebook page. I recently spoke in front of class of young men and women, who had an interest in baseball. About 22 of them, I asked them, who many knew how to score a game, I only counted 5 hands that went up. Both of the Bay Area teams are on top of the baseball world. There are still like 100 games left. But these are different times.

A team that finishes 86-76 and advances to the playoffs can be as dangerous as a 110-52 team during the regular season that makes it to the playoffs. It all depends who is hot, who is peaking at the right time. And then, of course, who goes in really healthy into the postseason, since nobody these days can escape injuries. Tommy John is the most popular name in the press box these days, not your favorite pitcher in the Bay Area.

There is a new movie out there, classified as a comedy; “A Million Ways To Die In The West”. The American League West might be the strongest division, with only one team, Houston, under .500, and Houston has shown they are getting better by the day, and can spoil anybody’s party, nobody is dying there. The same cannot be said about the National League West, where either 1-The Giants are the best team of all time, or 2-Nobody else is worth a damn. That division, could, could have 4 teams under .500. There is a lot of dying on that division. You can come to your own conclusion. It is your call, and it will not be challenged or reviewed.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for Angels baseball and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s win a “laugher” over the O’s 11-1

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics were involved in a wild baseball affair on Sunday in Baltimore. The game featured 12-runs, 16-hits, 15-walks, an overturned grand slam home run, a bench clearing confrontation between the teams and two ejections as the A’s defeated the Orioles 11-1. The win also gave the series victory to Oakland two games to one.

The A’s not only showed off their high-powered offense but they also demonstrated their high-quality pitching. Scott Kazmir worked seven innings of shutout baseball giving up just four-hits while striking out seven hitters and walking just two men. Kazmir threw 96 pitches (62 strikes) en route to his seventh win of the season. Kazmir’s ERA is now a paltry 2.20.

The overriding philosophy of the A’s is to have their hitters “get on base”. They do not care if you get a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch as long as you get on base. On Sunday, the A’s walked more times than they got a hit. Oakland recorded 11 bases-on-balls off Baltimore pitching. Add to that 10-hits and you can see that the A’s had runners on base almost constantly.

The big inning for the A’s came in the top of the third. Derek Norris led off the inning with a walk. Callaspo then walked. Kyle Banks walked to load the bases for John Jaso. Jaso hit a fly ball to deep right-center field that appeared to leave the park and was called a home run by the umpires. The umpires reviewed the play and changed the call to a double. Norris and Callaspo scored but Banks was sent back to third while Jaso returned to second with a two-run double.

With runners at second and third and no outs, Nick Punto walked on four straight pitches from Ubaldo Jimenez. Josh Donaldson hit into a force out at home but the bases remained loaded with one out. Brandon Moss then took the first pitch to him over the center field wall for a grand slam home run with no review required. Moss’ 16th home run of the season gave the A’s a 6-0 lead and sent Jimenez to the showers after just 2.1-innings.

The A’s went on to score a run in the fourth inning, three-runs in the fourth inning and one in the ninth inning for the 11-1 win.

Jaso and Moss finished the game with four-RBI each. Nick Punto posted two-RBI and both came with two outs in the inning. The A’s left only two runners in scoring position with two out.

John Jaso went two for six and a run scored to go with his four-RBI. Punto went two for three with a run and two walks plus his two-RBI. Yoenis Cespedes went two for five on the day. Alberto Callaspo went one for three with two walks and three runs scored.

The Athletics went six for 10 with runners in scoring position.

In a lineup oddity, the A’s used three catchers in the game but only two worked behind the plate. Jaso was the DH, Vogt played right field and Derek Norris was the starting catcher. In the bottom of the sixth-inning, Manny Machado hit Norris with his back-swing and Norris was taken out of the game as a precaution. Vogt came in from right field to take over the catching duties.

In the bottom of the eighth-inning, Machado came to bat with two out. Machado thought a 1-1 pitch from Abad was deliberately thrown at his knees. On the next pitch, Machado swung and let the bat fly down the third base line. There was little doubt that he intended the bat to fly at Abad. Both benches cleared their dugouts and the pitchers emptied the bullpens. There were a few shoves and some yelling but it was a “nothing to see here” situation. The umpires ejected Machado and Abad once calm was restored.

Machado was also the instigator of the benches clearing brawl in the Friday night game. Machado can expect a less than warm welcome from A’s fans when Baltimore comes to Oakland in July.

The A’s are four for six on the road trip and now head to Los Angeles for a three-game series with the Angels.

A’s suffer rare, rough outing in 6-3 loss to the Orioles

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By Morris Phillips

Unfortunately, the Camden Yard crowd’s reaction to seeing former Orioles’ All-Star Jim Johnson paled in comparison to the reaction Baltimore hitters had on Johnson’s pitches.

The A’s demoted closer relieved starter Sonny Gray in the sixth inning on Saturday night, and his second pitch of the night was deposited beyond the right field wall by David Lough. Trailing 4-1 at the time of Gray’s departure, the A’s fell behind 6-1 on Lough’s homer and went on to lose to the Orioles, 6-3.

So much looked different about the A’s on Saturday than has been their recent, lofty standard, it’s hard to figure out where to start. Gray had been undefeated on the road in five starts in 2014, and perfect at night, and almost perfect when allowed five days’ rest. But the A’s presumptive ace had trouble with his curve ball, walked too many batters (4) and came up on the short end for only the second time all season.

“You’re so used to him putting up zeros all the time,” manager Bob Melvin said of Gray. “He just got knicked up on a couple of pitches.”

When Lough connected to put the Orioles up 6-1, it marked the first time the A’s had trailed by as many as five runs since May 6. The A’s ridiculously stellar team statistics have them averaging well above five runs a game and allowing well less than three. Both numbers are major league bests and explain how the A’s run differential is nearly twice that of the Giants, who rank second in the category.

What do all the numbers mean? The A’s have won big and lost small with a whole bunch of close, hotly contested games in between. Being down five runs at one point on Saturday measures as about as near as the A’s have had to an uncompetitive ballgame in the last month.

Individually on Saturday, Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss fared the worst. The A’s 3-4 hitters went 0 for 7 with six strikeouts. The pair was baffled by Kevin Gausman, who was promoted from AAA Norfolk and picked up his first major league win as a starter.

Gausman went seven innings allowing four hits and a run. The 23-year old LSU product displayed some serious gas, fooling the A’s with his varied, late moving fastballs. Only Coco Crisp managed to square one up, hitting a solo shot that tied the game, 1-1, in the third.

The 30-year old Johnson established himself as a premier closer with the Orioles with 50-save seasons in 2012 and 2013. But even as Baltimore secured a playoff berth last season, Johnson was held accountable for his nine blown saves more so than heralded for the 50 he converted. When his arbitration number for 2014 hit $10 million, the Orioles decided they were better off without him and Johnson was dealt to the A’s for Jemile Weeks.

Whether Orioles’ fans missed Johnson wasn’t crystal clear based on the mixture of boos and cheers he received upon entering the game Saturday. What’s clear from the A’s perspective is Johnson hasn’t been worth the money in 2014.

After a shaky start to the season that led to Melvin taking Johnson out of the closers’ role, the big right hander hasn’t fared much better in different roles.   Saturday marked the 10th time in 23 appearances that Johnson has allowed multiple hits.

The A’s look to capture the rubber game of the three-game set on Sunday when Scott Kazmir faces Baltimore’s Ubaldo Jimenez at 10:35am.

A’s Beat Fiesty Orioles 4-3 In 11 Innings

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Baltimore Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson, second from right, backs Manny Machado (13) away from Oakland Athletics second baseman Nick Punto, second from left, and third baseman Josh Donaldson after Donaldson tagged him out in the third inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 6, 2014, in Baltimore. Also pictured is umpire Gabe Morales, left. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Baltimore Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson, second from right, backs Manny Machado (13) away from Oakland Athletics second baseman Nick Punto, second from left, and third baseman Josh Donaldson after Donaldson tagged him out in the third inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 6, 2014, in Baltimore. Also pictured is umpire Gabe Morales, left. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By Kahlil Najar

 

BALTIMORE – The A’s received homers from Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss and clutch hitting from Yoenis Cespedes and Stephen Vogt to beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in 11 innings. The win continues Oakland domination in the American League by giving them the best record in the league. Tommy Milone went six innings for the A’s and received the no decision while Francisco Abad earned his first win of the season and Sean Doolittle grabbed his eighth save of the year. Milone gave up 8 hits over those six inning and all three runs to the Orioles including homers to Machado and Davis.

In the third inning things got interesting when Donaldson went to tag Machado for the third out of the inning but as soon as the tag was applied Machado went tumbling down to the ground and threw his helmet in the direction of Donaldson. Machado got up quickly and started yelling at Donaldson, presumably because he thought the tag was harder than it should have been.

Donaldson said, “I just tried to tag the guy. I was walking over there to go pick his helmet up for him, then he jumps up and starts yelling at me. I don’t know what happened on his end, but I’m just trying to do my job and play the game of baseball.”

On the play Machado said, “Right play, he made the right play, but I just didn’t agree on the tag that he made on me and I just had to get up and confront him. You get in the heat of the moment and things start flying.”

The Orioles weren’t about to let the A’s get away with Donaldson appearing to make an aggressive tag on Machado. In the top of the 6th, Donaldson was beaned by Wei-Yin Chen.

“I understand them pitching in. That’s fine,” said Donaldson. “It was just on my hand. Nellie Cruz took one on the hand just the other day, and he doesn’t seem too fond of that either.”

Donaldson gave the A’s a 1-0 in the first with his 17th home run, and Derek Norris connected leading off the second to give the A’s a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning after three straight singles, Jonathan Schoop was able to knock in Hardy and make it a 2-1 Oakland lead.  Chris Davis tied the game in the fourth and Manny Machado homered in the fifth for a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the 11th, pitch hitting Stephen Vogt singled in John Jaso with a ground ball that he placed between second and third and close the scoring at 4-3.

Both these teams head back at it tomorrow when Baltimore sends up Kevin Gausman and the A’s will put up right-hander Sonny Gray, game time 4:15pm PST.

 

Two Homer Night for Cespedes Puts A’s in Line for Sweep Over Yankees

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By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics won their fifth-straight contest, coming from behind to beat the New York Yankees 7-4 at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night. Yoenis Cespedes mashed a pair of home runs to support starter Jesse Chavez (5-3, 3.04 ERA) while Josh Donaldson’s solo shot in the seventh inning provided the game-winning run. Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth inning for his seventh save of the season to put Oakland (37-22) one win away from sweeping the Yankees.

The Yankees (29-29) scored all their runs in the bottom of the third inning with Derek Jeter lacing an run-scoring single and Jacoby Ellsbury ripping a three-run home run to right center field for a 4-0 off Chavez. Cespedes put the A’s on the board with a deep fly to center off pinstripes starter Vidal Nuno in the top of the fourth, then pounded his twelve four-bagger of reliever Matt Daley top open the sixth. Jed Lowrie and Alberto Callaspo also hit a sac fly each for the A’s to set up Donaldson’s go-ahead knock.

After Donaldson tagged Jose Ramirez (0-1, 4.50) with the loss for his team-best 16th homer of the season, the A’s picked up a pair of runs in the ninth. First came a bases loaded hit-by-pitch by Brandon Moss who played right field Wednesday for the first time since exiting Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels with an injury. Kyle Blanks added the third sacrifice fly of the night for the visitors for the 7-4 final tally.

Chavez went six innings for the green and gold, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five. Fernando Abad pitched a third of an inning for the A’s in relief of Chavez, but Dan Otero did the heavy lifting with 1 2/3 scoreless innings before turning the ninth inning over to Doolittle.

The A’s send Drew Pomeranz to the mound in his first start since the Angels snapped his string of solid outings. The Halos roughed Pomeranz up for five runs after the lefty allowed only two in his previous 19 innings as a starter. He draws the assignment of facing Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees marquee free-agent signing of the offseason.

New York earned the right to sign Tanaka after paying a posting fee of $20 million to the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan, the maximum in the new posting fee implemented this offseason. Under the new reals, any team that posts the highest bid is allowed to negotiate with the player, meaning the Yankees then had to outbid numerous other teams who matched the fee to sign the international sensation to a seven-year, $155 million contract. The 25-year-old is 8-1 on the season with 88 punchouts over 78.2 innings and a stellar 2.06 ERA.