Odor Delivers in Yankees Debut
The New York Yankees were desperate for an early-season win on Sunday, and new acquisition Rougned Odor delivered. The Yankees dropped the first two games against Tampa Bay 10-5 and 4-0 while also watching the Rays raise their American League pennant, won against the Yankees.
On Sunday, Gio Urshela homered and drove in three, but Odor was the one who came through in his Yankees debut. The game was tied 4-4 in the 10th inning when the former Texas Rangers infielder singled on a full-count pitch to score the extra-inning bonus runner. Gary Sanchez followed with an RBI single, and Urshela capped a four-hit day with a two-run single.
The win puts both teams at 4-5, two games behind the Boston Red Sox. Boston has won six in a row after starting the season 0-3. The Yankees stay in Florida this week as they head just up the road to Dunedin, the temporary home of the Toronto Blue Jays.
With ace Gerrit Cole on the mound Monday, the Yankees are -205 against the Blue Jays and Robbie Ray, fresh off the IL.
Mets and Marlins Rained Out After Nine Pitches
For some reason, unknown to starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, the New York Mets and Miami Marlins started Sunday’s game in steady rain at Citi Field. The umpires stopped the game after nine pitches, and it never resumed. The delay lasted over two hours before it was called a suspended game which will resume on August 31.
Stroman took to Twitter to vent after his second start of the season was wiped out.
“This game should have never been started. Not smart at all. Those conditions put everyone at risk. Beyond happy no players on either side were injured. Hate that I have to wait another 5 days to pitch again. That’s a miserable feeling.”
After the game, Mets manager Luis Rojas indicated they might bring Stroman back earlier than his scheduled Friday start. The Marlins didn’t use a starting pitcher Sunday, and with the weather forecast for rain, Don Mattingly switched to an opener, John Curtiss, anyway.
The 2-3 Mets now play host to the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (6-3). David Peterson takes the mound Monday against Chase Anderson with the Mets at -143
J.D. Martinez Goes Off
Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez joined a rare club on Sunday with a three home run performance in a 14-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Martinez is the fifth player in MLB history to hit three home runs in a game with three different teams. Dave Kingman, Johnny Mize, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira are the others.
Martinez missed Saturday’s game with an illness, and he was placed on the temporary COVID-19 IL. He returned Sunday and hit his first two homers to the opposite field before crushing the third to straightaway center.
Martinez has 12 extra-base hits in his first eight games of the season, tied for the most in the modern era of baseball, dating back to 1900. Dante Bichette is the only other player with as many extra-base hits in eight games, doing so with the Colorado Rockies in 1994.
He can become the first player in MLB history to have an extra-base hit in nine straight games to start a season on Monday afternoon when Boston travels to Minnesota. The Red Sox are +130 with Martin Perez on the hill against the Twins’ J.A. Happ.
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