New York Yankees Opening Day Game Thread

Opening Day is finally here.  It’s time for Yankee baseball.   It’s time to enjoy Derek Jeter for one last year.  It’s time move on from the Mariano Rivera Era and start the David Robertson Era.  It’s time to see how new Yankees like Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury look like in pinstripes.  It’s time to begin the Quest for 28.

CC Sabathia will start the Yankees off taking the hill tonight for his sixth straight Yankee Opening Day.  He will do so against Scott Feldman, who will be the fifth different opening day starter in as many years.

The lineups:

YANKEES
Ellsbury CF
Jeter SS
Beltran RF
McCann C
Teixeira 1B
Soriano DH
Gardner LF
Roberts 2B
Johnson 3B

ASTROS
Fowler CF
Grossman LF
Altuve 2B
Castro C
Guzman 1B
Carter DH
Dominguez 3B
Hoes RF
Villar SS

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and you can watch live on YES locally and MLB Network nationally, depending on where you live.  We will have a running thread throughout the game today to keep you updated throughout the game.

UPDATE 7:20 PM: First pitch of the 2014 Yankee season is flied to center by Jacoby Ellsbury.

UPDATE 7:25 PM: Jose Altuve hits RBI single through a drawn infield scoring Dexter Fowler who doubled earlier in the bottom of the first.  Altuve steals second and advances to third on a wild pitch, only good backup from Brett Gardner stops him from scoring after Brian McCann throws the ball into left field.  However, he scores on after a wild throw home on a fielder’s choice by Mark Teixeira.

UPDATE 7:31 PM: Two run home run for Jesus Guzman to left center.  4-0 Astros with  only one out in the first inning.

UPDATE 7:48 PM: Long solo home run for L. J. Hoes to lead off the second inning.  CC Sabathia is not sharp and the Yankees defense has been sloppy thus far.

UPDATE 7:57 PM: Altuve singles to right scoring Fowler who previously hit his second double of the game.  Altuve advanced to second on error by right fielder Carlos Beltran.  CC is getting rocked.  The Yankees have three long relievers in the bullpen (Vidal Nuno, David Phelps and Adam Warren), which one will the first one out today?

UPDATE 8:14 PM: CC finally gets a 1-2-3 inning.  Meanwhile, through three innings, the Yankees don’t have a hit.  Astros lead 6-0 to start the fourth.

UPDATE 8:19 PM:  The Yankees first hit of the 2014 season is a opposite field single by Carlos Beltran.

UPDATE 8:37 PM:  CC Sabathia strikes out Dexter Fowler for his 1,000th strikeout as a Yankee. He is the 12th Yankee pitcher to reach that milestone.

UPDATE 9:04 PM: Some nice glove work by Kelly Johnson and the Yankees have a 1-2-3.  In the too little, too late category, CC has allowed only 2 hits since the second inning.  Unfortunately, he allowed too many in the first two innings.  He is probably done for the night as his pitch count has gone over 100.  Meanwhile, Scott Feldman has rolled through the Yankee lineup, giving up just one hit in 6 innings.

UPDATE 9:21 PM: Yankees load the bases and run Feldman from the game.  But the Astros bullpen comes through to get Kelly Johnson to ground out and end the seventh inning.  Score remains Astros 6, Yankees 0.

UPDATE 9:29 PM: Dellin Betances relieves Sabathia and strikeouts two of the three Astros he faces.  Dominant performance as the first man out of the pen tonight.

UPDATE 9:46 PM: The Yankees get two back in the eighth thanks to back to back RBI singles for Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira.

Update 10:04PM : Matt Albers comes on to close out the game against the Yankees and gives up a double to Kelly Johnson before closing the door on Opening Night.  Astros win 6-2.