New York Yankees Recap: No Offense, No Problem?

Despite some (mostly) bad offense, the Yankees ended up with an exciting 3-2 comeback win against the Tigers on Monday night at Legends Field.

It seems I keep giving myself the pleasure of reviewing untelevised games. Unfortunately, for me, this game featured young Luis Cessa on the hill. I haven’t seen Cessa throw yet, so it would have been nice if this one were on YES, or the MLB Network, but I guess I’ll have to keep waiting to see the kid pitch.

It just so happened that, in this game, Cessa was facing his former team. The Yankees acquired Cessa, along with Chad Green, this past December for lefty reliever Justin Wilson. Luis pitched excellently against his old buddies, not allowing any runs on just two hits with four strikeouts in his three innings of work. The Yankees seem pretty high on the 23-year old from Mexico, and he’s made a good impression this spring. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him for a spot start or two in the Bronx in 2016.

Girardi got the bullpen parade going thereafter, using five relievers to pitch the remaining six innings. Jonny Barbato kicked it off with a scoreless fourth, and Aroldis Chapman followed with two strikeouts in a perfect fifth. Nick Goody came in to do his part in the sixth, but instead gave up back-to-back home runs to Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton and a single to Miguel Cabrera, before recovering to get the last two outs (he actually struck out the side in the inning). For a while, it looked like that would be enough to get Goody the loss, but more on that later.

Chasen Shreve, of whom I am beginning to expect great things in 2016, pitched a scoreless seventh. He’s been down right nasty this spring. Who needs Justin Wilson? Diego Moreno pitched a scoreless eighth and ended up with a win when Dustin Ackley hit a pinch hit, two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning. The two-bagger scored Juan Silva (who?) and Carlos Corporan (will he opt out?), who had singled with two outs. Moreno stayed in to pitch the ninth, securing the Yankees win with a scoreless inning.

Despite the win, I’m beginning to get very concerned about the Yankees’ offense. They had their every day offense nearly at full strength in this game, with only Carlos Beltran out of the lineup, and they once again barely managed to score any runs. In fact, the only run the starters drove in came on a Mark Teixeira homer in the bottom of the seventh. It’s good to see Tex at full service and sending his Tex Messages, but at some point, we’re going to need the rest of the boppers to get themselves bopping.

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Oh well. Thanks to Ackley, a win is a win. The Yankees will be back at it on Tuesday afternoon, when Masahiro Tanaka takes on the Phillies in Clearwater.