Nathan Eovaldi pitched well yesterday. The work-in-progress is progressing as he pitched into the 9th inning  (never mind the final three outs were a chore, Dellin Betances eventually came in and reminded everyone that they aren’t so hard after all).

By then, Eovaldi had a plump lead. He didn’t strike out a lot of guys but got a couple of critical double play ground balls–including one lucky smash that was deftly picked by Didi Gregorious–to help him out of trouble. Chase Headley had the big knocks with some help from Garrett Jones and Stephen Drew.

Final Score: Yanks 7, Twins 2.

Wonderful job by the Yanks after getting blown out on Friday.

[Photo Credit: ANN HEISENFELT/AP]

You must forgive me for taking so long to get to last night’s happy recap. I think it’s just part of the deal when you’re in your 13th year of blogging. Some days the writing falls through the cracks. There are other commitments–other work, a wife, exercise, cooking–that get in the way. And that’s cool because I know you guys saw that game last night. Or if you missed it, I know you checked it out later, looking at the box score, videos, game recaps.

We all know it was one of those nights you get a handful of times each year–one to savor, one to remember. And it wasn’t just that Alex Rodriguez hit three home runs to keep his team in the game, he hit three absolute bombs. He crushed those balls, each well over 400 feet.

Course a natural reaction is to be suspicious. That’s the price all modern players have to pay, but especially a two-time loser like Rodriguez. And that’s just always going to be part of it for some people with him. I get that. But I’ve always enjoyed rooting for him so I feel as if this has been his most joyous season as a Yankee. Maybe he was really a good guy when he was really young with the Mariners too. But now, at the end (he’ll turn 40 tomorrow) he’s doing an Edgar Martinez impression and it’s a reminder that he is one of the great players. Total cheat, screwed up dude, but also great at baseball.

He’s got the day off today and so does the other hero, back-up catcher J.R. Murphy, who had the game winner. If Rodriguez’s home runs were no doubters, Murph’s looked like a long fly ball at first, good to get a run in from third, but then it just kept going and suddenly it had cleared that very high wall out there. Hilarious back-up catcher home run. He was amped like Tom Cruise in Taps when he got back to the dugout, too. That was pretty funny.

Now, let’s hope Sweet Nathan Eovaldi comes through with a big performance today. He’s got something to prove. Would’t be surprised if he tossed a dud, but I’ll be here rooting for him.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Mark Teixeira DH
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran RF
Garrett Jones 1B
Chase Headley 3B
Didi Gregorius SS
Stephen Drew 2B

Never mind the comebacks:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn | USA TODAY Sports]

The Big Bopper’s on the hill tonight against the Twinkies.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Chris Young LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
John Ryan Murphy C
Brendan Ryan SS
Stephen Drew 2B

Never mind Father Time:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

And yeah, Phil Hughes was good too. Naturally. But the story was Big Mike getting his tits lit as the Twins bombed the Yanks, 10-1.

The Yanks got 10 hits but only the 1 run. Best thing to do is to move along, there’s a new game tonight.

Picture by Bags

Ah, Phil Hughes, we hardly knew ye. Be nice to see him tonight and also nice to see the Yanks beat on him some as they start a three-town road trip. He’s had moments of very goodness since leaving New York but hasn’t shown too much of that season. Interesting to see what he’s got tonight. Same goes for Big Mike who has been good but not great for a while now.

Like to see Ellsbury get on a roll here…

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
Didi Gregorius SS
Stephen Drew 2B

Never mind the room service:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags 

Who needs one-run games when you can win by six? That’s just what the Yanks did yesterday afternoon putting a 9-3 beatin’ on the Orioles. Tanaka pitched well and the Yanks leave town heppy kets.

It’s Tanaka time this afternoon in the Bronx.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Didi Gregorius SS

John Ryan Murphy C

Stephen Drew 2B

Never mind the standings:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Thought you couldn’t get enough of Joe Gould. Here’s a good piece by Jill Lepore in the week’s New Yorker. 

[Photo Credit: Culver Pictures]

The Champ.

Painting by Robert Shetterly. 

Food 52 gives a tasty cherce of summer beverages.

Here comes that girl again.

[Photo Credit: Alain Laboile via TIH]

Andrew Miller gave up a solo home run to Chris Davis with two men out in the 9th inning last night because he didn’t want to end this odd little streak of one-run games. The homer narrowed the Yankees lead to 4-3 which is where it stayed when Jonathan Schoop struck out to end the game for the second game in a row against Miller.

Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run early, and Alex Rodriguez hit the bejesus out of the ball later on for a solo home run which proved to be the difference.

Meanwhile, Teixeria continued to make nice plays in the field, with smooth, agile scoops of throws in the dirt. His fielding excellence is common enough to take for granted but it should be said that while Gardner and Rodriguez have had nice seasons, Teixeira has been their best player. Never would have called that at the start of the year.

Stephen Drew also had a beautiful defensive play, diving to his left to stop a ball in short right field. He gathered himself on his knees and quickly made an accurate throw to Ivan Nova covering the bag for the out. Play like that is why they’ve kept him around I suppose.

Picture by Bags

Wonder if it’ll be another one run game?

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
Didi Gregorius SS
Stephen Drew 2B

And our dude Nova.

Never mind prosperity:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Kline.

From Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York comes this post about homelessness and Jack Kerouac. 

[Photo Credit: Euan Slorach via Animal New York]

The Yanks have won 3 of 4 since the break, all by one run (the game they lost was by a run, too). We could point to certain plays and performances that’ve contributed to the wins, we could talk about fortitude, grit and character, and we can also sit back and just feel fortunate that luck has been on the  Yankees’ side. Because the difference between being 0-4, 4-0 sure feels slender, don’t it? And as we well know, it won’t last.

Nathan Eovaldi was pretty good again–touched 100 mph a few times–but failed to go deep in the game. The firm of Wilson, Betances, and Miller handled the rest, with a nice 9th inning fielding assist from Mark Teixeira. Chase Headley and Brendan Ryan had key hits as the Yanks edged out the O’s in a tough game, 3-2.

Many of us didn’t expect much from this Yankee team at the start of the season but now they are playing well enough so if they tank the rest of the way we won’t be shocked but certainly disappointed.

Picture by Bags

The Big Question Mark takes the hill against the Orioles tonight.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Chris Young RF

Chase Headley 3B

Didi Gregorius SS

Brendan Ryan 2B

Never mind the moisture:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Pop.

We all scream…I always liked the strawberry shortcake jammie.

Painting by Oriana Kacicek via TIH.

Thanks to the essential weekly newsletter, The Sunday Long Read (compiled with taste and care by Don Van Natta Jr. and Jacob Feldman), I found Alex Bilmes’ excellent British Esquire  interview with Paul McCartney:

ESQ: Was fame all it was cracked up to be, when you found it?

PM: It sort of was really, yeah. Because part of what it’s cracked up to be is difficult as well as great. They’d warned that. I remember making a very conscious choice: “OK, we’re getting really famous now, you’ve got to decide, whether or not to go for it.” For some reason Marilyn Monroe came into my mind. Like: this could be horrible. It was actually after a trip to Greece. We weren’t famous in Greece, and I’d hung out with the hotel band and was chatting to them: “I’m in a band, too, you know? We’re called The Beatles.” And I got a glazed look from them. I thought, “This is OK, if the fame gets too much we can always come to Greece.” Then, of course, the next year it was like, “Oh, no, you’re famous in Greece, too. Oh, God.” And I remember thinking, “Do you want to do this or don’t you?” And it was, “I like it too much to stop.”

ESQ: Some people struggle greatly with being famous. It screws them up. You seem to have taken to fame with a certain amount of ease. You embraced it.

PM: I think to some degree that’s true. What happens is, if your life goes wrong, like with the breakup of The Beatles, then fame is a nightmare because you can’t escape it, and you’ve created it. That’s when the difficulty kicks in. But what you’re saying is, some people it kicks in anyway, even if they’re doing all right.

ESQ: They can’t handle the attention.

PM: I don’t mind that. I have a joke with my daughter Mary: sometimes I won’t be in a great mood and we’ll go somewhere and the people will be all over me and she’ll turn to Nancy and say, “He likes a bit of adulation. It cheers him up,” and the thing is, yep, that is true. All my life I’ve been trying to win a school prize or trying to do OK in an exam or trying to get a good job. I’ve always been trying to do something where people go: you’re good. When you get it, it seems a shame to me to go, oh, shit. To me it’s like, this is what I wanted. I do like it, I must say. The attention’s never really bothered me. I’ve always thought, “OK, you’re famous, you’ve chosen that path. You can’t blame anyone else.” As long as you’re enjoying it that’s good. And when it goes wrong you’re just going to have to deal with it.

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[Photo Credit: Linda McCartney via Everyday I Show]