New York Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2019nypost.comR53TUESDAY—10:10
RHP Masahiro Tanaka
(9-7, 4.68)vs.
LHPYusei Kikuchi
(5-8, 5.19)
WEDNESDAY—4:10
LHP JamesPaxton
(10-6, 4.43)vs.
LHP Justus Sheffield
(0-0, 6.43)
Both games on
YES, WFAN
(660 AM, 101.9 FM)YANKEES:Gary
Sanchez hit his 100th
career home run in his
355th game onFriday
at Los Angeles, the
second-fastest player
to reach the century
mark in major league
history. Former
Phillies firstbaseman
Ryan Howard hit his
first 100 in 325 games.MARINERS:With his
next home run, Omar
Narvaez will join Mike
Zunino as the only
catchers in Mariners’
history torecord at
least 20 home runs
in a season. Zunino
accomplished it three
times: 2014 (22), 2017
(25) and 2018 (20).ON DECK
STAT SO?
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
YANKEES:Tanaka
recorded his seventh
loss Thursday at
Oakland, allowing
five runs on eight
hits over six innings
while striking out
five and walking
two. He is one of
three pitchers in
Yankees history to
make at least 20
starts in each of his
first six major league
seasons, joining
Fritz Peterson (first
eight, 1966-73) and
AndyPettitte (first
nine, 1995-2003).MARINERS:In his
last start on Aug. 18,
Kikuchi picked up
his first win since
June 23. He pitched
nine shutout innings,
allowing just two
hits while striking
out eight and
walking one.at MARINERS
S
EATTLE — The J.A. Happ experi-
ence continues for the Yankees.
There was progress Monday
night. But there also was another
home run allowed, the 32nd of the sea-
son, and this one was a three-run blast.
Happ lasted just five innings, but it
was enough to get the win and im-
prove to 11-8 because the Mariners
tried an opener followed by lefty
Tommy Milone.
The Yankees and Mike Ford (two
home runs) pulverized Milone as the
Yankees came away with the 5-4 vic-
tory at T-Mobile Park.
As the sixth inning came around,
Happ stood on the top of the dugout
steps, but it was then that Aaron
Boone went to newly acquired reliever
and former Mariner Cory Gearrin.
Then it really got weird as Gearrin was
called for the first balk of his career
because of a unique toe-tap on his de-
livery.
In the end, Happ allowed three runs
on two hits, struck out seven, but
again, one of those hits was a three-
run home run by Dylan Moore in the
second inning off a changeup.
“It was really one swing,’’ said Happ,
whose ERA stands at 5.57. “There is
nobody more frustrated than me. But
in order to stay sane, I think I got to
definitely have to take the positives
here. Overall it was a good outing.’’
Boone did not want to go more than
95 pitches with Happ.
“I thought he finished really strong,’’
Boone said. “I even toyed with sending
him back out, but with 95 pitches there
at that spot, I thought it was the right
thing to get him out of there.’’
It appears Happ is in the Bubble
Wrap portion of his Yankees career.
They are trying to protect him, per-
haps maybe trying too hard to protect
him.
By going only five innings, that put a
lot of stress on the bullpen, though the
Yankees survived. It is just that three-run home runs leave doubt in a man-
ager’s mind.
In the bottom of the second after the
Yankees had posted four runs in the
top of the inning, a one-out single to
Tom Murphy and a walk to Omar Nar-
vaez set the stage. Happ then struck
out Jake Fraley but surrendered the
two-out home run to center to Moore,
the No. 8 hitter in the lineup.
Giving up a two-out, three-run home
run to the No. 8 hitter on a 56-76 team
does not build confidence.
Imagine Happ
pitching in the post-
season and giving up
such a blow. Boone
did not want to take
the chance of Happ
giving up another
home run and decided
to go with his bullpen.
But Boone is seeing progress in
Happ.
Asked where his trust level is with
Happ, Boone said, “Good. We feel like
we are making some progress each
and every outing. We are seeing a lot
of good each and every outing. Again,
it’s the mistakes though that have been
homers that have really cost him. So,
hopefully we can build again off of the
positives. It’s a win. It’s five innings.It’s leaving with the lead and finishing
really strong and hopefully this is
something he can try to continue to
build on.’’
Small steps and being positive for
the next outing.
This was Happ’s 26th start of the
season.
“I felt like my fastball had some life
tonight,’’ Happ said.
That is a big improvement.
“I was trying to stay aggressive,’’
Happ added. “I felt like I could have
gone out and try to
give us a little bit
more but I certainly
understand where
we were at to go the
way we did.’’
Maybe next time.
There are problems
to work through.
Happ only gave up those two hits, but
he did surrender three walks. That is a
recipe for disaster. Those five innings
were one more inning than he pitched
in Oakland last week when he gave up
five earned runs and two home runs.
All those home runs create doubt in
a manager’s mind. Trust is earned.
Happ is still in the process of trying to
earn that trust.
Over his last 13 starts, he has gone
six innings only once. More progress
will earn another inning.
[email protected]Happ’s issues
won’t go away
KevinKevinKernanKernan
HAPP-HAZARD: J.A. Happ delivers in
the Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Mariners
after Happ nearly gave back a 4-0 lead
in the second inning, giving up three
runs on two hits. Getty ImagesMore Yankees / P. 47