Yankees Sink vs. Angels After Boone Declares Season at Stake

 The hot seat is starting to boil over for Yankees manager Aaron Boone. 

After watching his team get swept by the Boston Red Sox for the second time this season, the Yankees embattled manager dropped a missive Monday afternoon with reporters that the Yankees 2021 season "was on the line." 

"Too many ups and too many downs. We are in too good a division to have those ups and downs continue. We can't afford to play great for two weeks and struggle for a week. Not if we are going to make up ground. We've dug ourselves a little bit of a hole in the division obviously." 

A little bit of a hole, eh? Ya think? 

The Yankees entered play 6.5 games out of first place in the AL East. By the time New York's series opener vs. Anaheim ended, they were 7.5 out, and 6 back of the last wild card slot. It is getting late early for the Yankees. 

They looked listless and lifeless against the Angels, who are two games back of New York for 6th place in the wild card standings. Sixth place, and the Angels, who are 38-40 look like a team of fighters under a World Series winning manager in Joe Madden. What do the Yankees look like? A team lost at sea. 

You could see it in the body language in the dugout. You could see it when Giancarlo Stanton swung and missed on a 0-2 fastball way outside the plate for the second out in the ninth inning. You could see it in the building after Michael King gave up a bomb to Shohei Ohtani that put the Angels up 1-0, and pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night. 

The Yankees haven't made a change in season at manager since 1991, but if Boone is correct in asserting that this stretch of home games for the Yankees is critical to their season, he might be right -- because if they are further and further out of it, he could be curtains as manager.

Yankees Silenced by Red Sox Again, German Struggles

 RED SOX 5 - YANKEES 3

The Boston Red Sox honored Dustin Pedroia Friday night before a sellout crowd at Fenway Park -- the first sellout in Beantown since pre-COVID-19. And to cap off the party, the Red Sox held off the Yankees 5-3 to push their lead over them for second place in the AL East to 3.5 games. 

For the Yankees it was another frustrating night -- something that has become all too commonplace for them. Not only are they now 0-4 against their arch rivals this year, but they watched chances to win this game slip away. 

The Yankees erased an early 3-0 deficit in the second inning on a bases loaded walk to Clint Fraizer and a two-run single by DJ LeMahieu to tie it. The Yankees would never score again. 

The only time they came close to scoring, Gio Urshela was thrown out at the plate in the fourth inning on a controversial decision by third base coach Phil Nevin to send him. 

Domingo German was bad again on the mound for New York. He gave up four runs, three earned in four innings of work, as both Hunter Renfroe and Xander Bogaerts had multi-RBI games off of him. 

To make matters worse, Zach Britton had to leave the game with an apparent leg injury after giving up an RBI single to Christian Vasquez. Britton already spent time on the IL, including a rehab stint at the Somerset Patriots. 

At 40-35 the Yankees are stuck in mediocrity, and stuck in third place in the AL East.

Mets Split Double-header with Phillies

METS 2 - PHILLIES 1 - GAME 1 

PHILLIES 2 - METS 1 - GAME 2 

The Mets split a double-header by identical scores of 2-1, as both games were practically mire images of one another. 

1) Both teams have very good solid pitcher. 

2) Neither the Mets nor the Phillies can buy a hit when they need it, especially the Mets. 

3) The Phillies bullpen is horrendous. 

Those three factoids played out throughout the day Friday. Game 1 was scoreless as Taijuan Walker and Aaron Nola traded zeros. Nola in fact set a Phillies record by striking out 10 consecutive batters, which also tied a Major League record set by Tom Seaver back in 1970. 

The Phillies grabbed the lead thanks to a RBI double by Nola himself, but the Phillies pen imploded late. A RBI single by Francisco Lindor in the bottom of the seventh tied the game at one. That set up Dom Smith to be the hero an inning later when his single to center brought home Lindor with the winning run to send the Mets a 2-1 victory. 

Later, the Mets couldn't recapture that magic as they were stymied by five shutout innings from Phillies' starter Matt Moore. Moore was helped out greatly by left fielder Andrew McCutchen who robbed Albert Almora Jr. of a home run in the third inning. 

Philadelphia broke the scoreless tie when Bryce Harper launched his 11th homer of the year into the Mets bullpen off David Peterson. The Mets had chances to respond, and for the most part they came up snake eyes.

With Pete Alonso on first and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Dom Smith grounded into an inning ending double play. 

An inning later, the Mets loaded the bases with none out, but all they could muster was a single run to tie the game on a sac fly by James McCann. 

The Phillies made the Mets pay in the eighth with Dilson Herrera grounded out to drive in the go-ahead run in the eighth to put Philly up for good 2-1.

Islanders Shot at Cup Falls Short ... Again

 LIGHTNING 1 - ISLANDERS 0; Tampa wins series 4-3

There was a lot of excitement in the New York metro area the past 48 hours after the Islanders staged a late comeback in Game 6, winning 3-2 and forcing a Game 7 in Tampa Bay on Friday night. For the first time all season, seemingly in years, the New York Islanders, New York's forgotten team was forgotten no more. 

Could the Isles head to the Cup for the first time since 1984? Could they win it all for the first time since 1983? Against the Canadianes, normally a fellow Eastern Conference foe, who got stuck playing Las Vegas in this bizarre COVID season? Could it be? 

The answer was a resounding no. 

The Islanders never got their offense going in Game 7, attempting only 18 shots on goal the entire game. Tampa controlled the puck, the pace of the game, and found a way to make one goal -- a shorthanded shot by Yanni Gourde -- stand up. The Lightning attempted 31 shots on goal. Give Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov credit, because he was under siege all night. 

So the hopes and dreams of those on the island were dashed for the second straight season against Tampa Bay. The Lightning were the better team. They'll probably win the Cup for the second straight season.

Blew It! Nets season ends in epic Game 7 Loss to Bucks

 BUCKS 115 - NETS 111 

The Brooklyn Nets were supposed to be an unstoppable juggernaut, a team built and destined to win the NBA title based solely on the fact that they loaded up on the All Star talents of Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, and even Blake Griffin. 

Instead Sean Marks' gamble turned up snake eyes, as the Nets proved - even in a valiant effort, especially by Durant - that nothing is ever guaranteed. 

And that takes us to Game 7. Even though the game was a back-and-forth classic for most of the night, the Nets did have a 10-point lead late in the second quarter after Harden hit a floater, drew a foul, and connected on a free throw. The Nets would never enjoy such a lead again. 

The Bucks chipped away, played solid defense, and flustered the Nets offensive rhythm. At one point it looked like Milwaukee would sneak out of Barclays Center with a win in regulation after the Nets five point lead with 4:00 to play evaporated thanks to a couple of huge clutch long distance jumpers by Kris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, as well as a nice little roll in by Giannis Antetokounmpo put the Bucks in front 104-101. 

For the final three minutes, the Bucks wouldn't give the Nets a look at three, forcing them to drive inside, and while Milwaukee made a few stops, it couldn't cool down Durant who hit a huge pullup jumper with 42.3 seconds to go to cut the Milwaukee lead to two, 109-107, and then of course the finish with the long distance two pointer that could have been three and a game winner had Durant kicked his foot off the line before taking the shot with six seconds left.

Overtime was a complete mess. A combination of bad shooting and worse officiating as the Nets grabbed a 111-109 lead and held on to it for dear life for exactly three minutes until Antetokounmpo bounced in the two pointer to tie the game at 111 with 1:12 to go. 

Soon the misses by Brookyln were adding up. Harden, whom the Nets traded two very good players and three years of first rounds to Houston earlier this year, was as cold as could be in the most important time of the year, missing three three-point shots, including a 26-footer that would have all but iced the game with 1:42 to go in OT. 

With the game tied, ex-Net Brook Lopez blocked a Durant drive to the hoop only to watch the ball get kicked out to Joe Harris who missed a three with 56.6 to go. 

That set up Middleton's 360 degree spin-around-n-shoot dagger with 40.7 seconds that gave the Bucks a 113-111 lead. 

The Nets would ask Durant, twice more to win the game, and he couldn't missing his final two shots, including a three-point attempt to win the game with 0.3 seconds remaining. 

Durant finished with 48. It was a incredible effort by a man, who has carried the Nets on his broad shoulders throughout this series. It was not as good a day for Harden, who -- despite finishing with 22 points -- was 5-of-17 from the floor and 2-for-12 beyond the arc. Black Griffin was virtually invisible in the second half, and fouled out in OT.  DeAndre Jordan never played, and didn't play at all in this series, even though he was never listed as injured. 

Kyrie Irving, of course, hadn't played since injuring his ankle in Game 4. 

You can use injuries as an excuse all you want. The fact is the Nets were expected to win it all despite it. The supposed Big 3 played only 8 games together in the regular season, and the prevailing thought was together this team would be unstoppable in the playoffs. Instead they were stopped by a deeper and better coached ball club. Nothing is ever guaranteed. 

With one year, maybe even two years left on the deals of Durant and Irving, the Nets have to prove it or else in 2022. There are never excuses for greatness, especially when expectations are this high.

deGrom "Frustrated" After Shore Shoulder Ends Night vs. Cubs

 METS 6 - CUBS 1 

Yes, the Mets beat the Cubs for the third consecutive night. And, yes, the Mets are a season best 10-games over .500. 

But there is concern in Metville after ace Jacob deGrom left Wednesday night's ballgame after three perfect innings with an apparent shore right shoulder. The injury is just five days after deGrom left his previous start against San Diego with right flexor tendonitis. 

However both deGrom and manager Luis Rojas said they hope the injury is nothing major (the same refrain we heard last week). 

deGrom said he was frustrated by the latest setback. He was on the IL earlier this year after tightness in his back set him back a start. 

"Felt really good warming up. Felt really good in the first and second inning, and then there in the third my shoulder was sore. This is getting old. I want to be out there competing and coming out of these games -- with these little --- hopefully this turns out to be nothing." 

"I'm pretty confident this is nothing. We did some tests and kind of ruled out anything serious. Gonna go from there," deGrom continued. 

When asked if he regretted pitching deGrom tonight and not give him an extra day or so of rest after his setback last Friday against San Diego, Rojas said he did not since the reports he received, and the word he got from deGrom was that he was ok. 

According to Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo, both deGrom and Rojas were encouraged by the initial tests, but the Mets ace will have an MRI tomorrow. 

This is huge for the Mets, who face a daunting test over the next week with three double-headers -- all in the division against the Nationals, Braves and Phillies -- and no days off.

Smith and Peterson Keeps Mets Rolling Past Cubs

 METS 5 - CUBS 2 

For second year starting pitcher David Peterson it has been a roller-coaster ride thus far in 2021. At 1-5, and with an ERA well over 5, it was easy to see why Monday night's start against the Chicago Cubs would be a big one for the 25-year old lefty. 

After getting knocked out early in each of his previous two starts, Peterson had to show the Mets that he can be mainstay in this rotation. The Mets need him to be, especially with Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard still sidelined for a couple more months.

 Had Peterson put up another stinker on Monday, the Mets would have almost certainly been in the tough spot of weighing whether to keep him at the Major League level, or sending him down and getting someone else up here.

Instead Peterson gave the Mets his best outing of the year, a six-inning, one-hit shutout against the red hot Chicago Cubs. In fact the only hit Peterson gave up Monday was on an infield single in the top of the third inning off the bat of Eric Sogard 

At times in his brief major league career, Peterson has looked brilliant. This was one of those times. It reminded people why the Mets liked him so much after his breakout season last year. 

Offensively, the Mets did just enough. An RBI single by James McCann and a two-run double by Kevin Pillar in bottom of the fourth plated in the first three runs of the night for the Amazin's. Then in the fifth inning, Dom Smith cracked his fifth homer of the year to center field to give the Mets a 4-0 advantage. 

The bullpen bent but didn't break. Trevor May once again made things a little too interesting when he served up two solo homers to Anthony Rizzo and Patrick Wisdom in the top of the seventh; but it was the combination of Aaron Loup and Edwin Diaz that was too hot to handle for the Cubs. 

For his part, Diaz struck out the side in the ninth to notch his 13th save of the year in 14 opportunities. 

The Mets are 18-6 at home this year. They'll look to ride the momentum into Game 2 tomorrow night with Taijuan Walker on the bump. 

Nets in Trouble as both Kyrie and Harden are Out for Game 5

The Nets season could rest on the shoulders of Kevin Durant.  

With their best-of-seven series against the Milwaukee Bucks tied at two a piece, it will be up to Durant to spark and lead the Nets to what will now be considered an improbable victory in Game 5. Both Kyrie Irving and James Harden will not suit up as they nurse injuries. 

Irving suffered a right ankle sprain in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon, and didn't play at all in the second half. Harden hasn't played since the opening seconds of this series when he pulled a groin muscle in Game 1.

 Ironically both All Star players were hurt while trying to drive through the lane to score.

Head Coach Steve Nash was mum on whether Irving would play again in this Eastern Conference Semifinal. Nash did say he would not rush back Harden just to fill the void left by Irving. 

For a team that played only eight games all year with the Big 3 in tack, as they missed games for various reasons (injuries or in the case of Irving -- protests) it is ironic the Nets find themselves in this spot, because they have been in this spot virtually all season. 

But this is the playoffs. These are the Milwaukee Bucks, not the Orlando Magic the Nets are playing against. 

While Durant is certain to lead the way in scoring, he can't do it alone. The Nets bench -- once a plus was shredded in the deal to get Harden. They need Joe Harris to step up the way he did earlier in this series. They need Blake Griffin to be the Blake Griffin of old from his days in LA with the Clippers. 

They need a win, bottom line. If this series heads back to Milwaukee with the Bucks up 3-2, it could be curtains. All eyes will be on Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

Pressure mounting on Aaron Boone as Yankees' Losing Continues

 For Aaron Boone and the Yankees, they are in an unfamiliar place. The Yankees have lost 13 of their last 18, find themselves 8.5 games out of first place, and are in fourth in a stacked division.  

The pitching staff, outside of Gerrit Cole, who has had his own issues to deal with in regards to his rumored use of Spider Tack to increase velocity, has been horrid. 

On Sunday, the Yankees were crushed by the Philadelphia Phillies, swept in fact, by the score of 7-0. For the second straight outing a starter was gone before the fifth inning.

Domingo German lasted only 4.1 innings allowing 7 earned runs on 10 hits. That a day after Jameson Taillon was lifted after only a third of an inning on Saturday. 

Least us not forget the offense has been staggering for weeks; heck all season in fact. Unless the Yankees are cracking home runs all over the ball park, they do not know how to score. They never hit with men in scoring position and fail at situational hitting. 

At some point the blame has to rest on the shoulders of the manager.  Boone snapped a reporter who asked if the club was getting used to losing.

"I Know them too well. I don't think there is any getting used to freakin' losing. Hell no. Get the hell out of here with that." 

Boone knows he has no safety net. He has no contract beyond this season. At 33-32, the Yankees are starring into an uncertain future. They head to Buffalo this week to face the Blue Jays. If they should lose that series, will it be curtains for Boone? Will the Yankees allow him to keep managing when the club returns to the Bronx next Friday against the Oakland A's? These are legit questions for a franchise that hasn't fired a manager in season since Stump Merrill in 1991. 

Of course they had Buck Schowalter, Joe Torre and Joe Girardi to follow. So the Yankees have known nothing but stability for the better part of 30 years. A stark contrast to the hey days of George Steinbrenner when firing people was a common occurrence.  

Will it happen this year? It could. But if it does, Brian Cashman has to look in the mirror because this is the team that he constructed. This is the manager he chose to replace Girardi, whose Phillies kicked the Yankees collective asses this weekend.  

The pressure is on. 

Kyrie Hurt as Nets Drop Second Straight in Milwaukee, Series Tied at Two

BUCKS 107 - NETS 96 - Series tied 2-2 

Maybe Kevin Durant should have had his bodyguard at this game like he did in Game 3? 

The Brooklyn Nets now find themselves in a series after the Bucks whipped the floor with them 107-96 in a Game 4 that was never as close as the final score indicated. Bucks All Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo did whatever he wanted on Sunday, posting a triple-double on the Nets, 34 points, 11 boards and 12 assists in the victory for Milwaukee. 

Even former Net Brook Lopez got into the action for Milwaukee recording 11 defensive rebounds on his own team. 

As for the Nets, outside of Durant, who despite scoring 28 points on a bad shooting night for him (9-for-25 from the floor, and 1-for-8 from downtown), nobody wanted to help.

It didn't help matters that Kyrie Irving (5-for-11 from the floor for 11 points) left the ball game after spraining his right ankle while driving for a layup.  Irving landed on Antetokounmpo's foot and stayed on the floor for several minutes. He didn't return. 

 With Irving and Harden out there was not a single Net who was able to log double digits in points scored. 

Obviously the Nets already miss James Harden who hasn't played since the opening minutes of Game 1 when he left with a groin injury.

With Irving now out for an undisclosed period of time, things could go from bad to worse for Brooklyn rather quickly. 

In addition, the Bucks have brought a physical style to the floor the last two games that the Nets cannot handle. The Nets are built to score and score a lot especially outside the arch. The Bucks are preventing that from happening. Brooklyn shot only 30 percent from three in Game 4, just two days after shooting only 25 percent from downtown. Without two thirds of their Big 3 on the court, it is up to the bench to get it done.

The Nets are now in it for the long haul against the Bucks. They must regain their focus for Game 5, and who knows if Harden is even going to be a factor in this series. Will he force his way back into this series should it go to a Game 7? Will Kyrie return for Game 5? Game 6? We shall see. But now, for the first time this year, Brooklyn is going to have to sweat it out, and the vultures who have been waiting to pounce on the Nets can't wait. 

Yankees Losing Ways Continue in Philly

 PHILLIES 8 - YANKEES 7 - 10 innings

Nothing is going right for the Yankees right now. Comeback from a 7-3 deficit to tie the game in the ninth inning. DJ LeMahieu has a huge day for the first time in a long time, with a 3-run shot in the ninth that tied the game at seven, and even with that it was not enough for the Bronx Bombers who dropped their seventh game in their last 11, losing 8-7 to the Philadelphia Phillies. 

The Yankees are only two games over .500 at 33-31, and find themselves mired in fourth place behind the Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays. This is life for the Yankees of late in 2021. 

Jameson Taillon was once again horrible.  He didn't even finish the first inning, allowing four runs to score on five hits in just a third of an inning. Taillon who has struggled with consistency all season, saw his already inflated ERA balloon to 5.74. It makes you wonder how much longer the Yankees can keep trotting this guy out there. 

Then again with Corey Kluber out til August, and Luis Severino likely to hit the IL again after injuring himself in a rehab start in Brooklyn, the Yankees have no answers right away to solve their starting rotation woes. 

Things didn't get any better with the bullpen, as the Phillies plated three more runs in the middle innings thanks to RBIs by Jean Segura, Alec Bohm and ex-Yankee Ronald Torreyes to give Philly a 7-2 advantage. 

The only way the Yankees could get back into this game was to slug their way with homers by Roughned Odor, and, of course, the three-run shot by LeMaheiu. Lest us not forget the RBI single by Gary Sanchez, who also homered in defeat. 

Yet, it was not enough. With Torreyes at third, Segura reached on an infield single in the 10th off Aroldis Chapman, who has had a horrendous week to push the Phillies past New York 8-7. 

Things just keep going from bad to worse for the Bombers who find themselves 7.5 games out of first place.

Mets Roll to Series Victory Over Padres

METS 4 - PADRES 1 

The New York Mets remain red hot.

Powered by home runs from Francisco Lindor and Jonathan Villar, and spurred by another stellar outing from Marcus Stroman, the Mets defeated the San Diego Padres 4-1.  After winning the first two games of this weekend series, the Mets have now won four of six against San Diego this season, essentially winning the season series entering Sunday's finale. 

Stroman was dominant once again for New York, backing up his brilliant 6.2 inning effort a week ago in San Diego. This time he held the Padres scoreless for six innings until Fernando Tatis Jr. deposited a Stroman fastball into the seats in left field in the seventh inning. 

Other than that one mistake it was smooth sailing from Stroman who lowered his ERA to 2.33, and notched his sixth win of the year. 

The Mets rewarded Stroman early when Lindor crushed a two-run homer to left-center to give the Mets a 2-0 first inning lead. They never looked back. In the sixth, after Pete Alonso singled to move Lindor to third, Dom Smith's fielder's choice brought home the speedy shortstop to give the Mets a 3-0 advantage. 

Clinging onto a two-run lead late, the Mets got some needed insurance when Jonathan Villar launched a pitch into the upper deck for a solo homer to give the Mets a 4-1 advantage. 

Meanwhile the Mets bullpen continues to be spectacular. The combination of Aaron Loup, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz held the Padres without a hit in the final 2.2 innings, with Diaz earning his 12th save on a 10-pitch ninth inning. 

With the victory, the Mets improve to a season high eight games over .500 at 32-24. They wrap up their series with San Diego on Sunday before welcoming the first place Chicago Cubs into town on Monday for a four game series. 

Former Giants Head Coach Jim Fassel Passes Away at 71

 Former New York Giants Head Coach Jim Fassel died Monday of a heart attack. He was 71. 

According to multiple reports, Fassel was admitted to a local hospital near Las Vegas after experiencing chest pains. He was said to have had a heart attack while under sedation. 

Fassel coached the Giants from1997-2003, reviving a once proud franchise that had seen some dark days in the mid-1990s, bringing them all the way back to a Super Bowl appearance in 2000 against the eventual champion Baltimore Ravens.  

Over his seven seasons patrolling the Giants Stadium sidelines Fassel went 58-53-1; won coach of the year honors his first year in 1997 after leading Big Blue to a 10-5-1 record and a wild card playoff berth against Minnesota. 

Some of his most significant wins as head coach included a 20-16 thriller against the 13-0 Denver Broncos at Giants Stadium in 1998, a 41-28 thrashing of the Jets in 1999 and of course Big Blue's 41-0 take-down of the Vikings in the NFC Championship game in 2000. 

 

Players like Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, Armani Toomer, Ike Hillard, Jesse Armstead, and Kerry Collins all came into their own under Fassel's stewardship. Assistant coaches like John Fox and Sean Payton would later go on to success as head coaches elsewhere. It is easy to see why Fassel was regarded as the third greatest coach in Giants history behind Super Bowl winners Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin. 

 

Unfortunately after leaving the Giants following a 4-12 season in 2003, Fassel never again got a head coaching opportunity in the NFL. He would join the Ravens in 2004 as an offensive consultant and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005, but the lack of success for the Ravens offense proved to be his undoing in Baltimore. He would never coach in the NFL again after that. 

Fassel's career in coaching goes all the way back as an assistant in the college ranks, namely as offensive coordinator at Stanford, where he had a quarterback named John Elway (you might of heard of him). 

Fassel would break into the NFL in 1992 with the Giants as an offensive coordinator, before moving to Denver in 1993 for the same post. 

The Giants would hire him as their head coach in 1997 after they considered bringing back Bill Parcells who was in the midst of a contract standoff with Robert Kraft and the New England Patriots. According to Parcells' biography by Nunyo DeMasio: "A Football Life: Bill Parcells," then GM George Young wouldn't approve of a Parcells-Big Blue reunion. At the last second the Giants decided to go with Fassel. Parcells would eventually land with the Jets that same off-season. 

Fassel's son, John has followed his fathers footsteps as an assistant. He was the Special Teams coach for the LA Rams for seven years from 2012-2019. He is currently the Dallas Cowboys special Teams coordinator. The younger Fassel did serve as an interim head coach with the Rams for three games.

Yankees in Big Trouble After Sweep by Red Sox

 RED SOX 6 - YANKEE 5 - 10 Innings 

 For Yankees fans, Sunday's 6-5 loss, and eventual sweep at the hands of the hated Boston Red Sox will always be remembered as the Gabe Morales game. 

With the game tied at four in the bottom of the ninth, and two men on the corners for the Yankees, Morales was the home plate umpire when Boston closer Matt Barnes, supposedly struck out Rougned Odor looking on a 3-2 pitch that was clearly outside. The ball never crossed the plate, and should have been ball four.  The bases would have been loaded for Clint Fraizer. 

 

Was the call awful yes. Did it cost the Yankees the game, ultimately no, but it did play a major role in the final decision. 

Boston scored two runs in the 10th inning on Xander Bogaerts two run single to make it a 6-4 game. The Yankees would cut the deficit to 6-5 on a RBI ground out by Tyler Wade before slumping D.J. LeMahieu grounded out to end it. 

It was a disheartening loss for the Yankees. They led this game 3-1, and let it slip through their fingers. Marwin Gonzalez's two-run blast in the seventh tied the game. Bogearts put Boston in front 4-3 on a sac fly in the eighth. That was all preamble to the events in the ninth where the Yankees would tie the game on a Gleyber Torres double. 

But at the end of the day, and as much as Yankees fans want to pin blame on the Morales the home plate umpire, the Yankees are a bad team right now. They are two games over .500, 6.5 games out of first place, and in fourth in the AL East. They have lost eight of their last ten games, and are seven games under .500 in the AL East (14-21). 

There is a lot of blame to go around. Manager Aaron Boone is once again hearing the catcalls for his job from fans and media alike -- much the way he did earlier in the year when the Yankees opened the season at 5-10. He won''t be fired. Neither will Brian Cashman. They view this, and the Yankees view this as a process. 

But the facts are this is a Yankees team that is flawed. They don't have enough pitching, especially in the rotation, and outside of Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres nobody is hitting. 

Yes, the Yankees pounded out 11 hits on Sunday, but they are still 26th in the league in runs scored (218) and 27th in batting average at .227 as a team. They are in big trouble. 

If things do not change, and they remain on this roller coaster of a ride this season of incredible highs and lows, they will be on the outside looking in come October. As it stands right now, they are making it very tough on themselves in the long run.  

Buckle up folks it's going to be a bumpy ride in The Bronx.

Mets Earn Split of Huge Test in San Diego

 METS 6 - PADRES 2 

After dropping the first two games of this series in gut-wrenching fashion, the Mets bounced back to earn a split of a four-game series against one of baseball's hottest teams coming into the weekend, the San Diego Padres. 

Sunday's 6-2 thrashing of the Padres backed-up another terrific start by Jacob deGrom on Saturday night, where he held the Padres to just three hits over seven innings in New York's 4-0 victory. 

Marcus Stroman picked up where deGrom left off. He blanked the Padres over the first five innings of the game, before giving up an unearned run on an Eric Hosmer ground out in the sixth. Stroman even helped out his own cause doubling to left to drive in Jose Pereaza to give the Mets a 4-1 lead. 

Stroman finished the day allowing only an unearned run on four hits over 6.2 innings of work. He''s now 5-4 on the year with a 2.41 ERA. 

Offensively, the Mets helped out Stroman early and often. Billy McKinny's RBI single in the first inning gave New York the early 1-0 lead. Three innings later, Dom Smith, who is starting to heat up on this Southwest road trip crushed his fourth homer of the year to make it 2-0. 

Finally in the eighth, James McCann crushed his sixth homer of the year into the bullpens in straightaway center field to give the Mets a resounding 6-1 lead. 

With the series split, the Mets maintain a 4.5 game lead over Philadelphia and Atlanta, and set up a fascinating series next weekend when the Padres travel to New York to face the Mets for three more games. 

 

Nets Rule Out Harden for Game 2 vs. Bucks

 James Harden will not play in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Milwaukee as he nurses right hamstring tightness. 

 

The decision by Brooklyn is really no surprise considering that Harden left Game 1 less than a minute into it when he pulled up lame. He didn't return. 

The Nets still won without Harden, 115-107, but they will definitely miss his presence on the floor. Since joining Brooklyn after he orchestrated a trade to New York from Houston, Harden averaged 24.6 points per game during the regular season when healthy. 

He was also averaging 23.2 points per game in the postseason. 

For the Nets, however, playing without a member of their vaunted Big Three is nothing new for them. This is  a team that played only eight games during the season with Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the floor. If any team can withstand an injury like this it is Brooklyn. Harden missed 21 games during the season as well. 

We'll see how things play out in Game 2.

Nets Put Away Celtics, Focus Turns to Milwuakee

 NETS 123 - CELTICS 109 

The Brooklyn Nets wanted nothing to do with another trip to Boston. 

After Kyrie Irving faced intense scrutiny from Boston's fans, including one fan who took it upon himself to toss a bottle at the Nets star point guard, Brooklyn made it abundantly clear how they felt. Enough is enough. They said as much during the off days, and they carried it into Game 5 at the Barclays Center as they put away the Celtics 123-109. 

The Nets will face the Milwaukee Bucks beginning June 5. The Bucks have been one of the few teams to have figured out the Nets this year, having won two of three regular season meetings.

Brooklyn was powered by James Harden, who led all scorers with 34 points on a 10-for-17 shooting night, including going 10-for-11 from the free throw line.  With Brooklyn trailing 8-2 in the early going, Harden connected on back-to-back buckets to get the Nets to within 8-6 before Irving tied it on a dunk. 

The Nets would trail at several other points in the opening quarter, after Jayson Tatum nailed a three and a two-point jumper to put the Celtics up 21-19. However a Tyler Johnson three pointer and a Kevin Durant layup put the Nets up for good 24-21. They would never trail again the rest of the night. 

 

Sure, the Nets nursed a close lead, especially in the first half, but Brooklyn's ability to hit shots and sink free throws contributed to them pulling away come the third quarter. 

The Nets hit on 88 percent of their free throws and 51 percent of their shots. 

Durant contributed 24 points, while Irving tallied 25 points for the Nets. Overall, the Big Three combined for 83 of Brooklyn's 123 points. 

Alonso, Pillar make Triumphant Return to Mets

 METS 6 - D-BACKS 2

The good times just keep on rolling for the New York Mets. Not only did they ride another superb outing from Jacob deGrom, but Pete Alonso and Kevin Pillar made their triumphant returns from the injury list as the Mets stung the Diamondbacks 6-2 out in the Desert. 

Alonso spent the better part of two weeks on the injury list with a hand injury, came back on fire, going 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBI. His two-run single in the top of the third inning scored both Mason Williams and Jose Peraza to give New York an early 2-0 lead. 

Later with New York in front 3-0, Alonso crushed a Merrill Kelly fastball, planting it over the left field wall to give the Mets a 5-0 advantage. 

Alonso's multi-hit effort was his first since May 3 at St. Louis; the homer was his first since a May 15 game at Tampa. 

If Alonso is about to get hot, it's only a good thing for the Mets who will have 11 games with the Padres and Cubs coming up in the next couple weeks. 

Meanwhile, Jacob deGrom was his stellar self. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before catcher Carson Kelly ended that bid with a line-drive base hit to right-center. Still, deGrom held Arizona to just two hits over six innings of work. He didn't walk a batter and struck out eight. His ERA dropped to 0.78 on the season. 

deGrom even helped himself with the bat when he lined a base hit to right that scored a run that gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. 

Finally, Kevin Pillar made his return to the Mets. Pillar hadn't played a game in over two weeks after getting drilled in the face with a baseball in Atlanta back on May 19. He wore a protective mask over face, and played left field in the second half of the game, spelling Dom Smith. Pillar singled in his only trip to the plate. 

The Mets now stand at 26-20 on the season; a huge win on what will be a critical road trip out West.