Homers in Yankee Stadium: at least the fans like them - MLB

As many folks — myself included — lament the homerriffic qualities of new Yankee Stadium, Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger reminds us that, for a lot of folks, homers = fun:

The pitchers can whine all they want, but the fans were tickled when
that Cabrera fly ball cleared the wall. They came to have a good time,
and at a baseball game, nothing generates more fun than the long ball.
Which is what makes the outrage about the new Yankee Stadium so hard to
understand. Yes, the ballpark is yielding dingers at a record pace.
Yes, some of them are cheaper than a thrift-store suit.

But what, exactly, are people so worried about? Ruining the sanctity of the record book? Little late for that, no?

Baseball is the only sport where anyone worries about too much
offense. The NHL practically rewrote its rulebook for more goals. The
NFL would let its quarterbacks throw from behind a moat if it meant
more touchdown passes. And there is a reason millions of Americans hate
soccer. Thursday afternoon, it was hard to find too many critics of the
homer-friendly park.

He offers lots of quotes from fans who have quite obviously been having
a good time at the new joint, easy homers or not. And hey, you can’t
blame them. The point of this game is to entertain, and people are
certainly entertained. Indeed, the only negative sentiment in this
article comes from Rangers’ reliever C.J. Wilson, who called Melky
Cabrera’s homer yesterday “a deep fly ball to short left field.” He
thought it was a popup but “then I was like, ‘Oh crap, I forgot where
we are.'”

Fans’ happiness or not, it is sentiments like Wilson’s that will
really going to decide if a having a homer-friendly park in the Bronx
is a good idea. Right now the Yankees are set for the next several
years with Sabathia, Burnett, Hughes, Wang, and Chamberlain in the
rotation (I’m assuming Pettitte is gone after this year). But at some
point, the Yankees are going to want to bring in the next CC Sabathia.
Maybe it will be a 29 year-old David Price or a 27 or 28 year-old
Stephen Strasburg. If, by that time, the Stadium is still playing like
a bandbox, I can’t help but think that it won’t be as easy to attract
those sorts of guys. Sure, the Yankees have money, but they’re already
overpaying guys to deal with the hassle and pressure of playing in New
York. How much more will they have to overpay if an inflated ERA is
part of the deal as well?

CHICAGO — Shohei Ohtani homered in consecutive innings, including a 459-foot drive that was the longest of his Major League Baseball career, and drove in four runs to lead the Los Angeles Angels over the Chicago White Sox 12-5.

Mike Trout put the Angels ahead 2-0 with a 476-foot home run in the first that was four rows shy of clearing the left field bleachers. Taylor Ward also went deep as the Angels hit four two-run homers plus a solo shot.

“Those are the guys you lean on,” manager Phil Nevin said. “They can certainly put the team on their backs and carry us and that’s what they did today.”

Ohtani drove a first-pitch fastball from Lance Lynn (4-6) just to left of straightaway center in the third, where the ball was dropped by a fan who tried to glove it. That 425-foot drive put the Angels ahead 4-1.

Lynn didn’t even bother to turn and look when Ohtani hit a full count fastball more than a dozen rows over the bullpen in right-center in the fourth. The two-way Japanese star is batting .269 with 15 homers and 38 RBIs to go along with a 5-1 record and 2.91 ERA.

“I’m feeling good right now,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I’m putting good swings on pitches I should be hitting hard.”

Ohtani increased his career total to 13 multihomer games with his first this season.

Trout pulled a hanging curve for his 13th home run. Ward hit a two-run homer against Jesse Scholtens in the seventh and Chad Wallach, pinch hitting for Ohtani, had a solo homer in the ninth off Garrett Crochet.

“Usually when that happens, we’re in a good spot to win,” Trout said.

Trout and Ohtani have homered in the same game for the fifth time this season. The Angels hit a pair of 450-foot or more home runs in the same game for the first time since Statcast started tracking in 2015.

Lynn allowed eight runs, eight hits and two walks while hitting two batters in four innings, raising his ERA to 6.55. He has given up 15 home runs, one short of the major league high of Kansas City’s Jordan Lyles. Lynn had won his previous three starts.

“It seemed like he didn’t get away with any today,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Just one of those days, man.”

Jaime Barria (2-2) gave up one run and four hits in five innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

Los Angeles won two of three from the White Sox after being swept by Miami last weekend.

Jake Burger homered for Chicago, which has lost four of five. Burger hit his 11th homer in the ninth and Hanser Alberto had a two run double off Tucker Davidson.

Chicago’s Romy Gonzalez, who’d homered in three straight games, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

THE NATURALS

Twenty-three people became naturalized U.S. citizens during a pregame swearing-in behind home plate.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: Trout fouled a pitch off his right leg in the fourth but remained in the game.

White Sox: INF Elvis Andrus (strained left oblique) and RHP Mike Clevinger (right wrist inflammation) are close to returning but Grifol wouldn’t elaborate on either player’s status.

UP NEXT

Angels: Reid Detmers (0-4, 4.93) starts Thursday’s series opener at Houston against fellow LHP Framber Valdez (5-4, 2.38).

White Sox: Have not announced a starter for Friday’s series opener against visiting Detroit, which starts RHP Reese Olson in his major league debut. Olson is 2-3 with a 6.38 ERA in 10 starts at Triple-A Toledo.