Yankees pound Mets pitching after Matt Harvey leaves early
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The New York Yankees couldn’t seem to hit New York Mets starter Matt Harvey on Sunday. Thankfully for them, Harvey only tossed five innings. Once he was removed, the Yankees feasted on Mets’ pitching, pulling off the 11-2 victory.
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Harvey was fantastic during the start. Over five innings, he gave up just one hit. Harvey issued one walk and struck out seven. He was removed after five innings due to his innings limit. With the start, Harvey has now thrown 176 2/3 innings.
Nine pitches after Harvey was pulled, the Yankees took the lead on a Carlos Beltran double. Dustin Ackley also hit a three-run homer in the inning, giving the Yankees a 5-1 lead.
Because of that, the decision to remove Harvey became, not surprisingly, a hot topic.
With the win, the Yankees improved to 82-66 on the season. They are two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.
MORALES BLASTS KC TO A WIN
Kendrys Morales has played a big role in the Kansas City Royals being one of the best teams in the AL this season. He proved as much during Sunday’s 10-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Morales got things going in the third inning. Though his team was already up by two runs, Morales decided to pad the Royals’ lead. On the fifth pitch of his at-bat against Alfredo Simon, Morales belted a solo shot to right.
The following inning, he did it again. Morales smacked another solo home run off Simon in the fourth inning. This time, it came against an 85 mph splitter.
He wasn’t done. In the top of the eighth, Morales managed his third solo shot of the game. He finished 4 for 4, with five runs scored and three RBI. Morales also walked in his only other plate appearance, reaching base five times.
With the win, the Royals improved to 87-62 on the year.
RICH HILL DOES IT AGAIN
The Rich Hill comeback tour continues. Hill was effective again for the Boston Red Sox, picking up the win during the team’s 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
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Hill lasted seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits. He struck out 10, and did not issue any walks during the outing.
Considering Hill was pitching in an independent league in August, that’s one heck of an accomplishment.
On top of all of that, Hill shut down the best offense in baseball. With the loss, Toronto dropped to 85-64 on the season. The club has a two-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.
HOUSTON GETS IT DONE
The Houston Astros are doing whatever they can to stay in the playoff picture. Colby Rasmus kept them in the race Sunday during the team’s 5-1 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Rasmus struck in the second inning. With his team already down a run, Rasmus managed to tie things up with one swing of the bat. He smacked a solo home run off Aaron Brooks, tying the contest 1-1.
After a George Springer two-run shot put the Astros ahead later in the contest, Rasmus decided to add some insurance runs. In the eighth inning, Rasmus added his second home run of the game. This time, it was a two-run shot.
With the win, the Astros improved to 79-71 on the season. The team has a 2.5 game lead on the second wild card spot in the AL.
Want to see more from Sunday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
