Happ gives Yanks a hand with 6 strong innings
Resiliency has been the word of the week for the Yankees.
After a deflating four-game sweep at Fenway Park, manager Aaron Boone's young squad gutted out a three-game sweep over the White Sox in Chicago to keep above a quickly approaching wild-card scrap with Seattle and Oakland.
The Bombers' bounceback week continued with a fourth straight win on Thursday as J.A. Happ pushed through six solid innings, offering his own resiliency in a 7-3 win over Texas.
“Nothing really fazes him,” Boone said after the game. “Whether he's off for a hitter or is having success, he just continues to pour through his outing and execute pitches. There's no emotional deviance, he's just really steady out there. To give us six strong innings tonight was just what we needed.”
Happ (12-6), making his second start in pinstripes and his first since going on the disabled list with hand, foot and mouth disease, allowed just three runs over his 94 pitches to earn the win.
The lefthander showed flashes of why many considered him the best pitcher available to the Yankees at the trade deadline. He struck out nine over his six innings of work, deftly mixing sliders and fastballs to punch out the Rangers hitters.
Happ wasn't completely over the virus that sidelined him from a start against Boston — forcing Boone to throw overmatched rookie Chance Adams in a 4-1 loss on Saturday. He had issues with his control, hitting Shin-Soo Choo twice and giving up a two-run double to Choo in the fifth, cutting the Yankees' deficit to 5-3.
But on a night when the Yankees' bats exploded to the tune of five home runs, the 35-year-old Happ steadied himself and avoided the disastrous innings that killed the Bombers last weekend. He managed two quick outs in the fifth to strand Choo at second and preserve the lead.
With relief options Sonny Gray, Chad Green and Jonathan Holder all having pitched earlier this week, Happ had to work deeper into Thursday's game. “I knew that we needed some innings, I've been following all the games,” Happ said. “I did what I could out there, would have liked to have gone maybe one or two more (innings) but I think after the layoff that was a good start.”
Since the All-Star break, the Yankees' rotation has been full of question marks ranging from the disappearance of Luis Severino's AllStar stuff, questions of CC Sabathia's durability, and the implosion of Sonny Gray. The Yankees traded for Happ to be an absolute, and in two starts he has been — so long as he stays on the field. “I still don't know where I got it,” he said Thursday of his viral illness, which is commonly found in children.
The highly contagious nature of hand, foot and mouth disease cut into what Happ called the “getting to know you process” within the locker room. But on Thursday, the 12-year veteran's workman-like performance — when the Yankees sorely needed it — was the only introduction necessary.