FanPost

Six Wins

As bad as the 2013 Yankees played at times and despite being in one of the better divisions in baseball, the Yankees missed tying for the American League wild Card spot by just six games. It's certain that there were numerous games that the Yankees won where maybe they shouldn't have. Actually, given that by using Pythagorean Expectation the team played over it's head for six to fifteen more wins than it should have had, it's probably easy to find bunch of games the Yankees probably should have lost. Still, here are six that could have changed the season around but instead inspired way too many sad .gifs to count...

5/28 - Mets 2, Yankees 1
In a pitching duel, Hiroki Kuroda was just a little better than Met rookie phenom Matt Harvey, however Mariano Rivera failed to protect the 1-0 lead and blew the save - and the game - without recording an out.

Yankees win this game 85.3% of the time after Ichiro Suzuki singled with one out in the 9th inning.

6/13 - A's 3, Yankees 2 (18 Innings)
It's easy to point to a 18-inning game where the Yankees scored all of their runs in the first of them and claim it as a possible win. However, the quarrelsome quartet of Travis Hafner, Kevin Youkilis, Mark Teixeira, and Vernon Wells combined to go 0-28 with 12 strikeouts.

In the 11th inning after Teixeira was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out, the Yankees win the game 72.1% of the time.

7/7 - Orioles 2, Yankees 1
Another awesome Kuroda start is wasted away when Rivera has another rare blown save. This one was two outs away from the win column when a single and an Adam Jones homer hanged all of that.

With one out in the 9th, the Yankees win the game 90.9% of the time.

8/7 - White Sox 6, Yankees 5 (12 Innings)
This should almost count as two losses since the Yankees had not one, but two excellent shots to win the game. With one out in the 9th and Rivera on the mound with a one-run lead, the Yankees win the game 94.8% of the time, but unfortunately Gordon Beckham doubled and Adam Dunn singled him in to tie the game.

In extras, a Robinson Cano homer gave the Yankees a one-run lead. In the bottom half of the 12th, Adam Warren got two quick outs (meaning the Yankees win the game 94.8% of the time AGAIN) before the roof caved in. Two singles and a triple later, White Sox were victorious.

9/5 - Red Sox 9, Yankees 8 (10 Innings)
This one could have been a win the Yankees didn't deserve as they battled back from a 7-2 deficit in the 7th inning to take a one-run lead and put it in the usually capable hands of Mariano Rivera. When Daniel Nava made the 2nd out of the 9th inning, the Yankees win the game 96.3% of the time. Sadly, two bloop hits sandwiching an Austin Romine throwing error let the Bosox tie the game they would win an inning later.

9/6 - Red Sox 12, Yankees 8
One would think that a four-run loss would never have been in doubt, but alas, this was the second game in a row where the Yankees would score a lot of runs and have nothing to show for it after nine innings. Unfortunately, Phil Hughes happened. Even after he loaded the bases and gave up a run to make it a 8-4 game in the 7th inning, Boone Logan striking out David Ortiz made it so the Yankees win the game 91.6% of the time. Then, Mike Napoli tied the game with one swing of his bat and the Yankees never recovered.

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