Author: /u/StevenJeon

​

At bat 1 (Top of first): 5 pitch walk

Really good at bat by Yordan here to start the game. Perez was once again trying to jam him up inside for a weak ground ball, but Yordan took 3 inside fastballs that were near his hands for balls before watching a high outside fastball for strike 1. On a 3-1 count he watched a low changeup fall outside the zone for ball 4.

At bat 2 (Top of second): 1 pitch hit by pitch, RBI

Yordan came up here in a really big spot, bases loaded and one out. Once again, Perez seemed like he wanted to work inside to force a ground ball out of Yordan, and once again, it backfired, as an errant fastball tailed too close to his shoulder, leading to a HBP and a run.

At bat 3 (Top of fourth): 2 pitch home run to center, RBI

This time Yordan came up with the bases empty and 2 outs, the result of a costly Bregman double play the at bat prior. Yordan watched a curveball fall right in the middle of the zone for a strike, before taking a hanging fastball in the exact same location and pummeling it to dead center in Fenway, 451 feet for a home run. The effortless but controlled swing he displayed here was a thing of beauty, and hopefully it’s something we see more of today.

At bat 4 (Top of 6th): 5 pitch flyout to center

Yordan took a really low curve for a ball before swinging and missing at one higher than that but in the similar location. He then watched another curve fall right into the zone for a 1-2 count before taking fouling one low into the ground. On a 1-2 pitch Workman threw another offspeed pitch and Yordan swung under that one for a routine fly ball that the center fielder (think it was Kike) caught for the third out.

At bat 5 (Top of 9th): 5 pitch flyout to center

Another very similar at bat here, where Yordan only got breaking balls in the at bat from the reliever. He worked into a 3-1 count, in part because of a suspect ball on the first pitch, but he once again swung under a low offspeed pitch and lofted it into center field, this time more to the right for a flyout.

Today’s statline: 1-4, BB, R

​

At bat 1 (Top of first): 1 pitch single to left

Yordan saw one pitch in this at bat, a fastball inside that kind of jammed him, but he was able to make good contact and still launch it opposite field for a single. He then would advance to second on a wild pitch during the Gurriel at bat, but would fail to score.

At bat 2 (Top of third): 4 pitch walk, R

Yordan saw 4 pitches in this at bat, all of which were balls, and took the open base. Matz was obviously trying to jam him up inside as all of the pitches were near his hands. It would have been really easy to swing at a bad inside pitch and ground out, yet Yordan took all 4 of them, something that I thought was really encouraging. He later came in to score on a two-run single by Kyle Tucker later in the inning.

At bat 3 (Top of fourth): 3 pitch groundout to shortstop

Yordan came up in a very important spot here, with runners on first and second and two outs. He fouled off a low inside changeup early for an 0-1 count and then watched a high outside fastball for strike two, and then hit a high fastball for a bouncer that was easily fielded by the shortstop.

At bat 4 (Top of seventh): 2 pitch groundout to shortstop

Very similar to the last at bat, Yordan took a first pitch low ball before hitting a broken bat grounder to the exact same spot as last time for another routine groundout.

At bat 5 (Top of eighth): 7 pitch groundout to pitcher

Extremely good at bat by Yordan here, as he worked into a 3-0 count while the reliever was trying to get him to chase low and inside. He then watched and fouled off a couple fastballs high in the zone for a 3-2 count before chopping a low fastball right to the pitcher for the groundout. Disappointing end, but I was very happy with the battle he had with the pitcher and while it didn’t lead to immediate results, his fundamentals should come back to reward him.

Today’s stats: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R

​

At bat 1 (Top of first): 3 pitch groundout to first

Very typical Yordan at bat here, as after taking a Ryu curve high but in the zone and a fastball low for a ball, Yordan hit a low inside offspeed pitch really well and pulled it to the right side, but right at the shifted 1B for the unassisted out.

At bat 2 (Top of fourth): 3 pitch double to center, RBI

After a very similar first two pitches (curve and fastball) although the curve was a ball this time and the fastball a foul ball strike, Yordan got his money pitch: an inside low fastball that lofted into the zone at 90 MPH that Yordan crushed into deep center for an RBI double, scoring Diaz. Just a beautiful swing by him on that one, and great execution for extra bases.

At bat 3 (Top of sixth): 6 pitch walk, R

Just an amazing at bat by Yordan here, as it was pretty obvious Ryu wanted Yordan to chase outside, and Yordan spit on every single one of them, fouling off two inside offspeed pitches in between them. He just did a masterful job of working Ryu and taking what he was given. He also later scored on the Martin Maldonado grand slam later in the inning.

At bat 4 (Top of seventh): 2 pitch double play

Yordan watched a curveball in the zone, before hitting a fastball for a dribbler right to the second baseman, who executed the double play and threw out Yordan by a step or two.

At bat 5 (Top of eighth): 4 pitch “error” to right

Yordan started this at bat against the new reliever by watching two fastballs in the zone, both low, for strikes. He then watched a low changeup for a ball, before getting another changeup in the zone that he hammered into right field. The right fielder (former Astro Teoscar Hernandez) bobbled the catch, leading to Yordan ending up on third. Yordan hit the ball pretty hard and well, so not a typical “error”, just an example of Yordan’s good fundamentals being rewarded here. He would fail to score however, as the next two batters failed to score with 2nd and 3rd, 1 out.

​

Something important:

A user here suggested that I should move the Daily dose of Yordan to an email format, let me know how you guys would feel about that, as well as any suggestions you have for this going forwards. Thanks for reading and go Yordan!

Statline for today: 0-2, HBP, K

​

At bat 1 (Bottom of first): 3 pitch hit by pitch

First pitch was a high curve Yordan took for ball 1.Then Yordan watched a borderline high inside fastball that was called for a strike. Then Yordan narrowly avoided an absolute dirt spike curve that narrowly grazed his foot for a hit by pitch. Very unconventional at bat but it got the job done. He would later advance to second on a Kyle Tucker single but didn’t score.

At bat 2 (Bottom of third): 4 pitch strikeout swinging

Yordan took offspeed right down the middle for strike one, before fouling off a low fastball the other way for strike two. He then watched a curve way out of the zone before attempting to check swing but went all the way for strike 3.

At bat 3 (Bottom of sixth): 4 pitch groundout to first

Yordan took a bleh call on an outside offspeed for strike one, and then fouled off another low offspeed out of the zone for strike two. He then took a fastball that sailed outside for ball one, before hitting a really good low pitch to the right side. Unfortunately, the radically shifted first baseman was hugging the line, leading to an anassisted groundout.

Not at bat 4 (Bottom of eighth): 4 pitches, Bregman picked off second

Yordan took an inside fastball for strike one, and then fouled off a high fastball for strike 2 before taking another higher fastball for ball one. He then took a high pitchout ball that the catcher picked off Bregman on second with, ending the inning and making Yordan’s at bat meaningless. Pretty boneheaded move to get caught flat footed, especially with 2 outs and a hitter of Yordan’s caliber batting.

Overall analysis:

All in all while it may look like a down night for Yordan, he still was recognizing and doing what he normally does on the pitches in the zone, he just wasn’t able to capitalize. Something interesting to note is that Yordan played left field today with Altuve at DH, and while he didn’t look particularly good out there he made some nice routine snags and overall wasn’t bad, something I hope continues in the future. Yordan also got mostly offspeed from the Red Sox starter today, while the reliever that “faced” him in the 8th threw all fastballs. It didn’t really affect his performance differently, but I felt it was worth noting the different approaches they had to facing Yordan.

After a bit of a layoff, daily dose of Yordan is back, providing in-depth analysis of your favorite hitter in baseball.

At bat 1: 2 pitch groundout to shortstop

Yordan swung and missed at the first pitch he saw, a fastball low and inside the zone, before hitting dribbler off a similar pitch that the shifted shortstop fielded easily for the out.

At bat 2: 3 pitch double to deep right

Yordan started this at bat by watching two high fastballs, one of which grazed the top of the zone but the other of which wasn’t even close. He then took another high fastball that snuck into the inside top half and smashed it like the Yordan of old, nearly missing a home run by a couple of feet. He settled for a deeeeeep double and later scored on a sac fly by that Chas guy. Great swing by Yordan there, hoping that the rest helped him clear his mind a bit.

At bat 3: 7 pitch double play to first

The double play may not look good in the box score, but this was a classic Yordan at bat that you can’t really fault him for. He quickly went down 1-2 after watching a high offspeed for a strike and then fouling off a fastball right down the middle. But afterwards, he did an extremely good job controlling the zone, taking two borderline balls outside and then fouling off a similar pitch. He then got a fastball in his wheelhouse and hard hit it down the right field line, but once again right to the shifted first baseman, who started the double play. Yordan was originally called safe on the play, but after replay review he was ruled out.

At bat 4: 3 pitch infield single to third, RBI

Yordan came up in a big spot here, bases loaded and 2 outs. He took an offspeed outside pitch for ball 1 before swinging and missing at a fastball low and in the zone. He then mis-hit another fastball low in the zone, but because of the defensive positioning it became an infield single and an RBI. Bad fundamentals but a good result, Yordan deserved some good luck after a slump like the one he had.

At bat 1 (Bottom of second): 4 pitch strikeout swinging

I wasn’t actually there to watch this at bat, but based on the box score, it looks like another at bat where Yordan should have been more aggressive early but wasn’t and ended up chasing out of the zone. The first pitch he got, a fastball right down the middle, probably should have capitalized more on that. It’s something I’ve noticed with Yordan, where he is super passive early in the at bat. He didn’t get another fastball the whole at bat, as he fouled off an inside curve and took a slider off the plate before whiffing on the classic Kershaw curve out of the zone.

At bat 2 (Bottom of fifth): 5 pitch strikeout looking

Actually watched the entirety of this at bat, and once again, it looked like one where Yordan put up a good fight and recognized the pitches, but just didn’t capitalize on the mistakes Kershaw made. He fouled off a couple fastballs in the upper half of the zone, and managed to work into a 2-2 count, but ended up striking out looking on a low fastball right down the middle that he definitely should have done more on.

At bat 3 (Bottom of seventh): 3 pitch strikeout looking

Another very frustrating at bat for Yordan, where he fouled off a fastball on the first pitch, and then simply watched as two very hittable pitches right down the middle were called for strikes. It’s extremely difficult to watch, even more considering that Yordan can and does normally destroy mistake pitches like those. It is worth noting that the pitch that rung him up was a pretty bad call, maybe an inch off the plate.

At bat 4 (Bottom of ninth): 9 pitch strikeout swinging

Might be just one at bat, but I loved this at bat from Yordan. He once again went down 0-2, this time with some quick swings, but instead of passively watching strike 3 called without swinging, Yordan protected the zone like the Yordan of old, fouling off offspeed and fastballs before finally getting rung up swinging at a high fastball. Some might say Yordan didn’t do enough with the 4 fouls, as he did get quite a few hittable fastballs, but on a night like today that’s extremely encouraging to see. Hopefully this is a trend of him protecting the zone and regaining that selective aggressiveness that made him so good earlier in the year.

Overall analysis:

Obviously a very bad night for Yordan, 3 quick strikeouts (and 4 overall) without much resistance. He was definitely getting the same pitches as before, he just wasn’t swinging. It’s definitely disappointing to see a hitter of Yordan’s caliber simply watching as he strikes out. It was encouraging to see him battle, recognize and protect the zone like the Yordan of old. Part of being a fan of a player is staying with them during slumps as well as the highs. Maybe mods should add a Yordan flair as a good luck charm to break him out of this slump?

​

At bat 1 (Top of first): 3 pitch fielder’s choice, RBI

Yordan took an inside fastball for a strike before watching a high one for a ball. He then chopped one pretty well towards the first base bag, but due to the shift it was caught by the second baseman and thrown to second to get the runner out. Yordan did barely run out the throw to first and a run scored.

At bat 2 (Top of third): 3 pitch groundout to second

Once again, Yordan took a high fastball for a ball and then fouled off an offspeed in a similar spot for a 1-1 count. He then swung at another low inside curve and grounded it to the right side for a routine groundout to second.

At bat 3 (Top of fifth): 4 pitch strikeout swinging

Yordan took the first two pitches, a questionable called strike curve on the outside half and an inside fastball. He then fouled off another low curve before striking out on a high fastball.

At bat 4 (Top of seventh): 3 pitch popout to second

Yordan took the first pitch, a curve low and in the dirt, and then the reliever pitching to him decided to go out with arm discomfort, which meant he faced the lefty Allard for the rest of the at bat. He then took another low outside pitch before getting a pretty good pitch in his sweet spot, but he popped it out to the shifted second baseman in short right field.

Overall analysis:

Yordan was getting really good pitches today, he just wasn’t able to execute on them. He saw a really good pitch in the 4th at bat on a 2-0 count, but popped it out instead of doing damage on them like he normally does. Also was worth noting that Yordan seems to feed into the defense and ground out on low pitches, things that should probably be fixed for him to have continued success.

Quick note: I felt like s**t yesterday and couldn’t get out of bed, so I wasn’t able to do a daily dose of Yordan yesterday. Apologies for that, I will try and do twice the analysis today as a result.

At bat 1 (Top of the first): 5 pitch hit by pitch

First pitch was offspeed and outside, Yordan took it for the ball it was. Second one was a fastball (I think, it was 91) low and out of the zone that Yordan tapped foul. The pitch after that was a changeup low but in the zone that Yordan whiffed on, to make it a 1-2 count. After that Yordan took a low slider in the dirt before being hit by a fastball that darted too close to his lower elbow area. Not a hit, but still a great disciplined at bat to give his team a better chance to score. He later advanced to 3rd on a Tucker flyout and scored on a Aledmys Diaz fielders choice.

At bat 2 (Top of the third): 2 pitch groundout to second (shift)

First pitch was offspeed, low and out of the zone that Yordan took for a ball. The second pitch looked to be a fastball in a similar location that he swung pretty well on, but was a ground ball right to the second baseman shifted to right. Reminded me exactly of the groundout Corey Seager hit to end the 2017 World Series (a moment that as a Dodgers fan is burned into my mind), exact same location and result.

At bat 3 (Top of the sixth): 7 pitch strikeout swinging

Overall this was a really good at bat by Yordan, with some excellent zone defense in bad counts. He started by watching two offspeed pitches, the first one in the zone and the second one out. Then he fouled off a high fastball, and then we saw the classic Yordan we all see and love. The next 3 pitches were all offspeed, some changeups and some curves, but Yordan spat on them all, taking the obvious balls and fouling off a borderline one out of the zone. He then watched as a high inside fastball almost hit him, but was ruled a corner strike anyways. Nothing to sweat at here, Yordan had a great at bat and was ended as a result of a borderline pitch.

At bat 4 (Top of the seventh): 4 pitch strikeout swinging

Yordan came up in a big moment here, bases juiced and 2 outs. The first pitch was a curve off the plate that was still called a strike, much to Yordan’s dismay. He then took a fastball off the plate and fouled off a low curve in the zone. Then Yordan swung and missed on a low curve in the zone to end the inning and strand the runners. Horrible call on the first pitch, I feel like that just set the mood of the at bat and set Yordan up to fail.

Overall while it may look like Yordan struggled today, I feel like he was on the receiving end on a lot of horrible strike calls, and as a result he wasn’t really given a fair chance to show his skillset. His discipline and at bats were still extremely good, those will definitely translate to results later.

​

At bat 1: 6 pitch strikeout swinging

Something interesting to not was that the first 4 pitches Yordan saw this AB were all fastballs, and he did ok with them, laying off one and fouling off three in a row. Then Montas went to the offspeed splitter, and while Yordan did good in laying off the first one, he ended up biting on the second that was low and out of the zone for a K.

At bat 2: 1 pitch groundout to second

Yordan swung at the first pitch here, and hit a very good hard hit bouncer up the middle, although the second baseman was right there to throw out a jogging

At bat 3: 2 pitch lineout to center

After taking a fastball in the middle for a strike, Yordan swung hard and hit a really good fly ball to right center field. Unfortunately, the center fielder went back and made a nice play, if it was like a couple feet back it would have probably been extra bases.

At bat 4: 3 pitch single to right

After taking two offspeeds, one way outside and one in, Yordan got another one low but in the zone and capitalized, dumping it into right field for a single that moved Bregman to second. Kinda ugly swing that was unbalanced, but it got the job done.

At bat 5: 6 pitch walk

Surprisingly not much to say here, Yordan didn’t take a single swing this at bat, but because most of the sinkers by Kolarek were out of the zone, Yordan took first. Great discipline by him, especially on the first two which were low and outside.