The Yanks trailed by three runs going into the ninth inning today. The Cuban flamethrower Aroldis Chapman struck out Granderson, Cano and got Alex Rodriguez to pop out in the eighth but the Yanks scored twice in the bottom of the ninth and Derek Jeter came to plate with the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first. One out. He hit a ground ball to third base and hustled to first narrowly avoiding a game-ending double play. Jeter stole second and Granderson got ahead 3-0 but then with the count full he grounded out softly to Joey Votto.

Game over. Reds 6, Yanks 5.

I missed most of the game which was a drag because it looked like a good one. I caught the last two innings on the treadmill at the gym. I worked out next to a great guy who played minor league ball one season with Pat Jordan. 1960. He told me Jordan had nasty stuff and that he had major league talent.

Shame the Yanks couldn’t complete the comeback but it’s nice that they didn’t go down without a fight. Ivan Nova made a couple of mistakes but he also struck out 12.

This one was a bummer. And the Reds have their ace going tomorrow. Then again, so do the Yanks.

[Photo Credit: Elevated Encouragement and Mike Stobbe/Getty Images]