Coming off a series win against the Baltimore Orioles, the New York Yankees faced off against the New York Mets in the first of a two-game subway series.
The Mets entered the game six back from the Yankees in the MLB standings, who host just a 0.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who currently sit in second place. The Bombers have started the second half of the season on a down note, losing their first two games against Houston and dropping a winnable one against the Mets on Tuesday night.
Good news and bad news as Yankees drop first game of Subway Series:
Despite the disappointing loss, the Yankees walked away with a full bill of health. In other words, at least they didn’t lose anyone to injury, which has been a frequent occurrence. Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery lasted just 2.1 innings, giving up five hits and five runs over 71 pitches. He gave up two homers in that span, one to Eduardo Escobar and another to Starling Marte.
Montgomery has been one of the Yankees’ more reliable starters this season, but he’s lost his last five games straight, giving up 12 earned runs over 25.1 innings.
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The bullpen looked adequate for the Yanks, aside from Albert Abreu, who gave up three hits and one earned run over 21 pitches in the 8th inning. The Yankees’ offense wasn’t terrible, but they failed to get runs across the board, especially after losing Giancarlo Stanton earlier in the day to the injured list.
The Bombers recorded nine hits, with two of their three runs coming in the 1st inning, courtesy of Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo home runs.
One notable positive was the return of Ron Marinaccio. The 27-year-old relief arm pitched 1.2 innings, striking out two batters. He looked fantastic, featuring a lethal change-up. The Yankee saw a better version of Aroldis Chapman, who struck out one better and blanked the Mets in his lone inning of action.
On Wednesday, the Yankees will feature Domingo German on the mound, coming off a tough performance against the Astros last week. German gave up five earned runs over just 3.0 innings, tossing 58 pitches. For some reason, the Yankees consistently throw him out there against quality teams when he hasn’t pitched in over a year. Allowing him to build his confidence against lesser opponents might be a more beneficial strategy.