New York Yankees: 1 winner and 1 loser in sloppy loss to Washington

While the New York Yankees managed to escape Opening Day with a victory due to a rainout, game two of the regular season against the Washington Nationals didn’t go as smoothly.

The Yankees fell 9-2, and will face off against Washington on Sunday afternoon at 1 PM. There were more negatives to take away than positives in this contest.

Let’s take a look at one winner and one loser for the New York Yankees:

LOSER: James Paxton by a landslide

There is one clear-cut loser and it was James Paxton. Paxton survived just one inning, giving up five hits and three earned runs over 41 pitches. He finished with a 27.00 ERA.

It is fair to mention that Paxton is still working his way back to form after having off-season surgery to remove a cyst from his lower back. His lack of reps during summer camp undoubtedly put him at a disadvantage. Hopefully, he will work his way back to his regular self more action.

It would’ve been much worse had the Yankees not substituted Paxton for Michael King, who took over with a bases-loaded, no outs situation. King manage to work a double play on his first at-bat and forced a flyout on his second.

The runner up for loser of the game was Brett Gardner, who once again was unable to get anything going on offense despite earning a walk. He also missed a fly ball in left field that seemed routine for him and his defensive history.

WINNER: Giancarlo Stanton

There wasn’t much positivity to gain from the loss, but the one thing that stood out was Giancarlo Stanton’s mammoth blast to left field. His homer traveled nearly 500-feet and came in at over 120 mph off the bat.

Stanton has now hit a home run in two consecutive games and will be looking for a third on Sunday afternoon. He is currently the primary offensive catalyst for the Yankees, and his eye at the plate has been impressive so far. He also hit a double to deep left field to add to his quality outing.