The New York Yankees have to feel good after notching their third win in a row and taking the series from the Seattle Mariners with the win last night. After a day off on Monday, the Yankees enjoyed a laugher against the west coast team on Tuesday, winning 12-1. However, last night was a different story; hardly a laugher, the Yankees had to fight tooth and nail to get the one-run win. The final score was 5-4, but it took five Yankees pitchers to get the job done.
Who decided on Nick Nelson?
At the start of last night’s game, fans were left with more questions than answers. First, why couldn’t the game’s scheduled starter Domingo German start the game after having an early morning root canal? Then why Nick Nelson, was it analytics that said he would be the perfect starter for that game? The question about German became even more evident when he was brought in to pitch the fifth inning. When manager Aaron Boone was asked about the decision, he couldn’t come up with any sensible answer.
Regardless of the reason, Nick Nelson started the Yankees game and was a total mess, only going 2/3 of an inning, giving up a run, walking three, and hitting the second Mariner that faced him. All of this happened while trying to protect a three-run lead the Yankees achieved off of the Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi. Nelson was replaced by Luis Cessa, who pitched 3.1 innings of one-hit scoreless ball. This was when Domingo German was brought into the game. Unfortunately, he proved that he still was not right. He gave up three earned runs in three innings of work even though he stuck out 5 Mariners.
New York Yankees attack first again
For the second night in a row, the Yankees attacked first, lighting up Yusei Kikuchi for three runs in the first inning. The Yankees got three runs in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game. Aaron Judge walked on four pitches. Gary Sanchez walked. Giancarlo Stanton flew out to right field. Luke Voit doubled driving in Judge from second. Gleyber Torres got a three-run single driving in Sanchez and Voit. Gio Urshela got a double when the ball bounced into the stands at left. Brett Gardner struck out for the final out, but the Yankees picked up the early three-run lead.
At the top of the second, Tim Locastro, with his amazing speed, stretched out single into a double past short. LeMahieu flew out to center, moving Locastro to third. Then, Aaron Judge hit a two-run (429′) homer into the left-field stands. The game could have ended there because the Yankees couldn’t hit the ball for the rest of the game in any meaningful way, allowing the Mariners to crawl back to within one run. DJ LeMahieu, Gary Sanchez, and Brett Gardner all went 0-4 on the night.
Aroldis Chapman Vs. Chad Green
In a puzzling mystery, the New York Yankees have lost their closer. All of the sudden, Aroldis Chapman has become totally ineffective. In his first 18 games of the season and with a rediscovered splitter, Chapman had an ERA of 0.00, not allowing a single run. Today that ERA stands at 4.55. For his last nine games, it’s at 22.00. So at the bottom of the ninth in Tuesday night’s game, Boone thought he would try out Chapman in a low-intensity situation with an eleven-run lead.
Chapman bombed again. He didn’t give up a run, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. Ty France singled on his first pitch. Jake Fraley struck out on a 95mph fastball. France went to second on a Chapman wild pitch. Luis Torrens walked. Jake Bauers struck out. With last licks on the line, Dylan Moore, with two on and two outs, walked, loading the bases. Shed Long Jr. followed by striking out to end the game. That was not the soap opera the Yankees wanted to see.
Last night in a high leverage situation in the ninth, the Yankees had to protect a one-run lead. Boone choose to sit closer Chapman in favor of Chad Green. Green did swift work in the inning, striking out two Mariners. No one will know who’s decision that was because the analytics would have said to send Chapman out. Nevertheless, going with Green, who has had an excellent season, was the right decision.