The New York Yankees walked away with an insane comeback victory over the New York Mets on Sunday in the first game of a doubleheader. With the Yankees starting pitching dwindling down, they started Michael King.
King lasted 3.2 innings allowing six hits and two earned runs. He actually pitched quite well before things got a bit rocky. Leaving the bases loaded for Brooks Kriske, who went on to allow five runs and currently has a 20.25 ERA, gave the Mets the lead they needed to establish a sure-fire victory.
The Yankees have now lost eight of their last nine games, producing disappointing performance consistently. The number of injuries they’re dealing with has been significant, and both sides of the ball are currently struggling.
FINAL SCORE: 8-7
Good news and bad news for the New York Yankees:
GOOD NEWS:
There wasn’t much good news from the first game of the doubleheader until the final inning, except for DJ LeMahieu looking sharp once again. He had one hit over two at-bats, including a walk. LeMahieu hasn’t skipped a beat despite missing the past two weeks with a sprained left thumb. The first game back, he managed to help the Yankees to a walk-off victory on a wild pitch. He currently hosts a .405 BA and .453 OBP.
Pitching-wise, King actually had a decent start-up until the fourth inning when he gave up five consecutive singles. With a bit more experience and stamina, he could be a decent starter in the future.
It wans’t until the bottom of the seventh (de-fact 9th inning), that the Yankees managed to load the bases with two outs and Luke Voit slapped a grounder to second base. Luckily, the Mets had shifted the infield to the third base side and the gronder squeecked through for a base-hit. This drove in two runs. Thairo Estrada was plunked shortly after and gave Aaron Hicks an opportunity to tie the game. Well, a homer did just the trick, as Hicks launched a line-drive to right field that snuck over the wall.
TIE GAME!
Gio Urshela slapped a bloop single to right field driving in Mike Tauchman to secure the 8-7 win.
BAD NEWS:
There’s too much bad news to go around for the Yankees, who haven’t been able to produce offensively (until the waning moments apparently) and have had poor pitching performances on an everyday basis. Starting pitching hasn’t been the issue predominantly, but the bullpen has been lackluster. Given that Kriske came in and gave up five earned runs over just 1.1 innings pitched, they’re desperate for support in the bullpen. This could force general manager Brian Cashman to trade assets for a relief arm.
With the Milwaukee Brewers making Josh Hader potentially available, the Yankees could once again consider acquiring him. Hader has had some walk issues this year, but he’s one of the better options in the league. The Yankees will eventually get back Zack Britton, but it might take a few weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re shopping Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, Estevan Florial, and potentially some of the younger prospects.
The worst of the worst: Gary Sanchez
Sanchez is currently batting .125 on the season and has struggled defensively. He’s quickly becoming a liability.