Last night at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees faced the Boston Red Sox in the final game of the homestand. The Red Sox had won the first two games of the series. The Yankees hoped that Domingo German could salvage the last game for them. He faced the Red Sox pitcher Garrett Richards. Entering the game, the Yankees were 5 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East. The Tampa Bay Rays led the East with the Boston Red Sox one game behind. It was a hot, humid night at the Stadium. The Red Sox completed the sweep with a crushing 6-5 win in the 10th inning.
Another Yankee pitcher has a rough start.
In the first inning, Domingo German faced Danny Santana, who ground out. But then Alex Verdugo homered to right-center. But the Yankee offense saved him for the moment when Gary Sanchez hit the left-field wall in the bottom of the inning for a double scoring two Yankees for the one-run lead. Yankees 2 Red Sox 1.
For the second night in a row, the Yankee bullpen failed. First, it was Chad Green yesterday and Lucas Luetge last night. Then, in the seventh inning, a 3-1 lead disappeared when LHP Luetge surrendered a two-run home run to Marwin Gonzalez, tying the game up. He was replaced by Wandy Peralta, who allowed a sac fly putting the Sox a game leading up.
Timely hitting remains a problem.
The Yankee hitters actually hit in the game for a change, but not in a timely fashion. Bringing runners home continued to be a problem; they went 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position. They got 11 hits in the game, but not at the right time. They continue to hit ground balls, leading to double plays. Conversely the Red Sox had only y 7 hits in the game but won it with timely hitting. In the Red Sox 3 game series, the Yankees went 3 for 20 with men in scoring position, leaving a total of 23 men on base.
At the bottom of the ninth, Aaron Judge worked a one-out walk. He scored from first on Torres’ double down the left-field line, tying the game at 4-4.
Umpiring again nails the New York Yankees
With Rougie Odor at the plate, he got a strike three call that was obviously far inside. Odor stood in disbelief. In their propensity to throw out Yankees, the umpires, home plate umpire Gabe Morales tossed Phile Nevins from the dugout when he balked at the call. They also throw out Carlos Mendoza, who was coaching at third base. In a previous game of the homestand home plate umpire, Whitson threw out manager Aaron Boone when he showed frustration when his pitcher wasn’t getting the same calls that the opposition was enjoying.
The Yankees are in deep trouble
The New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone continually says he has faith in the Yankee lineup and knows what they can do. But frustration is starting to creep in. This is the first time that the Boston Red Sox has swept the Yankees at Yankee Stadium in over a decade. Boone says the team has to get better, but the opposite is true; they are only getting worse. After their fourth loss in a row, the Yankees have slipped 6 1/2 games back of the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays, another team they can’t beat. They are now lost 10 of 13 games at the Stadium.
“It’s an awful week for us, culminating in the end of this homestand,’’ Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to get right. We’ve got to get better. It starts now on the road as we head to Minnesota.â€
At this point in the season, with over a third of the games already played, I earlier said that this homestand would be telling and could be a turning point in the season, allowing the Yankees to edge up in the standings; unfortunately, the reverse has happened. The Yankees had dug themselves deeper into a hole. If the Yankees don’t start hitting soon, it will be a hole they can’t dig themselves out of.