The New York Yankees again lost a game to the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday, making them 1 for 5 this season. The Yankees have lost 16 of 22 games against the Rays in the last two seasons, including the postseason. With the two teams with almost identical season records against all teams, the Yankee must win against the Rays in head-to-head matches to succeed in the season.
Yankees pitching still not good enough
If you’re a pitcher and your name is not Gerrit Cole, you have not performed to your abilities, and it has cost the Yankees wins and overuse of the bullpen. Yesterday the Yankees lost to the Rays 6-3. Jordan Montgomery took the loss but managed to save the bullpen somewhat by getting into the seven-inning. A walk facing his first batter in the 7th ended his night.
Overall, Monty was charged for 4 earned runs driving his ERA up to 4.24. However, Jordan pitched considerably better than the numbers would indicate. His control was good, but just a couple of bad pitches was his demise. The real difference in yesterday’s game was that the Rays took advantage of his mistakes, whereas the Yankees didn’t do the same with the Rays’ mistakes.
Is there some hope for the Yankee lineup?
To put it as nicely as I can, the New York Yankees hitting has been lackluster, to say the least, right from the beginning of the season, except for two or three games. Manager Aaron Boone has been making every excuse in the books during interviews about the lineup deficiencies. Apparently, after Friday’s game, Boone had had it and called for a team meeting. According to Giancarlo Stanton, the usually positive Boone was angry.
Apparently, the talking to was somewhat successful as the Yankees showed a bit more spark in yesterday’s game, but it still wasn’t enough because they again could not pull out a win. In my preview yesterday, I said that the Yankees would have their hands full against Tyler Glasnow, one of the best pitchers in the league. But as it turned out, the Yankees gave him a hard time causing him to throw over 30 pitches in the first inning. The Yankees had their chances against him even loading the bases, But the lack of situational hitting that has dogged them this season again reared its head, and they couldn’t get the job done.
The Yankees, in the game, could only muster up 5 hits against 13 strikeouts. The Rays between Friday and Saturday have stuck out 27 Yankees.
Rougie Odor could be the real deal
Yesterday in the Tampa Bay Rays game, Rougned Odor hit his first home run as a New York Yankee. It was a no-doubter lofted several rows into the second tier of the bleachers.
On April 6, 2021, the New York Yankees traded with the Texas Rangers for Rougned Odor (O-door), but in a game on April 11, in Tampa, Florida, he became a Yankee. In the 10th inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, he became a hero, hitting the game’s winning hit. The game went into the 10th inning, tied at 4 apiece. Odor was a breath of fresh air after the Yankees lost the first two games of the set.
Yesterday had the rest of the lineup done their Job; Odor again could have been the hero and be called the Rays killer. In his seven years with the Texas Ranger, Odor hit an average of 21 home runs annually. During four of those years, he hit 30 or more long balls. Now in just six games with a disappointing .143 batting average, he has hit his first home run as a Yankee. If he continues at this pace, he could hit 27 or more home runs this season.
PREVIEW:
Today the New York Yankees will have their best chance of winning a game against the Tampa Bay Rays and avoid a sweep by the Rays. The Yankee ace Gerrit Cole will be on the mound against the Ray’s Andrew Kittredge. Both pitchers have a 2-0 record with ERA’s in the mid 1’s., so Kittredge is no slouch. But he is not the strikeout pitcher that Cole is; Cole has 29 strikeouts to Kittredge’s 4.
The 1:05 matchup will not be nationally televised or on the YES Network; it will be broadcast on Bally Sports Sun in Tampa and the New York area on WPIX. It can also be viewed free to Amazon Prime members in CT, NY, NJ, and eastern PA. Connecticut viewers can also watch the game on CW20. With the Yankees digging themselves into a hole, they really need to pull out a win today with Cole on the mound; if they don’t, it does not bode well for the season.