(Clearly it was the ball's fault. Courtesy of The AP)
This game sucked. No other way to say it. It should have been a situation for success for the Yankees, and through 6 innings it was playing out that way, but everything completely fell apart in the late innings and the offense continued to come up small when it matters most. It had already been a frustrating week to be a Yankee fan. Losing a second straight game when CC Sabathia is on the mound only added to that frustration.
Game Notes:
- CC had his 4-seamer and slider working early and rode them to a scoreless, hitless start through 3 innings. He did hit a batter and walk another, but Sabathia also struck out 3 batters and looked to be well in control.
- Through 4 innings, the Yankee offensive struggles continued. They left at least 1 runner on base in every inning, grounded into 2 more double plays (both on nice defensive plays), and plated 0 runs against a less-than-perfect Johnny Cueto despite getting 4 hits and working 2 walks.
- CC got into a little trouble in the 6th, when a leadoff bunt single and a walk put 2 on with no outs. But he did what you expect your ace to do and promptly shut the potential rally down with a much-needed GIDP from Brandon Phillips and a strikeout of Jay Bruce.
- Raul Ibanez continues to do damage with the bat. After the offense failed to capitalize on numerous chances through 5 innings, Ibanez stepped in with 1 out and Robinson Cano on 2nd after a leadoff double and hit his 9th HR of the season (6th in his last 12 games) to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
- Little strange to see CC give runs back, but that's just what he did in the top of the 7th and he did it in spectacular fashion. 2 solo HRs by Ryan Ludwick and Ryan Hanigan tied the game, and a single and 3 consecutive walks forced home the go-ahead run. CC wasn't happy with home plate umpire Tony Randazzo, and he let him know it after the inning, but that was a shockingly bad job by CC. Hanigan's HR came on an 0-2 fastball that couldn't have been more over the plate if CC tried.
- The bullpen didn't get the job done either, as Boone Logan and Rafael Soriano combined to give up 2 runs in the top of the 9th to make it 5-2 Cincy. Can't fault Joe for how he manged this one; his guys just didn't get it done.
- As they've been apt to do recently, the offense went silent down the stretch. As many times as CC has picked them up, it'd be nice to see the lineup return the favor on a day like today. But the only baseunner they could manage in the last 3 innings was on an error and it was another lost series.
F*ck Yeahs:
- Cano: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 LOB. Two more hits for Robbie Cano, another double, and another one of his vintage cross-body plays on a ball hit to his right.
- Ibanez: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 LOB. Raul Ibanez is the current Yankee leader in RBI. He also has a higher OPS and wOBA than Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson. Let that sink in.
Oh Nos:
Derek Jeter: 0-4, GIDP, 2 LOB. The Captain has hit his first rough patch of the season. He's lost 155 points on his OPS over the past 2 weeks.
- Alex Rodriguez: 0-4, 5 LOB, 6 total pitches seen in 4 PA. A-Rod came up with at least 1 runner on base in every at-bat yesterday and failed to drive a single one in. He swung at the first pitch in each of his final 3 plate appearances yesterday. The boos he heard from the Yankee Stadium crowd were well-deserved, even if that last ball went to the warning track.
CC Sabathia's 7th Inning: In his first 6, he allowed just 6 total baserunners and 0 runs on 85 pitches. In the 7th, he gave up 3 hits (2 HR), 3 walks, and 3 earned runs on 38 pitches. Hard to remember a time where CC melted down like that with a late-game lead.
Next Up:
I'm running out of straws to grasp at when looking for things to be positive about. Good pitching is beating the Yankees, bad pitching is beating the Yankees. Young guys and old guys, pitchers they've seen and pitchers they haven't. The offense is an absolute joke. They aren't getting good starting pitching, and the injury-plagued bullpen continues to be hit or miss. Hiroki Kuroda is on the mound tonight as the Yanks open a series against Kansas City. I don't know what to think about how they're going to do.
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