Monday, July 1, 2013

Game 81 Wrap-Up: BAL 4 NYY 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

Hiroki Kuroda on the mound used to mean a win was in the cards for the Yanks.  These days, it feels like they'd be the underdog even with Bob Gibson in his prime out there.  It was another lackluster loss last night to complete a sweep at the hands of the Orioles, something that hasn't happened in 8 years.  I live blogged the game and you can catch up on all the finer details here.  Lowlights from the affair are below.

Game Notes:

- Kuroda didn't make many mistakes last night, but the ones he did were enough to sink the Yanks.  He gave up a solo HR in each of the first 3 innings, 2 of them on hanging sliders to Manny Machado and Nate McLouth.  By the time he got his location under control, the Yanks were already behind and never came back.

- As has become the norm for them, the Yankees didn't take advantage of the mistakes Chris Tillman made. He seemed primed to unravel in the top of the 2nd and all they could muster was a single run on a bases loaded walk.  Robinson Cano's solo HR was the only other scoring for the night.

- I mentioned it last night, but it bears repeating again.  The Yanks NEED to ditch the 13-man pitching staff and add a bat to that bench, preferably a left-handed one.  They had potential rallies in the 7th and 9th innings that were snuffed out because the righty lower third of the lineup (Nix, Stewart, Adams) is awful and incapable of generating anything.  The Yankees' own offensive woefulness did more to kill their chances of scoring late last night than Baltimore's pitching did.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Cano: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI.  It's scary to think how bad this offense would be without him.

Oh Nos:

- Everybody Else: 4-30, 1 XBH, 1 R, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 9 K.  'Nuff said.

Next Up:

The Yanks travel to Minnesota for a 4-game set with the Twins.  Hopefully that's enough to end this losing streak.  Andy Pettitte vs. Scott Diamond is tonight's pitching matchup.

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