Series Recap: Yankees Drop Another Series vs. Rays
Photo Via: Kathy Willens — Associated PressThe Yankees have now played 15 games this season — each and every game was against a divisional opponent. With only one series win, the Bronx Bombers have found themselves in an awful spot. This series brought us three more Yankees’ losses, a player retirement, a new injury, a failed opener strategy, and more embarrassment courtesy of the Rays.
Game 1 (Rays 8, Yankees 2)
The Yankees called up Mike King for the Friday night matchup against their divisional foes, but he was not the first pitcher to get the ball. Instead, Nick Nelson (who surrendered 4 runs against the Rays in his last appearance this season) was deployed as the team’s opener. Just three batters into the game, the Rays grabbed a 2-0 lead when Brandon Lowe turned on a Nelson fastball that caught way too much of the plate. The result was a double off the wall in right-center field.
Through 4 innings, the score was still 2-0 Rays. The Yankees only managed to get one hit off of Rays’ pitcher Michael Wacha to that point — a Gio Urshela single in the 2nd inning. Mike King pitched three shutout innings in relief, although he did pitch himself in and out of trouble.
The 5th and 6th innings were all Rays. Tampa Bay put up 6 runs over the 2 frames. Errors by Urshela and Rougned Odor helped make a 4-run 5th inning possible with Luis Cessa on the mound, then a 4-hit 6th inning gave the Rays 2 more runs. Entering the bottom of the 7th inning, the Yankees trailed 8-0. Trevor Richards entered in relief for Wacha, who struck out 9 hitters and only allowed 1 hit in 6 innings. A Gleyber Torres single and Giancarlo Stanton opposite-field home run shifted the score to 8-2, but it stayed that way until the end.
Yankee of the Day: Mike King (2): 3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP.
Game 2 (Rays 6, Yankees 3)
The Yankees faced an uphill battle in the second game. Tyler Glasnow had been nothing short of incredible to this point in the season, and the Yanks did not have their ace on the hill to match him. Jordan Montgomery took the ball instead and worked a 1-2-3 first inning. With two outs in the bottom of the first, the Yankees loaded the bases on an Aaron Hicks single, a Stanton reach-on-error by third baseman Joey Wendle, and a walk to Torres. In a 7-pitch at bat, Brett Gardner rolled one over to the first baseman to end the inning.
The teams exchanged runs in the second inning. Francisco Mejia hit a home run the opposite way to right field in the top half. D.J. LeMahieu singled home Gary Sánchez in the bottom half.
Manuel Margot gave the Rays a 3-1 lead in the 4th inning. He hit a two-run blast off Monty, successfully taking the air out of the game for the Yankees. Montgomery got through 6 innings and only allowed 2 hits, but unfortunately both hits were of the home run variety.
Jonathan Loaisiga was next to pitch for the Yankees in the 7th inning, but allowed a two-run homer to Joey Wendle. The Yankees got those 2 runs back in the bottom of the 7th on a long solo shot by Rougned Odor (first as a Yankee) and a RBI single by Judge. However, the Yankees did not score again and the Rays tacked on one more insurance run in the 9th, so Tampa Bap won the game 6-3.
Yankee of the Day: D.J. LeMahieu (2): 2 for 4, BB, R, RBI.
Game 3 (Rays 4, Yankees 2)
Whenever it is Gerrit Cole’s turn to start, the Yankees expect to win the game. That was not the case here for a multitude of reasons. Giancarlo Stanton lined his second opposite field home run of the series to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead, but the offense did not get a kick start from it. A string of three Rays’ singles combined with an Aaron Hicks fielding error resulted in a two-run inning in the top of the 3rd.
The Rays took their two run lead into the bottom of the 5th inning, as Gerrit Cole settled in. After a double by Urhsela and walk by Kyle Higashioka, D.J. LeMahieu singled in the tying run. Aaron Judge then struck out to end the 5th inning.
Cole was through 6 innings of a 2-2 game and he had thrown 98 pitches. Boone elected to go with his ace for the 7th inning. Cole got a strikeout, but then allowed a single by Wendle and a double by Yoshi Tsutsugo to give the Rays a 3-2 lead. Chad Green entered in relief to finish the inning without further damage.
The Yankees did not even pose a threat to the Rays bullpen the rest of the way. Diego Castillo earned a 4-out hold and lefty Jeffrey Springs earned his first career save. The Rays walked away victorious with a 4-2 win (Wendle added another run on a solo homer against Darren O’Day in the 9th).
Yankee of the Day: Giancarlo Stanton (1): 1 for 4, HR, BB, R, RBI.
Series Talking Points
Jay Bruce Retirement: Prior to Sunday’s game, Boone told the media that Jay Bruce was retiring after the game. The timing was not completely coincidental.
In my last series recap, I wrote the following regarding Bruce:
“The largest looming problem for the Yankees in this series was the glaring need to improve at first base. Jay Bruce struck out 3 times and looked uncomfortable fielding throws at first base in his two games, a pattern that has also shown throughout the season. Until Luke Voit returns to the lineup, the Yankees are taking a HUGE hit offensively. When you add a major defensive downgrade to the equation, it makes little sense to even keep Bruce on the roster. Bruce is offering none of the traditional five tools for a baseball player.”
Without Jay Bruce, the Yankees have the ability to call up a player that can play the first base position naturally or go with a utility infielder and slide LeMahieu to first base with Odor playing second until Voit returns. Bruce’s retirement will open up a 40-man roster spot, so Derek Dietrich or Chris Gittens can be considered despite not already being on the 40-man. Mike Ford and Tyler Wade will surely be considered as well and each are currently on the 40-man.
All things considered, Jay Bruce had a wonderful baseball career. He smashed 319 home runs, drove in 951 runs, and racked up 1,455 hits. With 14 years of MLB experience, I would not be surprised to see Bruce take on some sort of coaching or instructing role with a club.
Gary Sánchez Injury: In the 4th inning of the second game, Gary Sánchez took a foul ball off of his throwing hand. This has happened a few times to Sánchez in the past. When he sets up to receive the pitch, he leaves his throwing hand in front of his right knee, especially with runners on base. This time, Sánchez had to leave the game and get x-rays. Everything came back negative, so Sánchez is currently listed as day-to-day. The injury helped the Yankees make an easy decision to let Higashioka catch Gerrit Cole in game three.
Mike King Usage: Mike King added 3 more shutout innings to his 2021 campaign, bringing his season total to 9 shutout innings in relief. The Yankees used Nick Nelson as the opener and then brought in King after. The major problem with the strategy is King inherited a 2-0 deficit when he stepped to the mound in the 2nd inning. King ended up allowing at least one baserunner in each frame (including one where he walked the bases loaded), but got out of it each time. The Yankees ultimately demoted King, but he should, in my opinion, be given the opportunity to join the rotation full time. Instead, the plan is to give Domingo Germán another chance to prove his worth.
Series Totals
Hitting
D.J. LeMahieu: 3 for 12 (.250 AVG), 1 BB (.308 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 4 K (.558 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Judge: 1 for 12 (.083 AVG), 0 BB (.083 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 7 K (.250 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Hicks: 1 for 11 (.091 AVG), 0 BB (.091 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (.182 OPS), 0 SB
Giancarlo Stanton: 2 for 11 (.182 AVG), 1 BB (.250 OBP), 3 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 7 K (.977 OPS), 0 SB
Gleyber Torres: 1 for 10 (.100 AVG), 2 BB (.250 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 K (.350 OPS), 0 SB
Gary Sánchez: 0 for 4 (.000 AVG), 1 BB (.200 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (.200 OPS), 0 SB
Gio Urshela: 2 for 10 (.200 AVG), 1 BB (.273 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5 K (.573 OPS), 0 SB
Clint Frazier: 0 for 6 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Brett Gardner: 0 for 4 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Rougned Odor: 1 for 9 (.111 AVG), 1 BB, 1 HBP (.273 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.717 OPS), 0 SB
Kyle Higashioka: 0 for 3 (.000 AVG), 2 BB (.400 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (.400 OPS), 0 SB
Mike Tauchman: No appearances.
Jay Bruce: No appearances.
Pitching
Gerrit Cole: 6.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 0 HR, 10 Ks, 2.84 ERA
Jordan Montgomery: 6 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 HR, 7 Ks, 6.00 ERA
Nick Nelson: 1 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 18.00 ERA
Mike King: 3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 0 HR, 4 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Jonathan Loaisiga: 2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 HR, 3 Ks, 4.50 ERA
Justin Wilson: 1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 9.00 ERA
Darren O’Day: 0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 HR, 1 K, 13.50 ERA
Luis Cessa: 1 IP, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 9.00 ERA
Lucas Luetge: 4 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 3 Ks, 4.50 ERA
Chad Green: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman: No appearances.
Albert Abreu: No appearances.