Series Recap: Sweepless in Seattle
T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco Field) has to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing stadiums on television. I have been in person, and it is a fantastic place to see a game live as well. When I was there, Aaron Judge hit the farthest home run I have ever seen, which went viral for “breaking” Statcast. This time in Seattle, the Yankees came out slugging just like that night in 2017.
Game 1 (Yankees 12, Mariners 1)
In the first inning of the first game, Giancarlo Stanton crushed a ball into orbit. That set the tone for what would be a great night for the offense against former Yankees prospect Justus Sheffield.
You get the point. The offense was relentless. Also, Gio Urshela made a hell of a play at shortstop (he is usually a third baseman, by the way).
To cap off the runs, Rougned Odor blasted a no-doubter!
The Yankees brought in Aroldis Chapman to get some work and hopefully get back on track in a low-leverage situation. He did rack up three strikeouts, but the inning was not soothing at all. He was all over the place, and would have killed a fan if not for the netting behind home plate.
Oh, and Luke Voit had 5 hits!
Yankee of the Day: Luke Voit (3): 5 for 6, 2B, R, 3 RBI. First career 5-hit game.
Game 2 (Yankees 5, Mariners 4)
Just hours before first pitch, Nick Nelson was named the starting pitcher after Domingo Germán had an emergency root canal. The matchup was very unfavorable, with All-Star Yusei Kikuchi on the mound for the Mariners.
The Yankees pulled through and jumped to a 3-spot in the first inning for the second consecutive night!
The Mariners got one run back in the bottom of the inning. Nick Nelson struck out the first batter he faced, but could not command the ball after that. He walked three, plunked a batter, and threw a wild pitch. He did not make it out of the inning. Luis Cessa came in and got out of the bases loaded situation. Cessa then threw three more scoreless innings after that in an impressive and efficient night for the righty (36 pitches).
This play is just here to show you that Tim Locastro is fast. What a nice change to see a player on the Yankees who can fly and play a true outfield position.
Just like 2017! A bomb to left field in Seattle by Aaron Judge!
Domingo Germán made one mistake when he came in relief, but it occurred with two runners on base. Tom Murphy made us a little nervous.
All of those nerves settled once Jonathan Loáisiga and Chad Green got the baseball in their hands. Each reliever threw a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts. Chad earned his third save on the season, tying his career high.
Yankee of the Day: Aaron Judge (11): 2 for 4, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Game 3 (Yankees 0, Mariners 4)
Just a quick recap of this game. The Yankees did not hit a thing. In fact, they GOT hit by a pitch more than they hit a pitch. Giancarlo Stanton had the lone hit, a double in the second inning. Rookie Logan Gilbert did most of the carving against the Yanks, then Paul Sewald and Kendall Graveman did the rest.
Jordan Montgomery surrendered a typical first inning homer, which very much gave those “last game of the series” vibes the Yankees have emanated all season.
The second inning was worse. Dylan Moore hit a 2-run homer, so the Yanks faced a 3-0 deficit and the team did not appear ferocious.
D.J. LeMahieu made, pretty much, the only nice play of the game team-wide.
As the cherry on top, Mitch Haniger went deep to make it 4-0, which the score remained.
There was some extracurricular activity after the game. That is covered in the series talking points below.
Yankee of the Day: Jordan Montgomery (3): 6.2 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 K.
Series Talking Points
Benches Clear After The Series: In the 9th inning of the final game, Rougned Odor squared to bunt. Kendall Graveman’s pitch went right at his face. The very next batter was D.J. LeMahieu, who got hit by Graveman’s pitch and was NOT happy about it.
After Judge grounded into a double play to end the game, Graveman stared at LeMahieu.
All in all, it was not much of anything. The two teams play again in Yankee Stadium from August 5th to August 8th.
Sweep Struggles: The Yankees are now 3-8 this season when playing for a sweep. Is it an attitude thing? Does the team punt games? In the beginning of the season, I think this club was most definitely punting games. But in this series, they deployed their best lineup against a rookie pitcher and nearly got no-hit. I do not understand it, but it is a real killer for a team that is supposed to be a lock for the Postseason.
Michael King’s Rotation Spot: Michael King was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 5th, with a finger contusion from a weightlifting accident. He has not been particularly great at starting games, but it seems Nestor Cortes Jr. will get King’s rotation spot for now. The plan is likely to have Cortes get through three or four innings.
Series Totals
Hitting
D.J. LeMahieu: 3 for 13 (.231 AVG), 1 BB, 1 HBP (.333 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (.564 OPS), 0 SB
Giancarlo Stanton: 5 for 12 (.417 AVG), 1 BB, 1 HBP (.500 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 K (1.333 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Judge: 4 for 14 (.286 AVG), 1 BB (.333 OBP), 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K (.905 OPS), 1 SB
Luke Voit: 7 for 12 (.583 AVG), 0 BB, 1 HBP (.615 OBP), 2 R, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1 K (1.282 OPS), 0 SB
Gio Urshela: 2 for 13 (.154 AVG), 0 BB (.154 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 K (.385 OPS), 0 SB
Gleyber Torres: 1 for 7 (.143 AVG), 0 BB (.143 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K (.286 OPS), 0 SB
Gary Sánchez: 0 for 11 (.000 AVG), 3 BB (.214 OBP), 3 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5 K (.214 OPS), 0 SB
Brett Gardner: 0 for 7 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Miguel Andújar: 2 for 5 (.400 AVG), 0 BB (.400 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (.800 OPS), 0 SB
Rougned Odor: 2 for 5 (.400 AVG), 1 BB (.500 OBP), 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K (1.500 OPS), 0 SB
Tim Locastro: 3 for 10 (.300 AVG), 1 BB (.364 OBP), 3 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 K (.864 OPS), 0 SB
Tyler Wade: 0 for 0 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Kyle Higashioka: 0 for 0 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Pitching
Jameson Taillon: 7 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 9 Ks, W, 1.29 ERA
Nick Nelson: 0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 0 HR, 1 K, 13.50 ERA
Jordan Montgomery: 6.2 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 HR, 9 Ks, 4.05 ERA
Domingo Germán: 3 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 HR, 5 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Justin Wilson: 0.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Wandy Peralta: 2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 K, 4.50 ERA
Luis Cessa: 3.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, W, 0.00 ERA
Jonathan Loáisiga: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Chad Green: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, SV, 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 3 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Gerrit Cole: No appearances.
Michael King: No appearances.
Nestor Cortes Jr.: No appearances.
Lucas Luetge: No appearances.