S.T. Game 26. Yanks lose to Washington, 5-2.

Clarke Schmidt was so-so and the Yanks bats were a bit quiet as the Yanks (10-15-1 in spring training) lost to Washington Wednesday, 5-2.

Notes

Peraza 0 for 4. #3 prospect. .188 in spring training, as for me, Volpe should be starting SS.
Stanton 1 for 3, scored a run.
Cabrera 2 for 3. SB
Elijah Dunham 1 for 1, RBI. #18 prospect.
Rafael Ortega 0 for 2, RBI. .161 in spring training. Does he make team? I’d go with Calhoun.
Willie Calhoun 0 for 1. Not as versatile in OF as Ortega, but .306 this spring training
Estevan Florial 0 for 3, 2 strikeouts. .167 in spring training, and out of options. Could be DFA’d soon.

Schmidt (L) 3 2/3 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 2 W, 1 K.
King 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Krook 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. Has good chance of making team as 2nd lefty in bullpen.
Danish 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. No chance of making team with a 33.23 spring training ERA.

S.T. Game 23. Yanks fall to Toronto, 5-2. Cortes’ first outing.

Because of a hamstring strain, Nestor Cortes is a little behind the other pitchers. He made his first spring training start today and the rust showed as he gave up five runs as the Yanks (9-13-1 in spring training) lost to Toronto 5-2.

I usually don’t pay too much attention to spring training results until the last 10 days or so. That time is coming up.

Today’s highlights:

Volpe 1 for 3, walk, run scored. #1 prospect. As far as I’m concerned, he should be starting SS.
Judge 1 for 4, double.
Stanton 2 for 3, RBI
Donaldson 0 for 3
Willie Calhoun 1 for 3. Doesn’t play all OF positions like Hicks or Ortega, but as far as LF goes, he has hit better this spring than Hicks, Cabrera, Florial or Ortega.
Kiner-Falefa 0 for 1, walk
Cabrera 0 for 2.
Ortega 0 for 3.
Chaparro 0 for 1
Sweeney 0 for 1 #7 prospect

Cortes (L) 3 1/3 IP, 5 R, 3 H, 3 W, 4 K. Gave up 2 HR.
King 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Holmes 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Hamilton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 1 HBP

S.T. Game 19. Yanks hit 5 HR in 10-3 win.

The Yankees (9-9-1 in spring training) hit 5 HR, 3 in the first inning, in beating Toronto 10-3 Tuesday night.

Andres Chaparro is having a heck of a spring, and it makes me wonder. I’m not too sure about his defense at 3B, but could he be putting himself in the mix to be the 3B in 2024? Josh Donaldson is 37 and I don’t see the Yanks picking up his option for 2024. Of course the Yanks could go with LeMahieu or Cabrera at 3B in 2024, but what if they want them both in a super-utility role? What if they don’t want to move Torres or Volpe to 3B? In any case, Chaparro is making the Yanks take notice.

D.J. LeMahieu, Donaldson and Estevan Florial all homered in the first inning, and Oswald Peraza added one later on.

LeMahieu 2 for 4, solo HR leading off bottom of first.
Chaparro 3-run HR.
Donaldson 3-run HR.
Peraza solo HR.
Florial 2-run HR.

Cole (Winner) 4 2/3 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 0 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR.
King 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.
Hamilton 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Danish 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K

In order to get more versatility out of their players (and be better prepared for injuries) the Yanks will try out IKF in CF in an upcoming spring training game. IKF already is a C (bet you didn’t know that), SS, 3B, 2B … so ….

S.T. Game 15 & 16. The Martian homers again, but Yanks lose both split squad games

You have to remember that Jasson Dominguez, aka as “The Martian”, is only 20 years old and has only played a handful of games in AA, where he will probably start out at in 2023.

But it is ok to dream of him being in the Bronx soon. He homered yet again today in one of the Yankees (8-8 in spring training) split squad games. He played in the home game, in which they lost to the Phillies, 6-3.

The Yanks only had four hits in this game.

LeMahieu 1 for 2 with a walk
Judge 0 for 2 with a walk.
Stanton 2 for 3, single and double.
Dominguez 1 for 3, 2-run HR #2 prospect
Volpe 0 for 1 with a walk, also was HBP #1 prospect

German 2 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 3 K
M. Gomez 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K
Holmes 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K 1 HBP
King 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Krook (L) 2 2/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 1 W, 3 K. 2 WP has shot at bullpen spot.
Keating 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 WP

They lost the away game, 3-0 to the Pirates, getting just 5 hits.

Peraza 0 for 3 #3 prospect
Kiner-Falefa 1 for 3
Florial 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts. I expect him to be DFA’d soon.
Donaldson 0 for 3
McKinney 2 for 3
Jones 0 for 2, 2 strikeouts #5 prospect.

Weber (L) 2 2/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 2 W, 1 K. Gave up 2 HR 1 balk
Hamilton 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Ramirez 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Has shot at bullpen spot.
Santos 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 W, 1 K.

S.T. Game 8. Cole & King impressive in Yanks’ 5-3 loss.

The Yankees (5-3 in spring training) lost 5-3 to Detroit Friday night, but Gerrit Cole and Michael King were impressive in the loss.

For King, it was very encouraging to see. King was 6-3, 2.29 last season and really dominating when he fractured his pitching elbow. For him to come out and do great was wonderful to see.

Not a good outing however for Clarke Schmidt, who is battling Domingo German for the #5 starter slot that is up for grabs because of Frankie Montas’ shoulder injury.

Highlights

Aaron Judge 2 for 3, both hits doubles
Gleyber Torres 0 for 2, both strikeouts. Had a tooth pulled the day before.
D.J. LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton both 0 for 3
Willie Calhoun 1 for 2. Trying to win LF job.
Harrison Bader 1 for 2, double.
Spencer Jones (#5 prospect) 2 for 2


Cole 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 4 K.
King (H) 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 4 K.
Schmidt (BS, L) 1 2/3 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 HBP. Gave up 1 HR. He has an option left. Could be sent to AAA.
Fenter 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Deivi Garcia 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 3 K. 1 HBP.

Montas (shoulder surgery) to miss most or all of the season

Frankie Montas will have shoulder surgery next Tuesday Feb. 21. Best case scenario is that he comes back in the second half of the season. The worst case is that he misses the whole year.

With Montas a free agent after the season, it is very likely that the Yankees will get nothing from Montas after a trade in which Montas (who was acquired with Lou Trivino) gave the Yankees eight starts last year, going 1-3, 6.35 while giving up young prospects in

Luis Medina, 24 this year, 5-7, 5.24 at AA in 2022.
Cooper Bowman, 23, ,215-11-47 with 47 SB at High A.
J.P. Sears, who turns 27 in a few days, 6-3, 3.86 between the Yanks and A’s in 2022 (17 games, 11 starts) and
Ken Waldichuk, 25, 2-2, 4.93 in 7 starts with Oakland after the trade.

We will see what the lefties Sears and Waldichuk do this year, but I hated giving those two up, and both look like they could be MLB help this year (both could be in the A’s starting rotation). Now it looks as if Domingo German (who Aaron Boone says looks really good on this first day of pitchers and catchers reporting) and Clarke Schmidt will be competing for the #5 spot in the rotation, but after them, who else is on the depth chart? Will Warren (hasn’t pitched above AA)? Clayton Beeter (ditto)? Randy Vasquez (ditto again)? Yoendrys Gomez (ditto)? None of those four have AAA experience, (Luis Gil is recovering from TJ surgery).

Last year’s moves at the trade deadline have really backfired for the Yanks. Besides Montas, the Yanks got Andrew Benintendi for LF but he broke a hamate bone, missed the last couple weeks of the season as well as the postseason, then went to the White Sox as a free agent. The Yanks only got 33 games and .254-2-12 out of Benintendi (yes, I had wanted him, but who knew he, Montas, and Effross—who I’ll discuss next—would get hurt?). But for Benintendi, the Yanks gave up

Chandler Champlain, 23, 3-8, 5.98 at Low and High A ball.
T.J. Sikkema, 24, 1-6, 4.83 at High A/AA and
Beck Way, 23, 8-8, 3.75 at High A.

None MLB ready yet, but Way looks AA bound.

Then there was Effross, who was great in 13 games, 0-0, 2.13, and three saves but who then needed TJ surgery which will make him miss all of this year. For Effross, the Yanks gave up

Hayden Wesneski, 25, who after the deal went 3-2, 2.18 in 6 games (4 starts) for the Cubs last year.

The Yanks could have used Sears, Waldichuk and Wesneski as depth. For them they got Trivino, Montas (out all or most of this year) and Effross (out all of this year). Ugh.

Sometimes you need to do better due diligence on a player’s health (Montas had shoulder issues before the trade) and sometimes you just get unlucky (Beninteni and Effross). Either way, last year’s acquisitions have been disastrous.

In some other camp news, D.J. LeMahieu is looking good after that toe problem ruined the end of his season last year, and Michael King looks ready to go after that fractured elbow ended a fabulous season for him last year.

Game 96. Yanks lose in Baltimore, 6-3.

The Yankees (65-31) are in a funk, having lost 8 of their last 12 games, and are just 16-15 over their last 31 games. They still have a 12-game lead in the AL East, but their lead over Houston for best record in the AL is down to a game and a half, and Houston plays in an easier division (Texas, LAA and Oakland).

Some of that regression is of the Yankees’ own making, regressing to the mean after a blistering start to this season. For example, Taillon’s ERA going from 2.30 to 3.93. Another example is Giancarlo Stanton, who, despite 14 HR in that timeframe, is hitting .178 since May 14. Some of it is not, due to circumstances beyond their control (Michael King’s injury).

Last night’s 6-3 loss to Baltimore showed a bit of both.

First reason, and that of their own making. They were 1 for 14 w/RISP. In other words, they had their chances.

Second reason, not of their own making, was the injury to Michael King (fractured elbow) and what it did to a bullpen already depleted with the losses of Miguel Castro and Chad Green, hurting by the failures of Jonathan Loaisiga and Aroldis Chapman, and other guys who were unavailable due to recent usage. The Yanks did try to help out their bullpen by making some moves. Shane Greene (a Yankee back in 2014) was brought up from AAA to replace King. Tim Locastro was sent back to AAA and Clarke Schmidt was brought up. Nevertheless, the team was depleted. On a hot night (97 at the start of the game), Gerrit Cole was forced to go longer than he should have. Cole went out for the seventh inning even though he was over 100 pitches. He, and the Yankees’ brain trust, thought he could give another inning and save the bullpen. They were wrong.

Third, a key error by reliever Albert Abreu led to the game winning runs.

Fourth, Greene’s return to wearing the pinstripes didn’t go well. He gave up a 2-run HR that cinched the game for the Orioles.

The Yanks got off to a 3-0 lead before the roof fell in.

D.J. LeMahieu led off the game with a single and scored on a double by Aaron Judge. 1-0 in the first.

Matt Carpenter led off the second inning with his 14th HR of the season. 2-0.

In the top of the fourth, Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off with a single, and one out later, LeMahieu singled. A popup by Judge found real estate for an RBI single and the Yanks were up 3-0.

But with two out in the fifth, the Orioles cut the Yanks lead to 3-2, thanks to two SB going along with the three hits they got.

Then came the seventh, when Cole, at over 100 pitches, went out there on a hot night. A double and game-tying single proved he had nothing left. Albert Abreu came in, tried to pick the runner off of first, and threw the ball away for a 2-base error. A SF put the O’s up 4-3.

Greene gave up a 2-run HR in the 8th and the final was 6-3, Orioles.

Ron Marinaccio may be back with the Yankees today. We’ll have to see. That should help, but Marinaccio has had only one rehab outing since coming off the IL. That may not be enough.

The Yanks have to ride out the storm. We will see about any rumored trades, but guys like Taillon, Stanton, Loaisiga, Chapman and some others need to turn it around.

LeMahieu 2 hits
Judge 4 hits, 2 RBI
Carpenter solo HR (14)
Higashioka 2 hits.

Cole (L, 9-3) 6+ IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 9 H, 2 W, 6 K. 3.09
Abreu 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.05 (combined 3-team ERA; TEX/KC/NYY) Made key error.
Shane Greene 1 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 6.00 (combined ERA Dodgers/Yankees).

Game 95. Yanks win (7-6) over Orioles is costly. King injured, done for season.

The Yankees (65-30) win over the Orioles, 7-6 last night, came at a very high cost.

Reliever Michael King, who has been superb in his setup role this season, fractured his right elbow making a pitch, and is done for the season.

Expect GM Brian Cashman to make a move to help the bullpen as we near the trade deadline. King joins Chad Green and Miguel Castro as bullpen pieces on the injured list. Ron Marinaccio just started rehab so he is still a little ways away from rejoining the team. Ryan Weber was just DFA’d, maybe they can get him back. J.P. Sears was sent to AAA after his outing on Thursday. Because of the injury, maybe he can be recalled sooner than teh usual time, but he did pitch 3 innings Thursday so even at that, he wouldn’t be available for a while.

Besides a trade and making other moves, the injury to King also means two other relievers who have been struggling all season and who struggled last night, Jonathan Loaisiga and Aroldis Chapman, need to get back to their former selves. Both were not good last evening, forcing King to come into the game, where he got injured.

On top of THAT, the Yankees are probably looking for a starter since Luis Severino is out for a while on the injured list, Domingo German did not do well in his start (first appearance of the season) on Thursday, and last night’s starter, Jameson Taillon, has been struggling for a while and struggled again last night.

Expect Brian Cashman to be very busy in the next ten days, even though the Yanks are 65-30.

In the game, Aaron Judge homered twice, and Joey Gallo added a homer as the Yanks squeaked out a 7-6 win.

With two out in the top of the third, Gallo walked, D.J. LeMahieu singled, and Judge hit a 3-run HR, his first of the game, to put the Yanks up 3-0. The HR went 436 ft. That was nothing compared to what was to come.

Taillon gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the third and was knocked out of the game. He had escaped an earlier jam in the first inning.

In the top of the fourth, with one out, the Yanks got back-to-back doubles by Josh Donaldson and Jose Trevino to take a 4-2 lead.

Judge hit his second HR of the game, a 465-ft. blast, #36 on the season, in the top of the fifth to put the Yanks up 5-2.

A one-out double by Donaldson, followed by a two-out single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, put the Yanks up 6-2 in the top of the sixth.

But here is where Loaisiga and Chapman need to step it up. Loaisiga gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth that cut the Yanks’ lead to 6-3.

In the top of the seventh, Gallo homered (12) to put the Yanks up 7-3.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Chapman struggled, throwing a couple of wild pitches, then giving up a 3-run HR that cut the Yanks’ lead to 7-6, necessitating the call for King. In his last ten innings, Chapman has given up 13 runs on 13 hits, ten walks, and 4 HR. With the King injury, he needs to get straightened out.

King’s injury forced Clay Holmes to get a five-out save.

Judge 2 hits. Both HR (36). 4 RBI
Donaldson 2 hits, both doubles.
Gallo Solo HR (12)

Taillon 2 2/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 3 W, 2 K. 3.93
Luetge (W, 3-3) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. 2.88
Loaisiga 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 7.52
Chapman 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2 WP. Gave up 1 HR. 5.75 (He and Loaisiga need to get right)
King (H, 16) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.29 Fractured pitching elbow ends his season.
Holmes (S, 17) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. 1.26

Given the Yanks’ pitching woes, let’s hope today’s starter, Gerrit Cole, can go DEEP into today’s game (I’d wish for a complete game, but with the heat wave on the East coast, that would probably be too much to ask for).

Games 93 and 94. Yanks lose both games of DH in Houston.

With Houston, the Yanks have a problem.

The Astros ended the Yanks’ season in 2015, 2017 and 2019. This season the Yanks lost 5 of the 7 games against them, and never led in any game except for the two walk-off wins, where Aaron Judge both times got the GW hit.

In losing both games of a doubleheader in Houston yesterday, the Yanks (64-30) (record corrected from first draft) lead over Houston for best record in the league dropped to just 2 1/2 games. The Yanks lead the AL East by 12 games. But from here on in the Yanks’ schedule is tougher than Houston’s. The Yanks’ division is tougher than Houston’s. Not only that, if both teams finish with the same record, Houston gets home field advantage in a playoff series due to the head-to-head record.

So, it would behoove the Yanks to finish ahead of Houston in the standings, and also to find a way to beat them. To hit Houston pitching. For the Astros are the biggest roadblock to the Yankees’ World Series aspirations.

Game 1: Lost 3-2.

The Yanks wasted a good outing by Jordan Montgomery. Houston nicked Monty for a run in the first inning and another in the second to take a 2-0 lead. They used back-to-back bunt singles in the first to build that run that inning.

In the top of the third, the Yanks loaded the bases with no outs, but didn’t score. Matt Carpenter hit a line drive, but the Astro 1B caught it and caught Judge too far off the bag for a DP.

D.J. LeMahieu homered (9) in the top of the fifth to cut Houston’s lead to 2-1.

In the top of the ninth, Aaron Hicks singled with one out. He moved to second on a groundout, then Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a PH single to tie the game.

But Michael King gave up a single and double to start the bottom of the ninth for Houston. After a strikeout and intentional walk, King got a strikeout, but then an infield single won the game for Houston.

The Yanks have lost five walk offs this year, and ironically, Montgomery was the starting pitcher in each of those games. Once again, the Yanks had trouble hitting Cristian Javier. Javier was the pitcher who threw seven no-hit innings against the Yanks June 25th, when the Yanks fell victim to a combined no-hitter by Houston. This time, in five innings, the Yanks only got two hits off him.

LeMahieu solo HR (9)
Hicks 2 hits
Kiner-Falefa PH RBI single with two out in 9th which at the time tied the game

Montgomery 6 1/3 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 1 W, 8 K. 3.24
Abreu 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.13 (Combined ERA for 3 teams)
King (L, 6-3) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.34

Game 2: Lost 7-5.

Domingo German replaced the injured Luis Severino in the rotation, and it was German’s first appearance of the season, as he was just activated off of the injured list. Ryan Weber was DFA’d.

For the DH, J.P. Sears was brought up to be the 27th man. Based on how Sears has pitched this season in his limited appearances, I and others wondered why he didn’t get the start instead of German.

German didn’t have it, as in the first inning, with two out, he gave up back-to-back HR to Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman. Astros up 2-0 right away.

German then gave up three more runs in the second–once again, all with two out–and Houston was up 5-0.

In the top of the third, Judge walked, and Gleyber Torres homered (15) to cut Houston’s lead to 5-2.

Sears relieved German and didn’t do too badly, but he gave up a 2-run HR in the sixth to Chas McCormick. Houston up 7-2.

In the top of the ninth, Kiner-Falefa and LeMahieu singled, and after an out, Judge homered (34) to make it 7-5, but Houston then held on to win.

Judge 3 run HR (34)
Torres 2 hits, 2-run HR (15)
Donaldson 2 hits.

German (L, 0-1) 3 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1 Balk. 1 HBP. Gave up 2 HR. 15.00
Sears 3 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP. Gave up 1 HR. 2.05
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.50
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 7.45

Game 90. Yanks miss chances, fall in 11, 5-4. Fifth loss in last six games.

Last night was frustrating. The Yanks (62-28) lost for the fifth time in their last six games, falling to Boston 5-4 in 11 innings. It was the third straight game, and fourth in the last six games, that went into extra innings. The Yanks AL East lead is now 12 games.

Before the game, Miguel Castro left the clubhouse for an MRI on his pitching shoulder. The Yanks’ bullpen has taken a few hits lately, and the replacements just back from the IL haven’t picked up the slack so far.

Meanwhile, check out my other post on last night’s minor league games. It appears that with Luis Severino going on the IL, that Domingo German will be coming off the IL to take Severino’s rotation spot for a while.

Before I get into the game recap, a bit of a rant. Sorry. But in the real world, if you don’t do your job well, you get fired. Apparently not so with MLB umpires (right, Angel Hernandez?). Manager Aaron Boone got ejected last night for arguing balls and strikes. The reason was the same. Granted he was tossed after arguing a bad call on Matt Carpenter, but the frustration was built up by umpires once again refusing or being too lazy to adjust their strike zone to Aaron Judge’s height. Judge’s strike zone, at 6’7″ is obviously different than that of say, Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s. But no player gets more strikes called on him that are clearly way below his knees than Judge does. Pick one. Is it laziness, stubbornness, incompetence or some combination of the three that makes these umps miss these pitches? And as for the punchout of Aaron Hicks on a check swing to end the game, I don’t believe he went, but think that the umps got tired after an 11-inning game and just wanted to eat their dinner.

One more thing before the recap, and it also deals with someone keeping their job even though he is doing it poorly. Joey Gallo is now 4 for his last 55. .161. Two of those hits were flukes (remember the triple lost in the lights at Fenway?). It’s like everyone else is playing with a DH but the Yanks are still letting the pitcher hit. Enough said. Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone, please listen to Yankees’ Universe regarding Gallo. It’s way past time. I don’t want to be negative, but it must be said. You can’t keep acting like the emperor has clothes when it’s clear he is naked.

Now to the game. Yankees’ killer Rafael Devers put Boston on the board right away with a 2-run HR in the first inning, and two batters into the game, Boston was already up 2-0. Boston had second and third, with no one out and could have tacked on more, but Yankees’ starter Jordan Montgomery got out of it.

With one out in the bottom of the third, D.J. LeMahieu singled, and one out after that, Anthony Rizzo walked. Giancarlo Stanton then hit a 3-run HR (24) to put the Yanks up 3-2.

The lead didn’t last long. Christian Vazquez homered for Boston in the top of the fourth to tie the game. In the top of the seventh, Bobby Dalbec homered for Boston off of Aroldis Chapman, and Boston went up 4-3.

The Yanks tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, but here is where things got very frustrating, and the Yanks blew their chances to win. Gleyber Torres led off the bottom of the ninth with a single. Matt Carpenter was HBP. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) laid down a bunt and Boston’s pitcher tried for a force at third and threw the ball away. Torres scored to tie the game and the Yanks had men on second and third with no one out. Aaron Hicks was intentionally walked to set up a force out. All the Yanks needed was a flyball. I kill for sac flies. But Jose Trevino GIDP, 5-2-3, and D.J. LeMahieu grounded out, and they left that winning run on base.

In the bottom of the tenth, more frustration. Clay Holmes left the bases loaded for Boston in the top of the tenth, and now the Yanks started the bottom of the tenth with the ghost runner at second (for the thousandth time, I hate that rule!). After Judge grounded out, not advancing the runner, and Rizzo was walked to set up a force at any base, Stanton singled to load the bases. Once again, the Yanks couldn’t get the hit or sac fly to win the game, as Torres GIDP.

In the top of the eleventh, Boston had the ghost runner in Xander Bogaerts. A flyout moved Bogaerts to third. A groundout kept him there. But then Yankees’ pitcher Michael King threw a WP, enabling Bogaerts to score what was the winning run.

Frustrating. The Yanks are in a bit of a rut which they need to snap out of.

They were 2 for 15 w/RISP last night.

LeMahieu 3 hits
Stanton 2 hits, 3-run HR (24)
Carpenter 2 hits

Montgomery 6 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 1 W, 4 K. Gave up 2 HR. 3.26
Chapman 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.74
Peralta 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.27
Holmes 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K. 1.31
King (L, 6-2) 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 WP 2.19