The feeling in New York right now is, undoubtedly, frustration. Despite live arms and plenty of run-scoring opportunities, the Yankees fell 2-5 to the Oakland A’s on Wednesday night in the Bronx. The Bombers are a promising team, but they just haven’t been able to put everything together; whether that be in terms of turning talent into performance or driving in runners on base.
The previous definition of Nathan Eovaldi Syndrome was a pitcher with one great pitch, but a shallow arsenal that allowed hitters to sit on that elite pitch. The new definition of Nathan Eovaldi Syndrome is a pitcher that looks unhittable in the early going, but always finds a way to unravel.
Eovaldi did a great job of exemplifying this malady on Wednesday, when he faced the minimum over three innings but ceded three runs in the fourth. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Eovaldi has done this before. His last start, on April 14th, saw him go four clean innings with just three baserunners allowed before giving up four runs over the next two frames. His first start of the season begun with five straight outs, and then three straight runs.
Armed with a triple-digit fastball, a top-notch splitter, a rapidly improving slider, and a serviceable changeup, Eovaldi should be one of the better pitchers in the league by now. Instead, he’s one of the most exasperating arms out there—the posterboy for ‘good stuff’ but poor results. This may be a bit too harsh considering he threw a quality start with seven strikeouts on Wednesday, but his 6.11 ERA is disappointing.
Eovaldi pitched well enough for the Yankees to win, but their stagnant offense kept that from happening. The good news: they haven’t struggled to create opportunities to score runs. The bad news: they’ve been unable to capitalize on runners in scoring position. The Yankees left 14 runners on base for the second night in a row, and have now stranded 67 runners in their past four games. The Yankees are bound improve at some point—after all, the offense that scored the 2nd most runs in baseball last season hasn’t completely vanished—but the past few games have been painful to watch.
The Play – Chris Coughan’s RBI Double (+.124 WPA)
There wasn’t really one single play that opened the flood gates for a Yankees loss on Wednesday, but this was the first leak in the damn that burst open in the third inning. Eovaldi was previously cruising, but back-to-back doubles (the second to Coghlan) began a three run inning that won it for the A’s.
Top Performers
Athletics – Billy Burns, 3-5, 2 2B, R
Yankees – Didi Gregorius, 2-4, HR, R, RBI
Notes
— Carlos Beltran has become the Yankees’ best bat this season, now hitting .327/.340/.600 with four home runs in 2016. This shouldn’t come as a shock, considering he had the highest wRC+ on the team in the second half of 2015, but it’s good to see the veteran hasn’t lost his stroke to start this season.
— Aaron Hicks has just one hit this season, and an 0-for-3 performance on Wednesday brought his average down to .050. He’s struggled to find consistency as a platoon player, but won’t see more playing time at this rate. Hicks has flashed elite abilities in the field, but has also made a couple misplays thus far.
— Ivan Nova was great in his season debut, but a disastrous four-run outing on April 13th destroyed his momentum. Nova did throw a clean six-pitch inning on Wednesday, but is still without a defined role in the bullpen.
The Highlight
Aaron Hicks had what may have been the fastest throw in years in the fourth inning, gunning down Danny Valencia on a 105.5 mph laser. The throw was the fastest ever recorded by Statcast and over 2 mph harder than the fastest by an outfielder in 2015.
Next Up
The Yankees play the final game of the Oakland series on Thursday, where they will look to avoid the sweep. Luis Severino, who gave up four runs in his last start, will face Rich Hill, who has a 10-strikeout outing sandwiched between two ugly starts.
Lead photo: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports