Game 49 Recap: No no-no

Jake Odorizzi shuffled back into the clubhouse, his head hanging low. He had been eight outs away. Eight outs had stood between him and history. He had pitched wonderfully, masterfully, even. But then he had let a pitch get away from him and walked Brett Gardner, and then… it was all over. He had watched in abject horror as the ball sailed up off Starlin Castro’s bat, and it simply kept going. Over the infield, over the outfield, over the wall.

It was over. His no-hitter was gone, and with it had gone the lead, over the wall. He’d bent over and placed his hands on his knees, his head hung in defeat. The dream was dead.

He sighed. It had been over before that, he tried to tell himself. When Brad Miller had double-clutched on a routine grounder and Dustin Ackley had beat the throw. It had been ruled an error, but he knew in his heart of hearts that the call had been a gift. But the message didn’t take. The opportunity had been there within his grasp. The Yankees had rolled out a lineup without Carlos Beltran and Chase Headley, their two hottest hitters. He could have done it. It was so close.

With one swing of the bat, it was gone, and the game had gone with it.

Odorizzi sighed again and sipped his Gatorade. There would be another chance, he supposed. Another game. Another time. Another day of pitching much better than usual.

He didn’t know when that day would come.

Odorizzi watched the clubhouse television. The Tampa offense, which had been held to just one run by Nathan Eovaldi, was now being mowed down without a second thought by the New York bullpen. It wasn’t fair. He had pitched so well, and he was going to be handed the loss. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that they had to play in this awful stadium, that everyone who pitched for the Yankees today was throwing in the upper 90’s with the secondary stuff to back it up.

He drained the Gatorade bottle of the last of its contents and tossed it into the trash. That’s baseball. He would be pitching again soon enough. That would be a new day that he would have to face without thinking of what could have been today. Pitching is an unforgiving trade, one at which he excelled.

But as he hung his head and headed for the shower, he knew that Castro’s homer would haunt him for days to come.

The Play: Starlin wins the game

The Yankees had no hits, and then they had one. That’s the only hit they got all day. They won the ballgame.

Top Performers

Yankees: Starlin Castro (1-3, 2R HR)
Rays: Brandon Guyer (2-4, R)

Notes

– Nathan Eovaldi was fantastic once again. He only allowed one run over six innings, striking out seven and working out of a couple of tough jams in the process. This looks like the Nate that was shoving in the second half of 2015 before the bone spur issue popped up.

– Dustin Ackley faceplanted real bad on a dive back to first on a pickoff attempt. Apparently, he also dislocated his shoulder on the play, which is why Mark Teixeira took over for him in the seventh inning. He’s staying in Tampa to have an MRI, and the DL is a possibility. Let the Nick Swisher Hot Take Festival commence.

– Alex Rodriguez looked awfully silly on some strikeouts today, as he did yesterday. Looks like there’s still some rust there.

– Despite his late inning heroics, Castro bungled a couple of plays in the field. If you’ve heard Cubs fans say that Castro will make you crazy, well, there it is.

– Betances, Miller and Chapman threw three perfect innings and struck out seven. Ho-hum.

The Quote

Words drowned out by ridiculous PA system and oversensitive crowd mics - The YES broadcast booth.

The Highlight: Torreyes flashes the leather

Chase Headley gobbles this ball up like it’s no business. Ronald Torreyes is the size of one half-Headley, so he gets to look like Brooks Robinson.

Up Next

The Yankees, minus one Dustin Ackley, will head north of the border to check out some more artificial turf. Marco Estrada will start for the Blue Jays, who will be staring down Ivan Nova.

Photo Credit: Kim Klement / USA Today