The good news is the Yankees hit a couple of home runs tonight. The bad news is they gave up three home runs to the Tampa Bay Rays and lost the game, 6–3.
Nathan Eovaldi, who is clearly on #TeamSell, gave up a first inning home run to Brad Miller which set the tone for the evening. And sure, the Yankees did pull ahead at one point, thanks to a two-run home run by Brett Gardner in the top of the third inning, but it was short-lived. Eovaldi came right back in the bottom of the third and gave up two more runs on a home run by Curt Casali.
Overall, Eovaldi didn’t have too terrible of a night. He lasted six innings, gave up those three runs on three hits, walked two and struck out four. The game was put out of reach in the bottom of the seventh when Anthony Swarzak replaced Eovaldi and gave up three runs.
The Yankees are now 52-51 on the year. If they can’t win tomorrow, and get swept by the even lowlier Rays, they’ll be right back at .500 again, just like they were at the All-Star break. That nice run they went on against the Orioles, Giants and Astros was a mirage and there is no way for them to get past all of the teams in front of them and make the playoffs.
The front office, and more importantly, ownership, need to realize that this team is not now, nor will they ever be a contender in 2016. There’s now only two full days to make any moves, and judging by what’s happening around the league, it may be too late for the Yankees to make any significant moves that could help them down the road.
The Play: Casali homers (WPA .210)
Notes
— Tampa’s Drew Smyly came into Saturday’s game with an awful 2-11 record and a bloated 5.42 ERA so naturally, the Yankees only scored two runs on four hits in six innings against the struggling starter.
— Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on catcher’s interference for the 10th time this season and his record keeps growing.
— The Yankees have now lost three in a row after winning eight of their last 10, and during that time, they barely made up any ground against the teams ahead of them in the American League East and Wild Card standings.
— Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup for the first time since last Friday night and struck out swinging four times. He is now batting .206 on the year.
— Mark Teixeira and Starlin Castro also struck out two times each, and the Yankees had 10 on the night.
— Chase Headley hit his 10th home run of the season in the eighth inning
The highlight: Gardner’s home run
Up Next
The Yankees will try to salvage this series and avoid a sweep at the hands of the 41-61 Rays on Sunday afternoon. The game’s matchup features Michael Pineda (5-9, 5.00 ERA) and Blake Snell (2-4, 3.05 ERA). Pineda had a great outing his last time out, holding the Astros to one run on five hits in seven innings en route to a 2-1 Yankees victory.
Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports