Seeking a sweep of the division rival Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, the New York Yankees trotted into the final game of the weekend set having scored 27 runs in the previous two contests. The offense, mostly led by the prodigious Gary Sanchez, had elicited a jolt into the ball club who’d won six of 10 heading into the Sunday afternoon affair and led to a new sense of optimism.
As life goes, sometimes it’s not your day. That wound up to be the case in the tilt between the O’s and Yankees as Baltimore would blank New York 5-0 a game where the bats for the home team were mostly silent. Threatening situations hardly posed themselves and hurler Kevin Gausman held the Bombers in check for the almost the entirety of his outing. Seven hits, only one for extra bases, were dished out by the Yankee offense but they failed to capitalize on any of them and string together any semblance of an offense worthy of crossing home plate. Gausman struck out nine Yankee batters he faced in the encounter.
CC Sabathia pitched well in a losing effort that can be mostly pinned on the lack of run support he received from his offense. Sabathia allowed three runs over 6.2 innings, striking out eight and issuing just two free passes. A quality outing like this on any other day would probably grant Sabathia another check in the win column, but today just was not the Yankees’ day. Youngster Ben Heller was given an unceremonious welcome to the big leagues in his first-ever appearance as he allowed two runs and three hits in just 0.2 innings, coming from the 40th home run of the season for Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo. Steve Pearce also clubbed a home run in the game two innings before against Sabathia.
The timing of the loss is a bit of a stunner as the Yankees had plenty of opportunities to take another leap in the AL East standings as well as the Wild Card standings with teams above them not playing very consistently. Unfortunately for the Bombers, that opportunity slipped by the wayside which has become an all-too familiar feeling for them as they now sit at 67-62 on the year.
The Play: Pearce-ing into the lead (WPA +.164)
While the two-run single by Steve Pearce later provided a bigger bump in WPA (no video could be found of that base knock) this home run by Pearce made a major impact on the game as well. With the bats held in check, the Orioles offense was able to get on the board first and never would relinquish the lead after this solo blast.
Notes
– In what is a more than troubling trend, the Yankees are now 0-7 in their last seven series when seeking a sweep. Prior to the conclusion of the game, per Michael Kay, they were 0-6 in those games in either 3- or 4-game series. Closing the deal is proving to be a major issue for New York and if they want to be in playoff position, they have to correct it soon.
– The hot-hitting Gary Sanchez kept up his stellar play with a 2-for-4 day at the plate with his eighth double of the year being recorded. Sanchez is now slashing a ridiculous .405/.468/.893 in his short time in the big leagues and was the lone Yankee to record a multi-hit day at the plate.
– Mark Trumbo’s 40th home run of the season continued to maintain his lead in the category in MLB and he’s the first on the year to hit the 40-homer plateau.
– Manny Machado had a stellar day at the plate as well as he went 3-for-4.
The Highlight: CC snares a comebacker
One of the lone highlights of the day for the Yankees was this play by their veteran left-hander, who put some great hand-eye coordination on display. Pearce and Manny Machado tagged up to also make quite a play in the game as well, as Machado robbed Gary Sanchez of reaching third base with a stellar tag.
Up Next
After a brief three-game series at home, the Yankees will trek to face the red-hot Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in KC for a three-game series starting Monday. Michael Pineda (6-10, 5.02 ERA) will be on the hill for the Yankees while Dillon Gee (5-7, 4.55 ERA) will oppose him.
Photo: Brad Penner/USA Today Sports; Videos: MLBAM