It was fireworks night at Yankee Stadium last night but the offense never exploded and could only provide a couple of duds. A sellout crowd of 47,646 saw the Reds beat the Yankees, 3-2 to make it two straight wins in this three game series.
The Yankees were 50-22 on June 14th but since then they have lost 12 of 16 and 6 of their last 8 in the Bronx.
Cincinnati left hander Andrew Abbott (8-6) gave up a run in 6 1/3 innings and was able to stymie any Yankee rallies as they left at least one man on base in each of the first five innings and nine overall.
The Yankees continued to struggle against left handers as they fell to 10-13 against southpaw starting pitchers. The 13 losses against lefties tied their total for the entire 2023 season.
Yankee starter Carlos Rodon (9-6) pitched much better than his previous three starts but was victimized once again by the home run ball and a lack of support.
Rodon gave up a two run homer to Noelvi Marte (who snapped an 0 for 16 skid) in the second and a solo shot to Stuart Fairchild in the fifth but with the way the Yankees offense has struggled that was more than enough for the Reds.
“That’s kinda how it’s going right now [for Rodon] is where, it’s not a double, it’s not a base hit, it’s in the seats and that’s what we got to stay away from,” said Yankee Manager Aaron Boone.
Rodon pitched into the sixth but with one out, he walked Jeimer Candelario. At that point, Rodon had thrown 95 pitches so Boone went to the bullpen, a move that did not sit well with the Yankee lefthander who seemed to annoyed as he was shown in on TV in the dugout.
“I think it was more reactive, I definitely wanted to stay in the game,” Rodon said after the game. “I probably should’ve put the glove over my face on that one but it was just reaction to him [Boone] coming out.”
The Yankees dropped their second straight one run game in an eerily similar fashion as the first game. In the opener of the series Tuesday night, the Yankees got behind, staged a rally in the late innings but could never tie the game.
Thanks to the two long balls, the Reds took a 3-0 lead into the seventh when the Yankees finally got something going.
With one out, DH Jahmai Jones doubled into the left field corner to give the Yankees their first hit since the second inning.
Fernando Cruz replaced Abbott and walked pinch-hitter Austin Wells to put two men on for the struggling Anthony Volpe. The Yankee shortstop snapped an 0 for 18 skid with ringing double to the gap in left center field that scored Jones and Wells to make it a one run game.
Volpe took third on a wild pitch and Soto walked putting runners on the corners for the red hot Aaron Judge.
The sell out crowd was energized but Judge can’t come through every time. This time the Reds had some good luck as they challenged the Yanks best hitter, who swung at the first pitch from Cruz and hit it hard but to the wrong spot as he grounded into a 5-4-3, inning ending double play.
“We gotta make our own [good luck] too,” Boone said. “Abbott pitched a heckuva game and kept us at bay until we were finally able to chase him out of there and then Anthony gets the big hit. He was in control of the game for the most part, that proved to be the difference.”
In the eighth, the Yankees once again had two on with two out but former Yankee Justin Wilson struck out pinch-hitter Trent Grisham to keep it a one run game.
Reds closer Alexis Diaz was brought in to pitch the ninth. Wells got down
0-2 but kept battling and capped off an impressive at bat to draw a walk after a 10-pitch plate appearance.
The crowd was energized once again but the dreaded double play reared it’s ugly head once again as Volpe grounded into a 6-4-3 DP to take the air out of the balloon. Diaz then got Juan Soto to fly out to left to end it.
The Yankees now trail the Orioles by two games, three in the loss column in the AL East. Even more concerning is the surprising Red Sox who are closing fast.
After losing to the Yankees 8-1, 19 days ago to fall 14 games behind (sound familiar Yankee fans?) the Bombers, the Bosox have shaved 7 and a half games off that lead and now trail by 6 and half games, five in the loss column with a three game head to head series this weekend in the Bronx.
Some are saying this tough stretch is part of the ebbs and flows of a baseball season, but the Yankees better get it going soon, or this can turn into a full fledged plummet.
Before the game, it was announced that Soto and Judge would start in the upcoming All Star game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
It will be the first All Star start for Soto who was grateful to be named. “It means a lot, a lot of hard work that I’ve putting on. Been grinding a lot and finally got my first start so it’s pretty cool,” Soto said.
Soto will be next to Judge in the outfield. “He’s [Judge] an All Star, he’s just an amazing baseball player,” Soto said. “More than happy to share the field every day with him and now in the All Star game it’s gonna be even better.”