When the lineup penciled in for the Yankees includes Eduardo Nunez starting in right field for the first time in his professional career, the likelihood of a productive offense was very low. Not only was the offense not productive, they were shut out and held to just 4 hits by Dan Haren in a 6-0 loss to the Angels.
The Yankees offense has been struggling for the past 4 games, which they are understandably winless in as well. Tonight was no different as the Yankees got only 1 extra base hit, a double from Derek Jeter and they could not bring him around to score. The Yankees took another blow to the team as Russell Martin was struck in the right thumb with a foul ball behind the plate. It was clear that Martin wanted to stay in the game but he was not capable of throwing and was removed from the game.
Due to the game in Baltimore several days ago, Francisco Cervelli showed some symptoms of a concussion from the two collisions he endured in the loss to Balitmore. The injury to Russell Martin and the fact that Jesus Montero was not familiar with the pitchers and was the designated hitter, that only left the emergency catcher to step in behind the plate, Jorge Posada.
Jorge Posada has not been the catcher for the Yankees since the postseason last year. He was tested immediately and caught second baseman Howard Kendrick stealing second, to the enjoyment of many Yankees fans watching the game at home or at the ballpark.
The Yankees sent CC Sabathia to the mound but a 30-pitch 1st inning took its toll on the number of innings he would be able to stay in for. Despite giving up 1 run over 6 innings, Sabathia was removed due to the 4 walks and 8 hits on 119 pitches. The overworked bullpen forced Joe Girardi to hand the game to Hector Noesi. Unfortunately, Noesi only lasted 0.2 innings as he surrendered four runs including a two-run home run to the .183 hitter, Jeff Mathis.
The Yankees offense is in a severe slump and the pitchers that they have to face will not help them get out of this team-wide slump. The Yankees have luckily not lost any ground in the AL East as the Boston Red Sox are dealing with injuries of their own. These numerous games may be taking their toll on the players as the offense looks sluggish at the plate and even the pitches left over the plate are not driven with authority.
Ryan Nakada
@adakannayr
