New York Yankees 11 – Cleveland Indians 7
With one game left before the break, the Yankees looked to win the four-game series in Cleveland.
Masahiro Tanaka matched Carlos Carrasco with a scoreless first inning but a poor call on an outside pitch made for a much bigger inning by the Yankees bats in the second inning. Starlin Castro led off the second with a double and came around to score on a missed catch by first baseman Mike Napoli on a sharp ground ball by Rob Refsnyder allowed Castro to score. Austin Romine followed with a double to deep right field, putting two on. With two outs, Jacoby Ellsbury thought he walked on an outside 3-1 pitch but home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus called it a strike. Following a word from Ellsbury, the Yankees center fielder barreled up the 3-2 pitch for a three-run home run to cap off the four-run second inning.
The Indians got their first run on the board when Rajai Davis hit a run-scoring single in the bottom of the second inning. An error by the Indians in the fourth inning allowed Rob Refsnyder to reach base again. After one out, Brett Gardner beat out a potential double play for another Yankees run. But the big inning for the offense came in the fifth inning.
Austin Adams replaced Carrasco in the fourth inning and returned to the fifth inning with a single from Mark Teixeira. Didi Gregorius went to left center for a double that put two in scoring position. A walk by reliever Jeff Manship of Starlin Castro loaded the bases. On a sot ground ball to shortstop Francisco Lindor, indecisiveness proved costly as he had an out at every base but he made the quick turn to second but threw it into right field for a two-run error. Refsnyder loaded the bases with a single and Austin Romine and Brett Gardner added a pair of sacrifice flies for another run each. Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran hit a pair of singles with the Beltran single scoring another run. Mark Teixeira came up to bat for the second time in the inning and got his second hit, a run-scoring single to wrap up a six-run fifth inning that put the Yankees ahead by a score of 11-1.
Following the six-run inning, the Indians came to bat with the same plan. Carlos Santana led off with a double and came around to score on a one-out double by Francisco Lindor. After a single by Mike Napoli, Jose Ramirez plated a run with a single. Tanaka got the second out but the third out eluded Tanaka when Didi Gregorius committed a throwing error that brought in two runs. Tyler Naquin delivered the big blow when he hit a two-run home run. Nathan Eovaldi was called upon out of the bullpen for the last out in a difficult six-run fifth inning for the Indians, putting them four-runs behind.
In 4 2/3 innings, Masahiro Tanaka allowed seven runs, three earned, on 10 hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He fell one out shy of being eligible for the win as he simply did not have anything working for him.
In 4 1/3 innings of relief, Nathan Eovaldi allowed one hit and walked three while striking out three. This was just what the Yankees needed after Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman put in extra work in yesterday’s extra innings win. Today’s win put the Yankees at .500 entering the All-Star break.
Win – Nathan Eovaldi (7-6)
Loss – Carlos Carrasco (5-3)
Notables
Yankees
*Jacoby Ellsbury – 2 for 5, 2 R, Three-run home run (4) in the 2nd, 3 RBI (29)
*Mark Teixeira – 2 for 5, R, RBI (20)
Indians
*Francisco Lindor – 2 for 4, R, BB, 2B, RBI (45)
*Tyler Naquin – 1 for 4, R, Two-run home run (9) in the 5th, 2 RBI (22)
Current Yankees Record: 44-44
