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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone argues with umpire Paul Emmel after being ejected during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Wednesday, May 1, 2019, in Phoenix. (Photo: Matt York, AP)
Series Recap
·4 min read

Series Recap: Yankees come up dry in desert

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Capping off a 6-3 road trip the New York Yankees bats hit a drought in the desert against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Given the number of injuries, it was bound to happen against a Diamondbacks club which proved far superior to the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels. On the positive side, CC Sabathia surpassed a major milestone, the Yankees are coming home and we all get to reset our sleep patterns.

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GAME 1

Aside from Sabathia recording his milestone 3,000 strikeout, there wasn’t much to write home about in this game. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Zack Greinke was equally up to the task and New York dropped a 3-1 contest.

DUB JOINS THE CLUB

It didn’t take too long for Sabathia to cross the 3K threshold. Despite yielding a solo home run to left by Wilmer Flores and a single to Nick Ahmed, the big man pitched around those and managed to strike out the side in the second inning. The veteran lefty notched his milestone whiff against ex-Yankee backstop John Ryan Murphy, who found himself in the middle of another huge Yankee pitching moment.

Sabathia became the 17th pitcher and the third lefty to achieve the feat. He was also able to celebrate the memorable moment with his family in the stands. Sabathia is a special guy and he’ll be heading to Monument Park and Cooperstown before long.

His evening ledger kept the Yankees in the game with five K’s in 5.1 frames of five-hit, two-walk, two-run ball. A double by Eduardo Escobar and an RBI-single by Flores in the fourth would be all the D-backs would need from there out though and would scratch out an insurance run in the eighth against Zack Britton.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

It was only a matter of time before a scrappy but compromised lineup would run into a buzzsaw. Greinke whiffed seven in 7.2 frames, scattering five hits, walking one and yielding one run. Plus, he threw an ephus pitch, which is not cool.

The sole run came as Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres carried their hot hitting into the desert. In the top half of the fourth Sanchez doubled to left to set the table. Torres followed by extending his hit streak to seven straight by scalding a ground-rule RBI-double to right to square the contest at one.

GAME 2

Again there wasn’t much hitting on display and apparently, instant replay is broken. It was so enthralling some lady was knitting something for her dog in the stands. A 3-2 loss was a case of coming up a day late and a buck short of breaking it open.

NO MARGIN FOR ERROR

Like a goalie at the mercy of his offense, Masahiro Tanaka didn’t have much in the way of breathing room. Thankfully Tanaka didn’t blow out both of his hammy’s running the bases this year. The Yankees righty tossed four frames until being lifted for a club desperate for a bit hit. On his ledger were three runs, five hits, and one walk while fanning six.

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During the second, three consecutive hits capped off by an RBI-single from Ahmed gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 edge. A one-out wild pitch would double the Arizona advantage.

In the fourth frame, Tanaka yielded his requisite solo home run to right by Ketel Marte.

DO YOU EVEN REPLAY?

With the Yankees facing starter Merrill Kelly in the fifth inning, apparently, the old neighborhood play was back in vogue. Mike Tauchman led off the inning with a walk and with one out Tyler Wade grounded into a force out at second base. The only problem was it appeared as though Ahmed missed the bag and Tauchman should’ve been ruled safe but somehow not even the replay folks could get the call correct.

That would prove crucial in a game which was decided by a single run, especially if you believe in the fallacy of the predetermined outcome. The ensuing batter Cameron Maybin singled to center on a hit which would’ve likely plated Tauchman. New York would load the bases but Brett Gardner grounded out to first, ending the threat.

LUUUUUKE LET’S GO!

Death, taxes, and Voit getting on base. During the sixth inning, the Yankee first baseman extended his on-base streak to 41 consecutive contests. Voit launched the Bronx Bombers on the board with a solo blast to left off a first-pitch changeup from Kelly. For you Ferris Bueller fans, Voit has now homered nine times!

BULLPEN KEEPS THEM AFLOAT

Sticking with the positive was a bounce back from Luis Cessa and stellar outings from Tommy Kahnle and Adam Ottavino. The trio combined for four frames of scoreless ball and zero hits.

NOT ENOUGH SCRATCH

While the Yankees would pull within one on an RBI-single to left by Tauchman in the eighth, they wouldn’t deliver the knockout blow. Prior to the Tauchman hit, Torres, who extended his hit streak to seven straight, banged into a double-play. New York would go 1-for-6 with RISP and leave eight men on base. Not ideal.

ON DECK

At 17-13, the Yankees return home to Yankee Stadium (with normal start times, hooray!) and face the Minnesota Twins for a three-game series starting Friday evening.

Pitching probables, Kyle Gibson vs. James Paxton, Jake Odorizzi vs. J.A. Happ, Michael Pineda vs. Domingo German.