Schadenfreude 329 (A Continuing Series)

Yankees: August 9-15, 2022

8 Runs In 59 Innings / 3 Runs In Last 34 Innings

000 000 000 000 0
000 000 300
101 000 000 0
000 020 001
000 000 000
000 000 000

Dan Martin, Post, August 14, 2022:

By the end of this three-game set at Fenway Park, it was hard to believe the Yankees were the team easily in front of the AL East . . .

The Yankees' poor play began with consecutive losses at home to the Mariners and continued with a road trip in which they lost seven of nine, including Sunday night's 3-0 defeat . . .

It was the third time the Yankees were shut out on the trip and they've lost nine of 11 as they return home . . .

They've scored eight runs over their last five games — four of them losses — as they deal with injuries to LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton (Achilles) and Matt Carpenter (foot).

On Sunday, they were overmatched by Michael Wacha.

In his first game back off the injured list after right shoulder inflammation after more than a month on the injured list, the right-hander retired the first 14 batters . . .

[Wacha] has held the Yankees to one earned run in 23 innings over his last four starts against them, dating back to last season.

Jameson Taillon . . . put the Yankees in a hole in the first inning.

Taillon gave up a leadoff double to Tommy Pham, who moved to third on a groundout by Devers and scored on a grounder to shortstop by Xander Bogaerts to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

After the Yankees squandered a pair of baserunners in the fifth, Andrew Benintendi picked up their second hit of the night with a single to left, but Aaron Judge and Josh Donaldson struck out.

Pham led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to right and Devers then took Taillon deep to make it 3-0.

Devers has 19 career homers against the Yankees, his most against any single opponent.

Once Wacha exited, Ryan Brasier tossed a scoreless eighth before Garrett Whitlock finished it in the ninth.

Greg Joyce, Post, August 15, 2022:

Arriving home on Monday from a brutal road trip, it didn't get any better in The Bronx as the Yankees were shut out for a second straight night in a 4-0 loss to the Rays. In front of an impatient crowd of 42,192, the Yankees lost for the 10th time in their last 12 games. They have scored just eight runs over their last six games, including three shutouts . . .

The back-to-back shutouts were the Yankees' first since 2016. . . .

It was a rough way to start a key nine-game homestand against the Rays, Blue Jays and Mets. . . . [Since] July 8, the Yankees are 11-21. . . .

It was a 1-0 game until the ninth inning, when the Rays piled on three insurance runs against Wandy Peralta and Lou Trivino.

Aaron Hicks was the face of the Yankees' struggles on Monday, combining a defensive blunder in center field that gave the Rays the lead with an 0-for-3 offensive effort in which he left five men on base. The boos for him only got louder as the night went on. . . .

The listless offensive performance wasted a second straight strong start from Gerrit Cole, who held the Rays to one run over six innings. . . .

The Yankees had their chances early, but two of them were flushed by Hicks. He struck out with runners on first and second to end a threat in the second inning and then grounded into a 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded to end the fourth. . . .

The Yankees' frustrations were exacerbated with one out and one on in the third inning, when Rizzo was hit in the leg by a Ryan Yarbrough curveball but was not awarded first base. Home-plate umpire D.J. Reyburn ruled that Rizzo did not make an attempt to get out of the way. After Rizzo and Boone argued to no avail, Rizzo struck out chasing a pitch outside. . . .

Rizzo returned to the dugout and repeatedly slammed his helmet on the batting rack.

Mark W. Sanchez, Post, August 16, 2022:

The only cheers Aaron Hicks heard all game came after he caught a routine, fifth-inning fly ball. The Bronx crowd was sarcastically proud, and the fan base may have found its next Joey Gallo.

Hicks struggled with his glove, allowing a catchable ball to drop to enable the Rays' first run, and bat, grounding into a bases-loaded double play, in the Yankees' 4-0 loss on Monday. . . .

Hicks' poor night began in the second inning, when he struck out with two outs and runners on first and second base in a scoreless game. Hicks is hitting .173 with runners in scoring position this season, which was the fifth worst in baseball upon the game's completion.

In the top of the fourth inning, Hicks' night went from disappointing to distressing.

To lead off the frame, Tampa Bay's David Peralta drove a high fly ball to center field that Hicks misjudged. He kept drifting back and got turned around on the warning track. He lunged at the last second for the ball, which bounced on the dirt and went for a triple. Isaac Paredes' RBI single then put the Rays ahead to stay. . . .

Hicks could have found redemption in the bottom of the inning, but a distressing night became disastrous.

The Yankees, down 1-0 because of Hicks' glove, loaded the bases with one out for their No. 9 hitter. Hicks hit a tapper back to pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, who threw to catcher Francisco Mejia, who relayed to first baseman Ji-Man Choi for the inning-ending double play.

The boos hit their apex as Hicks looked down in frustration. Hicks acknowledged it is harder to bounce back when jeers follow him everywhere.

"It's not nice to hear boos . . .," said Hicks, who is 2-for-22 in his past six games and 5-for-42 (.119) this month. . . .

The double play was Hicks' fourth with the bases loaded, the most in baseball this season.

Hicks got one more at-bat, and he was greeted with heavy boos upon stepping up and sent off with heavy boos after grounding out, lowering his OPS to .644.

"Closer By Committee"!

Earlier: August 11 and 12, 2022