June 17, 2023

Schadenfreude 340 (A Continuing Series)


Greg Joyce, Post:

The Yankees, who had played 10 straight games decided by three runs or fewer, were in need of a laugher Friday night.

They got one, but they were the butt of the joke.

Domingo German failed to record an out in the third inning, the Yankees' infield defense was shoddy and their bats stayed quiet until it was too late, all of which combined for an embarrassing stinker of a 15-5 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. . . .

It got ugly enough that the Yankees turned to utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa to pitch the eighth inning. The Red Sox added one more run against him in his second mound appearance of the season.

The Yankees (39-31) have now lost six of their past nine games, though not even the injured Aaron Judge could have saved them in this dud that delighted the sellout crowd of 37,086. . . .

On a night when the Yankees were inexplicably charged with just two errors, Donaldson, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres all had misplays in the infield that led to runs while right fielder Jake Bauers added an errant throw. . . .

German had arguably been the Yankees' best starting pitcher over the past month and a half, with a 2.20 ERA in his past seven outings. . . .

But on Friday, it all came crumbling down in a hurry. In his shortest start of the season, German got shelled for seven runs on seven hits (six of them for extra bases), two walks and one hit batter across two-plus innings. The right-hander was given a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and promptly gave it back in the bottom of the frame, with the Red Sox scoring the first two of 13 unanswered runs. . . .

[German] got just two swing-and-misses on 56 pitches.

Matt Krook relieved German in a 5-1 game and didn't fare much better in his long-awaited MLB debut. He was tagged for five more runs across 1.2 innings — though he didn't get much help behind him. He got two quick outs and appeared to have the third, but Donaldson could not get the ball out of his glove cleanly after he fielded a grounder.

Then, after Krook did not cover first base on a grounder well off away from the bag — Rizzo ranged far to his right to field it — Justin Turner capped off his monster night by crushing a grand slam to center field to put the Red Sox ahead 10-1. . . .

Turner went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and six RBIs while Masataka Yoshida went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs.

Yankees - 100 003 010 - 5 10 2
Red Sox - 226 301 01x - 15 17 1
Time of game with 20 runs and 27 hits: 2:53!

The Red Sox scored more runs against the Yankees in this game (15) than both teams scored in their three-game series last weekend (14). Boston won two of those three games: 3-2, 1-3, 3-2.

Gary Phillips, Daily News:

[T]he Red Sox put a forceful end to [Domingo German's] recent run of success on Friday night.

German, who owned a 2.20 ERA over his previous seven starts, logged his shortest outing of the season, a two-inning implosion that saw him charged with seven earned runs. Trouble began during German's 32-pitch first inning when, with a 1-0 lead, he surrendered a two-run double to Masataka Yoshida. The drive just missed clearing the Green Monster.

Justin Turner, meanwhile, had the distance when he hit a two-run homer over Fenway Park's tall wall in the second . . .

Turner added a grand slam in the third inning following a few defensive mishaps from the Yankees. This time, he went deep off Matt Krook, who made his long-awaited major league debut on Friday. . . . [He] left his first MLB game with a 27.00 ERA after permitting five earned runs over 1.2 innings. . . .

Turner ended the night with a game-high six RBI, while Yoshida totaled three to go along with four hits. Triston Casas, Connor Wong and Pablo Reyes combined for four more RBI. . . .

While Yankees pitchers were ineffective Friday, a handful of ugly defensive plays also contributed to lopsided score. The Yankees were only charged with two errors, but that number could have doubled had it not been for generous rulings by official scorers.

With a new Boston Massacre in the history books, Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to face Brayan Bello on Saturday. . . . Luis Severino and James Paxton are Sunday's probable pitchers.

Greg Joyce, Post:

Aaron Judge spent the Yankees' day off getting another platelet-rich plasma injection in his sprained right big toe. . . .

Judge has been out since June 4 and still has no definite timetable for his return because he has not been able to even begin any baseball activities yet. . . .

Asked if surgery could be on the table if the soreness in Judge's toe does not subside, Boone said, "I don't know." . . .

Asked whether Judge had a chance to be back before the All-Star break, which begins on July 10, Boone was noncommittal. . . . "I don't know. He could be back in a week, he could be back in four — I don't know." . . .

The Yankees . . . entered Friday 4-5 since Judge last played a game, and their offense has largely sputtered without him . . .

Bob Raissman, Daily News:

Without Judge, the product the Yankees put on the field is void of glitz; bland as a bowl of mush. Outside of Gerrit Cole, there's no one enticing Yankees loyalists to pay extra money to see the Judge-less Bombers play on a streaming service.

What does it say about the state of affairs when the Yankees most recent signature video is of John Sterling getting conked on the head by a foul ball in the radio booth?

Without Judge, the Yankees pursuit of Tampa Bay, or a wild card spot, is not all that compelling. . . .

Is there a must-see-at-bat in the lineup? . . .

Jared Schwartz, Post:

Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck was taken to a hospital and received stitches after frighteningly being struck in the face by a line drive during Boston's 15-5 win over the Yankees on Friday night.

Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka hit a comebacker that knocked Houck to the ground and left his face bloodied in the fifth inning.

The liner had an exit velocity of 89.7 mph.

Houck was able to walk off the field . . . but was holding a towel to his face to cover a large gash.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that the liner cut him in his cheek area.

1 comment:

Paul Hickman said...

Good to smash the old enemy by double figures !

We haven't done that for a few years, well nearly 4 ..... but who's counting !