The Bronx, NY — The Yankees (54-43) lost 2-1 to the defending champion Dodgers in the first game of three at Yankee Stadium. The offense was cold once again, and the pitching was just not good enough to hold down the Dodgers’ lineup.
Gerrit Cole‘s Start
Gerrit Cole was cruising in the game. He looked the best he’s looked since coming off his Tommy John surgery. Cole threw six-plus innings of two-run ball in the game against one of baseball’s top offenses. The blemish came in the seventh inning.
With a 1-0 lead in the game, Cole walked Mookie Betts to lead off the seventh inning, which brought manager Aaron Boone out of the dugout. Boone decided to ride his horse and leave Cole in the game with a high pitch count. The decision proved costly, with Max Muncy taking him deep on Cole’s 103rd and final pitch of the night.
The decision to leave Cole in is a lose-lose one for Boone because if the bullpen blew the game, the story would have been, “Why not leave Cole in the game?” Can’t change history.
The Yankees’ Offense
The real reason the Yankees lost this game was their putrid offense. Rōki Sasaki carved up the lineup without his best command in the game, allowing just one unearned run, which came on a two-out double by Jasson Dominguez, an E8, and a passed ball in the fourth inning.
The offense just really could not get it going in the game and looked flat. The Yankees had two extra-base hits today; only one of them, the Dominguez double, came around to score.
Sasaki came with velocity, throwing the hardest pitches he’s ever thrown as a Dodger. That does not excuse the fact that Sasaki’s command was all over the place, but the Yankees swung at clear balls all night and just could not barrel anything up.
The Yankees had a chance late with a runner on first and one out, with Rice crushing a ball in the gap. Third base coach Luis Rojas was aggressive with the send of Trent Grisham around the bases, where he was out at the plate and the Dodgers kept their 1-0 lead.
Grisham looked like he could have run harder around the bases, and it seemed like the send was a bit aggressive, especially with how slow Grisham is. It’s things like that that cost you games, and it does so tonight.
Tomorrow, Ryan Weathers will go for the Yankees against Emmet Sheehan for the Dodgers, weather permitting, with a lot of rain and smoke expected in the forecast. Right now, the first pitch is scheduled for 8:08pm on FOX.
