by Tamar Chalker
April 11, 2024
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The Yankees had the chance to sweep the Marlins on Wednesday night, but one off inning for Marcus Stroman coupled with the offense failing to come through in the clutch gave Miami its second win of the season. It certainly wasn't the way the Yankees hoped to end their first home stand of the season, but it wasn't without some bright spots.
Quick Stats - Marcus Stroman went five innings and gave up four runs on four hits, four walks, and one homer. He did pick up 7 strikeouts in the process, but was handed the loss. Ryan Weathers got the win, scattering three hits and three walks while keeping the Yankees scoreless over five.
Jake Burger's three run homer in the third was what made the difference in the game for Miami. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton had a solo homer against his former team, giving him a home run against every team in Major League Baseball. Juan Soto went 2-4 with a RBI and a walk.
Big Story - Anthony Volpe hit in the leadoff spot tonight. He's been off to a strong start this season with a .372 average and 1.041 OPS and definitely showed he was ready. Followed by a hot Juan Soto, they were a great one-two punch and managed to give the Yankees a few opportunities to battle back. Unfortunately, Aaron Judge's struggles at the plate continued. He had a few chances to get the Yankees back in the game, but each time he came up short.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Marcus Stroman had his first lackluster start of the season. At times he looked sharp, picking up 7 strikeouts in five innings, but an ugly third inning proved to be his undoing. After giving up a lead off walk to Nick Gordon, a pair of ground ball singles plated Miami's first run, soon followed by Jake Burger's three-run shot.
Aaron Boone got ejected from his first game of the year for arguing with the umpire about his atrocious and inconsistent strike calling. Boone wasn't wrong - there were some real head scratcher calls at the plate Wednesday night.
Player(s) of the Game - Juan Soto went 2-4 with a RBI and a walk.
Notable Performances - Anthony Volpe went 1-3 with two walks and a run scored. He brought some good energy to the offense, but did have a costly throwing error late in the game.
Better to Forget - Marcus Stroman's third inning.
Aaron Judge went 0-4 and failed to bring home three runners left in scoring position with two outs and went 0-4 with a walk.
My Take - This game isn't worth analyzing too much. Even the Yankees are going to drop a game to a team like the Marlins during the long MLB season, that's one of the great things about baseball, but here are some of my main takeaways.
New York hitters were understandably frustrated by some of the strike calls by the home plate umpire - and for good reason. You could tell it really got under Verdugo's skin. After Boone got ejected, you could tell Verdugo was swinging at anything remotely close to the zone - and perhaps a little beyond.
Even with the officiating issues, the Yankees still lost this game. Stroman struggled in the third and they found themselves down 4-0 early and the Yankees had chances on offense, but they simply didn't convert.
I know at some point (soon...please), Judge will start hitting and then this team is going to be a juggernaut.
I actually thought Miami was more fun to watch than I expected. They have some interesting players and some decent speed.
Next Up - The Bronx Bombers have an off day on Thursday, as they travel to Cleveland to kick off their next road trip. Friday night, Clarke Schmidt will take the ball for the Yankees for his third start of the season. He is 0-0 with a 4.66 ERA over 9.2 innings of work. He has nine Ks. Veteran hurler Carlos Carrasco will also try to pick up his first win of the season. He is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA. His two starts combined for only eight innings, though he does have nine Ks as well. First pitch is at 7:10.
