By Ethan Semendinger
April 26th, 2024
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The Yankees just couldn't get a hit when it mattered, scoring just once, and ruining a quality start from Nestor Cortes...
Quick Stats -
Winning Pitcher: Alex Wood (1-2, 6.59 ERA)
Losing Pitcher: Nestor Cortes (1-2, 3.50 ERA)
Save: Mason Miller (6)
Home Runs (New York): Jose Trevino (2)
Home Runs (Houston): Nick Allen (1), Tyler Nevin (1)
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Big Story/The Game - On Wednesday night, the Yankees bats finally came alive to score some runs. And, I wrote about how excited I was to see the offense finally look to turn the tides on a very poor 10-game stretch.
This was the line-up that they looked to continue that (hopeful) streak:
And, now I'm going to break free of the standard "About Last Night" recap and quickly talk about how last night's game played out.
Early on, Nestor Cortes was dealing: Getting his first 6 batters to go down easy. The problem was the third inning, where Cortes allowed two home runs (the first a solo, the second a 2-run) to give the Athletics their only 3 runs in the game.
Outside of that inning, Nestor was great! He didn't walk a single batter, 3 out of the 5 hits he allowed were in that third inning, and he gave the Yankees 7 innings of work. With this pitching staff (even as good as it has been), that's a huge victory in saving the bullpen.
With that, Dennis Santana and Victor Gonzalez both worked a solid inning each out of the bullpen.
Given all that, it would seem like an easy victory for the Yankees to grab. Especially on paper with this line-up.
And, especially when the team starts off the game with three straight baserunners. Off a pitcher who came into the game with an ERA nearly touching 8.00...and then a Stanton strikeout and a Rizzo GIDP ended the threat.
And then Trevino hit a home run after a Gleyber Torres single! ... Except Torres was thrown out between bases on a horrible stolen base attempt before the pitch was even thrown.
In the 4th, the Yankees had another bases-loaded situation (this time with 1 out)... for it to end in another GIDP, this time from Jose Trevino.
The Yankees had 2 baserunners in each of the 6th and 7th innings as well...to no avail.
The Yankees on the night went 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 (!) men on base. Combined, the team had 11 hits and 3 walks...but they also struck out 11 times and had 2 crucially bad double plays.
Yankees lose. 3-1. And they split a series against the Oakland Athletics.
Not good.
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Player(s) of the Game -
Nestor Cortes: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 4 K's
Notable Performances -
Dennis Santana: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K's
Victor Gonzalez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's
Jose Trevino: 2-4, Home Run, Run, RBI, 1 K, GIDP
Anthony Volpe: 2-5, 1 K
Gleyber Torres: 2-4, 1 K
Alex Verdugo: 2-4
Better to Forget -
Giancarlo Stanton: 0-4, 2 K's
Aaron Judge: 0-3, 2 BB's, 2 K's
Anthony Rizzo: 1-4, 1 K, GIDP
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At The Game - I was very lucky to be able to attend last nights game, and do to so in the "SSTN Seats" (photo provided below). As you can see, these seats are an incredible luxury and were generously gifted to my father and I to take two others to the game (we brought my former Scoutmaster and my cousin). Thank you, thank you, thank you to the family who allowed us to experience the game in a manner I never have- and will likely never again- be/been able to.
Editor-In-Chief Paul Semendinger and Managing Editor Ethan Semendinger enjoy a game in the "SSTN Seats" (Section 012) at Yankee Stadium.
So, as I've already highlighted the game itself (above), let me take this time to highlight my experience last night.
Food and Lounge:
With our seats (Section 012), we were given access into the private CutWater Lounge. In this lounge, they provided free food, beverages, snacks, and even ice cream. On my menu, I (admittedly gorged myself) and had:
Most of a Cheese Burger
4 Chicken Tenders
A Slice of Pizza (from my Cousin)
Half a (Really Salty) Pretzel
12 pieces of Sushi (California Rolls)
A Hot Dog
A Sweet Sausage (no bun, gotta watch those empty calories)
2 Poland Spring Waters
A Blue Bunny Chipwich, and
A Vanilla Crunch Ice Cream Bar
(Keep in mind: once I found out there was free food with these seats, I skipped out on lunch.) I also missed out and did not try the empanadas, popcorn, nachos, the soda machine, or anything from the espresso/coffee/hot chocolate machine. Looking back, it was cold, and I probably should've grabbed a hot chocolate.)
As a whole, the food was very good. The cheeseburger was extra cheesy, the food was all hot and ready to grab, the hot dog and sausage were nice and juicy. All good things, though if I had to be picky: the 2nd round of sushi wasn't as good as the first and the pizza didn't live up to the New York quota.
As for the lounge, I don't have much to say. It was perfectly nice and quaint with a private bathroom and plenty of food to go around. It was also warm, which was nice for a quick trip in between innings later in the game.
Atmosphere:
Have you ever met Aaron Judge in person? He's GIGANTIC! Holy cow. Wow. Compared to him, Juan Soto doesn't look that big. How tall is he? Oh, 6'2"? Jeez.
Yankee fans LOVE Juan Soto, and so far, Juan Soto does everything to love the Yankee fans back. He was signing autographs ahead of the game for kids and fans, and between each inning he makes it a purpose to throw his warm-up ball into the stands for a fan. The energy he brings is contagious and it brings so much energy to Yankees fans, and from them, around the whole stadium.
Meanwhile, the Yankees in-between inning scoreboard props still have the staples (ball-in-the-hat game, pick the Train (B, D, 4) game, etc.). However, they did purposefully highlight a shoutout to Art Shallock, who turned 100 years old yesterday during the fan marquee. They highlighted how he is the oldest living MLB player and a former Yankee! So, that was very very cool to see.
I also noticed that the stadium seems quieter. Maybe it was these seats being further from the main stadium, but it felt like the constant filler-sound from soundboards was cut down a lot. Yes, there was music. And lots of hype themes and chants and songs. But, there were also plenty of opportunities when there was no booming background music and you could actually talk and interact with the people around. I'm going to chalk this up to the Yankees hearing our (many) complaints about the bothersome loud sounds and putting a stop to it. (Especially after we highlighted how nice a game at Citi Field has been because of the lack of sound/music dumping.)
Oh, plus the seats were comfy. And between every other seat was a little table (with a cubby) to put down a drink or food. And plenty of room to walk around somebody without needing them to stand. Talk about hidden luxuries!
Overall:
I am incredibly grateful for being able to attend a game and being able to experience "how the other half lives". Maybe one day this blog will be able to afford those seats on a season ticket package (though, we will never go behind a paywall or accept ads for gambling, so that day is unlikely to ever come), but for now, I am going to cherish this game and its memories for the rest of my life. Thank you again to the family who allowed us to go, and for their generosity.
It's just a shame, at the end of the day, this game counts as a loss for the Yankees.
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Next Up - The Yankees (17-9) go on the road to face-off against the Milwaukee Brewers (16-8). Luis Gil (1-1, 2.75 ERA) takes the mound against Colin Rea (2-0, 2.08 ERA) to start a 3-game weekend set and a 7-game road trip.
