by Tamar Chalker
May 1, 2023
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The Yankees started the series in Arlington with Gerrit Cole throwing a gem and the offense going yard three times, however, things quickly soured in Texas. Hoping to pull off a split against the Rangers, New York had a chance with Nestor Cortes heading to the mound. Unfortunately, Nestor wasn’t so nasty and the Yankees soon found themselves in a deep hole. The Rangers ended up taking the series win with a 15-2 drubbing of New York. Quick Stats:
Nestor Cortes had his worst outing of the season. He gave up seven runs on five hits, four walks, and three homers. Cortes picked up seven Ks.
Albert Abreu relieved Cortes and gave up six runs on two hits and four walks in one inning. He also allowed a homer.
Rangers’ rookie Josh Jung had a big day, hitting his first career grand slam. He went 2-4 with one walk, five RBIs and three runs scored.
Martín Pérez pitched six innings, giving up just one run on six hits and one walk.
Former Yankee, Ian Kennedy, threw a scoreless inning of relief for the Rangers.
Big Story: The Yankees have dropped seven of their last ten as they continue their end of April skid. New York never really seemed to have a chance as Nestor clearly wasn’t at his best from the start. The Yankees could have really used a big game from him, but he gave up bad walks and some big hits. Had it just been the grand slam to Jung early in the game, the Yankees probably could have bounced back, but when Cortes gave up back-to-back shots in the fifth the Rangers seemed to have it in the bag. It would be unfair to place the blame solely on Cortes’ shoulders. The bullpen did little to help the Yankees’ cause and while the offense only managed two runs, they weren’t nearly as anemic as the score would suggest. Abreu got absolutely shelled for an inning and Nick Ramirez gave up two runs in his 2.1 innings of work. Players of the Game: Well, for the Yankees - the pickings are pretty slim. The pitching is completely out. Isiah Kiner-Falefa went 2-4, Aaron Hicks also went 2-4 and scored a run. Kyle Higashioka went 1-3 with a RBI. That’s about all that’s worth mentioning at this point. Better to Forget: The pitching. My take/random thoughts in no particular order:
When IKF and Aaron Hicks are the key offensive contributors - its safe to say something is missing on offense.
There is no doubt that the loss of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton has hit them hard. Even though this team isn’t as power hitting dependent as they have been in recent years, it is clear that having those big bats in the lineup makes a huge difference.
I feel like this story of early season Yankee injuries is getting real old.
MLB made these rule changes that were supposed to pick up the offense in games, and they certainly have, but right now I wonder if the Yankees got the memo.
Next Up: The Yankees head back to the Bronx to try to right the ship as the Guardians come to town. Domingo German will take the ball for the Yankees. He is 2-2 with a 5.54 ERA and 33 Ks. Despite his ERA, opposing hitters have a .198 average against the Yankee pitcher. Cleveland will send Cal Quantrill to the mound. He is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA and only 15 Ks. In his last outing, he gave up five earned runs on eight hits in only 3.1 innings against Colorado. First pitch is at 7:05pm at Yankee Stadium.
