by Tamar Chalker
August 1, 2022
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After taking the first three games of the series, the Yankees had a chance to sweep the Royals on Sunday. Jordan Montgomery looked to rebound after a less than stellar last outing and seemed to cruise through the early innings of the game. Unfortunately, he ran into trouble in the fifth, but it was a poor outing from Clay Holmes that sealed the Yankees' fate. A big homer from Salvador Perez in the ninth helped Kansas City escape the sweep.
Quick Stats:
Jordan Montgomery was strong through four innings, striking out six batters, but he was unable to record an out in the fifth. He gave up four runs on two walks and four hits.
Royals pitcher Zack Greinke went five innings and gave up three runs on five hits and two walks.
Clay Holmes took the loss for the Yankees, giving up three runs on one hit (a home run), one walk, and a hit by pitch. He only managed two outs in the inning.
The Big Story:
Two bad starts in a row from Jordan Montgomery certainly doesn't take away from the pressure on the Yankees to shore up their pitching with the upcoming trade deadline looming. He is likely happy to see the end of July, where he went 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA, significantly up from the rest of the season. In his three appearances since the All-Star break, Monty has thrown only 12.2 innings for a 7.11 ERA. Opposing hitters are crushing him for a .296 average in that period, too.
Player of the Game:
Anthony Rizzo went 2-4 with a three-run homer and a walk.
Notable Performances:
Albert Abreu came into the game when Monty fell apart and got the Yankees back on track. He went 1.2 innings and gave up just one hit.
Matt Carpenter continues to show that rumors of the end of his career were woefully mistaken. He went 2-3 with a run scored.
DJ LeMahieu went 2-5 with two RBIs and a homer.
Better to Forget:
Clay Holmes was awful.
Gleyber Torres struggled at the plate, going 0-5
Josh Donaldson continued his offensive slide. He went 0-4 and had a .195 average in the month of July.
My Take:
While there are valid concerns about certain players' offensive output (or lack thereof), this is a team that shows more fight than in recent years. As soon as Monty got chased out in the fifth, I noticed a lot of Yankees Twitter was already throwing in the towel. The Yankees hadn't gotten the memo, however, as they quickly got three runs back and then took a 6-4 lead on Rizzo's homer in the seventh.
Unfortunately, Clay Holmes couldn't hold onto the lead, but the vast majority of the time, the Yankees are going to come away victorious from a game like Sunday's. This offense is more versatile than it has been in a while and on any given day, any one of the Yankees hitters could be the hero (even Joey Gallo, I suppose). Rizzo's average isn't great, but he has a tendency to come through in the big moments, as he did yesterday. Once Benintendi gets his bat going, I think the Yankees' offense will be one of the most dynamic they've had in recent years, and while he isn't getting hits, the Yankees' newest addition is finding his way on base.
Pitching has been the main focus of the Yankees' trade deadline needs. Between Monty's poor start and Holmes' blown save, the Yankees' need for pitching before the looming trade deadline feels even more desperate. I think this offense is enough to carry the Yankees deep into the playoffs, but the pitching's lack of consistency of late is concerning. That being said, if they don't end up making a move in the next couple of days, I think they will still be fine. Or maybe I'm saying this, hoping I wake up to the news of some big trade for a big arm before this posts, making my point obsolete.
Next Up:
The Yankees will kick off August by hosting the Seattle Mariners. Domingo German will make his third start of the season, looking to build on his last outing where he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out seven. The Mariners will send Marco Gonzales to the mound. He is 6-10 with a 3.66 ERA and 60 Ks. First pitch is at 7:05 pm at Yankee Stadium.
