by Tamar Chalker
July 4, 2022
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Jordan Montgomery put together a decent start on Sunday, but the New York offense couldn't come up with an answer for Triston McKenzie. The Yankees could not complete the sweep in Cleveland, dropping the final game of the series 2-0.
Quick Stats: Montgomery went five innings and gave up one run on one home run, three hits, three walks, and 8 Ks. McKenzie went seven innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 7 Yankees. Emmanuel Clase got the save for the Guardians, walking a couple of batters and striking one out.
Big Story: New York didn't save much offense for Sunday, after sweeping Saturday's doubleheader. The only Yankee batter to pick up a hit was Josh Donaldson, who followed Stanton's walk in the fourth with a single. This gave the Yankees two on with only one out, but Gleyber Torres and Jose Trevino couldn't bring them home.
New York had another opportunity to score in the ninth. Anthony Rizzo drew a lead-off walk, Stanton got on base due to an error, putting two runners on with no outs. Donaldson and Torres both failed to bring the runners home, so Aaron Boone had Aaron Judge pinch hit for Trevino. Judge worked a walk, giving Aaron Hicks bases loaded with two outs. Unfortunately, Hicks struggles in such situations - and Sunday was no different. He grounded out to third and the Yankees took the loss.
Player of the Game: Franmil Reyes was responsible for all of the runs on Sunday. His solo homer off of Montgomery was all Cleveland needed to win, but he also picked up an RBI single in the eighth for some insurance.
Notable Players: Judge came off the bench and worked a key walk. If someone other than Hicks (or Joey Gallo) followed him, the Yankees might have had a chance.
Jordan Montgomery put together a solid outing, despite lasting only five innings. Had the Yankees found their offense, it should have been enough for a win.
Better To Forget: Gleyber Torres had a tough day at the plate, going 0-4 with a K and a team-high four runners left on base. He also had a throwing error.
Joey Gallo. Do I even need to say anything?
My Take: It's been a long day at the end of a long week, so I'm going to bullet point my thoughts on the game in no particular order.
I think I would have taken my chances with Trevino and had Judge pinch hit for Hicks personally.
JP Sears gave up a run, but overall he looked decent. The fact that they didn't have to use any of the big arms in the bullpen after yesterday was a good thing.
I'm happy to see Albert Abreu in pinstripes, even though it was a quick and rather unnoteworthy appearance. I enjoyed watching him in the minors and would love to see him succeed in his second stint with the Yankees.
Perhaps the best moment of the day for the Yankees came in the eighth inning when Cleveland had two on with no outs. LeMahieu fielded the ball and got the runner going home before Rizzo ran down Gabriel Arias between first and second. It wasn't your usual double play but showed some heads-up defense on the Yankees' part. Unfortunately, Reyes was up next and scored Arias.
IKF and Torres both had throwing errors, so the Yankees' defense clearly isn't flawless, but I still think they've improved quite a bit over recent years.
On Deck: The Yankees have today off as they head to Pittsburgh. Jameson Taillon will take the ball for New York. He is 9-1 with a 3.32 ERA. The Pirates have not yet tapped a starter for the game. They are 32-47 this season. First pitch is 7:05pm in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
