Missed chances hurt; Yanks drop 4th straight
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NEW YORK -- Some 12 hours after manager Aaron Boone lambasted his team in a closed-door meeting, it felt like a new dawn in the early innings on Saturday, the bases filled with Yankees seemingly poised to strike.
Yet by settling for one run against a seemingly vulnerable Tyler Glasnow, the club’s early-season malaise spilled over for another afternoon. Jordan Montgomery permitted a pair of homers as the Yankees dropped their fourth consecutive contest, 6-3, to the Rays at Yankee Stadium.
“Every loss is frustrating, especially with the talent we’ve got in this room,” right fielder Aaron Judge said. “The group that we have, it’s something special and we’re just not showing it right now on the field. We’ve got to regroup, continue to learn from this and grind it out.”
Rougned Odor’s first Yankee homer and a Judge RBI double closed the deficit late, but it wasn’t enough. The rivalry has grown lopsided; New York has lost 17 of 22 to the Rays since September 2019, including last year’s American League Division Series.
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“They're a really good team over there that's kind of kicked our butts here the last couple years,” Boone said. “We’ve got to do a better job of closing out some games when we have a chance. They’ve been a team that is very good at limiting runs the last couple of years.”
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With Glasnow’s command uncharacteristically lacking, the Yankees loaded the bases in the first inning via a hit, error and walk. Brett Gardner worked a seven-pitch at-bat, but he chopped Glasnow’s 30th pitch of the frame to first base, ending the inning.
DJ LeMahieu connected for a run-scoring single in the second inning, marking the infielder’s first RBI since April 9, but a laboring Glasnow escaped by striking out Judge and inducing Aaron Hicks to line into the shifted infield defense.
“We put some pressure on him a little bit, put some pressure on the defense,” Judge said. “That’s what’s made us successful in the past, when we’re able to have quality team at-bats and really wear down a pitcher, getting that pitch count up. We saw glimpses of it today but weren’t able to come up with the big hit.”
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The Yanks’ opportunities dried up from there against Glasnow, who tossed 54 pitches in the first two innings and hung around to complete five innings despite on-field cramping in his left hand that briefly delayed play.
“We were up against a really good pitcher,” Boone said. “We made it really difficult and had our chances. Hopefully that’s something we can build on offensively.”
Gumby’s game
Montgomery permitted only two hits over six-plus innings, but both left the ballpark, saddling the left-hander with the loss. Francisco Mejía hit a second-inning solo homer and Manuel Margot slugged a two-run shot in the fourth.
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“I gave us a chance to win, so that’s all I can do,” Montgomery said. “We’re a talented team. We’ll come around eventually.”
Paired with catcher Gary Sánchez, who left the game in the fifth inning after he was hit in the right hand by a foul tip, Montgomery walked two and struck out seven in an 86-pitch effort.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” Boone said. “Obviously two mistakes that cost him with the long ball, but overall, I thought he was strong.”
Pulling away
After shortstop Gleyber Torres missed a catch on a Margot stolen-base attempt in the seventh, Joey Wendle belted a two-run homer off Jonathan Loáisiga, building a four-run Rays lead.
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Odor and Judge trimmed the deficit in the seventh, but Mejía roped a ninth-inning double and the final eight Yankees were retired in order by the Rays' bullpen, with Diego Castillo working the ninth for a save.
The Yankees will seek to salvage Sunday’s series finale, having opened the season with a 5-9 record for the first time since 2016, when Joe Girardi’s squad finished 84-78.
“You never expect to go out there and start out like this,” Judge said. “It really all comes down to, when you get punched, how do you get back up? Do you get back up and throw a punch, or does it kind of take you a while? We’ve got to fight back.”