Yankees' offense sputters in one-hit showing vs. Braves

ATLANTA -- Manager Aaron Boone billed the Braves as a heavyweight and the class of the Major Leagues, and in New York’s 5-0 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night at Truist Park, the Yankees were once again overwhelmed by baseball’s best.

Braves starter Bryce Elder held the Yankees’ offense in check, allowing only one hit (DJ LeMahieu’s one-out single in the second) and facing the minimum in six of his seven innings. It proved to be the Yanks' lone hit all night and marked the fewest hits by the Yankees in a game this season as the team was shut out for the sixth time this year, with the last occurrence on July 28 vs. the Orioles.

“We're not showing up when we need to, especially down the stretch right now,” Aaron Judge said. “We’ve got every opportunity to keep ourselves in the race and we’re not capitalizing when we need to.”

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New York’s offense put runners on base via five walks, but they were quickly sent to the dugout by double plays or softly hit groundouts and popouts. Elder’s average exit velocity was 82.1 mph, his lowest in a start this season. Eleven of the 16 balls that were put in play against him had an exit velocity of less than 90 mph, and the hardest-hit ball he gave up was Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s groundout in the sixth (100.3 mph).

“DJ squared up a ball for the base hit up the middle. Judge walked a couple [times], we had a couple of walks in there,” Boone said. “But [Elder] just kept putting us on the ground and generating soft contact, and ... it just was flat [out] not good enough.”

Entering Tuesday, starter Luis Severino had a 13.85 ERA with six home runs allowed in the first inning. The bad fortune continued when he allowed a go-ahead three-run home run to Marcell Ozuna on a first-pitch hanging slider in the first. But the righty settled in, facing the minimum in the second and logging three strikeouts in a one-hit third.

Severino faced trouble again when Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a four-seam fastball over the plate for a two-run homer in the fourth, though both runs on Acuña’s homer were unearned due to an error from third baseman Kiner-Falefa. The two-time All-Star pitcher was replaced after the four frames, earned his fourth straight loss and has given up 12 homers in his past eight games.

Still Severino’s play left his skipper hopeful.

“After [the Ozuna homer], I thought he threw the ball well,” Boone said. “Again, a lot of swing and miss. I thought it's as good as stuff that I've seen, meaning I just thought the life was there. It just felt more [convicted]. I actually think he felt like he was building a little momentum there. And then Acuña catches him to kind of end the outing.

“So not a good line, but I think that was a much better Sevy than we've seen.”

Severino induced his second-most swings and misses in a start this season (12), marking his most since July 17 vs. the Angels (13). He logged five strikeouts, including three against slugger Austin Riley.

“Every time we lose is bad for us, but I feel happy the way that I played, the way that I competed, and I feel like I’m improving,” said Severino.

The Yankees (60-60) have lost four straight and are at .500 for the first time since the club was 15-15 on May 1. The last time the Yanks finished a day with a .500 or worse record at least 120 games into a season was Sept. 7, 1995, when they were 61-61.

New York is now 6 1/2 games out of the third American League Wild Card spot and is 1-9-3 in its past 13 series dating back to July 1. The team’s lone series win came against the Royals in a sweep on July 21-23. The Yankees are seeking a spark to turn their fortunes before it’s too late.

“I think the preparation is there. I think everybody's preparing the right way,” Judge said. “I think it comes down to execution. Guys in between the lines just not executing. When we get a pitch, we’ve got to be able to do something with it and get guys on base. We’re not moving them over, not driving them in.

“We’ve got to bring it. We’ve got a big one -- this last game here, then a big homestand coming up.”