Yankees' bats quieted in opener of twin bill
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NEW YORK -- The Yankees have hardly lived up to their slugging Bronx Bombers moniker through the season’s first two months, a trend that continued against a fresh face on Thursday.
Miguel Andújar’s two singles accounted for the Yankees’ only hits off Alek Manoah in the Blue Jays rookie’s Major League debut as New York accepted a 2-0 defeat in the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
“You’ve got to tip your cap; he pitched well and beat us today,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to pick ourselves up here and find a way to punch through.”
The Yankees have scored two or fewer runs in six of their past nine games. Domingo Germán was saddled with a tough-luck loss, having permitted back-to-back solo home runs to Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette in the third inning.
That -- plus a small but boisterous cheering section of friends and family in the 200 level past third base -- backed Manoah, who walked two and struck out seven over six scoreless innings.
Germán had gone 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA over his previous six starts and had allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of those outings.
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“It’s a short game, seven innings, so to give up the lead like that is definitely not what you want,” Germán said through an interpreter. “You take away those two pitches, and for me, it was a good outing.”
The Yankees have lost six of their first eight meetings with the Blue Jays this season. This will be New York's first series loss since getting swept in a three-game series against Tampa Bay from April 16-18.
The Bombers have lost 12 of their first 17 games against the Blue Jays and Rays this year, while going 23-9 against all other opponents.
"We didn't string much together; a couple soft hits is all we got," Boone said. "We’ve got to do a little bit better than that.”