The Yankees offense struggled early and the bullpen struggled late as New York lost 6-3 to the Mariners on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
It’s the first time the Yankees have lost back-to-back games since April 29-30 against the Blue Jays.
Here are the takeaways…
-The Yankees lineup couldn’t figure out the young righty Bryan Woo on Tuesday evening. The Bombers were only able to get two hits and didn’t get a walk against him.
Woo threw six innings (77 pitches/58 strikes), giving up two hits and striking out seven batters. It was the 24-year-old’s third start since returning from the IL.
The Yankees fell victim to great Seattle defense, especially from right fielder Dominic Canzone who made two diving moves to rob Anthony Volpe And Oswaldo Cabrera of hits.
But once the Mariners shut down Woo, the Yankees discovered their offense. In the seventh, one Aaron Judge walk and Anthony Rizzo hit by pitch Gleyber Torres a chance with two outs. The second baseman launched a 90 mph fastball 350 feet over the left-center field wall. The Yankees would drive home the tying run in the ninth after one Jose Trevino single and Torres walk in front of Cabrera. But the utility infielder struck out swinging to end the game.
–Clarke Schmidt was on the doorstep on Tuesday after the best start of his young career. He wouldn’t repeat that outing tonight.
A two run shot to Dylan Moore, the No. 9 hitter, put the Yankees under 2-0 pressure in the third inning. It was the first home run Schmidt allowed since May 4 and that was the only error on the right-handed line, but he struggled to get through five. After his eight-inning outing against the Twins last week, Schmidt threw five innings (100 pitches/62 strikeouts), giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.
-The Yankees bullpen couldn’t stop the Mariners after Schmidt. After a scoreless inning of Victor González, Dennis Santana gave up two hits, including the first home run he gave up this season.
Clayton Andrewscalled when Ian Hamilton was placed on the COVID IL and made his Yankees debut, giving up a solo shot on the first pitch he threw to give the Mariners a 5-3 lead. Nick Burdi gave up a solo shot in the ninth to Moore, his second of the game, to give Seattle an insurance run.
The Yankees bullpen gave up four runs in four innings.
-In his final at bat, Volpe singled and finished 1-for-4, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Alex Verdugo doubled and advanced to third base on an error, giving the Yankees their first runner in scoring position, but New York could not bring him over. The left fielder is now 4-for-8 with two extra-base hits in this series. Juan Soto went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and Judge finished 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.
In total, the Yankees lineup allowed just five hits, walked once and went 1-for-5 with RISP.
Game MVP: Bryan Woo
The young right-hander was dominant. He kept the Yankees’ offense from getting going and they were unable to score until Woo was eliminated after the sixth inning.
An honorable mention goes to Dylan Moore, whose three RBIs tied the entire Yankees team on Tuesday night.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees continue their four-game series with the Mariners on Wednesday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM
Nestor Cortes (2-4, 3.56 ERA) will be on the mound as Seattle will pitch Brad Miller (3-4, 3.08 ERA) on the bump.
