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NEW YORK – In the midst of George Lombard Jr. Mania, the Yankees were carried back to a collective offensive reality Sunday.
One run. Four hits. An 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
This wasn’t Chris Sale dealing for the Braves at Yankee Stadium, it was Grant Holmes. And by the way, Sale was ejected before Sunday’s first pitch.
In total, Aaron Boone felt the Yankees had “better at-bats as a club’’ during Atlanta’s series-salvaging, 2-1, 10-inning win before 42,533 fans.
“But still, we’ve got to find a way to push them across.’’
That’s been the case since mid-June, two weeks after Aaron Judge (fractured rib) landed on the injured list, joining Giancarlo Stanton (calf strain).
Cody Bellinger (hamstring strain) has been out for two weeks and he’s at least two weeks away from returning; there’s no countdown clock yet for any of those absent hitters.
So, the Yankees managed to waste a real gem from Cam Schlittler on Sunday afternoon.
Across seven strong innings, the only damage against Schlittler was Matt Olson’s solo homer – off a 100-mph, 2-0 fastball – in the seventh.
“I still fully believe we’re going to get better offensively,’’ said Boone, whose team won a pair of one-run games against the NL East-leading Braves – including Friday’s ninth-inning comeback – before Sunday’s stumble.
“We need to (be better as a lineup) to be the team we hope and expect.’’
Trent Grisham’s game-tying, eighth inning solo homer provided hope, but he’d be the last Yankee to reach base Sunday.
And the picture of Yankee frustration was Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s uncompetitive, ninth-inning at-bat – a four-pitch strikeout, which sent the game to an extra inning.
Since Judge landed on the IL, Chisholm is batting .188 with a .677 OPS (in his free agent walk year) at a time when the Yanks need him most.
“All year (he’s) just struggled to get dialed in,’’ said Boone. “He’s never had that real hot streak.’’
Late in Friday’s game, Chisholm was lifted for pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt against a lefty, and he’s found himself on the bench vs. lefty starters, including Saturday.
“Been feeling OK. Hit it hard, get out, sometimes not even making contact,’’ said Chisholm, who also singled and walked in four trips Sunday.
But he was in the cage early Sunday, working on his swing mechanics.
“lt’s super frustrating when you know your abilities and you go out there and work in the cage every day and it’s just not coming tighter in the game,’’ said Chisholm. “Just have to keep oin doing it.’’
Schlittler picked up his second baseman defensively, ending the seventh with his third strikeout of Dom Smith.That came after Chisholm charged Ozzie Albies’ slow roller and twice lost his grip on a throw, lofting it toward the dugout and sending Albies to second.
Schlittler came out gunning, with five strikeouts vs. his first six batters, all but one of them registering a 100-mph third strike (the other was 99-mph).
After lasting just three innings here Monday against St. Louis, and mindful of his career home ERA of 3.79 (vs. 1.54 on the road), Schlittler was “trying to be more locked in’’ and succeeded.
“Felt I was able to go out there and be confident with my stuff,’’ said Schlittler, while Boone called his 96-pitch effort “dominant.’’
“(It’s) up there with as good as he’s been all year,’’ said Boone. “Which is saying something.’’
With that type of starter’s effort, these are games that must be won down the stretch and into October.
Even as runs are hard to come by, “I think regardless of the score, you always want to be perfect and set your team up for a win,’’ said Schlittler.
“Obviously, it’s a close game against a really good (Braves) team. If you’re not going to be locked in for that, I don’t know what will get you there.’’
Batting .350 (7-for-20) in his last nine games, Austin Wells singled and was doubled to third by Grisham with one out in the sixth.
Right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. bobbled the carom, but third base coach Luis Rojas kept Wells at third with Ben Rice up next.
"I was OK with the no send,'' said Boone, as Wells is "probably dead to rights'' at the plate, based on Acuna's relay throw.
With the infield in, Rice lined out to Acuna and Heliot Ramos struck out against Holmes (6 IP, 0 ER), ending the inning.
With the additions of Lombard (5-for-13 before Sunday's 0-for-4), Ramos and Luis Garcia Jr., "we’re a little different than we were last week,'' said Boone, with Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez and Max Schuemann now at Triple-A.
"We do have a little more flexibility personnel wise...on different days, we’ve got a couple of more real hitters in the lineup.''
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: How long can Yankees' dominant pitchers cover for a struggling lineup?
Continue reading...
One run. Four hits. An 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
This wasn’t Chris Sale dealing for the Braves at Yankee Stadium, it was Grant Holmes. And by the way, Sale was ejected before Sunday’s first pitch.
In total, Aaron Boone felt the Yankees had “better at-bats as a club’’ during Atlanta’s series-salvaging, 2-1, 10-inning win before 42,533 fans.
“But still, we’ve got to find a way to push them across.’’
That’s been the case since mid-June, two weeks after Aaron Judge (fractured rib) landed on the injured list, joining Giancarlo Stanton (calf strain).
Cody Bellinger (hamstring strain) has been out for two weeks and he’s at least two weeks away from returning; there’s no countdown clock yet for any of those absent hitters.
So, the Yankees managed to waste a real gem from Cam Schlittler on Sunday afternoon.
Across seven strong innings, the only damage against Schlittler was Matt Olson’s solo homer – off a 100-mph, 2-0 fastball – in the seventh.
“I still fully believe we’re going to get better offensively,’’ said Boone, whose team won a pair of one-run games against the NL East-leading Braves – including Friday’s ninth-inning comeback – before Sunday’s stumble.
“We need to (be better as a lineup) to be the team we hope and expect.’’
Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s uneven season
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Trent Grisham’s game-tying, eighth inning solo homer provided hope, but he’d be the last Yankee to reach base Sunday.
And the picture of Yankee frustration was Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s uncompetitive, ninth-inning at-bat – a four-pitch strikeout, which sent the game to an extra inning.
Since Judge landed on the IL, Chisholm is batting .188 with a .677 OPS (in his free agent walk year) at a time when the Yanks need him most.
“All year (he’s) just struggled to get dialed in,’’ said Boone. “He’s never had that real hot streak.’’
Late in Friday’s game, Chisholm was lifted for pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt against a lefty, and he’s found himself on the bench vs. lefty starters, including Saturday.
“Been feeling OK. Hit it hard, get out, sometimes not even making contact,’’ said Chisholm, who also singled and walked in four trips Sunday.
But he was in the cage early Sunday, working on his swing mechanics.
“lt’s super frustrating when you know your abilities and you go out there and work in the cage every day and it’s just not coming tighter in the game,’’ said Chisholm. “Just have to keep oin doing it.’’
Schlittler picked up his second baseman defensively, ending the seventh with his third strikeout of Dom Smith.That came after Chisholm charged Ozzie Albies’ slow roller and twice lost his grip on a throw, lofting it toward the dugout and sending Albies to second.
Cam Schlittler dialed in for Yankees
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Schlittler came out gunning, with five strikeouts vs. his first six batters, all but one of them registering a 100-mph third strike (the other was 99-mph).
After lasting just three innings here Monday against St. Louis, and mindful of his career home ERA of 3.79 (vs. 1.54 on the road), Schlittler was “trying to be more locked in’’ and succeeded.
“Felt I was able to go out there and be confident with my stuff,’’ said Schlittler, while Boone called his 96-pitch effort “dominant.’’
“(It’s) up there with as good as he’s been all year,’’ said Boone. “Which is saying something.’’
With that type of starter’s effort, these are games that must be won down the stretch and into October.
Even as runs are hard to come by, “I think regardless of the score, you always want to be perfect and set your team up for a win,’’ said Schlittler.
“Obviously, it’s a close game against a really good (Braves) team. If you’re not going to be locked in for that, I don’t know what will get you there.’’
Near miss in Yankees' sixth inning
Batting .350 (7-for-20) in his last nine games, Austin Wells singled and was doubled to third by Grisham with one out in the sixth.
Right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. bobbled the carom, but third base coach Luis Rojas kept Wells at third with Ben Rice up next.
"I was OK with the no send,'' said Boone, as Wells is "probably dead to rights'' at the plate, based on Acuna's relay throw.
With the infield in, Rice lined out to Acuna and Heliot Ramos struck out against Holmes (6 IP, 0 ER), ending the inning.
With the additions of Lombard (5-for-13 before Sunday's 0-for-4), Ramos and Luis Garcia Jr., "we’re a little different than we were last week,'' said Boone, with Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez and Max Schuemann now at Triple-A.
"We do have a little more flexibility personnel wise...on different days, we’ve got a couple of more real hitters in the lineup.''
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: How long can Yankees' dominant pitchers cover for a struggling lineup?
Continue reading...
