Yankees completely shut down in listless loss to Guardians
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.There have been games in which the Yankees could not convert opportunities.
There have been games in which the big hit has not arrived.There have been games in which too many crushed batted balls found gloves.This was not one of those games.
Wednesday presented what has become a rarity for the best-scoring offense in the American League: a dud.The Yankees offense got nothing going in a five-hit shutout — just the second time this season they have not crossed home plate — falling 4-0 at the hands of the Guardians in front of 36,759 mostly bored fans in The Bronx.After dropping just their third contest in the past 10, the Yankees (37-23) will look to take the rubber game of the series Thursday night behind Max Fried.Even a perfect Clarke Schmidt would not have been a winner, and Schmidt was not perfect in allowing three runs in the first.He bounced back and got through 5 ²/₃ innings without allowing another run, but the Yankees offense could not make his resilience matter.The Yankees finally mounted a threat in the ninth against Emmanuel Clase, Ben Rice reaching on an infield single and Cody Bellinger lofting a ground-rule double down the left field line.
But Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr.struck out to end it.Before the ninth, the Yankees only had tallied one at-bat with a runner in scoring position, ground into three double plays and generally looked overmatched by Cleveland starter Luis Ortiz and three Cleveland relievers.Their best threat arrived in the third inning, when they put together a two-out rally.
After Trent Grisham walked, Rice (the uncommon Yankee who stung the ball on a few occasions) singled to right, bringing up the potential tying run in Aaron Judge.But the Yankees captain, who finished 2-for-4, swung through Ortiz’s heat twice before freezing on a slider for the strikeout.Ortiz (5 ²/₃ ...