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CC Sabathia wasn't quite as good as he was in his last start, but for the second straight game, he pitched six solid innings. Last time, he allowed just one run while the offense scored two, which was enough. This time, he allowed two while the offense scored just one. That wasn't enough. That meant the Yankees lost their fifth straight, falling 2-1 to the Indians, exiting first place in the process.
In the second inning, Brian McCann got the Yankees on the board. With one out, he launched a solo home run over the right-center field wall, giving the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.
That run stood up for a while with Sabathia getting himself into and out of some jams, most notably in the third. But the Indians would tie the game in the fifth. Roberto Perez and Mike Aviles led off the inning with two straight singles. Jose Ramirez then bunted both of them into scoring position. Francisco Lindor followed that with a single to score Perez, but Aviles had to be held up at third. That would be huge, as Chris Johnson would ground into an inning-ending double play, preserving the tie.
An inning later, the Indians took the lead. Carlos Santana and Jerry Sands led off the sixth with two-straight singles. Giovanny Urshela then grounded into a force out at second, bringing Abraham Almonte to the plate. There were some pretty decent arguments for taking Sabathia out prior to the inning, or when he allowed the two singles. But he was left in there and allowed a single to Almonte, giving the Indians the lead. Sabathia struck out Perez, and then a spectacular play by Didi Gregorius got Sabathia out of the jam, avoiding total disaster.
The Yankees missed on two great chances to score some runs in the seventh and eighth. Chasen Shreve and Nick Goody pitched scoreless innings out of the bullpen to keep the Yankees in striking distance heading to the top of the ninth. They got some luck when McCann struck out, but the third strike was dropped and the throw to first was errant. Despite that, the Yankees couldn't take advantage and lost their fifth-straight game by a score of 2-1. I don't even know anymore.
The Yankees will finish up their series in Cleveland tomorrow at 7:10 eastern. Nathan Eovaldi will get the start for the Yankees, while Trevor Bauer will pitch for the Indians.