Yankees strike out 18 times in 2-1 loss to the Tigers

Did you miss today’s game? Well, did you watch yesterday’s game? Good news, you’re all caught up then.

For the second straight day, the Yankees took an early lead against the Tigers, then spent the remaining innings missing out on chances to add to their lead. In the meantime, the Tigers cut into that lead before eventually moving ahead and holding on for a win.

In fact, today was arguably dumber, as the Yankees lost despite allowing just three hits. The Yankees put nine runners on but scored just once. The lost the game, and the series, 2-1 to the Tigers.

The Yankees used up their run for the day in the third inning. With one out, DJ LeMahieu doubled off the wall in left. Aaron Judge followed that with a single, bringing home the game’s opening run. They could have gotten more out of the inning, but got unlucky when a grounder hit by Gleyber Torres struck Judge as he ran from second to third. Had it not made contact with Judge, it was headed for a hole and a likely second run.

That missed opportunity meant the Yankees lost their lead in the top of the fourth. Jonathan Loaisiga got into his first real trouble of the game, walking the bases loaded while recording just one out. He then got Christin Stewart to fly out, but that was enough for Nick Castellanos to tag up and score, as he just evaded the tag at home.

Ahead of that inning, Troy Tulowitzki exited the game with an injury, which you can read about here.

Loaisiga’s day would be done after the fourth inning, as Jonathan Holder replaced him to start the fifth. Other than the walks that got him into trouble and eventually led to the run, Loaisiga was mostly solid in his first appearance of the season.

The two teams traded zeros for a while after that, until the Tigers broke the tie in the eighth. Chad Green had replaced Holder to start the seventh, and threw a 1-2-3 inning. He came back out for the eighth, but promptly gave up a home run to Gordon Beckham.

That would prove the deciding run, as the Yankees managed just one base runner after falling behind. Four Tigers’ pitchers combined to strike out 18 Yankees, with starter Matthew Boyd recording 13 of them. That would be enough for the Tigers to claim victory.

The good news is the Yankees now get another series with the Orioles next. The bad news is the Orioles are still currently sitting a playoff spot. Baseball is weird.

Box score.