Yankees Highlights: One bad inning sinks James Paxton

The Yankees head into the All-Star break having split the series with the Rays. The Bombers now sit 6.5 games ahead of Tampa Bay. Would it have been nice to pile on and win the series? Sure, but this is an okay outcome as well.

We’ll have a full recap up soon. In the meantime, here are the highlights:

Winner of the Game

James Paxton gets the official loss, but he pitched better than that. Big Maple tossed six innings worth of two-run ball, striking out 11 in the process. He struggled in the first—both runs scored in that frame—but then settled right down. Paxton will get his share of blame, and many will think the first inning represents who he is as a pitcher, but that’s not the case. He pitched well and deserves credit.

Honorable mention: Brett Gardner

Loser of the Game

Where did the Yankees’ offense go? The Bombers had five hits and one run today, striking out 14 times. Yesterday they scored three runs on eight hits. It seems like runs are hard to come by these days, which is funny to say about the 2019 Yankees. Hopefully the All-Star break recharges the batteries and gets everyone fresh for the unofficial second half.

Oh, and there’s also this awful strike call on Aaron Judge:

My kingdom for a well-called strike zone on Judge.

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