Yankees shut out for first time in 220 games, lose to Rangers 7-0

After nearly a three-hour rain delay, the Yankees and Rangers finally got a ballgame going on Monday afternoon. Masahiro Tanaka took the mound for New York, and Mike Minor for Texas.

The Rangers got on the board early in the first inning. Elvis Andrus singled, then Willie Calhoun ripped one down the first base line, moving Andrus to third. Nomar Mazar drove him home on a sacrifice fly, giving Texas a 1-0 advantage.

Minor and Tanaka traded zeros for the next three innings, but Tanaka surrendered a leadoff homer in the fifth to Jose Trevino. When the ball landed in right-field seats, it was 2-0 Rangers. Texas continued their threat to add onto their lead with men on first and second and two outs, but Clint Frazier fired off a 96.5 mph throw home to get Andrus out at the plate and keep the deficit at two. How about that for defense?

Tanaka exited after six solid innings, giving up only two runs on 102 pitches. He didn't have his best stuff, but that’s a quality start and put the Yankees in a good position to win the ballgame. He now has 14 starts of six or more innings and no more than two runs allowed. That is the fourth-most in the American League.

Nestor Cortes Jr. entered in relief and was dominant in his first inning as he struck out all three batters he faced. His second inning did not go his way, though. After a hit and a walk in the eighth, Ronald Guzman blooped a single into center, scoring a run and extending the lead to three. The bleeding didn’t stop though. Delino DeShields, the very next batter, crushed a three-run bomb into left field, putting the Rangers up by six.

Whereas Tanaka had to grind, Minor had a monster start. He went 7.1 scoreless innings, allowed five hits and registered five strikeouts. The Yankees could not seem to get to the left-hander at all.

Shin-Soo Choo did not greet Tyler Lyons nicely in his first game in pinstripes, as Choo blasted a solo shot into the Yankee bullpen to make it a 7-0 game. That would be the final score, as the Yankees were not able to plate a run in the game. That ended their second-longest streak in baseball history at 220 consecutive games with a run.

The second game of the series will be tomorrow at 6:35 pm. James Paxton will start for the Yankees, and Ariel Jurado for the Rangers.