Yankees Highlights: Frustration at every level

The Yankees weren’t going to go 13-0 in October; a loss was inevitable at some point. That doesn’t make Tuesday night’s loss any less frustrating, as the Yankees put themselves in a hole after hole, to the point where they finally couldn’t escape. The Bombers dropped Game Two by a score of 7-5.

We’ll have a full recap up in a little while. For the time being, here are some highlights:

Winner of the Game

Giancarlo Stanton, Destroyer of Baseball Worlds, has taken over the postseason. The Yankees’ designated hitter went 2-for-4 with two home runs, driving in four of the Bombers’ five runs.

Loser of the Game

The Yankees got cute, trying to pull a bait-and-switch on the Rays. The decision to lift Deivi García after one inning to get a favorable matchup with J.A. Happ will draw all sorts of criticism, and fine. But the real loser here is Happ. He coughed up the lead and turned in a wholly ineffective outing, allowing four runs in 2.2 innings of work.

Jonathan Loáisiga also struggled, failing to keep the game close for the Yankees. The team, and some observers, find his stuff enamoring, but if you ask me, he’s the bullpen version of Michael Pineda: a pitcher whose stuff says he should be way better than he is.

Honorable Mention: C.B. Bucknor

Chart