Yankees 2, Indians 6: Kluber outduels Severino

The Yankees’ two-game surge was halted Monday as they fell victim to Corey Kluber and the Indians 6-2. In what was a much-anticipated series opener in the Bronx, Luis Severino could not quite match Kluber in the battle of aces.

Jose Ramirez opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first but Chase Headley erased the deficit with a solo home run of his own in the third. Both pitchers were sharp early as the homers were the only base runners for either side through three innings.

Jose Ramirez once again caused issues in the fourth when he walked and promptly stole second. He tried to take third on a pitch in the dirt, but Gary Sanchez made an excellent block and throw to nail Ramirez. The Yankees took the lead in the fifth when Todd Frazier’s single plated Jacoby Ellsbury, who had just laced a double into left-center.

The lead didn’t last long as Jose Ramirez once again got the better of Severino, launching his second home run of the game to tie the score 2-2. Severino then fell victim to the long ball in the seventh when Carlos Santana clobbered a ball into the right field seats giving the Indians a one-run lead.

Severino still turned in yet another quality start before he was lifted midway through the seventh for Adam Warren. Outside of the three home runs, Severino surrendered just one hit and three walks to go along with nine strikeouts.

Warren entered the game with Bradley Zimmer on first, and he was able to score without the Indians putting the ball in play. Zimmer stole second and was able to advance to third when the throw got away from Starlin Castro. Warren then spiked a fastball into the dirt that got buy Gary Sanchez, allowing Zimmer to score putting the Indians up 4-2. From there, Cleveland tacked on an insurance run in both the eighth and ninth to beat the Yankees 6-2.

The Yankees couldn’t do much against Kluber in the end. Only Headley, Ellsbury, and Frazier had hits, and Aaron Hicks walked. The Cleveland ace, meanwhile, lasted eight innings and struck out seven.

The series continues Tuesday night at 7:05 with Jaime Garcia facing off against Trevor Bauer.