He Yankees lost the series finale in Seattle on Thursday afternoon, 3-2, failing to secure a sweep of the Mariners.
Here are the conclusions…
-Returning to the field less than 24 hours after clinching — and celebrating — a postseason berth Wednesday night against the Seattle Mariners in a game that went into extra innings, the Yankees weren't off to the best start in Thursday's series finale.
After blowing a chance to take an early lead with two runners on and one out thanks to a walk and an error by the third baseman Josh Rojas on a ground ball hit directly at him by Judge AaronNew York allowed three runs in the first inning due to an error that the Mariners took advantage of.
–Clarke Schmidt He loaded the bases with a walk and two singles, the second a bunt. Lucas Raleybut i got it Justin Turner hit a fly ball that should have resulted in a scoring out, the second out of the inning. However, the rookie Jason Dominguez He dropped the ball into left field, allowing the runner to score and keeping the bases loaded with only one out. Jorge Polanco He followed with a sacrifice fly of his own to make it 2-0 before JP Crawford He singled home the third run of the inning.
Two of the three runs were unearned, but it was a laborious inning for Schmidt, who needed 26 pitches to finally retire the side.
-Dominguez tried to make up for his mistake with a double to open the second inning, but with two outs the 21-year-old was thrown out at the plate while trying to score on Antonio VolpeRaley singles in right field. Playing in the bottom half, Raley got to the ball quickly and threw a strike to the catcher. California Raleigh who tagged a sliding Dominguez for the third out.
-The Yankees managed to get on the board in the next inning thanks to Jazz Chisholm Jr.The Yankees' two-run homer off the right-hander Logan Gilbert who reduced their deficit to 3-2.
-In the fourth, New York put the first two runners on base, but a flyout and two strikeouts stranded them, a theme for the Yankees all day, who finished 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position (the only hit was Volpe's one-out single).
-Meanwhile, Schmidt had to navigate his way through base traffic for most of his outing. His only clean inning came in the final inning of the fifth. The right-hander pitched five innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out seven.
–Jake cousins He entered the game in the sixth, but after a hit and a strikeout, the reliever was forced to leave the game with what was later announced as tension in the right pectoralThe right-hander has been a stalwart in New York's bullpen with a 2.37 ERA in 38 innings this season, so his injury deserves to be closely monitored.
–Juan Soto He also had an injury scare after crashing his knee into the right-field wall on a diving catch in the seventh inning, but the outfielder remained in the game after being examined by trainers. He went 0-for-3 with one walk and two strikeouts.
-The Yankees had chances to tie or take the lead, but could never get the big hit, managing just six hits on the afternoon. Dominguez led the pack with a 2-for-4 game, but his error in the first inning proved to be the deciding factor.
-With the Baltimore Orioles' win over the San Francisco Giants earlier in the day, New York's division lead was cut to four games, while its magic number remains at six.
Game MVP: Logan Gilbert
The right-hander did enough to earn his eighth win of the season, striking out nine and getting out of trouble when he needed to.
Highlights
What's next?
The Yankees finish their final regular-season road trip in Oakland to take on the Athletics in a three-game series that begins Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m.
Fast Gerrit Cole (6-5, 3.97 ERA) goes for New York as the A's counterattack with RHP JT Ginn (0-1, 4.94 ERA).
