Bronx, NY – Different games on back-to-back days and appropriately said about the Yankees as they make that final push for the postseason. Friday night the Yankees hit five home runs in a 8-0 rout over the Cleveland Indians in the Bronx.
It was the reversal Saturday afternoon as the Yankees season script of inconsistency continued. The Indians hit four home runs, they scored an early run in the first inning and seven more in the fifth.
The rout was on and that culminated in a 11-3 Indians win. The fifth inning barrage was the Indians biggest of the season. Franmil Reyes, (Palenque, Dominican) recorded three hits including an RBI double in the fifth, and his two-run home run off Andrew Heaney in the eighth inning was the second time he has hit 30 in his career.
At this juncture, and fighting for an AL Wild Card, the Yankees can’t afford the luxury of losing many games with 13 remaining. They lost ground to the Red Sox and Blue Jays in this tight race for the wild card.
The Yanees trail Boston by a game for the first wild card spot and are a half game behind the Blue Jays.
“We gotta win a lot of games to be where we want to be, especially this time of year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Also realize the urgency about tomorrow and play a really strong game. These losses sting a little bit more.”
Rookie right-hander Luis Gil, recorded his first Major League loss. After the loss he was once again sent down to Triple-A Scranton. In the fifth inning, Gil tried to keep the game respectable. Again, though, catcher Gary Sanchez was the subject with a defensive miscue in the Indians’ seven run fifth inning.
Sanchez, was charged with an error on a foul popout off the bat of Oscar Mercado. That enabled the Indians to score a huge inning as the Yankees could not play catch up. What could have been two outs and the bases empty, was followed with 10 Indians coming to the plate.
Sanchez, through an interpreter, said it was a play he should have made.
“It’s definitely a play there that I’m used to making especially, this year,” he said. “I’ve been very good at catching those flies.I think it’s the first one I missed this year. Just a bad read there with a fly ball. I think I got under it too much and when the ball is coming down, it’s got backspin.”
Regardless, Sanchez has been criticized about his skills behind the plate. Obviously this error cost the Yankees more with the significance of every game in front of them.
“Gary’s usually really good with popouts,” Boone said. “I think he probably got a little too upright and didn’t move enough. But yeah, You’ve got to make that play.”
Andres Gimenez, who played across town with the Mets and came to the Indians in a six player trade for Francisco Lindor, hit a three-run homer off for righthander Albert Abreu when Gil was lifted.
The home run was important for Gimenez, He missed significant playing time this season due to injuries and was optioned to Triple-A Columbus. The home run was his third of the season and first since April 17.
The Indians 11 runs, the 13th time this season and was second time in their last three games they have scored 10- or more runs. The Yankees were inconsistent again and that has been a theme of their season as they struggle to play baseball in October.
They have had very few easy games like the win Friday night. They have their ace Gerrit Cole on the mound Sunday afternoon and that is always a positive.
But as Luke Voit said, “We need to win tomorrow. We’ve got to be a goldfish and have a 10-second memory.”
And if the Yankees fail to reach that Wild Card, this loss Saturday will be more than a brief memory. As the manager said, every loss stings and this one could linger in the off season as one of those.
Rich Mancuso: Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso