Going into a hole in the first inning before you even have a chance to come to the plate is never a good thing, but it’s not a death knell. However, if you proceed to do next to nothing when you do then get a chance to respond, it can be.
Starting the game, Clarke Schmidt did not have a particularly strong outing. To be more specific, it was more that he didn’t have a particularly strong first inning. Including allowing a homer to the second batter he faced, Schmidt gave up three runs in the first inning. While that’s hardly game over, the Yankee offense kind of treated it like it was.
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Having hit him decently well back when these two teams played back in Cleveland, the Yankees had no answer for Guardians starter Luis L. Ortiz, striking out seven times in the 5.2 innings he pitched. The few chances they did get were squandered, leaving six runners on base in total in a 4-0 loss to the Guardians.
Coming off six strong shutout innings against the Angels in his last start, Schmidt could not replicate it in this one. After issuing a lead-off walk to Stephen Kwan to start the game, Angel Martínez took Schmidt deep to give the Guardians a lead before an out had been recorded. Two doubles later in the inning led to Daniel Schneemann driving home José Ramírez to add to Cleveland’s lead.
Schmidt did settle down after that, managing to battle through 5.2 innings. He eventually departed after getting two outs and allowing two runners to reach in the sixth. In his 5.2 frames, Schmidt allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out eight batters.
Brent Headrick came in for Schmidt and got out of the sixth without incurring any damage.
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After another inning from Headrick, Fernando Cruz came in for the eighth in his first appearance since getting activated off the injured list. His day started in quite impressive fashion, striking out the first two batters he faced, including Ramírez. However, Kyle Manzardo got him for a two-out solo homer, and Cruz also allowed a double to Schneemann before getting out of the jam.
The issue all night for the Yankees was that they simply couldn’t get any semblance of offense going. Ortiz had them stymied, especially with his sinker and slider, and the few times when they did put a runner on, the inning almost certainly ended on a double play. The Yankees grounded into three in total for the game, with Anthony Volpe being the culprit on two different occasions.
Still not on the board going into the ninth inning, the Yankees had the part of the order you’d want due up, with the two, three, and four spots due up. Ben Rice reached to start the inning after Manzardo was pulled off the bag on a play at first. After Aaron Judge struck out, Cody Bellinger then dropped a hit just into fair territory, as it bounced into the left field stands, putting two runners in scoring position. Neither Paul Goldschmidt nor Jazz Chisholm Jr. could do anything with that, both striking out to seal the loss.
Tomorrow, the Yankees will try to bounce back as they and Guardians wrap up their series at 7:05 pm ET. Max Fried is expected to get the start for the Yankees with Slade Cecconi going for Cleveland.
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