After a gut-punch of a loss in the cornfields on Thursday, tonight’s game against the White Sox had all the makings of a second consecutive heartbreaker. Extra innings, blown leads, and Albert Abreu in a save situation improbably added up to a 7-5 win for the Yankees in Chicago, evening the series at one game apiece. To the takeaways:
Tag: Zack Britton Page 1 of 9
Embed from Getty Images
This kind of game has been a recurring nightmare for the Yankees in 2021. Far too many times have the Yankees had agonizing losses this season, and tonight was no different. Fitting that this nightmarish finish came at the Field of Dreams game, I guess.
The Yankees lost to the White Sox 9-8 in dramatic fashion. They improbably rallied for four runs against Chicago’s closer Liam Hendriks with two outs in the top of the ninth, only to have Zack Britton blow it in the bottom half. So it goes this year.
For a fleeting moment, it felt like the Yankees were going to steal a game they had no business winning. Chances felt slim with Andrew Heaney delivering another poor performance and the White Sox vaunted bullpen dominating the sixth through eighth innings. And then, we were reminded of why the Yankees can be so dangerous: the trio of Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo, and Giancarlo Stanton delivered huge at-bats late. If only Britton could have held on.
With that, let’s get to the takeaways from tonight’s game.
Embed from Getty Images
The Yankees remain allergic to the sweep. I know they swept Miami just last weekend, but this has been a constant issue all year long. Today, they lost 2-0 to the Mariners with a chance for the rare four game sweep. Oh well. At least Boston lost again, but it was at the hands of the Blue Jays, who are now just a half game behind the Yanks. Tampa Bay won too, moving six games up on the Yankees in the loss column.
Today’s loss is mostly on the offense, which went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Aaron Boone didn’t put his best foot forward with the bullpen in the eighth inning, but at the same time, it’s impossible to win without scoring a run (obviously). Hey, at least Luis Gil looked very good once again. Let’s get to the takeaways:
They finally did it! After being 4-10 in potential sweep clinching games and 13-25 in day games, the Yankees pulled off the comeback win fueled by some poor defense by the Marlins to win this one for the sweep. That is their first series sweep since June against the Blue Jays. They are now a season-high 8 games over .500 at 56-48 and just 1 game back in the loss column for a playoff spot. And, they play their next 10 against the lowly Orioles, Mariners, and Royals. To the takeaways:
Fun fact: Olivia Rodrigo’s hit song Déjà Vu is actually about the 2021 New York Yankees. Today, the Yankees replayed their biggest hit in a 5-4 loss to the Red Sox: a gut-wrenching bullpen meltdown.
The Yankees were in total control through seven-and-a-half innings today. They led 4-0 and Domingo Germán was working on a no-hitter. Then, it all came crashing down like it has so many times before this season. To the takeaways we go: