New York Yankees Fall To Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 In 10 Innings Despite Strong Start From Max Fried
The Yankees are terrible offensively. It is a wonder how a team that led MLB last year in runs scored could be so offensively anemic. They need to get great starts from their starting pitchers. They got one in this game as ace Max Fried pitched well, and the Yankees still lost this game 5-4 in 10 innings.
Hidden in the offensive slump for the Yankees is how they are taxing their bullpen. The epidemic of short starts in Major League Baseball has affected them, and even though they are getting strong starts, they are using a bunch of relievers. Even when they have their ace in Fried going for them, they use a mix-and-match reliever. Do you think the strategy employed by managers in Major League Baseball is effective?
Yankees Hitters Slumping Badly
As a team, the Yankees are hitting just .201. It is a good thing they are second in Major League Baseball with only a 2.50 earned run average. The offense for the Yankees goes as Aaron Judge goes. He is hitting only .224. Big free-agent acquisition Cody Bellinger is hitting just .222. Paul Goldschmidt is old and hitting only .200. It gets worse.
Jose Caballero is hitting .125, and Jazz Chisholm Jr is hitting just .170. Trent Grisham is hitting just .152, and Austin Wells is hitting .152. Neither JC Escarra nor Randal Grichuk has a hit this season.
World Baseball Championship Struggles
One of the big stories following the widely successful World Baseball Classic is how the players for the various teams have struggled. Some have not, like Bobby Witt Jr.
However, many of the stars that graced that championship have gotten off to slow starts. This has affected the Yankees. Wells played for the Dominican Republic, Caballero played for Puerto Rico, and Judge was the captain of the American team.
The Three True Outcomes
One of the important discussion topics in Major League Baseball has been that of the so-called three true outcomes. Readers should know what these are; they might be ruining the sport. The three true outcomes are home runs, walks, and strikeouts. The thinking is that balls hit in play have uncertainty associated with them. So, these three are the only three that matter to pitchers and coaches. Players are getting coached to seek these three true outcomes, and they are becoming more common.
The Effectiveness of Max Fried
With so many players struggling for the Yankees, it is a good thing they have gotten some fantastic starting pitching. Leading the band has been today’s starting pitcher, Max Fried. He is 2-0 with a microscopic 1.35 earned run average coming into this game.
Fried has been outstanding for the Yankees this year. He has been almost unhittable. His two starts, which he has not been happy with, have been masterful. In this game against the Rays, the Yanks were hoping they would get another high-quality start from Fried.
How To Beat the Yankees
Put the ball in play. The Yankees showed again last night in the 10th inning that their defense is poor and they do not know basic defensive rules. With two runners on base last night, Chisholm Jr. fielded a ground ball. He tried and failed to tag the base runner going by him. Then he went to throw to first base, and there was nobody there.
After the game, Chisholm Jr. admitted that he did not know the rules about double plays, expressing confusion. He did not know if he should have tagged the runner, then thrown to first, or thrown to first and then have the first baseman throw to second.
