The Yankees lost another game to the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3. Carlos Rodon pitched well for the Yankees, but Zach Gallen pitched better for the Diamondbacks. The torpedo bats, much talked about, do not work if you do not hit the ball.
The Yankees struck out 15 times last night. They struck out 16 times in this game. They also need Rodon to be the ace of this staff. The Diamondbacks have won the first two games of this series. This does not bode well for the Yankees. The Diamondbacks are probably the third-best team in the National League West. Do you think the Yankees will hit against good pinching?
Lineups For the Game
The Diamondbacks had Ketel Marte batting first and playing second base. Corbin Carroll batted second and played right field. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. batted third and played left field. Randall Grichuk was the designated hitter batting fourth. Josh Naylor played first base and batted fifth. Eugenio Suárez was playing third base and batting six for the Diamondbacks. He is leading the major leagues with 5 home runs. Gabriel Moreno did the catching, batting seventh. Jake McCarthy played left field and batted eighth. Alek Thomas was playing center field and batting eighth. Geraldo Perdomo was the shortstop and batted ninth.
The Yankees lineup had Paul Goldschmidt batting first and playing first base. He seems to like the leadoff spot. Cody Bellinger batted second and started in center field. Aaron Judge batted third and played right field. Jazz Chisholm Jr. batted fourth and played second base. Anthony Volpe batted fifth and played shortstop. Austin Wells played catcher and batted sixth. Jasson Dominguez started in left field batting seventh, but was removed in the seventh inning.
Ben Rice was the designated hitter batting eighth. Oswaldo Cabrera batted ninth and played third base. Pablo Reyes pinch-hit for him in the ninth inning and stayed in the game to play third base. The Yankees used this same starting lineup in the last game.
Scoring Summary: Yanks Against Diamondbacks
In the first inning, Gurriel Jr. hit a 2-run home run to give the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead. Yankees fans feared it was a bad Rodon on the mound, but it was not. Perdomo hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning to give Arizona a 3-0 lead. In the second inning, Marte singled in Gabriel Montero. This gave the Diamondbacks a 4-0 lead. Volpe hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to cut the Arizona lead to 4-3. New York’s offense came alive too late in Wednesday’s game.
Notes From the Game
Rodon was good in his first start and came into the game with a 1.69 earned run average. In this game Rodon was good. He pitched 6 innings, struck out 5, walked 4, and gave up 3 hits, and 4 earned runs. When he left the game, he could not win.
The Yankees are starting Carlos Carrasco in the third game of the series. “Cookie,” as he is known, is making his first start for the Yankees. He is a cancer survivor and has been a good starting pitcher in his career. Judge struck out in his first three at-bats for the Yankees. Those were 3 of the 16 strikeouts for the Yankees.
Each team had only three hits at the start of the ninth inning. It is going to be the case in 2025 that hits will be at a premium. Torpedo bats or not. Hits have been declining for years, and expect this trend to continue. It was freezing at Yankee Stadium for this game starting at 42 degrees.
Stanton Will Use the Torpedo Bat When He Returns
Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton swung a torpedo bat last year and denied the bat caused his elbow injuries. Stanton used a torpedo bat in the postseason when he smashed 7 home runs and was named Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series against the Guardians.
As Stanton works to return from the elbow injuries that cost him all of Spring Training and prompted three platelet-rich plasma injections he has been hitting off a Trajekt pitching machine “to catch up.” His grip strength is improving, but he continues to feel pain in his elbows. There is no timetable for Stanton’s return, although the Yankees do not need him.
Home Runs a Plenty
The Yankees have 18 home runs in their first four games with the three they hit in the loss yesterday. The Yankees got home runs from Dominguez, Volpe, and Rice. With the home runs from the baby bombers, the Yankees now have 18 home runs in their first four games. That breaks the record held by the 2006 Detroit Tigers. The Yankees now have home runs from nine different players. There are plenty of teams that do not have 9 home runs yet.
Conclusion
Rodon pitched pretty well for the Yankees in this game. However, Rodon did not pitch well enough to win this game. The Yankees are now 3-2. All of these games have been at home. The Yankees play in 22 of the net 23 days. There is no rest for the weary. They will need their top pitchers, like Rodon, to do better.
