Freezing conditions persisted in Detroit as the start time of this game was moved up to 1 p.m. The Yankees lost this game 5-0. It was their third straight loss and second consecutive loss in freezing Detroit. The Yankees’ starting pitcher was Carlos Carrasco. He pitched well in his first start but is auditioning. He took on Tarik Skubal, who seemed to thrive in the freezing conditions. For the second game in a row, the Yankees’ Torpedo bats seemed to have frozen. Did the Yankees ever have a chance in this one?
Lineups For the Game
In freezing Detroit, the Tigers had Justyn-Henry Malloy batting first and acting as the designated hitter again. Kerry Carpenter played left field and batted second. Riley Greene batted third and played center field. Spencer Torkelson played first base and batted fourth. Colt Keith was playing second base and batted fifth. Zach McKinstry was the shortstop batting sixth. He was a late-game defensive replacement yesterday. Dillon Dingler did the catching and batted seventh. Trey Sweeney was the shortstop and batted eighth. Javier Baez was the third baseman batting and batted nine.
For the Yankees it was a different day with a different lineup in the freezing conditions. Paul Goldschmidt led off and played first base. Ben Rice batted second and was the designated hitter. Aaron Judge played right field and batted third. Jazz Chisholm Jr. batted fourth and played second base. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop batting fifth. Austin Wells batted sixth and was the catcher. Jasson Dominguez batted seventh and played left field. Trent Grisham played batted eighth and played center field. Oswald Peraza played third base and batted ninth.
Scoring Summary: Yanks Against the Tigers
In the second inning, McKinstry hit a sacrifice fly. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Torkelson hit a solo home run giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Then McKinstry and Dingler hit solo home runs, and it was 4-0 Tigers.
In the fifth inning, Carpenter hit a solo home run and it was 5-0 Tigers. That home run was off left-handed Pitcher Ryan Yarborough by Carpenter.
Notes From the Game
It was freezing again in Detroit. The game time temperature was 34 degrees Fahrenheit. It is reasonable to wonder why Major League Baseball schedules games in April for places like Detroit. Yankees’ slugger Cody Bellinger missed today’s game with food poisoning. Bad chicken wings, they think. This is the third game he has missed so far in this young season.
Jake Rogers was the starting catcher until about an hour before the game, but he went on the injured list and Dingler got the start at catcher. It was the first time Skubal had ever thrown to him in a game. Rice, who added 10 pounds of muscle this season, is second in the American League in exit velocity and hard-hit percentage. He is fourth in the American League in barrel percentage. Those are good signs for the Yankees.
Chisholm Jr. has good power numbers but coming into the game he led the American League with 19 strikeouts. Skubal, a Cy Young Award winner, retired 16 consecutive hitters before Goldschmidt got a hit in the sixth inning. Ian Hamilton came off the IL and appeared in the seventh inning for the Yankees. To make room on the roster, the Yankees designated Adam Ottavino for assignment.
Conclusion
The Yankees looked to steal this game with an unfavorable starting pitching matchup and freezing conditions. They fell behind in the second inning 1-0 and did not lead. They did not lead yesterday either. The early 1-0 hole today was too much for them to overcome. Then the Tigers hit 3 solo home runs in the fourth inning and one in the fifth. Skubal was outstanding and did not allow a baserunner from the second through the fifth innings.
