Losing three out of four to the completely dead Cleveland Indians is not what Joe Girardi and the New York Yankees had in mind.
Game 4
- New York Yankees 3 (68-55) – Cleveland Indians 4 (58-65)
- Win: Bryan Shaw (2-2)
- Loss: Dellin Betances (6-3)
- Save: Cody Allen (26)
- HR: Santana (15), Lindor (7)
Game 3
- Yankees 6 – Indians 2
- Severino (W), Salazar (L)
Game 2
- Yankees 3 – Indians 7
- Carrasco (W), Tanaka (L), Allen (S)
Game 1
- Yankees 2 – Indians 3
- Tomlin (W), Nova (L), Allen (S)
By Robby Sabo
The last four days is not exactly what Joe Girardi and company had in mind. Losing three of four to the under .500 Cleveland Indians and falling out of first place (now trailing the Toronto Blue Jays by 1/2 game), is what we’re discussing.
Still, the New York Yankees must face reality. One that has Terry Francona’s Indians playing New York tough every time out in 2015 including a 4-3 victory in the Bronx on Sunday.
RECAP: #Yankees edged by Indians in series finale. http://t.co/ghLDV8Y7Wi pic.twitter.com/ewLv05uENF
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 23, 2015
Rookie Francisco Lindor homers in the 8th off Dellin Betances to give @Indians a 4-3 win over Yankees. pic.twitter.com/wt7TUa0DJC — Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) August 23, 2015
The hero of the day turned out to be Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor. In the top of the eighth, with the flame-throwing Dellin Betances on the mound, Lindor smacked a solo home run with one out.
Lindor. Game winner. Boss. WATCH >> http://t.co/7MQPlbGkxM #Windians pic.twitter.com/EjubWxVXX1
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) August 23, 2015
Not even retiring the numbers of Andy Pettitte on Sunday, or Jorge Posada on Saturday could save the Yanks.
C.C. Sabathia, the man who started the series finale on Sunday, was forced to leave the game after just 55 pitches in 2.2 innings with an injury. The severity is still not yet known.
What We Learned
Honestly? Nothing.
Perhaps the only thing to takeaway is the overriding sentiment that neither the Yanks nor the Jays will run away with the AL East. It looks like 2015 is shaping up to be one of those very special divisional races for the ages.
That is, if one of the AL Wild Card spots doesn’t bail out either club.
Nobody is getting New York mixed up with an average team. They’re better than that. At the same time, the inconsistencies they’ve shown over the last few weeks, especially in this Cleveland series, might have many thinking whether they’re an elite team or not.
This is especially the case of their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, keeps his unbalanced ways going. Oftentimes he flashes ace qualities. Other times, like Friday night in the Yanks 7-3 loss, he gives up four runs and seven hits over just six innings.
His stat-line of 9-6 with a 3.60 ERA is not good enough to be the ace of the Yankees. They’ll need better if they want to dream big in October.
Next up will be Houston Astros Monday night at The Stadium. The next three will be the last of their 10-game homestand.
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