Indians Dismantle New York Yankees In Game 2 En Route To Series Sweep

Jordan Montgomery’s rough first inning was too much for the New York Yankees to overcome, as they lose both the doubleheader and three-game series via a sweep.

• Cleveland Indians: 9 (75-56)
• New York Yankees: 4 (70-62)
• American League, FINAL, Box Score
• Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

The Cleveland Indians capped off a sweep of the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium thanks to taking the second game of a doubleheader by a score of 9-4.

New York was hoping to head into a crucial matchup with the Red Sox this weekend with a little momentum by at least avoiding the sweep, but Yankees’ starter Jordan Montgomery didn’t give his squad much of a chance.

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Right out of the gate, the 24-year-old lefty allowed six of the first seven batters faced to reach base, resulting in four earned runs in the first inning alone. The big blow came off the bat of Yandy Diaz, who smacked a single to left field to drive in Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana.

Montgomery would eventually get out of the debilitating first frame by fanning Yan Gomes, but the damage was done as the Indians led 4-0 after the top of the first.

First baseman Greg Bird demonstrated a ray of hope in the second after knocking in Aaron Judge on a single to right with one out, but back-to-back groundouts by Ronald Torreyes and Austin Romine destroyed the possibility of a big inning. [sc name=”Earn Your Stripes Podcast Right” ]

Indians’ starter Ryan Merritt held the Yankees to just that one run in 5.1 innings while fanning one to lower his season to just 1.74. The southpaw certainly played up to his “pitch-to-contact” makeup by inducing eight ground ball outs including two double plays.

On the offensive side, Francisco Lindor led the way by going 2-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI on a solo homer. Encarnacion and Yan Gomes also homered in the contest as the high-powered Indians’ lineup proved to be too much for the Yankees to maintain, despite a ninth-inning three-run home run by Bird.

9-4 was the final from the Bronx, as Cleveland comes into Yankee Stadium and take the three-game series by putting the brooms to use.

Boy, that escalated quickly!

The @Indians plate four in the first inning of Game 2 on STO.

STREAM: https://t.co/iVPDsWPvlh pic.twitter.com/2tFeD435Up

— FanDuel Sports Network Cleveland (@FanDuelSN_CLE) August 30, 2017

Greg Bird drives in the Yankees first run of the game. 4-1, Cleveland leads in the 2nd. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/tyok5Gu8Pp

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 30, 2017

https://twitter.com/TheRenderMLB_/status/903025085409353728

Another strong outing for Ryan Merritt tonight.

5.1 innings, allowing just a run. pic.twitter.com/wzH3Tv3g3o

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 30, 2017

Let’s Not Play 2:

The Yankees have gone 1-4-3 over their last eight doubleheaders
since 2014 and have not swept any of their last seven doubleheaders. That matches their longest such streak since the start of the 1980 season.

What’s Next: 

In an attempt to not only make noise in the AL East race but in the Wild Card picture as well, the Yankees will play host to the Boston Red Sox for the first of four on Thursday night.

CC Sabathia gets the start in the series opener coming off a no-decision in his last start against Seattle on Friday. The 37-year-old allowed just one run in seven innings while striking out six — helping him surpass Mike Mussina (2,813 K) for 19th place on
the all-time strikeouts list.

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First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET and can be caught on WPIX or on the radio at WFAN 660/101.9 FM.

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