The New York Yankees had early opportunities and an impressive James Paxton on the mound, but they ultimately drop a winnable game.
- New York Yankees: 3 (1-1)
- Baltimore Orioles: 5 (1-1)
- W: Jimmy Yacabonis (1-0)
- L: James Paxton (0-1)
- AL, Final, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York.
Despite injuries, the New York Yankees have a stacked lineup, but the bats were nowhere to be found on Saturday. The Yanks squandered an early opportunity to jump in front when Baltimore Orioles starter Nate Karns walked three batters in succession.
Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Luke Voit all walked and the table was set for Miguel Andujar. But The O’s managed to avoid a repeat of Opening Day. Karns induced a ground ball leading to a 1-2-3 double play.
Paxton was lights out through five innings. However, things fell apart in the sixth inning after back-to-back singles opened the frame. An RBI single by Dwight Smith drove in Jesus Sucre. A throwing error from Gary Sanchez later in the inning would result in an unearned run.
At the end of his day, Paxton went 5.2 innings allowing four hits, two runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. It was an impressive debut for the Big Maple but one that would ultimately end with a loss. He didn’t deserve the loss, but that’s baseball, Suzyn.
PC Richard & Son not once, not twice, but thrice in the fifth for James Paxton. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/QRYATxBf3Q
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) March 30, 2019
Baltimore tagged on an insurance run at the expense of righty reliever Chad Green in the seventh inning. Jonathan Holder would surrender two runs in two innings and the four-run lead would prove insurmountable.
The Yankee bats were quietly just two days removed from dropping a seven-spot on the O’s.
Gleyber Torres scored the first run for the Yankees on Saturday. He took home on a bleeder single from DJ LeMahieu in the fourth inning.
Although he had the only RBI for New York on the day, LeMahieu was even more impressive in the field than at the dish. He flashed the leather on a few plays at third base and looks like a perfect fit as a utility infielder.
The Yankees would threaten in the ninth inning. Down four runs, Troy Tulowitzki opened the inning with a home run to right field. LeMahieu followed that up with a double and Judge would later line a single into left field. A Luke Voit bloop led to Miguel Andujar coming to the plate as the winning run. Orioles reliever Mike Wright would fan Andujar and the Yanks fell 5-3.
The Bombers left 19 runners on base and squandered an opportunity to secure a win in James Paxton’s debut.
The Yankees and Orioles will finish this three-game series on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET. J.A. Happ will take the ball for the Yankees while Dylan Bundy will start for the Orioles.
