For the first time in a month, the New York Yankees suffered a series sweep, this time at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. The series loss drops the Yankees into second place in the American League East, with the team one full game behind the Tampa Bay Rays. These are the key takeaways from the Yankees’ series loss over the weekend.
Close Game Struggles Magnified
Embed from Getty Images
The Yankees have 15 losses on the season, with eight of them being one-run defeats. However, the most concerning part is how they’ve held leads in all but two of those eight defeats. The Yankees play a competitive brand of baseball; the issue is that they struggle to conclude games. That starts with their bullpen, as the group has allowed 13 earned runs in the Yankees’ eight one-run losses.
Spencer Jones’ Hits and Misses
Embed from Getty Images
It was a mixed bag for the Yankees’ No. 6 prospect in his big-league debut. As expected, Spencer Jones struggled with his plate discipline. In nine at-bats, he struck out five times, including twice in the first two games of the series. However, it wasn’t all bad for Jones.
In his second major league at-bat, Jones sat deadlocked in a 2-2 count with Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. He fouled off a 102 MPH fastball before watching back-to-back breaking balls miss outside for balls three and four.
Two games later, Jones had the finest moment of his young major league career. On the first pitch of his first at-bat, Jones lined a single into center field that scored Jose Caballero and put the Yankees up 2-0.
Cam Schlittler’s Cy Young Case
Embed from Getty Images
Despite the Yankees losing 4-3 on Saturday, Cam Schlittler continued to strengthen his Cy Young case. Across six shutout innings, Schlittler allowed two hits and no walks, striking out six batters in the process. That was Schlittler’s fifth scoreless start of the season, with the second-year pitcher going to the sixth inning in all of them.
In his past five starts, Schlittler has allowed two runs over 31 2/3 innings. That stretch includes 29 strikeouts, with Schlittler taking the win in three of the five games.
Through nine starts, Schlitter leads the league in ERA (1.35), WHIP (0.81), pitching run value (17), and fastball run value (18).
Next Up
The Yankees continue their nine-game road trip on Monday as they visit the Baltimore Orioles for the first time this season. Ryan Weathers is scheduled to make his first start in over a week at 6:35 p.m.
More New York Yankees Articles
More MLB Articles
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
- Category
-
New York Yankees
