ATLANTA — If Monday night was any indication, the Yankees are in for a long series.
The last-place club looked overmatched against the best team in baseball, losing to the Braves, 11-3, at Truist Park. Atlanta’s mighty offense scored eight runs off Clarke Schmidt, ruining a homecoming start for the Acworth, Georgia product.
Schmidt, pitching in front of family and friends, found trouble right away, as Austin Riley put the Braves on the board with a solo home run in the first inning. No. 9 hitter Nicky Lopez then hit a two-run single in the second before Michael Harris II pushed another across the plate with a single of his own.
Three more singles followed in the third inning, as knocks from Eddie Rosario, Orlando Arcia and Lopez drove in four before Scmidt hit the showers.
Monday marked Schmidt’s first time allowing more than three earned runs in a game since May 14. That span covered 15 games and 14 starts, during which the righty had a 3.12 ERA.
The 27-year-old, getting his first extended look in a major league rotation, has made impressive strides since recoding a 6.30 ERA over his first nine starts, but Schmidt simply didn’t have it against the Braves’ lethal lineup.
Atlanta, which recorded 15 hits, scored again in the sixth on a wild pitch from Albert Abreu. The reliever then served up a two-run homer to Rosario in the eighth.
The Yankees, meanwhile, didn’t put up much of a fight despite tallying 11 hits. That’s because they grounded into three double plays, went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and made two outs on the bases.
The Yankees scored a run on a soft grounder from Harrison Bader in the opening frame, yet that was all they got in the first after starting the game with two hits and loading the bases with one out.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa stayed hot with an RBI single in the second, but Max Fried cut the Yankees off there.
The 2022 Cy Young runner-up totaled six innings, eight hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts over 83 pitches.
Anthony Volpe tripled a run home in the ninth, but that score came far too late.
With the first game of the series in the books, the Yankees are now hoping that Luis Severino and his 8.06 ERA will somehow fare better against Atlanta’s lineup. Bryce Elder, who has a 3.64 ERA, will pitch for the Braves on Tuesday.
Charlie Morton will take the ball for Atlanta on Wednesday. Randy Vásquez is lined up to pitch in some capacity for the Yankees in the series finale.