The Yankees once again failed to get anything going offensively as they were defeated by the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Tuesday night at Truist Park.
Here are the takeaways…
– Luis Severino’s first-inning troubles this season have been well documented, so facing the best team in MLB at scoring runs in the first inning was surely going to be a challenge for him.
The right-hander’s outing didn’t start off on the right foot after Ronald Acuna Jr. singled to leadoff the game, but it got worse when Severino threw the ball away trying to pick off Acuna Jr. at first base which allowed the speedster to advance all the way to third with nobody out.
However, it appeared Severino might get out of the inning unscathed after getting Michael Harris II to pop out and striking out Austin Riley on a 99-mph fastball. But after walking the dangerous Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna sent the first pitch he saw from Severino (a lazy slider in the middle of the plate) into orbit for a three-run home run to get Atlanta on the board. The inning could’ve been worse after a walk and a hit-by-pitch, but Severino ended the inning with a flyout.
– From that point on, Sevy didn’t pitch all that bad. He struck out four of the next seven batters he faced, all swinging, with an impressive fastball/cutter combination. His night could have felt totally different, too, if not for an error by third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa to begin the bottom of the fourth inning. Severino did well to forget about the error and get two groundouts, but facing Acuna Jr. with a runner on and the third time through the lineup, he served up another home run, this one a two-run shot, that gave the Braves a 5-0 lead.
– Both runs were unearned due to the error, but for both of the home runs (which accounted for all five runs) Sevy had two outs in the inning and just couldn’t finish things off. Still, Severino did not pitch as bad as his final line of 4.0 innings pitched, five hits, five runs (three earned), two walks and five strikeouts suggests.
– Meanwhile, offensively the Yankees couldn’t get anything going, mustering just one hit all night – DJ LeMahieu’s single in the second off right-hander Bryce Elder. Aaron Judge walked twice and New York walked a total of five times, but they grounded into four double plays, including Judge to end the game, that quickly erased any potential threat.
– The only bright spots of the game were the Yankee relievers (Wandy Peralta, Jonathan Loaisiga, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes) each pitched a scoreless inning in an attempt to keep their team in the game.
– In the end, it wasn’t enough as the Yankees have now fallen to 60-60 on the season with their playoff chances on life support.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Braves finish out their three-game series in Atlanta on Wednesday night at 7:20 p.m.
New York has yet to announce a starter, while RHP Charlie Morton (11-10, 3.71 ERA) will start for the Braves.