While the Yankees served as host to an annual Star Wars Day celebration, the on-field product that they doled out in the Bronx resembled anything but a fully operational Death Star.
Fans who sat through a 30-minute rain delay before first pitch on Sunday might’ve felt some spring training vibes, as a compromised lineup missing a handful of regulars couldn’t muster enough offense in a 7-5 rubber-game loss to the division-rival Rays at Yankee Stadium.
The top-heavy lineup did include the punch of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt, who drove in three runs on as many hits. But notably absent were Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. due to injury, and Ben Rice and Austin Wells due to rest. It wasn’t a split-squad camp game, but the energy undoubtedly existed.
There were late signs of life
With the Yankees trailing by five entering the eighth inning, Judge extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a leadoff double that sparked a rally. Following a walk to Bellinger, Judge scored on an RBI single from Goldschmidt, and just a few pitches later, Jasson Dominguez loaded the bases with a sharp liner that bounced off the right-field wall.
The stage was then set for backup catcher J.C. Escarra — making his eighth major league start — as the tying run with nobody out. But the momentum built up was quickly cut down when his soft comebacker to Rays reliever Edwin Uceta helped manufacture a 1-2-3 double play. New York’s rally ultimately produced three runs, as Jorbit Vivas delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single for his first MLB knock.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked why he didn’t use Wells or Rice as a pinch hitter for Escarra, and explained that he didn’t want the move with no outs and a thinner bench. Boone also wanted to avoid Volpe as an option, as the Yankees’ shortstop suffered a scary “day-to-day” injury to his left shoulder on a diving attempt in the field during Saturday’s loss. Rice wound up walking as a pinch-hitter for Oswaldo Cabrera with two outs in the eighth.
“I’m choosing between Escarra and Vivas there, and just going to take the guy who’s been here and more experienced,” Boone said. “I knew I had one shot with Rice there. And then once the double play happened, I kind of shut that down a little bit. But then he was the tying run again with [Cabrera]… I can’t shoot for both of them, because all I’d have is Escarra left. I’ve got to keep Escarra in the game, or then I can’t shoot for Vivas either.”
Warren struggles with command again
There’s no doubt that the half-hour rain delay disrupted Will Warren’s pregame routine, but the rookie right-hander didn’t encounter new problems against the Rays. He once again grappled with command, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits and three walks across 4.2 innings.
Warren wasn’t supported enough by his defenders, as a fielding error from Oswald Peraza and a catcher’s interference call on Escarra extended jams. By the time he was pulled with two outs in the fifth, Warren had thrown a career-high 102 pitches with the Yankees trailing 5-0.
The silver lining is that he registered a career-best eight strikeouts, but the output could’ve been greater if he hadn’t lost some hitters while ahead in the count. Of the seven hits he allowed, three of them came with two strikes. It was the second-shortest outing thus far for Warren, whose ERA now sits at 5.65 through eight starts (32.1 innings).
“I felt like the whole day was a little up and down,” Warren said. “They kind of hit the ball where we weren’t and then I had three free passes. They were taking advantage of every little thing we gave them. I don’t know if I thought it was a grind, I was just trying to attack and execute pitches as much as possible… I wish I could’ve put the team in a better chance to win.”
No. 200 for No. 35
There haven’t been many highlights from Bellinger with one-fifth of the season now complete, but the veteran slugger delivered a milestone hit on Sunday. With one on and one out in the sixth, he crushed a fastball from Rays starter Taj Bradley that landed in the right-center field seats for his 200th career home run.
“It’s definitely pretty cool [to hit 200]. You never knew as a kid what you’d do,” said Bellinger, who managed to make a deal with a fan for the ball. “So I’ve just got to keep going and hopefully a lot more to come. I signed some balls and I’m grateful they were able to hand me the baseball. Got a little collection going on, so I’ll just put it with the rest.”
The Yankees are still waiting for Bellinger to bust out at the plate. While he provided a pair of homers this week, his season total sits at only four, and he’s slashing an inadequate .200/.276/.364 through 31 games (110 at-bats).
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