Yankees shutout by A’s, drop series opener 2-0

Source: FanGraphs

The Yankees have made a bit of a habit of losing series openers lately, as Friday’s shutout loss to the Athletics was their second consecutive series opener loss and third in their last four series. Was that confusing enough for you? Good. Let’s quickly recap…

• Shaky Sabathia: CC Sabathia was in trouble all night — six innings, ten base-runners, only one 1-2-3 inning — but it was really just one bad pitch that earned him the loss. Adam Rosales hit the very first pitch of the game out into the left field seats for a leadoff homer and a quick 1-0 lead, and that was all Oakland needed.
• Blown Chances: The Yankees had opportunities to put some runs on the board, but they came up empty each time. They left a man on second in the first, men at second and third in the third, a man on first in the fourth, a man on second in the fifth, and a man on second in the seventh. Six scattered hits and one walk usually isn’t enough to win, even when the pitching staff only allows two runs total.
• Leftovers: Nice job by Adam Warren to throw three scoreless frames, though they weren’t the cleanest of innings … Brett Gardner and Jayson Nix both had a pair of hits … it’s become pretty obvious the Yankees need another bat. The 5-9 spots are just awful these days … apparently Sabathia had some kind of verbal confrontation with home plate ump Jordan Baker? I was at the game and didn’t see it.

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. Former Yankee Bartolo Colon and future former Yankee Phil Hughes will be on the bump for Saturday’s matinee. Check out RAB Tickets for some last minute deals.

Minor League Update: No DotF tonight, but I will link you to the box scores: Triple-A Scranton (win), Double-A Trenton (win), High-A Tampa (loss), Low-A Charleston (win). RHP Rafael DePaula was the star of the night, striking out seven in five shutout outings to lower his season strikeout rate to 15.1 K/9. CF Mason Williams and SS Cito Culver both went deep, and it was Mason’s second homer in three games.