Yankees waste Tanaka’s strong start, lose 4-2 to Red Sox

Source: FanGraphsThat was the kind of game the Yankees are built to win. They were up two runs with seven outs to go and their vaunted bullpen was well-rested, yet five batters later the Red Sox were leading 4-2. That was the final score. The Yankees: they’re bad! It’s Friday night and I haven’t done one of these yet this season, so let’s recap with bullet points:

• One Batter Too Long: Masahiro Tanaka was in total control for six innings Friday night. He held the BoSox to three singles in those six innings, then, in the seventh, the Red Sox strung together three hits to tie the game 2-2. Jackie Bradley Jr.’s two-out, two-run double off the Green Monster was the big blow. Dellin Betances was ready in the bullpen, but Joe Girardi stuck with Tanaka, and it backfired. Tanaka was pretty darn good though. The guy can’t do it all himself.
• Dellin’s Dingers: For the second straight outing, Betances gave up a home run to a left-handed batter on a curveball. That’s something that never happened once prior to this season. This time David Ortiz got him for a two-run shot over the Monster in the eighth. Ortiz has been beating the Yankees for more than a decade now. No reason to think his final season would be different. Betances was not going to be perfect all season, but damn, this one stings.
• Two Token Runs: Once again, the Yankees scored two runs and nothing more. This time they managed to get shut down by Henry Owens, a soft tossing lefty — he threw 33 fastballs out of 92 total pitches — with no command who tried like hell to give the Yankees the game. Alex Rodriguez hit a monster solo homer in the second and Brett Gardner singled in a run in the fifth. That’s it. The final 13 batters they sent to the plate made outs. Three hit the ball out of the infield.
• Leftovers: Jacoby Ellsbury (single, two walks), Gardner (two singles), and Starlin Castro (single, triple) all reached base multiple times …  Castro was thrown out at the plate on Chase Headley’s fly ball in the second. I have no idea why he was sent home. It was way too shallow … the Yankees scored two runs or fewer for the 11th time in 21 games. That’s really, really bad guys.

Here are the box score, video highlights, and updated standings. The Yankees shouldn’t be in panic or crisis mode yet, but it’s not early anymore, and this funk has been going on for nearly three weeks now. The AL East is going to be way too competitive this summer to keep giving up ground. Anyway, Michael Pineda and Rick Porcello is the scheduled pitching matchup Saturday night.