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The Yankees welcomed fans to their stadium with the familiar. A first ceremonial launch from Bernie Williams. The “YMCA” in the fifth round. “God Bless America” after the start of the seventh.
For the home team, there was also that unfortunate familiarity: Gleyber Torres is a second baseman playing shortstop and the Yankees remain challenged to score when the ball does not cross a fence.
The optimism that greeted Williams and Gerrit Cole when presenting the initial throws in 2021 faded almost four hours later when what remained of the 10,856 spectators booed throughout the 10th inning as Aaron Hicks , Giancarlo Stanton and Torres pulled out to end a frustrating 3. -2 loss against the Blue Jays.
It had been 531 days since the Yankees won Game 5 of the ALCS against Houston; their previous home game in front of the fans. Neither the weather nor the COVID-19 pandemic that caused the absence dampened a crowd’s 20% ability to deliver the Bronx cheers in reaction to a futile endgame batting after the other.
“It’s part of it,” Aaron Judge said. “These fans want to see the winners, want to see us win. They let us know when we are not doing our job. And we didn’t do our job today.
The judge was one of the main culprits, relying on a double play with goals loaded and a seventh out of a draw and feeling two to close the ninth. The Yanks had the first runner in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and with the automatic man second in the 10th. They never scored. Overall, the Yanks were 3-for-19 with men on base and no hitting in nine at batting with runners in goal position. Starting with Judge’s double play, the Yanks ended the game 0-10 with the men on base with seven strikeouts.
Aaron Boone said he could smell the returning crowds “ready to break out” late in the game. They did it. Out of derision. He was especially pointed at the other massive Yankees hitter, Stanton, who was breathing in each of his last three punches, each time with the tiebreaker at the base.
The oft-injured judge and Stanton had started together in just 33 of the Yankees’ 222 regular-season games in the past two years. But their presence together was not a positive Thursday. They were 1 for 10 with five strikeouts and Judge’s instrumental double play. They are part of an offensive philosophy that emphasizes power that sometimes leaves defensive gaps – especially in the short term.
Torres is excited about it and the Yanks want to believe that better conditioning will lead to better defense. But Torres failed Cole when the ace needed him the most. Cole allowed three batters to burn the ball to open the second inning. The “softest” of the trio was a 102.6 mph lead soleur behind Torres by Teoscar Hernandez. It was not an easy game. But a good shortstop allows it. Torres didn’t, and when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. delivered single missiles, Toronto led 1-0.
In the ninth inning, Torres nonchalanted a considerably softer Hernandez Grounder in a giveaway debut single. Darren O’Day got around the misstep. But it’s the kind of tight game where mistakes multiply.
And in the Yankees’ 119th home opener, only one player in the position performed well. Gary Sanchez hit a two-run homer in his first at bat. He threw Randal Grichuk while trying to fly to finish the seventh. At the bottom of this set with the score 2-2, Sanchez started with a single from the field. Clint Frazier’s single one-out and a stroll by DJ LeMahieu filled in the basics before Judge got into his double game.
Sanchez started the ninth with a walk. Mike Tauchman pinch ran and stole second place, but Jay Bruce pulled out. Tauchman stole the third. The starting runway was 90 feet with one setback. But after Frazier walked, LeMahieu pushed the ball in third place against a drawn infield and Tauchman was tossed home before Judge pulled out.
“Lots of missed opportunities on my part,” Judge said.
At the top of 10th, with the automatic runner in second, Toronto delivered the clutch shot that eluded the Yankees – Grichuk’s RBI brace that went 3-2. Julian Merryweather then only needed 11 pitches to ventilate the side of the bottom half. Boone mentioned the shadows making the hitting conditions difficult.
But is there even a shadow of a doubt about a Yankee offense that was also mostly dormant during spring training? After ace Hyun Jin Ryu was relieved in the sixth, Toronto unleashed five right-handed relievers against the Yanks’ mostly right-handed roster and they produced 4 ² / shutouts with eight strikeouts.
“As long as we keep publishing [stay healthy] we will get it [offense] roll – as soon as possible, ”said Boone.
But it’s already too late for an important date on the baseball calendar – to delight fans back at Yankee Stadium.
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