The Yankees offense scored four unanswered runs but were unable to overcome the hole Luis Gil put them in as New York dropped the series opener to the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4, on Tuesday night.
Here are the takeaways…
-It was an odd outing for Gil on Tuesday night. After getting through the first three innings without giving up a hit, Elly De La Cruz led off the fourth with a triple that seemed to unnerve the young right-hander. De La Cruz would score on a groundout, but Gil would allow two more runners via the walk before getting out of the frame.
However, the fifth inning is where things unraveled for the rookie. He hit Stuart Fairchild before Will Benson launched a 95 mph fastball, that was over the middle of the plate, 412 feet over the center field wall. Gil hit the next batter, Jonathan India, which caused Aaron Boone to come out and grab his starter.
Caleb Ferguson came in and gave up a two-run shot to De La Cruz, putting the Reds up 5-0 and ending Gil’s line.
Gil pitched 4+ innings (83 pitches/49 strikes) giving up four runs on two hits (one home run), three walks and two HBP. He struck out just three batters. Gil has now given up 16 runs over his last three starts. He had surrendered just 18 runs in all his other 14 starts this season.
-The Yankees offense was mostly non-existent in this one. Reds starter Graham Ashcraft kept the Yankees off the board until the sixth inning when Gleyber Torres pushed across the team’s first run with a single that scored Aaron Judge. But the big hit came from rookie Ben Rice who drove a double toward the right-field corner to cut the deficit to 5-3.
Judge would cut the deficit even more with a solo shot in the seventh. The Reds decided to pitch to Judge with the bases empty and two outs and The Captain launched a first-pitch slider over the plate 381 feet over the left field wall. It’s Judge’s 32nd home run of the season and he finished 3-for-4, raising his average to .321.
-After the Judge homer, the Yankees offense didn’t really sniff the tying run in the final two innings. Reds closer Alexis Diaz struck out Trent Grisham looking on an 89 mph slider, got the pinch-hitting Austin Wells to fly out to right and Anthony Volpe to pop out to the shortstop to end the game.
-The Yankees bullpen after Ferguson gave up the home run, was very good and gave the team a chance to come back. The combination of Ferguson, Jake Cousins, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver gave up one run on three hits, one walk and struck out five batters.
Game MVP: Elly De La Cruz
The speedy shortstop drove in three of the Reds’ five runs.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Reds continue their three-game set on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Carlos Rodon (9-5, 4.42 ERA) will take the mound as Andrew Abbott (7-6, 3.41 ERA) does the same for Cincinnati.
