A glaring difference
In shutout, Rays again display how much ground the Yankees have to make up to be competitive with defending AL champs
“They’re obviously a good team and the defending American League champions. We have expectations of being that and more this year ... but we got a long way to go from here ... we got to go out and prove it.”
— Yankees manager
Aaron Boone
TAMPA, Fla. — Friday, the Yankees got to watch as the Rays raised their American League East division and AL championship banners at Tropicana Field. Saturday, they got reminded again why those flags aren’t hanging in the Bronx: They couldn’t beat the Rays.
Domingo German couldn’t get past the fourth inning, the Yankees’ bats were almost silent and the Rays shut them out 4-0 at Tropicana
Field.
After his second straight middling start, German was optioned to the alternate site.
“They’re obviously a good team and the defending American League champions. We have expectations of being that and more this year, so they’re one of the teams we have to go through,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “And I’ll take our chances, but we got a long way to go from here ... So I think it’s silly to answer right now; we got to go out and prove it.”
The Yankees (3-5) have not done that in over a year, honestly. They have lost three straight games for the first time since Sept. 23-25, 2020 when they dropped two straight to the Blue Jays and one to the Marlins. The Rays (4-4) have won five straight regular season series against the Yankees, dating back to Sept. 24, 2019. Of course, the Rays beat the Yankees last October in the American League Division Series as well.
Saturday was the first time the Yankees were shut out this season,
despite the fact their offense has looked shaky to start the season.
It was the first time they were shut out by a division rival since losing to the Rays 1-0 on Aug. 7, 2020 and only the third time since July 2018 they were shut out on the road — all at Tropicana Field. During the three-game losing streak, the Yankees have scored a total of three runs and have stranded 18 runners. Saturday they went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded six.
The Rays were able to shut down their offense despite the fact starter Chris Archer left with one out in the third inning. The right-hander was diagnosed with the ominous-sounding “right lateral forearm tightness.”
“It’s obviously a long season, it’s still very early. I don’t like to use that as an excuse, but obviously, we’ve got time to get things going,” said Brett Gardner, who had one of just five Yankees hits Saturday. “That starts with me. We’ve all got to find a way to have better at-bats and put quality at-bats together back to back, on top of each other, and really be a threat to the opposing pitching staff.
“We haven’t done a great job of that so far,” Gardner said.
That lack of support and an inefficient outing left German with his first career loss to the Rays.
German, who did not get into the fourth in his first start of the season, could only get through it Saturday. The right-hander gave up four earned runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out five.
After missing the 2019 playoffs and all of the 2020 season while serving an 81-game suspension under the MLB/MLBPA joint domestic violence policy, the Yankees were pleasantly surprised this spring by what they saw. German looked dominant in March and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he was stunned there was “no rust.”
In April, however, that rust started to show through.
Unfortunately for German, the home run ball is still hurting him. He gave up long shots to Austin Meadows — the first runs Yankees pitchers have allowed in the first inning this season — and Randy Arozarena on Saturday. He also gave up two homers in his first start.
“I thought he threw the ball OK,” Boone said. “He had a little more life on his fastball today. I thought he settled in pretty well and started commanding the secondary stuff pretty well. So really, it was just the two home runs and the inability to grab a couple softly hit balls back to him.”
It was German’s first loss to the Rays, but it is becoming a disturbing trend for the Yankees early on in 2021.
“It’s not always a start, but it’s how you finish. So hopefully we can find a way to get things together,” Gardner said. “Starting tomorrow, hopefully we get on the right track. That’s one thing that I always trust everybody in that room says is all these games right now are just as important as those games in September. So, it’s important for us to show up tomorrow and try and salvage a win in the series and move on to the Blue Jays.”