CC roughed up in Cleveland bow; Gardy hurt by helmet
CLEVELAND — In the sixth inning, Cleveland right fielder Jordan Luplow made a tremendous grab of Brett Gardner’s warning-track fly ball. Luplow crashed into the fence making the catch, but he held on to rob the Yankees’ left fielder of a hit. Frustrated, the fiery Gardner stomped back to the dugout and flung his batting helmet. It ricocheted back and hit him smack in the mouth.
It hurt and Gardner needed six stitches, which hurt more, but he will be fine.
That is just how the Yankees look at their recent stretch. Cleveland chased CC Sabathia early Saturday and piled on the bullpen as they beat the Bombers 8-4 at Progressive Field.
It was the second straight loss for the Yankees (39-24) and their fifth loss in their last six games. Cleveland (33-31) clinched the three-game series with the win and after the Yankees won nine straight series, the Bombers have now suffered two straight series losses.
After having held sole possession of first place in the American League East since the end of play on May 19, the Yankees fell a half a game behind the Rays, who won the first game of a doubleheader in Boston and had a chance to increase their division lead with a win in the nightcap.
After getting stitches in the center of his bottom lip, the veteran Gardner admitted this stretch for the Yankees has hurt.
“Concerned? No. I’m disappointed in the way we’ve played the last few days, but it’s a long season and over the course of a long season you’re going to have your ups and downs,” Gardner said. “We’ve just got to keep working and come out here and try to avoid getting swept tomorrow and then head back home.”
Gardner’s frustration came from the fact he has not had a hit on this road trip, going 0-for-4 Saturday and dropping to 0-for-22 since June 1. Some of it had to do with the way the Yankees went down Saturday.
Making his final regular-season start where his major league career began 19
years ago, Sabathia was handed a 2-0 lead and couldn’t hold it. He struggled to get through five innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
The 38-year-old lefty who is retiring at the end of the year gave up two in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly and Roberto Perez’s RBI-double.
After having to come off the mound to field former Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki’s bunt in the fifth, Sabathia said he felt a sharp pain in his right knee, the same one he was on the injured list for — he received a cortisone and lubricant shot — last month. He said it dissipated quickly, but two batters later he gave up a double to Francisco Lindor and a two-run homer to Oscar Mercado.
Sabathia said later the knee didn’t affect him, he actually didn’t know how Cleveland didn’t hit him harder earlier.
“I didn’t have anything today,” he said. “I didn’t feel like my stuff was sharp, my backdoor slider wasn’t good early. They were just missing the ball. Felt like it could have happened earlier in the game.”
And in a concerning trend, the Yankees’ bats really had nothing either.
Didi Gregorius, in his second game back after starting the season on the IL to rehab from Tommy John surgery, homered in his first at-bat. The two-run shot in the first was all the Yankees’ lineup — which was without the resting Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez — could manage off Cleveland starter Adam Plutko over six innings. They scored two off Oliver Perez, with the help of Perez’s throwing error.
Cleveland tacked on four runs, including on Plawecki and Perez home runs, against the Yankees bullpen, which will have to carry the Yankees in Sunday’s series finale if the Bombers are going to avoid being swept.
Boone understands the frustration he saw in Gardner, but he said there is no panic.
“That’s going to happen,” Boone said. “We just gotta pick it up a little bit and go out tomorrow and try to make it happen.”