The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Bauer’s arm, Tribe bats stop Yankees
Urshela gem, solid outing from Bauer propel American League champions
An outstanding defensive play by third baseman Giovanny Urshela helped out Trevor Bauer.
Bauer won his third straight start, Jaime Garcia was chased in the fifth inning of his Yankees debut and the Indians won, 7-2, to extend New York’s losing streak to four.
Cleveland was ahead, 4-1, in the fifth when, with runners at the corners, Clint Frazier hit a bouncer down the third-base line. Urshela leaped to make a backhand grab, then from foul territory jumped and made an off-balance throw to catcher Roberto Perez, who tagged out a sliding Ronald Torreyes.
“I knew I was going to only get one out,” Urshela said. “The hardest part was I had no angle to home plate. I had to throw above him. Thank God it was a short runner.”
Urshela also made a diving stop of Matt Holliday’s sixth-inning grounder and threw him out at first.
Manager Terry Francona called the stop on Frazier a turning point.
“I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that’s potentially a game saver,” Francona said. “Without that play, you don’t know.”
Aaron Judge followed with a walk that loaded the bases, and Bauer struck out Gary Sanchez on a curveball in the dirt.
Sanchez also committed his major league-leading 12th passed ball, allowing a run to score in the second.
That prompted rare public criticism by Yankees manager Joe Girardi of one of his own players.
“He needs to improve,” Girardi said. “Bottom line, he needs to improve. He’s late getting down. That’s what I see sometimes. It’s something we’ve been working on, and we need to continue to work on.”
On June 28 at Chicago, Girardi had a dugout conversation with Sanchez after the catcher failed to block a third strike in the dirt by Masahiro Tanaka to Jose Abreu, who reached on the wild pitch. At the time, Girardi said he was giving Sanchez tips.
“As a professional baseball player, every day you’ve got to improve,” Sanchez said through a translator. “As a baseball player, it’s not just defense but also offensively. You’ve got to get better every day.”
Asked whether he has considered using Sanchez at designated hitter more often, Girardi said, “We’re trying to think about everything, so we’ll talk about everything. But as of right now I have not.”
Bauer (10-8) allowed one run in seven innings, on Todd Frazier’s homer in the fifth.
New York had won seven of eight before the slide. The Yankees have scored six runs in the last four games, going 2 for 26 with runners in scoring position.
A day after making three errors in the first inning, New York contributed to three runs with Judge’s throwing error from right, Sanchez’s passed ball and Chad Green’s wild pitch.
Traded from Atlanta to Minnesota to New York, Garcia (1-1) became the first pitcher to make three straight appearances as a starter for three different teams since Gus Weyhing in 1895, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Garcia gave up six runs — five earned — five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.
He was the second starter in two days to lose his Yankees debut after Sonny Gray was beaten by Cleveland and Corey Kluber in Thursday’s series opener.
Judge, who leads the majors with 34 home runs, returned to the lineup after a day off. He singled in the first, walked in the fourth and fifth and struck out in the eighth. New York’s star rookie is batting .174 (12 for 69) with 30 strikeouts since the All-Star break and has struck out in 22 consecutive games.
Jackson doubled in a run in the second, took third on the throw and scored when Sanchez couldn’t handle Garcia’s pitch with Roberto Perez batting.
Brandon Guyer led off the third with a single and headed for third on Michael Brantley’s single. Judge’s throw hit Gyuer and bounced into the photographer’s pit, allowing Guyer to score.
Trainer’s room
INDIANS» LHP Boone Logan (torn back muscle) will likely miss the rest of the season. The injury occurred July 19 and was diagnosed as a high grade latissimus strain. Logan, who is on the 60-day DL, will not have surgery. YANKEES» Green’s wild pitch in the fifth hitt Sanchez’s right hand, but the catcher kept playing.