It was another blisteringly HOT and HUMID and SUNNY day — a 1 pm afternoon game in the Bronx. Heat wave. Temperature approaching 100 degrees. Hotter than that on the field and in the stands. And James Paxton wilted; didn’t last through the 4th; left trailing 7-1.
The other pitcher — 24-yr-old German Marquez — did not melt. He pitched 7 strong innings — allowing only 3 hits and 2 runs.
Paxton is 30. Maybe it was the age. A bit of it was the defense — in fact 3 of the runs in the 3rd were unearned after Luke Voit made an error on a Tony Wolters bunt. But Paxton was on the ropes all day, allowing hit after hit, run after run.
Maybe Paxton isn’t that good. Yankee Twitter was all over him. Not an ace. Not any good. Not dependable. Not in the playoffs certainly. Need to trade for a starter. Maybe the Yanks should trade for German Marquez — who is now 9-5 4.99 despite pitching all his home games in Colorado.
The Yankee bullpen came in and did their job — Chad Green, Adam Ottavino, Stephen Tarpley, and Aroldis Chapman — allowed 1 unearned run (off Tarpley) in 5.2 innings — but it was too late.
The Yankee Offense
Mike Tauchman hit a homer in the 5th to make it 7-2; Aaron Hicks hit a 2-run homer in the 8th to make it 8-4. But the Yanks were never closer than a miracle away.
In the 1st inning, DJ LeMahieu hit a leadoff homerun in the bottom of the 1st to tie the game, after right fielder Charlie Blackmon hit a leadoff homer in the top of the 1st to start off the game.
The best first-pitch leadoff home run you'll see today. pic.twitter.com/vGjTrSItKN
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 21, 2019
And that was kind of it — Aaron Judge got a hit and a walk. The middle of the Yankee lineup — Edwin Encarnacion, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Luke Voit, and Gleyber Torres — went hitless. Sanchez is officially in a slump that has lowered his batting average to .237.
Back on the Horse
After the game, Paxton said he wanted to get back on his horse.
Paxton:"hoping to get back on the horse and rattle off some good starts in a row moving forward" pic.twitter.com/QCcySSOliw
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 21, 2019
Etcetera
Simultaneously, while the game was going on — former Yankees Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina were amongst those — including Harold Baines — being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. So some Yankee fans tweeted they were switching back and forth between the Yankee game and that broadcast.
It was another roasting for anyone who attended the game in person and sat in the sun.
We've got another hot one today. If you're at the stadium keep these rules and tips in mind: pic.twitter.com/gHL8Bj08z8
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 21, 2019
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