This was the “Where’s Clint Frazier?” game — where Yankee fans started turning on each other on Twitter in an argument for and against Clint Frazier being on the team instead of Edwin Encarnacion.
In a second straight loss to the 2nd place Tampa team, the Yankees didn’t leave a lot of RISP in this game — instead they barely got anyone on base — only 5 hits. And that Fickle Finger of Blame was still pointed squarely at Edwin Encarnacion, batting 5th — who went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts to lower his batting average on the season to .216.
And Clint Frazier — the young guy with the Machine Gun bat who was 11-34-.283 in 191 At Bats — is in the minors:
- due to the ‘numbers problem’, or
- because he made 3 errors in that game and didn’t talk to the press afterwards, and then a week later (after continuing to spray hits all over the place) got demoted to the minors and took 72 hours to report to Scranton. Fans argued Clint was being kept in the minors because he was not part of the Yankee Culture, or
- because they are ‘icing’ his numbers and value at their high level so they can trade him in a package for an elite pitcher.
It was insult to injury (actually Frazier is one of the few Yankees who has not been injured) when the Yankees promoted some guy named Breyvic Valera before the game — a 2nd baseman who has been with 4 teams in 4 years. Someone on Twitter said if you didn’t know who Brevvic Valera was, you were a bad Yankee fan — which caused more fighting. Ironically, Valera got one of the Yankees’ 5 hits.
The Whole Yankee Lineup Had Trouble
With DJ LeMahieu out for rest, the only guy getting hits for the Yankees in this game was old man Brett Gardner, whose career is not dead yet in fact it’s feeling much better. He hit a homerun in the 2nd to slice a 2-0 Tampa lead to 2-1. And that was ballgame! Gardner ended with 2 hits in 4 at bats to raise his average to .246.
Brett Gardner crushes his THIRD home run of the series. pic.twitter.com/NEBYVMGbV5
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 7, 2019
James Paxton allowed 2 runs in the 1st inning but then settled down to pitch brilliantly — 6 innings 11 strikeouts — telling Suzyn Waldman after the game he was happy with how his 4-seamer was performing.
The Yankees were shut down by Charlie Morton into the 6th — he is now 10-2 2.32 — having a great post-Houston year.
The Yankee ballpen — Tommy Kahnle, Adam Ottavino, and Chad Green — was in to pitch shutout ball with the ball that MOVES so much — Justin Verlander has stated it is Juiced. What he didn’t mention is that it not only helps batters but pitchers too. It’s like pitching stickball with a brand new Spaulding back in the day.
Adam Ottavino out there throwing Wiffle Balls. pic.twitter.com/EW8dafPHFc
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 7, 2019
It wasn’t all Encarnacion’s fault — the rest of the Yankee lineup was hideous — had a hard time with Morton and the Tampa ballpen; Aaron Judge was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. Didi Gregorius 0-4 with a strikeout; Gary Sanchez got a hit but struck out twice.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=401076078
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