The Nightmare Continues. Tampa 7 NY 4

August 27, 2023 paperbacklou 2023 0
Anthony Volpe hits 2-run homer to opposite field in the 4th, putting NY up 4-2.

Carlos Rodon weathered a nightmarish 1st inning and ended up pitching a good ballgame into the 5th — and the Yankees came back on homeruns by Kyle Higashioka, DJ LeMahieu, and Anthony Volpe to take a 4-2 lead.

But Rodon couldn’t get the last out of the 5th — thereby losing a chance for a win. And it didn’t matter because Ian Hamilton was a strike away of getting out of the 6th multiple times, but a 2-out rally netted Tampa 4 runs — single, hit by pitch, infield single, bloop single on an 2-2 pitch just over Gleyber Torres‘s head (who many felt misplayed the ball), and single and Tampa was on top.

After that — the last 16 Yankees were retired in order.

Tampa added an insurance run in the 8th when Albert Abreu accidentally hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch causing a bench-clearing conversation — and pissed off, Arozarena stole 2nd and 3rd — which caused a 2nd bench-clearing conversation — after which a single plated him and Tampa had their revenge and the win.

Another nightmare loss for the Yanks. On a Sunday afternoon in Tampa.

“Obviously Randy getting hit there; he didn’t like it. They’ve had a few guys hit this series, so I get it,” said Manager Aaron Boone afterwards. “I get the frustration. But nothing’s happening on purpose. So, obviously some tempers got going.”

Ian Hamilton was less conciliatory. “If they want to come over here, they can come over here,” he said afterwards. “I wish we had another game against them.”

NY falls to 62-68, a whole bunch of games behind everyone and 11 behind the Wild Card.

1. Rodon Turns Around Nightmare Start

Carlos Rodon came out and was absolutely Horrible in the bottom of the 1st — getting hit Hard.

Randy Arozarena led off with a single, and after Harold Ramirez popped out, Arozarena stole 2nd — Kyle Higashioka throw went into centerfield, allowing Arozarena to take off to 3rd, and Harrison Bader‘s throw from center went past the 3rd baseman and also went past Rodon backing up — allowing Arozarena to score.

But Carlos Rodon made the errors moot as he coughed up a bomb to next batter Brandon Lowe and it was 2-0 Tampa.

Isaac Paredes then Ripped a single to right, Rodon hit Osleivis Basabe with a pitch and Luke Raley Ripped a single to right to load the bases with 1 out. But Rodon got Jose Siri to rip a lineout to shortstop and struck out Christian Bethancourt to end the inning.

Rodon was visibly pissed at himself as he marched off the mound.

After that — Rodon was terrific.

  • An 11-pitch, 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd,
  • A 10-pitch 1-2-3 inning in the 3rd (foul out, foul out, strike out), and
  • A 1-2-3 inning in the 4th with 2 strikeouts.

By that time Rodon had a 4-2 lead.

In the 5th — a leadoff walk, 2 strikeouts, and a 4-pitch walk to Brandon Lowe sent Rodon to the showers. He tried to convince Boone to keep him in the game, but Boone relieved him.

Ian Hamilton came in and hit Isaac Paredes with a pitch to load the bases, before striking out Josh Lowe to end the inning.

Rodon lowered his ERA to 5.97.

2. Higgy Makes Up for Miscue with Homer

Kyle Higashioka made up for his throwing error in the 1st with a solo homer in the top of the 3rd off Rays starter Zack Littell and it was a 2-1 game.

3. LeMahieu Homer Ties It

Next batter DJ LeMahieu hit a 392-foot homer to left center and it was a 2-2 tie.

4. Volpe 2-Run Bomb Puts Yanks up 4-2

Everson Pereira led off the top of the 4th with a single and Anthony Volpe hit a 2-run bomb to right center and NY had a 4-2 lead.

5. Hamilton Does Not Escape Nightmare 6th

Ian Hamilton had gotten the strikeout of Josh Lowe to end the 5th with the bases loaded but things went awry in the 6th.

  • Hamilton got the first 2 outs,
  • But Bethancourt singled to left.
  • Hamilton went 0-2 on Jonathan Aranda, then hit him with a 1-2 fastball that barely grazed Aranda’s uniform.
  • Arozarena reached on a soft grounder that Volpe could not make the play on in time.

Bases loaded, 2 outs. Hamilton went 0-2 on Harold Ramirez. But Ramirez fouled off 2 pitches, took 2 balls, then barely hit a low slider for a pop fly ‘Just’ over the head of Gleyber Torres for a 2-RBI single and tie game.

Wandy Peralta came in and allowed a 2-RBI single to Brandon Lowe and it was 6-4 Tampa.

6. Arozarena’s Revenge

As if the Yankees hadn’t hit enough batters, Albert Abreu came in and hit Arozarena with a 3-1 sinker leading off the 8th. Benches cleared as the conversation was had.

Arozarena then stole 2nd, and stole 3rd — mouthing something to Abreu after swiping 3rd.

Benches cleared again for further conversation.

Abreu got Harold Ramirez to ground out to Anthony Volpe at shortstop with Arozarena staying on 3rd but next batter Brandon Lowe singled him home and Tampa had their insurance run and complete revenge.

7. Last 16 Yanks Retired in a Row

Meanwhile the Tampa bullpen was annihilating the Yankee lineup. The last 16 Yankees were retired in a row.

  • Starter Zack Littell retired the last 4 batters he faced including a 1-2-3 inning in the 6th. The Yanks got 4 runs on him in 6 innings but he got the win to go 3-4 4.45.
  • Shawn Armstrong pitched a shutout 1-2-3 inning in the 7th,
  • Robert Stephenson pitched a shutout 1-2-3 inning in the 8th
  • Jason Adam pitched a shutout 1-2-3 inning in the 9th for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401472973

 

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