Shohei Ohtani made Yankees pay as the Los Angeles Angels handed New York a 4-3 loss in 10 innings.
Six things to know from Monday’s game
1. Struggling RHP Luis Severino‘s mechanical tweak appears to have paid off. After going 2-5 with a 9.48 ERA and 7.34 FIP in his previous seven starts, he fired five scoreless frames until surrendering a solo shot with two outs in the sixth inning against Matt Thais while the Yankees led 2-0.
Severino (1-4, 6.66 ERA) kept the score at 2-1 by grounding out Hunter Renfroe to 1B Anthony Rizzo for a final line of one run on six hits (one homer) and three strikeouts against three walks in six innings pitched. Severino’s bounce-back start included a bases-loaded situation in the fifth, where — after intentionally walking Ohtani — Severino got Mickey Moniak out on a fly ball to RF Oswaldo Cabrera and capped an applaudable performance.
The Yankees’ problems are deeper than solely Severino, but they need this version of him to keep their second-half goals intact. Ultimately, he delivered while digging deep and throwing 62 strikes on 98 pitches.
2. Speaking of Cabrera, the subsequent half inning in the sixth saw him step up and deliver a two-out bases-loaded double that scored Harrison Bader and Anthony Volpe to put the Yankees on the board at 2-0. Cabrera’s clutch hitting continued after Sunday’s 11th-inning RBI single put the Yankees up a run in the eventual 8-7 loss at the Colorado Rockies.
3. An inning later, 2B Gleyber Torres‘ sacrifice fly to Moniak in center field padded the Yankees’ 3-1 lead. Torres was a bright spot with a two-hit night that included, ultimately, getting the job done on the RBI — his 38th this season — to give the bullpen an insurance run following Severino’s exit.
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4. 3B Oswald Peraza, who scored on Torres’ sac fly after leading off the seventh with a walk and stealing second base before advancing to third on a wild pitch by Gerardo Reyes, batted first and impressed. Peraza did a textbook job of a leadoff batter by reaching base four times, working three walks and recording a third-inning single.
5. Manager Aaron Boone replaced Severino with RHP Michael King entering the seventh and made a questionable decision of pitching to Ohtani. With two outs and one on in a 1-2 count, Ohtani’s sent King’s 97 mph fastball over the outer half past the left-center wall beyond a leaping Bader for the 3-3 tie.
Hindsight is 20/20, but why the Yankees rolled the dice with Ohtani — whose two-run homer doubled as his MLB-leading 35th long ball and 75th RBI this season — wiped away the aforementioned game-winning efforts by Severino, Cabrera and company.
6. After the Yankees were unable to retake the lead in the ninth or 10th innings, the Angels walked off on a Michael Stefanic single against LHP Nick Ramirez into left field that scored Chad Wallach.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees (50-45) and Angels (47-48) continue their three-game series Tuesday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
New York RHP Domingo German (5-5, 4.32 ERA) and Los Angeles LHP Patrick Sandoval (4-7, 4.41 ERA) are the projected starters for the 9:38 p.m. matchup.
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