The Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians, 3-2, in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.
Here are some takeaways…
– After the rainout on Friday night, Clarke Schmidt was bumped up to take the ball, and he had a bit of an up-and-down outing. Cleveland was able to get traffic on the bases in each of the first two innings, but the righty settled in nicely by striking out the side in the third.
Schmidt issued his fourth walk of the afternoon in the fourth, but he used a double play ball to help him get out of the inning. He handed out two more free passes in the fifth, but again danced his way out of danger courtesy of another double play.
The righty allowed singles to the first two batters in the sixth before Aaron Boone decided to hand things over to the bullpen. Lefty Caleb Ferguson entered and appeared to roll an inning-ending double play, but Gleyber Torres threw the return into the first base dugout, allowing two runs to score. Schmidt was charged with two runs (one earned) on three hits while walking five and striking out seven, but he earned his first win of the year.
– The Yanks’ offense failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities against Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco early and often. New York had nine base runners on four hits and five walks over the first four innings, but they bailed out the former Mets righty, scoring just once on a second-inning Trent Grisham double play.
– The Bombers were finally able to break through against the Cleveland bullpen in the sixth, as Oswaldo Cabrera cracked his third home run of the season, a two-run shot scoring Alex Verdugo who led off the inning with a double.
– Ian Hamilton relieved Ferguson and fell into some two-out trouble in the seventh, but Anthony Rizzo helped him get out of the inning with a nice sliding snag on an Andres Gimenez grounder before he returned and tossed a scoreless eighth.
Clay Holmes received the ninth and allowed a leadoff double but was able to retire the next three batters to lockdown the Game 1 win and his sixth save of the season.
– Aaron Judge has gotten off to a slow start at the plate, but he enjoyed a strong showing in this one, going 2-for-4 with a single and his fourth double of the year. Verdugo, Anthony Rizzo, and Jose Trevino also had two hits a piece.
MVP of the Game: Oswaldo Cabrera
Cabrera’s sixth-inning two-run homer off Nick Sandlin proved to be the difference in this one.
After being out of the lineup for five straight days, the 25-year-old finished 1-for-3 with the clutch homer and a walk.
Highlights
Upcoming schedule
Cody Poteet makes his Yankee debut in Game 2 of the doubleheader against right-hander Triston McKenzie with first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m.
New York and Cleveland then close the series on Sunday afternoon when Nestor Cortes faces off with Logan Allen at 1:40 p.m.
Source Agencies
