Losing that Winning Feeling...

Credit:  Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports, via Reuters

Red Sox 5, Yankees 4...

I was not confident with Masahiro Tanaka on Tuesday night and he proved my concerns to be correct with yet another horrendous start.  Tanaka has become the National League's version of the pitcher batting (generally speaking)...an automatic out or in this case, an automatic loss.  

I did not like the thought of Tanaka opening the series with the Red Sox because of the fear that he'd put us at the disadvantage.  He's easily the weakest link in the rotation right now and I have no clue what can be done to turn him around.  If he's not hurt, there is no explanation for why he's become a batting practice pitcher on the mound during games.

The first two Red Sox batters at the start of the game both singled.  So, there were runners at the corner before Tanaka could even record an out.  It looked like it could have been a big inning for the Sox, but Tanaka was able to limit the damage to one run.  

The Sox scored three runs in the fourth.  After an inning opening walk to Xander Bogaerts, Mitch Moreland and Hanley Ramirez went deep for back-to-back homers.  

The Yankees had a threat going in the bottom of the fourth after two one-out singles, but Chase Headley hit into a double-play to kill the potential rally.  Headley was 0-for-3 for the game.

The next inning, Tanaka served up another home run, this time a solo shot by the youngster Andrew Benintendi.  The Sox were up 5-1 and it would be all the runs they would need on this night.

The Yankees tried to scratch and claw their way back.  Chris Carter opened the bottom of the fifth with a home run.  Aaron Judge doubled with two outs, but Matt Holliday struck out to strand Judge.

In the bottom of the sixth, Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks both singled, bringing Didi Gregorius to the plate.  Didi hit into a double play, but Castro was able to score on the play to close the gap to 5-3.

The next and last opportunity for the Yankees would be in the eighth.  Matt Holliday opened with a double.  After the next two batters recorded outs, Didi was up again.  The Red Sox brought closer Craig Kimbrel into the game.  Kimbrel struck out Didi swinging, but it was a wild pitch and Didi beat the throw to first base to keep the inning alive and allow Holliday to score.  5-4, Red Sox.  Chris Carter could have rehabilitated his image in the eyes of Yankees fans with a key hit, but he struck out to end the inning.  Kimbrel would go on to strike out the side in the ninth to finish with five strikeouts in four outs, picking up his 17th save.

Credit:  Associated Press

The Yankees were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.  This was their 14th loss in 25 games since May 8th.  

Aaron Judge made a great catch in the second inning, jumping and crashing into the right field wall to take an extra base hit away from Jackie Bradley, Jr.  Although he had the game-ending strikeout, he was 2-for-4 with a walk.  He was trying.

The Yankees bullpen did an outstanding job to hold the Sox scoreless after Tanaka departed, but special acknowledgement goes to Chad Green for his 3 1/3 innings of perfect relief with 5 strikeouts.  

The final line on Tanaka (5-6) was 5 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 HR.  This process of Tanaka trying to find his pitches in games is killing us.  

The Red Sox matched the Yankees (32-23) in total victories and moved to within one game of the AL East lead (the Sox have two more losses than the Yankees).  The Baltimore Orioles beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 in 10 innings so they moved to within 2 1/2 games.

Odds & Ends...

Major League Baseball released its first AL Update for the All-Star Game voting on Tuesday.  The leader is Aaron Judge with 1,251,543 votes.  He overtook the injured Mike Trout by 96,187 votes.  In the AL Outfield, Brett Gardner is 9th with 364,493.  In the 'I don't know what the heck they were thinking' category is Jacoby Ellsbury with 269,974 votes.  Aaron Hicks is far more deserving of those votes.

Other Yankees in the AL Results:  

Catcher:  Gary Sanchez (4th behind Salvador Perez, Wellington Castillo and Brian McCann) with 461,152 votes.  First Base:  Yeah, right.  Second Base:  Starlin Castro (2nd behind Jose Altuve) with 778,699 votes.  Third Base:  Oops, no one is covering.  Shortstop:  Didi Gregorius (3rd behind Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa) with 397,326 votes.  DH:  Matt Holliday (2nd behind Nelson Cruz) with 460,355 votes.  

This year's All-Star Game will be held at Marlins Park in Miami on Tuesday, July 11th.

Aroldis Chapman is targeting the upcoming A's series for his return.  The Yankees will be in Oakland for a four-game set starting Thursday, June 15th.  I am very anxious to show a showdown between Chapman and the A's Rajai Davis with the game on the line.  I feel that a healthy and rested Chapman is the superior competitor in that situation and I want to see Davis strike out to lose the game (as retribution for his home run off Chapman in Game 7 of the World Series).

On Monday, the Baltimore Orioles acquired infielder Ruben Tejada from the Yankees for cash considerations and assigned him to AAA.  On Tuesday, they elevated him to the Major League roster.  Things seem to have worked out for Tejada in his new home as he was not likely to see the Big Leagues in Pinstripes anytime soon.  I just hope this doesn't become a Steve Pearce situation where he starts crushing home runs for the O's.  

Chance Adams took the loss on Tuesday night in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' 8-1 loss to the Rochester Red Wings.  He pitched six innings, giving up 3 hits and 3 runs.  He walked 4 batters, allowed one home run, and struck out 7.  The outing pushed his ERA to 2.17.  The winning pitcher for the Red Wings was former Yankees prospect Nik Turley (who had 15 strikeouts).

Have a great Wednesday!  On the bright side, Masahiro Tanaka is not pitching today.  Go Yankees!