The Yankees’ second half got off to a poor start Friday, a 4-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
Five things to know from Friday’s game
1. Down a handful of starters with 1B Luke Voit (left knee inflammation) landing on the 10-day IL and three others — RF Aaron Judge, 3B Gio Urshela and C Kyle Higashioka — transferred to the COVID-19 IL, the Yankees’ lineup look a lot different and results showed. DJ LeMahieu slid to 3B, Rougned Odor received a start at 2B and Chris Gittens got the nod for 1B. Trey Amburgey started in RF and batted eighth as he made his MLB debut.
2. While the Yankees’ batting order took a hit, LHP Jordan Montgomery ultimately gave his team a chance to win the game. After he surrendered a three-run inning in the second, with the damage largely stemming from a two-run home run by Christian Arroyo, Montgomery settled down.
In six innings, Montgomery yielded three runs on as many hits (one home run), striking out four while walking two and firing 92 pitches (60 strikes). YES Network revealed that the Yankees have not scored Montgomery (3-5, 4.18 ERA) a run during one of his starts since June 15, in which he received a no-decision ruling on the way to a 6-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
3. For his third straight outing, RHP Domingo German (4-5, 4.72 ERA) made an appearance out of the bullpen appearance. He followed Montgomery in the seventh with a one-hit inning, stranding a two-out single while the Yankees trailed 3-0.
4. Rather than give German another frame, LHP Justin Wilson got the eighth inning and surrendered a two-out solo home run to J.D. Martinez, widening the Yankees’ deficit to a 4-0 gap. Wilson (8.62 ERA) got a Enrique Hernandez on a groundout to SS Gleyber Torres and struck out Alex Verdugo looking but was unable to get the Yankees into the ninth unscathed.
5. On the other side, Eduardo Rodriguez made light work of a Yankees lineup that batted struggling CF Brett Gardner sixth. In 5 2/3 scoreless innings pitched, the left-handed Rodriguez (7-5, 5.19 ERA) threw a two-hitter, striking out eight while walking two on 97 pitches (57 strikes).
Hirokazu Sawamura and Tanner Houck closed the door with a clean combined final 3 1/3 innings to hand the Yankees a 4-0 shutout. Only LeMahieu, Odor and OF Greg Allen — in a seventh-inning PH situation — recorded hits in the Yankees’ quiet performance. DH Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
What’s next
The Yankees (46-44) and Red Sox (56-36) face off again Saturday at 7:15 p.m. RHPs Gerrit Cole (9-4, 2.68 ERA) and Nathan Eovaldi (9-5, 3.66 ERA) are the projected starters.