Judge "How to respond to this crisis", the Yankees are suspicious, but there are other culprits...Soto also lost three consecutive points
Jul 05, 2024
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He lost three games in a row for the fourth time this season. The brakes are also put on the recapture of the earth's lead.
The Yankees were completely defeated 4-8 at home against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium on the 5th (Korea time). The Yankees, who are in second place in the American League East, are on the verge of collapse as their winning rate fell to 0.607 (54 wins and 35 losses) as they swept three consecutive home games.
The Baltimore Orioles (55-32), the world's leading team, lost to the Seattle Mariners 3-7 on the day, and the gap with the Yankees is two games. The Yankees are AL wild card leaders, but that doesn't mean much. The goal is to secure at least the second place in the district championship or AL win rate and go straight to the Division Series.
The Yankees, who have been leading the district all season, have fallen to 5 wins and 14 losses in their last 19 games, turning the tables on Baltimore. The Yankees lost the top spot to Baltimore on the 28th of last month.
On this day, the mound collapsed. Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman gave up five hits and two walks in five innings, allowing five runs to lose the game. He struggled with three home runs. bullpen pitchers Tim Hill and Jake Cousins were also sluggish with two runs in one ⅔ and one run in one ⅓, respectively, failing to close the gap.
The Yankees ranked last among the 30 teams in the last 15 days with a 6.85 team ERA in 13 games. In other words, the mound is the main cause of the decline.
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Cincinnati starter Frankie Montas' good pitching stood out. Montas became the winning pitcher by allowing four hits and two runs in five innings. Season 4-6, 4.19 ERA. Montas was triumphant after the game "Everyone knows what kind of pitching I can throw if I'm healthy"
Montas once pitched as a starter for the Yankees from August 2022 to last year. However, the Yankees took only nine games due to shoulder surgery early last year. Eventually, he became an FA last winter and wore a Cincinnati uniform on the condition of $16 million a year and mutual options in 2025.
Cincinnati took the lead with Nick Martini's solo home run to right-center after two outs in the top of the second inning. At ball count 2B1S, Stroman pulled an 87.7 mile body cutter on his fourth pitch and over the right fence. In the third inning, Jonathan Indie pulled Stroman's 7th 88.8-mile sinker to take a 2-0 lead over the left fence.
In the fifth inning, Spencer Steyer exploded a three-run shot to widen the gap to 5-0. India's infield hit, a two-out first-and-two chance made by Ellie Delacruz's walk, pushed Stroman's 2nd pitch 90.1 miles outside cutter to lead to a three-run home run slightly over the right fence.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Yankees followed with Austin Wells, the leader, hitting a solo shot to the middle wall, and Ben Rice hitting a superior solo home run after two outs. However, Cincinnati widened the gap to 8-2 in the top of the seventh inning when Jake Fraley hit a triple to right-center to bring in all the runners.
Yankees Juan Soto hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh inning to chase, but the game was already in the air. With two outs and runners on third, Soto pulled an 82.5-mile curve into the middle of opponent Nick Martinez's second pitch and flew well over the middle fence. He hit his 21st homer of the season with a batting speed of 110.5 miles and a flying distance of 431 feet.
Aaron Judge of the Yankees, who had no hits in four at-bats and retired with two strikeouts, said "When you look at the World Series champions in the past, they always had a slump at some point. How to respond to this crisis will be what defines the team."
jhno@sportschosun.com
