The Yankees struggled at the plate on Friday night, striking out 15 times in their 5-2 loss at home to the rival Boston Red Sox.
Manager Aaron Boone spoke after the game about Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi, who struck out seven batters in six innings of work.
“Well he’s always capable of being tough,” Boone said. “Obviously a hard thrower, cutter, split, curveball. I actually thought we had a lot of good at-bats, especially the top half of the order. Got ourselves into some situations where we had a chance to score, just couldn’t get that big one tonight. He was able to hold us off enough there. When you’re not hitting a ton of long balls, you got to be able to cash in when you get those opportunities.”
Slugger Aaron Judge delivered a solo home run in the sixth inning, but it was the Yanks’ only RBI of the night. Boone continued to discuss Boston’s pitching, as reliever Hirokazu Sawamura replaced Eovaldi in the seventh inning and struck out five Yankees over two innings on the mound. Closer Matt Barnes then struck out the side in the ninth for his 13th save of the season.
“Especially guys out of the pen I thought threw the ball really well for them tonight,” Boone said. “Again, strikeouts are a part of this and we gotta continue to work hard, especially in those situations when we have some traffic. I thought a lot of good at-bats, especially in the first inning where Gio [Urshela] ends up lining out to end that inning. We just got to keep building on small successes we’re having, and hopefully break through here.”
DJ LeMahieu went 2-for-4 against the Red Sox, as he and the rest of the top of the order all had a relatively solid day at the plate. However, batters six through nine in the lineup went a combined 0-for-15 with 10 strikeouts. He spoke after the game about the team’s frustration as they’ve gone 2-6 over their last eight games.
“I wouldn’t say impatience, every game is a big game,” LeMahieu said. “Yeah it’s a long year, Boone is going to stick up for us. We know what’s at stake, and we know when our offense is going, our offense can carry us. In that respect, like I’ve been saying, it’s frustrating.”