Yankees: CC goes “long” in two ways as Tigers edge the Bombers

The Yankees played the percentages last night, and they lost on both counts. Their starting pitcher threw 97 pitches, of which 95 were good. The other two, not so much as the Bombers dropped to .003 percentage points behind Boston.

Yankees starter CC Sabathia went “long” last night, only it wasn’t just the six innings he turned in relieving the bullpen of some work, but it was also the long ball that did him and his team in a 4-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium.

Sabathia’s effort allowed the Yankees to use only three members of their Bullpen By Committee instead of the usual five. But two bad pitches that went for home runs accounted for all of the Tigers runs and a four run lead in the third inning they never surrendered.

The first home run he surrendered was a three-run blast my Tiger’s first baseman, John Hicks, that landed just beyond the reach of Aaron Judge into the right field stands. But Sabathia appeared to be frustrated even more by the calls of home plate umpire, Mike Estabrook.

Perhaps feeling the pressure of the Yankees adding Jaime Garcia and Sonny Gray to their rotation, and knowing that something is soon to give as the team now has six starters, Sabathia was not his usual composed self on the mound.

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The pitches in question appeared on TV and also to the YES announcers as being outside the inside of the strike zone. Sabathia didn’t think so, and at one point had to be restrained by Todd Frazier and Joe Girardi when he left the mound barking at Estabrook.

In any event, it was a night when the Yankees bats went quiet again, save for Didi Gregorius and his two hits that drove in all three Yankees runs. The only other positive sign for the team was two more hits off the bat of Matt Holliday, who has been MIA in the Bomber’s attack for some time now.

Standings Flip-Flop

The loss, coupled with the Red Sox slugfest 12-10 win over the Cleveland Indians flips-flops the Yanks and Sox in the AL East standings, with Boston getting credit for a 1/2 game lead.

By virtue of the Sox having one more loss than the Yankees, the lead is a mere .003 percentage points. Soon, the loss column for both teams will resonate as more important than games ahead or games behind. The thinking being that you can’t win a game you’ve already lost, but you can win a game you have yet to play. Of note, the Red Sox have played three more games than the Bombers.

Also of note, and it’s amazing someone keeps track of these things, Aaron Judge has now struck out at least once in twenty consecutive games, which is a Yankees record. Good to know, huh?

The rubber game of the series is this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Masahiro Tanaka (8-9, 5.09) is scheduled to make the start, fresh off a masterpiece he tossed over the weekend. Jordan Zimmermann (6-8, 5.69) gets the call for Detroit.

Next: Which of their Horses will end up in the barn?

Following today’s game, the Bombers board a flight to Cleveland for the long-awaited joust with the defending American League Champions. Adding excitement to the four-game matchup is the debut of both Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia in Pinstripes.