Yankees drop first game of doubleheader, lose 9-2 to O’s

Source: FanGraphs

Home field advantage in the wildcard game will have to wait at least another few hours. The Yankees dropped the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 9-2 to the Orioles. There is no chance I’m writing two full recaps on a Saturday on the second to last day of the regular season, so here are bullet points:

• Early Chances: The Yankees had some chances to get on the board early in the game. Chris Young’s leadoff triple in the second was wasted (two pop-ups and a strike) and their third inning rally was short-circuited when Brendan Ryan was thrown out trying to go first-to-third on a soft single to left. They also had two runners on base with one out on the fourth, but didn’t bring them home. So that’s five base-runners from the second through fourth innings, but no runs.
• Bad Ivan & Very Bad Chasen: Ivan Nova’s pitching line (5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) could have been better had formerly good reliever Chasen Shreve not melted down (again) before recording the final out of the sixth. Shreve allowed two inherited runners to score plus two runners of his own on three hits, a walk, and a wild pitch. (To be fair, one hit was a dumb perfectly placed infield single.) There’s no way he’ll be on the wildcard game roster at this point. Anyway, Nova put eleven runners on base and had some hard hit balls go for outs. He ends the season having allowed 29 runs and 62 base-runners in his last 37 innings. Last outing as a Yankee?
• Two Token Runs: On the bright side, the Yankees weren’t shut out, scoring two runs in the seventh. They actually loaded the bases with no outs, but home plate up Marty Foster decided to expand the zone — look at this 2-0 call on Didi Gregorius, changed the entire inning — though I doubt it changes the complexion of the game. Brett Gardner drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and Rob Refsnyder singled in another. Two token runs.
• Leftovers: Nick Goody allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in the seventh inning and Chris Martin allowed two base-runners in a scoreless eighth … both Rico Noel (infield single) and Gary Sanchez (pop-up) got their first big league at-bats … and finally, the Yankees officially can not win 90 games this year. The best they can do is 89-73. The last time they went three straight years with fewer than 90 wins without a work stoppage mixed in was 1991-93. Spoiled, we are.

Here’s the box score and video highlights. If you’re still interested, here are the updated standings and postseason odds. It will still take one win or one Astros loss to clinch home field advantage in the wildcard game. Make sure you check out our Bullpen Workload and Announcer Standings pages. The Yankees and Orioles will play game two of the doubleheader later tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET.