The Yankees had no answer for a pitcher they knew very well.
Jameson Taillon dominated the Bombers on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field as the Cubs avoided being swept on their home field. The 32-year-old tossed six innings allowing one run on six hits while striking out six. The right-hander lowered his season ERA to 3.57.
The Yanks didn’t have much traffic on the bases as their only run of the afternoon came in the top of the second when Anthony Volpe drove in Jazz Chisholm Jr. with a sacrifice fly.
However, the Bombers’ arms were equally effective as they allowed zero earned runs on the day. Gerrit Cole tossed six innings allowing two unearned runs on three hits and racking up seven strikeouts. The ace had all of his stuff working, but a first-inning error by Gleyber Torres — which would have ended the inning — extended the frame and eventually led to a Seiya Suzuki two-RBI single which proved to be the difference in the game.
Clay Holmes made his first appearance since blowing a save against the Texas Rangers on Sept. 3. The right-hander took the duties of the eighth inning as opposed to his usual closing duties and pitched a perfect frame registering two strikeouts. It remains to be seen if Holmes is an option to finish games again as closing duties are up in the air.
The Bombers had a chance to tie the game in the ninth, however, they came up short. Anthony Rizzo worked a two-out walk and Duke Ellis — who entered as a pinch runner — stole second to get the tying run in scoring position. Porter Hodge got Volpe swinging and the game went final at 2-1.
Luckily for the Yanks, the Baltimore Orioles lost to the Tampa Bay Rays so their first-place lead remains 0.5 games. The Kansas City Royals will come into the Bronx on Monday afternoon to begin a three-game set. Carlos Rodon will take the ball for Aaron Boone’s squad facing off against Brady Singer.
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