Yankees without Aaron Judge lose 5-2 to Rangers

Saturday April 29, 2023

New York Yankees 2, Texas Rangers 5

ARLINGTON, Texas — Robbie Grossman’s two-run homer and two doubles helped Texas win the New York Yankees 5-2 on Friday night, despite the fact that Ranger aces Jacob deGrom left early for the second time in three games due to injury concerns.

With one out in the fourth inning and no runners on base, DeGrom walked Anthony Rizzo after retiring the first 10 batters he faced. He then struck out Gleyber Torres on a full count by inducing a fly ball.

DeGrom was down 0-2 to Willie Calhoun when he fired a fastball wide for a ball at 96.6 mph. The pitcher shifted to his left side and unleashed an 89.4 mph fastball. On his slowest pitch of the game, an outside pitch, Calhoun hit a single to left.

On the mound, we see trainer Jacob Newburn and pitching coach Mike Maddux. Maddux gathered the manager, Bruce Bochy, in shady territory. Bochy then went out onto the field and removed the NL Cy Young Award winner who had won the award twice. Dane Dunning (2-0) was put in his place by him. No explanation was given for why DeGrom left the game in progress.

The Yankees started the season off without their star player, Aaron Judge. The current AL MVP had tests done on his ailing right hip on Friday, a day after departing the series opener in the fourth inning with hip pain.

Clarke Schmidt, the Yankees’ starter, struck out eight batters in five innings but allowed six of the ten hits he faced to come from left-handed hitters. He has allowed a .385 average against to left-handed batters this season.

The Rangers, who had lost four in a row to that point, got RBI doubles from Marcus Semien and Jonah Heim.

After four scoreless innings on April 17 against Kansas City, DeGrom left the game due to discomfort in his right wrist. He wasn’t scheduled to start again for another five games. His latest start was in a victory, when he struck out 11 batters in six innings while throwing only 80 pitches. He hadn’t faced the Yankees since 2018.

After nine years with the Mets, deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers in December. Texas was cautious with him before the team’s first spring training exercise after he complained of discomfort in his left side, which had reduced his innings total to 156 1/3 over the previous two seasons due to injuries. But he was still prepared to play on the season’s first day.

Two runs and three hits were allowed by Dunning, the first of three relief pitchers. He lasted 3 1/3 innings. Will Smith closed out the ninth inning for his third save.

UP NEXT

Rookie right-hander Jhony Brito (2-2, 6.11 ERA) will start for the Yankees on Saturday night.

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