About Last Night: Reds 7, Yankees 6

by Derek McAdam

July 15, 2022

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The Yankees lost the rubber game of the three game set against the Cincinnati Reds.

Here’s the game recap.

Game Stats:

• Aaron Judge hit his 31st league-leading home run last night

• Nestor Cortes Jr.- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

• Lucas Luetge 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 K

• The Yankees didn't get a base hit until. the 6th inning

• The Yankees scored 6 runs, but had only six hits

• Matt Carpenter hit his 11th homer

The Big Story:

The first four innings went uneventful, but former Yankee Brandon Drury gave the Reds their first run in the 5th on a sacrifice fly. In the 6th, Giancarlo Stanton tied the game for the Yankees with an RBI groundout. The Reds scored three runs in the 8th off a Joey Votto single and Kyle Farmer’s two-run single. However, Judge struck back in the 8th with a solo home run to cut the Reds’ lead to 4-2. This was followed by Gleyber Torres launching his 14th home run of the season into the right-field seats to tie the game at 4-4. The Reds would score three runs in the 10th, and while Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run to put the Yankees within one run in the bottom of the 10th, and with the tying and winning runs on base that same inning, they could not pull through.

Player(s) of the Game:

Not only did Nestor Cortes pitch well for the Yankees, but Luis Castillo pitched well for the Reds. Both starters went seven innings and allowed only one run a piece.

Notable Performances:

For the Yankees, Matt Carpenter continues to give the Yankees productive at-bats, but Albert Abreu also continues to provide valuable bullpen depth for the Yankees, getting four crucial outs in last night’s game.

Better to Forget:

• Jonathan Loaisiga had his first outing since May 22, and it was not pretty. He allowed three runs and only recorded two outs for the Yankees in the 8th.

• D.J. LeMahieu came up in the bottom of the 7th with two outs and two runners on. The score was 1-1. He struck out.

• D.J. LeMahieu came up in the bottom of the 9th with two outs and the bases loaded. The score was 4-4. He struck out.

• D.J. LeMahieu came up in the bottom of the 10th with two outs and two runners on. These were the tying and the winning runs. The score was 7-6 in favor of the Reds. He flew out.

My Take:

This was another bad loss for the Yankees where the bullpen let them down. They never blew a lead in this game like the previous losses, but only because they never had a lead. Simply enough, the Yankees are on a cold streak where they just can’t seem to close out games. The offense took a while to come alive, but ultimately did and sent the game into extras. However, the pitching staff let them down in extra innings once again. With the ghost man on 2nd base, it is expected that a run is going to score most of the time. But, the bullpen cannot allow three runs every single time. This has been a bad stretch for the Yankees going into the All-Star Break, but there is still time to finish the “first half” of the season strong as the Red Sox come to town for a three game series.

What’s Next:

The Yankees welcome the Boston Red Sox to town for a three-game series beginning tonight in the last games before the All-Star Break. Former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi is set to start for the Red Sox while Jordan Montgomery is scheduled to start for the Yankees. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. from Yankee Stadium and can be viewed on Amazon Prime Video.