What is the story about?
Yankees
3, Rangers 2
- This not scoring many runs things is getting old.
- You had Jacob deGrom give up just one run in six innings! You let down Jacob deGrom!
- In six innings, deGrom allowed three hits. Unfortunately, two of the three hits came in the first inning, when an Aaron Judge two out single was followed up by a Cody Bellinger double that barely missed leaving the park.
- As a side note, I was looking at exit velocity and launch angle data during yesterday’s game and comparing it to similar EV/LA combos from this season around MLB, and while the ball has generally not carried well once again in 2026 at the Shed, the ball did seem to be carrying well to right field on Tuesday.
- The Bellinger double, for example, was 97.5 mph off the bat, with a 25 degree launch angle, and was measured by Statcast at 383 feet. There have been 12 other balls in the majors this year hit between 97 and 98 mph with a 25 degree launch angle, and three-fourths of them were between 337 feet and 348 feet, with the others being 371 feet, 372 feet and 381 feet. So Bellinger’s double carried farther than any other ball at that EV/LA in the bigs this year.
- Also, the entire rotation appears to have contracted Dane Dunning Disease this year. Texas has allowed 23 runs in the first inning of games, including 11 home runs. That’s 21% of all runs allowed by the Rangers this season, and 30% of all homers. They’ve also allowed 23 runs in the fifth inning, weirdly, though on just 5 homers. Otherwise, from the second through the seventh innings, the pitching staff hasn’t allowed more than 10 runs.
- The pitching staff has allowed 12 runs in the 8th and 15 in the 9th, though.
- Jalen Beeks allowed a solo homer to Austin Wells in the 7th. It was just the fourth run allowed, and the second homer, in the 7th inning by the Rangers this year. It was also to right field, and carried slightly more than average for its exit velocity (97.5 mph) and launch angle (31 degrees). Maybe the Rangers turned the air conditioning on high.
- Cole Winn allowed a homer in the ninth, to Aaron Judge, which, you know, its Aaron Judge. That’s three homers Winn has allowed this year, though, which matches his total for all of 2025. That’s less than ideal.
- The other two homers Winn has allowed were to Shea Langeliers and Jacob Wilson, both on Tax Day in Sacramento. In case you’re interested.
- You’re probably not.
- The offense once again had baserunners but didn’t get them in. Seven hits, four walks, an HBP and an E5, and Texas only pushed two runs across, with both of those not coming until the ninth.
- Texas was 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left ten runners on base.
- Texas was pretty helpless for most of the game against Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, who has been dominant this year. But they had plenty of opportunities late, and didn’t convert.
- Brandon Nimmo singled and Josh Jung walked to start the sixth inning, but didn’t advance.
- Sam Haggerty had a pinch hit single to lead off the seventh, with Danny Jansen then walking with two outs, but they were left on first and second at inning’s end.
- The eighth was perhaps the most vexing part of the evening for the offense. Josh Jung singled and Corey Seager walked, putting runners on first and second in what was then a 2-0 game. That brought up Joc Pederson, who…bunted.
- Now, you may say, Joc Pederson is terrible, he might as well bunt, but you’d be wrong. Pederson is slashing .224/.346/.328 this year, good for a 102 OPS+. Since starting the season going 0 for 14 in his first six games, Pederson has been slashing .283/.406/.415. He homered the night before.
- One can argue that, well, it almost worked out. Pederson laid down a good bunt, and it took a great play by Yankees’ pitcher Fernando Cruz to get Jung at third base:
- Skip Schumaker challenged the play, which was upheld.
- It appears Pederson was bunting for a hit there, not trying to lay down a sac bunt, given that he bunted it towards third, rather than first. But still, behind Pederson you had Jake Burger, who has been struggling. After Burger was Haggerty, who had pinch hit for Carter, and who doesn’t hit well against righthanders (and who was lifted for pinch hitter Ezequiel Duran). After Haggerty was Josh Smith, who is doing an early season Marcus Semien imitation, only without the Gold Glove defense.
- I think I’d rather have Joc Pederson swinging away in that situation.
- As a side note, the aggressively pinch hitting for Evan Carter when the opposition brings in a lefthanded pitcher before the eighth or ninth is becoming problematic, because you end up in a situation like this one, where whoever pinch hit for Carter is now facing a righthanded pitcher later in the game, and you’d rather have Carter up there.
- That’s before getting into the fact that the various pinch hitting machinations resulted in the Rangers running an outfield of Andrew McCutchen in left, Brandon Nimmo in center, and Ezequiel Duran in right in the ninth inning.
- Texas did manage to avoid the shutout in the ninth, with McCutchen reaching on a one out E5, then scoring on a Danny Jansen triple. A Brandon Nimmo HBP and a Josh Jung single brought Jansen home, putting the tying and go ahead runs on base for Corey Seager, who had the opportunity to be a hero.
- Sadly, Seager hit into a 4-6-3 GIDP, and that was ballgame.
- I want the Rangers to start scoring some runs, dammit! Lots of runs!
- Jacob deGrom hit 98.5 mph with his fastball, averaging 97.1 mph. Jalen Beeks’ fastball reached 94.9 mph. Jakob Junis touched 92.7 mph with his fastball. Cole Winn’s fastball maxed out at 96.2 mph.
- Corey Seager had a 109.3 mph double. Josh Jung had a 106.1 mph single and a 103.4 mph fly out. Sam Haggerty had a 105.5 mph single. Jake Burger had a 101.5 mph fly out. Joc Pederson had a 101.1 mph fly out.
- Okay, let’s try to avoid the sweep, and not going into the off day on a losing note.
