Domingo German enters in relief after being scratched from start in Yankees' loss to Rays
Domingo German of the NY Yankees pitching in the top of the 5th.. inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on Mon. July 31, 2023. Photo Errol Anderson Credit: Errol Anderson
As the clock ticked into the final hours before the MLB trade deadline, things continued to only look worse in the big picture for the Yankees.
Domingo German, slated to start Monday night’s series opener against the Rays, was scratched because of discomfort in his armpit (more on this in a moment). Luis Severino’s horrid start on Sunday — after which he called himself “the worst pitcher in the game, no doubt about it” — left the bullpen in a situation in which the club was forced to recall Jhony Brito from Triple-A.
And the Yankees’ competitors in the race to make the postseason continued to get better. The Rays joined the Rangers, Blue Jays, Astros and Angels in a group that has acquired talent for the stretch run, strengthening their starting rotation by trading top prospect Kyle Manzardo for Cleveland’s Aaron Civale.
To cap off the evening, Brito allowed four home runs as the Yankees lost to the Rays, 5-1, before 43,613 at the Stadium. It was their 13th loss in the last 20 games.
“You see the moves, especially the Rays getting someone like Aaron [who] is a great pitcher [and] had a good year so far,” Aaron Judge said. “But it comes back to . . . . we’ve got a job to do on the field. We can’t focus on who’s going where, what moves are being made, what moves are not being made. This game is hard enough. If we’re focusing on other things besides winning the baseball game here in the Bronx, we’re going to be in a bad spot.”
Any concerns about German abated after Brito left the game. While Brito was allowing back-to-back home runs by Isaac Paredes and Josh Lowe in the fourth inning, German began to warm up. He came in to start the fifth with the Yankees trailing by four and pitched five scoreless innings, but by then, it was too late.
German said he first felt the discomfort Friday and then again after his bullpen session on Saturday. The condition, which he described through an interpreter as “a combination of tightness and a lack of extension on the arm” halted a throwing session Sunday. That’s when the Yankees sent for Brito.
German was cleared by the team’s medical staff and went out to throw off a mound about an hour before game time, then told the Yankees, “If you need me to pitch tonight, even out of the bullpen, I think I’ll be available.”
At that point, manager Aaron Boone said, it was too late to reinstall German as the starter.
German ended up allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts. He said of the discomfort that he has to “keep working on it and make sure that it doesn’t come back.”
His season has truly covered the gamut. He threw MLB’s 24th perfect game, gave up at least four earned runs eight times — and now this oddity of a night.
Tampa Bay righthander Tyler Glasnow limited the Yankees to one run, three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. His only mistake was a home run by Jake Bauers in the second inning.
The Yankees struck out 12 times, giving them 30 strikeouts in two games. That represents a franchise record, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Brito, making his 12th start and 13th appearance of the season, gave up five runs and six hits in four innings, striking out four. In addition to the back-to-back shots, Brandon Lowe and Wander Franco hit home runs.
While the Yankees got absolutely nothing out of the series opener with the Rays, their AL East rivals felt victorious on the field and in the clubhouse.
“It’s kind of a jump-start in this clubhouse,” Brandon Lowe said of the Civale trade. “ . . . It kind of energizes everybody in this clubhouse, kind of makes us excited that we’re improving and trying to make this team better.”
Before the game, Boone was asked about the way other clubs have been more active than his. He replied, “Sometimes an acquisition is something that is a shot in the arm and kind of a little spark. Sometimes it goes the other way, too. I’d rather not speculate on something that may or may not happen. Right now, it’s about us getting going.”
The Rays opened the season with 13 straight wins and were 57-28 at the end of June but, have won only eight games since. Civale (5-2, 2.34 ERA) should help.
“I know our front office certainly values where the mindset of the clubhouse is on a daily basis,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I hope that we are all interpreting this as ‘our front office was trying to improve a really good club’ and I feel like we did that when we got Civale.”
Are the Yankees, still only 3 ½ games off the last AL wild card, deserving of similar front-office moves? “I don’t know how many hours it is now, but we’ll see what they do,” Boone said. “We’ve got to play better. We know that. Everyone in that room knows that we’re capable of playing better, and that’s what we have to control right now.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
