Well, at least it was over in just over three hours. On an afternoon when Jameson Taillon pitched brilliantly, he was out-dueled by the craft and guile of Johnny Cueto. A listless offensive performance by the Bombers bats, a pair of baserunning blunders, and yet another ninth inning meltdown by Aroldis Chapman conspired to hand the Yankees a 3-1 loss.
Cueto has built much of his success on disrupting hitters’ timing by varying his deliveries with quick pitches and hesitation. The best way to nullify that aspect of his game is to put runners on base and force him to pitch out of the stretch, which is exactly what the Yankees did from the word go.