Old-timers were the only Yankees to receive applause Sunday afternoon — even the active one.
CC Sabathia left the Yankee Stadium mound to a lengthy standing ovation after throwing a season-high 7 ²/₃ innings, and recording 10 strikeouts for just the second time in five years, but the soon-to-be 38-year-old was tagged with just his second loss of the season after receiving no offensive support in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Rays.
Sabathia (4-2) has now thrown at least seven innings in two of his past three starts and still sports an impressive 3.30 ERA after giving up three runs Sunday.
“I felt like early, maybe his stuff was almost a little too good, and he didn’t have his great command the first few innings,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We saw some 92, 93 [mph] fastballs, coming out crisp, but I don’t think he had the same command that he normally does. I thought in the middle innings he really settled in and found it, and in a lot of ways on cruise control.
“Frankly, I thought he got better as the day went on.”
Despite allowing 10 hits — the most he’d surrendered in more than four years — Sabathia only suffered damage in the second, following back-to-back singles to start the inning. With runners at the corners, Carlos Gomez delivered an RBI double. Matt Duffy then added a two-out, two-run single to right.
“Sometimes when I’m feeling good I try to overthrow and the pitches don’t make the action they’re supposed to,” Sabathia said. “I just tried to be really aggressive because they were aggressive. I think they figured that I was gonna be around the strike zone, so they were gonna be hacking. … I was trying to make better pitches, knowing they were gonna be swinging.”
Sabathia kept the Yankees close by recovering from back-to-back jams in the fourth and fifth, and the lefty exited looking as strong as he had all afternoon, recording back-to-back strikeouts to open the eighth.
While posting his first double-digit strikeout game since Aug. 17, 2016 — and second in his past 107 starts — Sabathia issued only one walk, and also became the oldest Yankees pitcher with 10 strikeouts since Andy Pettitte in 2013.
Though Sabathia’s 12-game home unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Yankees failed to finish a four-game sweep over the Rays, the veteran starter’s outing came with the silver lining of keeping virtually the entire bullpen fresh — minus Adam Warren — entering Monday’s 1 ½-game set against the Nationals.
“With the suspended game, and no off day, trying to stay away from guys in the pen today, it was really good to get some length,” Boone said.
