CLEVELAND — Look beyond the surface numbers.
That 62-33 record the Yankees own at the All-Star break is impressive, but there are cracks in the starting-pitching numbers that show themselves in different ways.
Masahiro Tanaka gave the Yankees the kind of decent start they are going to need so much more of when play resumes Friday against the Mets with his 6 ¹/₃ innings in the 5-2 loss to the Indians on Sunday at Progressive Field.
He still came up short.
Yankees starters are eighth in the AL in innings pitched with 520, two innings removed from 11th place. Astros starters lead the league with 613 innings. Indians starters are second (601 ²/₃) while the rampaging Red Sox are third with 559 ²/₃ innings.
Astros starters ERA is No. 1 at 3.02. The Yankees starters ERA is sixth at 4.00. The Red Sox are third at 3.78, while the Indians are No. 2 at 3.46.
When the Yankees return to action after the break, they will be pushing back Luis Severino to give him an extended rest. The Yankees have been asking too much of Severino. To that end, he will not pitch again until next Monday on the road against the Rays. There will be no Subway Series for him this weekend after a couple of subpar outings.
Perhaps, the Yankees have such little regard for the Mets this is the perfect time to give Severino a mini-break. It will be Domingo German, Sonny Gray and Tanaka versus the Mets with Severino and CC Sabathia both getting much needed rest before they face the Rays.
Tanaka’s only problem Sunday was his usual problem: He gave up a key home run, a two-run blast to Edwin Encarnacion in the fourth. Goodbye, hanging slider — the 18th home run Tanaka has surrendered in just 83 ¹/₃ innings.
“I was pretty good for the most part, if I could just take back that home run,’’ Tanaka said through translator Shinto Horie.
No matter how you slice it, the Yankees have to find at least one more substantial starter via the trade route, and this can’t be a move made just to make a move.
They have to find an impact starter. Good luck.
Aaron Boone admitted the innings pitched from the starters must be increased because this model is not sustainable.
“We can pick up more innings from our pen than just about anyone,’’ Boone noted, “that said though, you still have to preserve those guys and protect those guys over the course of the long season, and you do that with starting pitching and pitching able to go deep into the game.
“If you’re able to go on and have a great regular season and win a division, you got to lean on starters to do that.’’
The Yankees dynamite bullpen cannot sustain such overuse. Eventually it catches up.
It caught up to Chad Green on Sunday when the Indians scored three times in the eighth inning, the first run coming on Michael Brantley’s home run to right field. Brantley hit one of Green’s high fastballs out. Hitters know the Green way is to pitch high in the strike zone, anti-launch angle pitching, with his fastball and he is going to have to gain some confidence in his slider to use it more in those situations so hitters get off the fastball.
Cat and mouse.
Green has surrendered home runs in his last two outings after not giving up a home run his previous 13 outings.
Green got the final two outs of the seventh, so there is that, and Boone went to him again in the eighth because he did not want to bring Dellin Betances, who has already appeared in 40 games, into a tie game.
When I asked Boone if he expected to get any help via trade, he said: “I know [Brian Cashman] and the guys are turning over every leaf. I know we’re going to try. It comes down to, does it make the most sense for us short term and long term? If the right deal comes about I think we’ll make it.’’
At the break, help is needed. Look at all the numbers.
