BOSTON — The heart of the Yankees’ order is a tough and productive group — but sometimes they fizzle rather than sizzle.
The 3-4-5 hitters — Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano — are the team’s top three in home runs and RBIs. Two of them, Granderson and Cano, were All-Stars; Cano took home the Home Run Derby title and Teixeira already has 32 homers this season.
But in the fifth inning of yesterday’s 10-4 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, they went down 1-2-3 with two men on and the Yankees already trailing 7-3.
Granderson had the first shot in a critical spot against Boston right-hander John Lackey. The Yankees trailed 7-2 to start the inning, but Francisco Cervelli opened with a single, Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch and Derek Jeter knocked an RBI single to center.
So it was now a four-run game with two on, nobody out and the Yankees’ three best hitters coming up.
Granderson was up first and he struck out swinging at a fastball. Then Teixeira struck out swinging at a fastball. Then Cano grounded out to first to end the inning.
“[Lackey] got out of a big jam,” Teixeira said. “Give him credit. He made the pitches when he needed to.”
Maybe, but the Yankees also didn’t make their swings when they needed to. The Yankees went 2-for-19 with men on base in the loss, but the worst display came in the top of the fifth. And afterward, they never really threatened, even though they saw the leadoff man reach base in each of the four innings after that too.
“We didn’t capitalize as much as we could have,” manager Joe Girardi said.
Just an inning earlier, in the Yankees’ two-run fourth, Granderson, Teixeira and Cano all came up to bat against Lackey as well and all reached base — Granderson on a single to right, Teixeira on a walk and Cano on a hit-by-pitch.
In the fifth, though, none of them could get on. At all. Maybe a healthy Alex Rodriguez would have helped.
The Yankees stranded nine runners while the Red Sox left only five, and also went just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
“Whenever you go ahead and get runners on base, it’s always a good thing,” Granderson said.
Not every time, as it turned out.
