But a 5-run bottom of the 2nd doomed CC Sabathia, once again suffering from Onebadinningitis. After 4 fine starts at the beginning of this season, the Big Fella has now had 4 bad ones.
CC managed to go a full 7 innings to ease the strain on the bullpen, and Dellin Betances and Chad Green pitched a scoreless inning. The Yankees picked up another run in the 4th when Didi singled home Starlin Castro, but that was it. Reds 5, Yankees 3. WP: Adelman (2-1). SV: Raisel Iglesias (6). LP: Sabathia (2-2).
I can't complain about taking 4 out of 5 on a roadtrip, especially since the 1st 3 (all wins) were against the defending World Champions, though they are struggling at the moment, just .500; and the last 2 (a split) were against the team now in 1st place in the National League Central. Still, it's never good to lose.
But the Yankees remain in 1st place in the American League East. They are tied with the Baltimore Orioles, but are a game ahead of them in the all-important loss column. The Boston Red Sox are 5 games back, the Tampa Bay Rays 6 1/2, and the Toronto Blue Jays 9 1/2.
Tonight, the teams with the 2 best records in Major League Baseball begin a 4-game series at Yankee Stadium II: The Yankees and the Houston Astros. Here's the projected starting pitching matchups:
* Tonight, 7:05: Michael Pineda vs. Dallas Kuechel.
* Tomorrow, 7:05: Jordan Montgomery vs. Lance McCullers Jr.
* Saturday, 1:05: Luis Severino vs. Mike Fiers.
* Sunday, 7:30: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Charlie Morton. This is the day of Derek Jeter's number retirement and Monument Park dedication, and ESPN wanted to broadcast it. With it, the glory days that began with 1996 are well and truly closed.
It's also the 50th Anniversary of Mickey Mantle's 500th home run. That was on a Mother's Day, too.