New York Yankees fans vexed as team falls to previously winless Philadelphia Phillies: "Cancel the season" "DFA Hicks and Donaldson"
The New York Yankees fell to 3-2 on the season by giving the Philadelphia Phillies a 4-1 victory at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak to begin the season with the Phillies, the defending National League champions.
New York managed just four hits in the game and were only saved after being shutout at home by a ninth-inning solo home run off the bat of second baseman DJ Lemahieu.
While the New York Yankees' hopes of winning were seriously dented by starting pitcher Domingo German allowing four earned runs -- including two home runs -- over 4-2/3 inning, it was the team's overall lack of offense that left a particularly bad taste in the mouths of their fanbase.
Many New Yorkers knew that the Yankees were in trouble as the team started a nearly hitless quartet of Josh Donaldson, Aaron Hicks, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Kyle Higashioka in the 5-8 spots in the lineup.
Hicks' second consecutive start after sitting out the Yankees' first three games was particularly troubling to the New York faithful. He went hitless again, keeping his batting average at .000 after seven at-bats.
As far as Donaldson is concerned, he ranks a close second to Hicks in terms of players that Yankee fans never want to see in pinstripes again. He also went hitless on Tuesday, including a pop-up for the game's final out with two runners in scoring position. His average for the season now sits at a meager .133.
LeMahieu's homer, coming with one out in the bottom of the ninth off Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel, turned out to be the lone bright spot of the night for the New York Yankees. On the popularity chart, LeMahieu finds himself on the opposite end of the curve from Hicks and Donaldson.
Amidst the angst, some members of Yankee Nation realize that bad games are going to happen. There are 157 regular-season games left to go, after all, and an early April loss to a team that went to the World Series last autumn isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things.
New York Yankees first road trip is one game away
The New York Yankees are scheduled to host the Phillies Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of their three-game series. After that, the team hits the road for the first time this season with a weekend series at their resurgent American League East rival, the Baltimore Orioles.