DETROIT — With two cameras on the field documenting his every move, Miguel Cabrera walked up to the plate in the eighth inning at Comerica Park Thursday afternoon for his final at-bat of the game. The slugger had been stuck on 2,999 hits all day. The fans from all around the park had run down the aisles, their phones in hand, hoping to get a glimpse of history.
With the Yankees trailing by a run, however, Aaron Boone made the tough call to intentionally walk the Tigers’ slugger. The crowd went wild, booing the Yankees and a minute later when Austin Meadows drove in two runs for the 3-0 win, they taunted the Bombers.
“It’s a baseball call, all the way, but there’s no doubt that there’s a little more feeling to it, right,” the Yankees manager said. “You are understanding the situation, but in the end, you gotta go with what you think is right within the context of the game.”
For his part, Cabrera, who played with Boone with the Marlins early in his career, laughed it off. He joked with reporters that it “raised my on-base percentage.”
Jordan Montgomery had done a stellar job of keeping Cabrera off base to that point. For the second straight start, however, the Yankees offense couldn’t give him any support.
Montgomery was very sharp. He gave up three hits, including an RBI-double to Robbie Grossman in the second inning. He walked two and struck out five. That included striking out Cabrera twice and keeping him stuck at 2,999.
The veteran slugger flew out to left field in the first inning. Montgomery struck him out on four pitches in the fourth, getting him to swing on an 81 mph curveball for the third strike. In the sixth, Montgomery needed six pitches and Cabrera could not hold back his swing on a 93 mph fastball. He got 14 swings and misses, including seven on that sinker.
Montgomery said it was loud with all the cheering fans rushing down to see the at-bat.
“I wouldn’t say it’s fun to face him because he’s so good,” Montgomery said. “But it’s definitely exciting and it makes you up your game.”
Thursday was the third time in 13 games that the Bombers have been shut out this season. The Bombers were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded six runners. This season they are 19-for-108 with RISP overall.
Former Yankee Michael Pineda, making his season debut after visa issues delayed his arrival this spring, threw five scoreless, allowing just three hits. He struck out two. The Bombers didn’t get a runner in scoring position until DJ LeMahieu reached third after leading off with a single in the fifth.
Thursday’s top of the eighth was an inning that clearly demonstrated the Yankees’ offensive struggles and frustrations.
They had their chance after Josh Donaldson’s leadoff, pinch-hit double. Gleyber Torres, who was out of the starting lineup for the second time in this three-game series, followed with a single. Aaron Hicks popped up to the shortstop and then pinch-runner Tim Locastro was thrown out at the plate on Anthony Rizzo’s ground ball to the pitcher, and the bases were left loaded after an Aaron Judge walk when Giancarlo Stanton grounded out to first.
“I mean, it’s extremely frustrating, especially in our situation with no outs,” Hicks said. “And I wasn’t able to do it.
“I know for myself, I feel like I’m just kind of putting a little bit too much pressure on myself trying to get the job done,” Hicks said. “And I haven’t been able to do it and just making bad swing decisions on what exactly I want to do in a situation.”
The Yankees have the fifth fewest runs in the big leagues and are hitting .220 as a team. A lineup built on power, the Yankees are just 20th in the big leagues with a .643 OPS and tied for 14th in the majors with 11 total home runs. They hit one homer in this three-game series.
The pitchers have carried the Yankees early this season, but Montgomery said he’s not concerned about that now.
“As a whole, we all knew we gotta go out there and just do our job and we know our guys are trying their hardest,” Montgomery said. “If you think about it, you probably could put extra pressure on yourself, but we are just trying to go out there and give us a chance to win.”
Montgomery did that Thursday, the Yankees bats, however, didn’t do their job.
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