The Yankees at least avoided the ignominy of a perfect game.
But that was pretty much all they got on a night when they couldn't reach second base.
Former Mets pitcher Seth Lugo pitched a flawless game, out-throwing the Yankees for seven scoreless innings and leading the Royals to a 5-0 victory Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Lugo allowed just three hits, all singles, including two fly balls to Gleyber Torres. He didn't walk a batter, struck out 10 and kept the Yankees off balance with 10 different pitches, all while going into the three-ball count just twice throughout the night.
Between Torres' weak singles (1st and 6th innings), Lugo struck out 17 straight batters in a display that could be a playoff prelude.
“It was probably their best performance against us this year. [as any pitcher’s had]”We were quiet,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He was ahead in the count, he was taking a variety of shots and looked really on target. … He was ahead in the count, he wasn't making a lot of mistakes, he was off our ball path and he had some strikeouts.”
The Yankees (83-62) fielded their most potent batting lineup this year, including starting Jason Dominguez in left field in place of Alex Verdugo, but he didn't make a splash with just 14 strikeouts.
By the end of the night, the Yankees had fallen to just half a game behind the Orioles for the AL East lead with 17 games remaining.
“We're not worried about that,” said Juan Soto, who hit a fly ball to left field in the sixth inning that was the Yankees' hardest hit of the night. “We're really focused on what we can do here. We're trying to win games and that's all that matters. We don't care what the other guy does, win or lose. Good for them, but we're just focused on what we can do here every game.”
Marcus Stroman, who fumbled last week against the Rangers, is still not at his best but is doing better.
The right-hander, who is trying to maintain his spot in the starting rotation as the Yankees plan to use one of their starters in relief over the next week, gave up seven hits, two walks and three runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Mark Leiter Jr. (on a solo home run off Tommy Pham) and Tim Mayza each gave up a run behind Stroman to give the Royals (80-66) a little more breathing room, but they didn't need it on a night when Lugo was suffocatingly good.
“Lugo's been a real challenge all year,” said Stroman, his former Mets teammate. “I've played against him and he's incredible. He throws a lot of different pitches and is pretty aggressive, so he's hard to hit.”
The Yankees have mostly been banking on Aaron Judge and Soto this season, but the two combined to go hitless in eight at-bats and strike out four, extending their 14-game poor performances. Judge went 10 for 51 at-bats with 11 walks and no home runs, while Soto went 11 for 52 at-bats with nine walks.
Besides Torres, Austin Wells had the Yankees' only hit of the night, a line drive single off Lugo in the seventh inning.
“It's tough facing a pitcher who only has nine pitches, and he showed us all of them today,” Soto said. “He threw them all, he was confident and he kept us off balance.”
The Yankees held Lugo to four runs in seven innings at Kauffman Stadium in June, but were unable to repeat that performance Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Salvador Pérez continues to have a big impact for the Royals, scoring two more runs off Stroman on Tuesday and going 6-for-7 with five RBIs in the first two games of a three-game series.
“you [Perez] “He can reach any pitch. Sometimes it almost feels like you should pitch it up the middle. If you do your best and throw it away from home plate and execute it, he finds a way to get a hit. He's great. I think he's one of the best catchers of all time,” Stroman said.
