The Yankees fell to the Washington Nationals, 5-2, on Wednesday afternoon.
Here are some key takeaways…
– Clarke Schmidt got the start for the Yankees, and it wasn’t his cleanest afternoon. The righty allowed three earned runs on six hits over 3.2 innings, walking two Nats while striking out one. His ERA this spring is up to 5.28.
– Following Schmidt on the mound was Michael King, who continued his dominant spring, going 2.1 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit with a pair of strikeouts and no walks. King has yet to allow a run this spring, giving up just four hits over his 8.1 innings (five appearances).
– Taking a look at the starting shortstop battle, Oswald Peraza got the start there, hitting leadoff. It was a day to forget at the plate for Peraza, who went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and lowered his spring batting average to .188.
– It wasn’t a great day for the Yankees’ bats overall, as they finished with just six hits, but two of them came from Oswaldo Cabrera, who singled in the second inning and again in the seventh. He stole a base, but was also caught stealing later in the game.
– The Yankees’ first run came in the seventh inning. After a pair of singles from Giancarlo Stanton and Cabrera, Rafael Ortega drove Stanton in with a sac fly to left. They added another run in the ninth, but it was too little too late.
What’s next
The Yankees stay on the road to face the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday at 1:05 pm