Domingo German hadn’t pitched in a Major League Baseball game since September, 2019. He struggled in his first start of 2021 and it proved to be too much for the Yankees to overcome.
German allowed three runs in three innings and the Yankees continued to struggle with run support. Home runs by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Randal Grichuk fueled the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-1 win over the Yankees, Sunday at Yankee Stadium. With the loss, the Yankees drop their weekend series to Toronto and have lost two of their first three to open the season.
German was cheered by fans in his return from a domestic violence suspension and started off with a strong first inning.
In the second inning, however, was where German ran into trouble. Toronto made him pay with home runs from Guerrero Jr. and Grichuk. German labored throughout the inning and struggled with his pitch location. Also, credit the Blue Jays for fouling off an array of pitches from German and driving up his pitch count.
German labored through the third inning but managed to escape without further damage. Manager Aaron Boone made the decision to pull him for Michael King out of the bullpen. And King came up huge for the Yankees with six innings of strong work while giving the rest of the bullpen a rest.
A tough day at the office
German threw 68 innings through just three innings of work. It was the 34-pitch second inning that did him in.
Boone wasn’t sure how New York fans would greet Germán and said the team hadn’t discussed it with him.
“Obviously with what he’s been through, there’s going to be probably some polarizing reactions at times, and you’ve got to deal with that,” Boone said. “And he will.”
German will need to pitch better if he’s to hold on to the No. 3 spot in the rotation for the Yankees.
Image: AP Photo/Kathy Willens
