With Aaron Judge out of the lineup in another ominous sign for the crashing Yankees, they didn’t do nearly enough to pick up their suddenly banged-up captain and offensive linchpin.
While Judge underwent an MRI for an elbow issue Saturday, the Yankee bats mostly were throttled without him until a late Giancarlo Stanton homer in a 9-4 loss to the Phillies at the Stadium to fall to 3-5 since the All-Star break and 14-23 since June 13.
Imported third baseman Ryan McMahon went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk in his pinstriped debut after he was acquired Friday from the MLB-worst Rockies.
“They brought me in to play third base and to play baseball. That’s something I feel confident in,” McMahon said before the game. “So I’m gonna go out there and try to do the best that I can and do whatever the team asks me to do to try to help.
“I think I’m more excited to just be a part of this lineup. From the other side, you look over at the Yankee lineup and it’s intimidating.”
The Bombers’ offense looks far less intimidating, of course, without Judge’s presence. Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez shut them down over 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball.
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Yanks starter Marcus Stroman had pitched to a 3.00 ERA over his previous four outings, but he coughed up four runs over the first 3 2/3 innings, beginning with an RBI single by J.T. Realmuto in the first and a solo homer to right by Bryce Harper in the third for an early 2-0 hole.
Stroman then lost the strike zone and walked four batters in the fourth, including one to No.9 hitter Johan Rojas with the bases loaded to force in a run. Trea Turner made it 4-0 on an infield out, and Stroman was pulled for righty Yerry de los Santos before he could complete the frame.
McMahon, who led the National League with 127 strikeouts before the trade, came up with two runners on in the bottom half. He was whiffed by Suarez for a second straight at-bat to start his Yankee career, but Jasson Dominguez got them on the board with an RBI single to center.
Turner drove in another run for the Phils with a double to right against de los Santos in the sixth.
The Phillies tacked on four more runs against Allan Winans one inning later for a 9-1 game, including a two-run blast by Edmundo Sosa.
