GAME 1 RECAP:
Gerrit Cole carried a 20-game regular-season win streak to the mound at Truist Park on Wednesday afternoon, a remarkable achievement that was tied with three others for the third-longest string in Major League history. It proved to be no match for Braves rookie Ian Anderson, who bested the Yankees in a big league debut to remember.
The Bombers’ bats were largely silenced by Atlanta’s top pitching prospect, who handed the Yankees a 5-1 defeat in the first game of a doubleheader. Cole surrendered three home runs as he absorbed his first loss since May 27, 2019, a span of 28 undefeated starts.
Anderson held the Yankees hitless until Luke Voit’s solo homer in the sixth inning. Prior to that point, they managed only four baserunners against Anderson, their bats appearing sluggish after five days off following three COVID-19 postponements against the Mets last weekend, then a rainout on Tuesday at Atlanta.
With this home run, Luke Voit extended his hitting streak to 11 games. #Yankees #Braves
pic.twitter.com/b0NAfMg4I7— Bronx Bombers News (@NewsBronx) August 26, 2020
One start after being incensed by manager Aaron Boone’s call to the bullpen ended a solid outing, Cole was hurt by the long ball. Ronald Acuña Jr. mashed a 473-foot blast to lead off the game, the longest by a Brave at Truist Park (which opened in 2017) and also the longest hit off Cole since Statcast began tracking data in ‘15.
GAME 2 RECAP:
Chad Green leaned his head back, looked toward the evening sky and sighed. It was that kind of day for the Yankees.
After Masahiro Tanaka had his slider and sinker dancing over five scoreless innings, Green surrendered a go-ahead, two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the Yankees’ 2-1 loss to the Braves on Wednesday evening at Truist Park, the nightcap of a doubleheader.
The Yanks have now lost five straight games, absorbing a 5-1 loss in Game 1 as Gerrit Cole took his first regular season loss since May 22 of last year. Ronald Acuña Jr., Dansby Swanson and Marcell Ozuna homered off Cole, who went 20-0 with a 1.97 ERA over a 28-start span leading into Wednesday.
Tanaka threw 66 pitches over five scoreless frames, limiting Atlanta to three hits while generating a season-high 11 swings and misses in the effort, eight on his slider. Green entered in relief and recorded the first two outs of the sixth, but Swanson singled and Freeman slugged an opposite-field homer to give Atlanta the lead.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].