This was a different twist on a Ryan McMahon disappointment.
To lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, down 6-0 to the Angels, the Yankees’ light-hitting third baseman chose to lay down a bunt against Reid Detmers for an easy one-pitch out to begin the inning.
McMahon got some boo birds as he ran back to the dugout, as his batting average sits at just .128 on the season, among the worst in baseball through 39 at-bats.
“Detmers loves that. One pitch, one out,” Yankees announcer Michael Kay said on the telecast as the Yankees ultimately fell 7-1 to drop to a 9-8 record. “This is a crowd that is getting restless.”
On social media, fans were furious as boos rained down on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
“No way McMahon tried to bunt for a hit down six,” X account @Prominent_Jaay posted on X.
“You don’t think he can beat a bunt out with 12th percentile sprint speed when he bunts it directly at the pitcher? McMahon does!” another account on X pointed out, with McMahon’s average speed not exactly helping the situation.
The left-handed-hitting McMahon got the nod in the starting lineup despite his .184 average against southpaws last year, while Ben Rice sat on the bench as the Yankees’ bats went quiet for most of the night.
Rice is hitting .273 against lefties so far this season, and he also leads the team in OPS by a wide margin with a 1.245, nearly 400 points higher than Aaron Judge.
McMahon was eventually pinch-hit for by Rice in the bottom of the eighth inning when he hit a sacrifice fly for the Yankees only run of the game.
Aaron Boone told noti.group’s Greg Joyce that he preferred to unleash Rice as a pinch hitter during critical spots, at least when a lefty starts.
“I’ve just been able to so aggressively use Benny [off the bench],” Boone said pregame. “Even though he’s not in the starting lineup, I view him playing a major [role]. In the last two games, he’s sat against a lefty, he’s got [four] at-bats – homer, walk, single. I’ve been able to kind of fire him at the most important part, and it might be early in the game. He is going to play against lefties.”
That moment was way too little and way too late with the Yankees already down seven runs in the eighth inning.
Boone has defended McMahon on multiple occasions regarding and he is known for his prowess in the field.
“If I knew [what was wrong], I don’t think I’d be having a slow start,” McMahon said about his hitting struggles last week. “But hey, I’m grinding. I’m not happy about it. I’m sure other people aren’t. … I’ll keep working and try to turn it around.”
The Yankees have two more games on tap with the Angels beginning with Luis Gil on the mound Wednesday night opposite Jack Kochanowicz.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
