Former Yankees pitcher Jameson Taillon shut down his former club, allowing just one run on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk over six innings of work as the Chicago Cubs defeated New York 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
It is a flat end to an otherwise mediocre road trip. The Yankees went 3-3 against the Texas Rangers and Chicago as they return to Yankee Stadium for a seven-game homestand against the Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox.
They did get some help elsewhere, though, as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles to ensure the Yankees hold on to their half-game lead atop the American League East with an 82-61 record.
The Cubs scored both of their runs in the first inning off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who loaded the bases before yielding a two-out single to Isaac Paredes.
It was the only blemish of Cole’s afternoon as he went six innings and gave up just three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has now put together two solid starts in a row after he held the Rangers to one run on four hits with nine strikeouts in six innings on Sept. 2 — a promising sign for a pitcher who had struggled mightily after his season started late due to a shoulder injury.
The Yankees halved their deficit in the top of the second inning when Anthony Volpe’s sacrifice fly scored Jazz Chisholm, who doubled with one out and moved to third on an Anthony Rizzo single.
New York bats could do little after that, though, going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight men on base. They had a runner on second with two outs in both the sixth and ninth innings, but Chisholm and Volpe both struck out.
Slugger Aaron Judge continues to falter, going 1-for-3 with a walk. He has now gone 12 games without a home run while batting .186 during that stretch. Juan Soto also went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
