ENNUI-20

We all knew the Yankees weren't going to go 162-0 -- or even 60-0. Still, this was a bad loss.

It shouldn't matter that we were playing away to the defending World Champions. We should do better than this.

Instead, last night, the Yankees made their fans suffer -- not from COVID-19, but from ENNUI-20. I hate losing, but, worse, is not even putting up the effort.

James Paxton started, and didn't even get an out in the 2nd inning, allowing 3 runs before Aaron Boone pulled him. Had he gone the "Chad Green and a cast of thousands" route used too often last season, it wouldn't have been any worse. Mike King came in, and he had no answer, either. Jonathan Holder and David Hale didn't allow any runs, and Ben Heller and Luis Avilan only allowed 1 run each. But the damage was done.

The Yankees didn't get the job done with the bats, either. DJ LeMahieu drove in a run in the 3rd inning, and Giancarlo Stanton -- after taking a knee, along with Aaron Hicks, during the playing of the National Anthem -- hit a tremendous blast to left-center in the 4th, to close it to within 3-2. So, despite no one being on base, that was a clutch hit for him.

(It was also, it appears, the longest home run in the 13-season history of Nationals Park. Officially, the longest was hit by Domingo Santana, then of the Milwaukee Brewers, in 2017, 476 feet.)

But that was it. After the 4th inning, when it still could have made a difference, the Yankees got nothing going. Nationals 9, Yankees 2. WP: Tanner Rainey (1-0). No save. LP: Paxton (0-1).

The series concludes this afternoon. Jonathan Loiasiga starts against Patrick Corbin. Come on you Bombers! Fight for it this time!