Yankees go 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position as Elly De La Cruz shines in Reds win

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Jun 23, 2025

Published in Baseball

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The New York Yankees wasted no time getting on the board on Monday. Then they wasted a bunch of opportunities to score some more in a 6-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

The series-opener started on a strong note for the Bombers, as Aaron Judge crushed his 28th home run off Nick Lodolo in the first inning. A solo shot, the ball traveled 398 feet toward the upper deck at Great American Ball Park.

However, Lodolo didn’t allow another run after that despite an inefficient evening. Ninety-four pitches only got him 4 1/3 innings of work, but he didn’t walk anyone and struck out six while permitting six hits.

The last out Lodolo recorded came with a major assist from right fielder Jake Fraley, who robbed Paul Goldschmidt of extra bases with a leaping catch at the wall in the fifth. Following a Cody Bellinger single, Scott Barlow entered and induced a flyout from Judge. Giancarlo Stanton watched strike three go by to end the inning.

An even better opportunity awaited in the eighth, as Bellinger hustled his way into a double before Judge drew a walk with the Yankees down three. Again, they failed to produce a run, as Stanton recorded another strikeout before Jazz Chisholm Jr. did the same. Anthony Volpe then grounded out, ending the inning.

By game’s end, the Yankees had stranded nine men while going 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position. It was a familiar struggle for an offense that has scuffled more often than not lately, as the Yankees entered Monday’s contest hitting .189 with runners in scoring position over their last 11 games.

On the mound, Allan Winans also got off to a solid start before sputtering in his Yankees debut.

The righty, promoted after Ryan Yarbrough went on the injured list with an oblique strain on Sunday, needed just 24 pitches to get through the first three innings. However, he found trouble in the fourth, hitting Matt McLain before Elly De La Cruz smoked an RBI triple on a 1-2 fastball over the heart of the plate. The burner then scored on a Spencer Steer sac fly before Gavin Lux added a solo home run.

Winans then hit Fraley in the fifth before giving up a one-out single to TJ Friedl. Ian Hamilton came in, walked McLain and surrendered an RBI single to De La Cruz.

Winans, who had a 7-0 record with a 0.90 ERA over 50 innings at Triple-A, totaled 4 1/3 innings, five hits, four earned runs, zero walks and one strikeout over 62 pitches.

De La Cruz, who had two bad throws in the game, more than made up for the mishaps, adding a solo home run off Tim Hill in the eighth. A poor Volpe throw gave the Reds an additional run before the frame ended.

With their one-city road trip starting on a sour note, the Yankees and their untimely offense will face Chase Burns, MLB.com’s 11th-best prospect, on Tuesday. The flamethrowing righty will make his big league debut after Cincinnati drafted him second overall out of Wake Forest last year.

Carlos Rodón is scheduled to start for the Yankees, who have lost eight of their last 11 games.

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