Yankees' bad road trip continues in loss to Indians

CLEVELAND – The Yankees are left with just Sunday afternoon as their chance to prevent an already rough trip from being an embarrassment.

They fell to 1-4 on this trip -- and took their fifth defeat in the last six games overall -- by losing to the Indians, 8-4, on Saturday afternoon in front of 32,239 at Progressive Field. 

“Concern? No. Disappointing the way we’ve played the last few days? Yeah,” said Brett Gardner, who suffered a split lower lip that needed six stitches when he whipped his batting helmet in the dugout and it bounced back and hit him after he was robbed of an extra-base hit in the sixth inning. “But it’s a long season, and over the course of a long season, you’re going to have your ups and downs.”

The week has been more of the latter for the Yankees, who are tied with the Rays atop the AL East at 39-24. Before the current losing streak, they had gone 32-10 to move to 38-19.

“It’s been a little bit of everything,” Aaron Boone said. “One game we lost [Wednesday in Toronto] where our pen uncharacteristically [lost it]. We haven’t swung it great. We’ve had a couple guys just tail off this week. That’s all with the ebb and flow of the season, that’s going to happen. We just have to pick it up a little bit and go out tomorrow and try to make it happen.”

CC Sabathia (3-3, 3.96) was looking for his 250th career victory when he made the start against the Indians, with whom the lefthander spent the first eight seasons of his career. He did not get it.

Didi Gregorius hit a two-run homer in the first and Sabathia threw three scoreless innings, but he could not keep it going, allowing four runs in his final two innings.

He gave up seven hits, including a two-run homer by Oscar Mercado on a backdoor slider that gave the Indians a 4-2 lead in the fifth.

Kevin Plawecki started the fifth with a high chopper that sent Sabathia leaping off the mound to his right. Boone and trainer Steve Donohue came out after the 1-3 putout to check the pitcher, who has a balky right knee and staggered a bit.

“I felt fine after that,” Sabathia said. “It came back pretty quick and felt good enough to keep going.”

The problem, he said, wasn’t the knee.

“Honestly, I didn’t have anything today,” Sabathia said. “I didn’t feel like my stuff was sharp. The backdoor slider wasn’t good early. Ro [Austin Romine] did a good job calling the game, defense played well, I just had nothing today.”

Jonathan Holder relieved in the sixth and allowed two long home runs – a two-run blast by Roberto Perez, who has homered in  four straight games, and a solo shot by former Met Kevin Plawecki that made it 7-2. Holder, who had a 1.42 ERA in his previous six outings, saw his season ERA climb to 4.88.

“Sometimes, that fifth, sixth, seventh inning right now, especially when we’re in the game, we’ve got to be able to get some key outs in those spots,” Boone said. “That’s sometimes the difference. Obviously, if we can get a lead in the middle innings with our guys, we feel great about it, but we have to be able to get some key outs when we’re down a run or two, or even tied in those middle innings.”

Cleveland righthander Adam Plutko, 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA in two previous starts this season and recalled from Triple-A Columbus to make Saturday’s start, retired 16 of the next 17 batters after Gregorius’ first-inning homer and wound up allowing three hits in six innings.

“It’s a long season. We’ve played well up until this point,” Sabathia said. “We’re very capable. We’ve seen what we can do in there. It’s just a tough stretch for us, but we’ll be fine.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.