How Gary Sanchez hurt Yankees with defense again, then got hurt

Catcher Gary Sanchez is questionable for the Yankees’ game against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 (5/23/18) after leaving Tuesday’s 6-4 loss at Globe Life Park in Arlington early due to a minor injury.

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The box score from the Yankees’ 6-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night paints a picture of how poor rookie starter Domingo German’s command was.

It shields blame from catcher Gary Sanchez, who was little help on a night his blocking issues resurfaced once again before he exited after 5 1/2 innings due to cramps in his right calf.

German allowed just four hits in his six-run, 3 2/3-inning stinker of an outing, but three big walks and three pivotal wild pitches were mixed in along with a three-run homer by Jurickson Profar and solo shot by Ronald Guzman.

All three wild pitches came in the second inning on bounced curveballs that had Sanchez looking like a hockey goalie whose saves carom into rebound opportunities instead of being covered up.

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Sanchez got his body in front of German’s bounced pitches, but not quickly enough to get the ball to bounce softly in front of him, and the mistakes contributed heavily to the Rangers scoring two second-inning runs without a hit to pad their early lead to 5-0.

Asked about the wild pitches, Sanchez responded, “I was able to block a couple of those. It’s just the ball went far away and the runners were ready to run and they took advantage of that. German was trying to execute some pitches there. His command was a bit off.”

German’s command was more than a bit off. It was terrible, and ultimately he’s most responsible for the wild pitches. But all three probably would have been controlled better by a more polished defensive catcher.

Of course, this is an old storyline for Sanchez, whose defensive miscues sometimes overshadow his tremendous offensive skills and great throwing arm.

In 2017, Sanchez’s first full season in the majors, he led AL catchers in errors, passed balls and wild pitches against. This year, his seven passed balls are tied for the league lead and his 25 wild pitches against are second by one.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, a relentless Sanchez supporter, not surprisingly only mentioned German when he was asked about the wild pitches.

“I just think the command was off a little bit obviously,” Boone said. “With Domingo, the stuff is really good and when he lost it a little bit there, we had a rough inning and a half there.”

For sure, Sanchez also was part of the problem.

As for Sanchez’s cramps, he said he was “fine” after the game.

Sanchez cramped up during the Yankees’ sixth running from first to second on a two-out popup.

‘We got him out of there and got a lot of fluids in him,” Boone said. “We don’t think it’s anything real serious.”

Still, it’s likely the Yankees will rest Sanchez for Wednesday night’s series finale against Texas. The Yanks have Thursday off, so Sanchez would get two days to recover by missing just one game.

“I feel good, but I’ll wait and see how I feel (Wednesday),” Sanchez said.

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.