Yankees' decision to start Luis Cessa backfires in 3-0 loss to Phillies

Yankees settle for taking two of three from Phillies in this week’s interleague series.

PHILADELPHIA — If it looked like Yankees manager Aaron Boone treated his club’s series finale against the Phillies as if it wasn’t quite as important as this weekend’s showdown at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox … well!

The Yankees did opt to push back CC Sabathia’s next turn from working on regular rest on Wednesday night against the Phillies to two extra days in-between starts on Friday night against Boston.

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This decision to save Sabathia for the Red Sox led the Yankees to going for a sweep against the Phillies with often-struggling righty Luis Cessa making his first start of the season.

The result, you could say, was predictable.

Cessa, who was optioned to Triple-A after the game, was pulled after three innings with the Yankees down three runs and the Phillies went on to win 3-0.

Cessa (0-1) wasn’t awful, but he gave up a three-run homer in the second to Phillies slugger Rhys Hopkins and he got into enough deep counts that he used up his limited pitch count quickly.

By the fourth, reliever Giovanny Gallegos was in for Cessa, who was pulled with his pitch count at 74, just 44 of them strikes.

As much as this loss is on Cessa for putting the Yankees in an early hole, their bats were just as responsible in a nothing night for the offense, which was shut out for the third time this season on four hits.

Phillies righty Zack Eflin (6-2) did a great job pitching a four-hit shutout over seven innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

After Cessa pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first by striking out Aaron Altherr and Scott Kingery, the Phillies scored the only three runs of the game in the second.

Jorge Alfaro started a rally with a one-out single, then was bunted up to second by Eflin. Cessa then walked Cesar Hernandez to put two on for Hoskins, who hit a 1-2 hanging slider over the wall in right-center field for a 3-0 lead.

The Yankees, who are off on Thursday, began the night up a half-game in the AL East on the Red Sox.

NOTABLE

— With Yankees manager Aaron Judge unable to play all foru of his outfielders in this week’s road interleague series because there was no designated hitter, right fielder Aaron Judge was rested on Wednesday after center fielder Aaron Hicks sat out Monday’s game and left fielder Brett Gardner didn’t start Monday’s series opener. Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees’ DH most of the time, started all three games … Monday in left, Tuesday and Wednesday in right.

— Catcher Kyle Higashioka, just up from Triple-A, was 0 for 2 with a walk in his first game of the season and now is 0 for 20 with three walks in 10 career games.

— Gardner made a tremendous jumping catch while crashing into the left field wall to rob Carlos Santana of extra baes in the third inning.

— Yankees reliever A.J. Cole, who is on the DL since June 21 with a neck strain, joined Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday to begin a rehab assignment.

LOOKING AHEAD

Friday: Boston Red Sox at Yankees, 7:05 p.m., YES & MLB Network (out of market). LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (9-2, 3.86) vs. LHP CC Sabathia (4-3, 3.18).

Saturday: Boston Red Sox at Yankees, 7:15 p.m., FOX. LHP Chris Sale (7-4, 2.56) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (5-5, 4.93).

Sunday: Boston Red Sox at Yankees, 8:05 p.m., ESPN. LHP David Price (9-5, 3.66) vs TBA.

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