Yankees come close in loss to Bulls
This time, however, the Bulls downed the Yankees, 4-2, Tuesday night, with three of the four runs coming off home runs, two from Elliott Johnson.
"We're a different team, they're a different team," Chris Stewart said. "Last year was last year. We're just trying to beat them."
Every Yankee save Ramiro Pena had a hit in Tuesday night's game.
"The hits were spread out," said Yankee manager Dave Miley. "There weren't a lot of opportunities for us."
The Bulls (59-45) took a 2-0 lead in the third with a home run from Elliott Johnson, but the Yankees (56-44) retaliated with a two-run seventh inning. Juan Miranda and Yurendell de Caster hit back-to-back doubles, de Caster's scoring Miranda. Chris Stewart hit a single to score de Caster.
"We got to hit the ball well off the barrel of the bat," Stewart said. "But we just didn't hit the ball hard enough. Or we hit it straight to someone. There was not much more we could do."
Josh Towers went seven innings and had seven strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches, 71 for strikes. With him on the mound, Johnson hit his first home run.
With Damaso Marte pitching, Johnson hit his second home run of the game, and two batters later, Matt Joyce sent another screaming over the right field wall.
Marte said the homers came off two fastballs. He said he "feels good" and that he didn't think he could stay in longer after the Yankees relieved him.
"One pitch was a cutter. It didn't have bad location, it was just a bad pitch for that situation," Stewart said of the first homer. The second came on a "3-2 count, it was bad location."
The Yankees stranded Colin Curtis in the ninth, who reached on a single for a potential Yankees rally.
The Yankees turned two double plays. In the first, Joyce struck out swinging, and Stewart threw to Pena to catch Reid Brignac stealing.
Brignac flied into a double play in the sixth, when Shelley Duncan threw to Pena to get Johnson out at second.
The Yankees face the Bulls Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. start.