Yankees' offense, bullpen falter again in another 10-run loss to Tigers
Yankees reliever Camilo Doval hands the ball to manager Aaron Boone as he is removed from a game against the Tigers during the eighth inning on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Sure, the Yankees have 80 wins with 17 games left in the regular season. And sure they are 15 games over .500 and have a 99% probability of being in the playoff field when the postseason starts in less than three weeks. But things really don’t look so promising for what comes after that because the Yankees keep coming up small against the teams that likely await them.
That was the case once again on Wednesday night when the Yankees hosted the AL Central-leading Tigers. For the second night in a row, Detroit hitters battered Yankees relievers and Yankees hitters did little against Tigers pitching in what ended up an 11-1 rout where outfielder Austin Slater was called on to take the mound and get the final two outs before 36,727 at the Stadium.
Combined with Tuesday’s 12-2 loss, this is just the third time in franchise history and first since 1988 that the Yankees have lost consecutive games by 10 or more runs, according to statistician Katie Sharp. The other time was in 1908.
Gleyber Torres, who moved to Detroit for this season after seven years in pinstripes when the Yankees didn’t offer him a contract, drove in the first three Tigers runs. And then the club’s relief pitchers gave up nine runs over the final three innings. That included Riley Greene’s two-run shot off Camilo Doval, Kerry Carpenter’s two-run dinger off Tim Hill and Colt Keith’s two-run homer off Luke Weaver.
The Yankees’ lineup managed only three of their eight hits and grounded into three double plays in the first seven innings when the die was cast on the defeat. Austin Wells’ eighth-inning solo homer produced their only run.
About the only positive for the Yankees was that Toronto lost to Houston and wasn’t able to extend its three-game lead in the AL East.
After dropping two straight to Detroit by an aggregate 23-3 score, the Yankees are now 16-24 against the AL teams that currently stand in position to make the postseason – Detroit, Toronto, Houston, Boston and Seattle – and five of the wins are against the Mariners. They have lost the season series to the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Tigers.
“You know, these are good teams," starter Carlos Rodon said. "Obviously, it'll be a concern in the playoffs. Not right now really. Obviously we want to play better against those caliber of teams. But when it matters is down the road here.”
“These nights are frustrating, obviously, but it's that time of year we've got to get over it and get ready for tomorrow,” manager Aaron Boone said.
The Yankees came into this three-game series having won 18 of 25, but over these last two nights, their relief pitchers have allowed 19 runs (18 earned) in six innings. Since the Yankees supposedly bolstered their bullpen at the trading deadline with acquisitions, their relief pitchers have an aggregate 5.88 ERA.
“Through this stretch of games where over the last month we started winning, we've closed out a lot of good games with guys capable of shutting people down," Boone said. "So this is what we have. I have a lot of confidence in their ability and their stuff, but we’ve got to bring it together and we haven't done that consistently enough yet. Can we do it? That's we're going to find out and that's what we're going to need to do if we're going to make a big run at this.”
The only other major development of the night was Boone’s decision to start Jose Caballero at shortstop over slumping incumbent Anthony Volpe.
Volpe not only had committed an AL-worst 19 errors this season but his .206 batting average and .268 on-base percentage were dead last in the AL. Boone said who gets the start at shortstop the rest of the way is expected to be a game-day decision.
Caballero was 1-for-3 and made a sparkling defensive stop on a shot up the middle in the first inning.
Rodon was solid in six innings of two-run pitching and exited with the deficit 2-0. Mark Leiter Jr., who didn’t retire any of the four Tigers he faced and was charged with four runs on Tuesday gave up singles to the first two batters he faced and both moved into scoring position on what was ruled a wild pitch when the ball got caught in catcher Wells’ equipment. Torres’ run-scoring groundout off Doval made it 3-0.
Detroit’s five-run eighth that included the Greene and Carpenter home runs made it 8-0 and Keith’s homer capped a three-run ninth for the Tigers.
Wells said his confidence in the relief pitchers hasn’t wavered, but his answer about the bullpen meltdowns might also be an answer about the lack of success against top teams.
“We've played good teams (you) can't get can't get away with as many mistakes against teams like that,” he said. “I definitely think that they've made some good swings on some good pitches and, also, we've put ourselves in holes. We're at our best when we're getting ahead. So, I think that's kind of where we're at.”
Notes & quotes: Fans with tickets for Thursday’s series finale are asked to arrive early as there will be extra security with President Donald J. Trump scheduled to attend . . . The Yankees had a moment of silence for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed Wednesday during an appearance in Utah.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
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