Aaron Boone was sticking with the pitching formula that had worked all regular season, and unfortunately for the New York Yankees the result was similar to that which happened all season.
The Yankees bullpen blew up again, coughing up a one-run, seventh-inning lead in their 3-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees lost their fourth straight postseason game to the Red Sox — three of which have come in the Bronx — despite Max Fried’s otherworldly 6 1/3 innings of scoreless, four-hit, three-walk, six-strikeout ball in his first postseason start in pinstripes.
New York, which tied the Toronto Blue Jays with the most wins in the AL (94), will send Carlos Rodon to the hill in Game 2 with its season on the line Wednesday in the Bronx.
Luke Weaver Blew Up Tuesday
Luke Weaver was arguably the Yankees‘ most important relief pitcher in their run to the World Series in 2024.
In Game 1, he was by far their worst pitcher.
Weaver was the first to come out of the bullpen Tuesday night after Fried’s got the first out of the seventh inning. The left-hander had set New York up to beat Garrett Crochet and the rival Red Sox by barely breaking a sweat through 102 pitches, 63 had come for a strikes, and Anthony Volpe’s second-inning home run.
They pressured him pretty good in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, had a couple of baserunners in those innings,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of pulling Fried when he did. “I wanted him to go out and get [Red Sox outfielder Jarren] Duran and then felt like we were lined up.”
Yet, Weaver, who allowed just three earned runs in 15 1/3 postseason innings a year ago, did not get an out. He got up on Ceddanne Rafaela 0-2 but could not put the center fielder away, then gave up a double to Eric Sogard and pinch hitter Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single — on the first pitch of the at-bat — that put Boston ahead 2-1.
“Just a really good at-bat,” Weaver said of Rafaela’s walk. “That’s a real tough one to swallow when you know you had him in an advantage count. He did a really good job of spoiling some pitches. I took some shots, and the next thing you know you’re 3-2 and he did a really good job of battling through.
“From there, the momentum just kind of switched.”
Weaver took the loss, his first in the postseason of his decade-long career. But even though he served up two rocket hits to Sogard and Yoshida, he didn’t feel off at all.
“I felt very competitive out there,” Weaver said. “They put a good approach together, put the ball in play and found some holes. I know there’s a lot of disappointed people, including myself, but I’ve just got to be better.”
The Yankees’ Game 1 Bullpen Performance Was The Continuation of a Regular-Season Trend
The Yankees loaded up their bullpen to try and make a return run at the World Series, yet somehow it backfired.
New York finished 23rd in bullpen ERA during the regular season (4.53) and was 27th in the majors in bullpen ERA (5.13) despite its 18-7 record in September.
Plus, Weaver wasn’t the only relief pitcher to falter, since closer David Bednar also surrendered a run that made it 3-1. Still, Boone thinks the Yankees are OK even while facing elimination.
“We’ve been playing these-type games for a while now,” Boone said. “Tonight was a great baseball game. We just couldn’t get that final punch in there.”
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