The New York Yankees entered their three-game series with the Detroit Tigers ready to show the baseball world the teams were equals.
They may exit the series trying to figure out their seemingly lost bullpen.
The Yankees bullpen imploded for the second straight night, again turning a tight, playoff-style game into a laugher in Detroit’s 11-1 win Wednesday night.
The Yankees (80-65) fell by 10-plus runs in consecutive nights for just the third time in the franchise’s illustrious history.
They also missed an opportunity to gain another game on the Toronto Blue Jays for the second straight night and remain three games back for the AL East lead. They also failed to gain a game on the Boston Red Sox, who dropped their series finale against the Athletics in Sacramento on Wednesday afternoon.
The Yankees, who lead the Red Sox by percentage points for the No. 1 AL wild-card spot, will open a three-game series in Boston on Friday.
What Did Aaron Boone Say About The Yankees’ Bullpen Struggles?
The Yankees’ bullpen woes have been an ongoing trend this season, one that seems likely to ultimately doom their promising 2025 season.
A night after allowing 10 runs, nine of which came in the top of the seventh inning, the Yankees bullpen gave up nine over the final three innings. Five of the runs came in the top of the eighth, after which Detroit had an 8-0 advantage
“These nights are frustrating,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But it’s that time of year. We got to get over it.”
For the second straight night, Mark Leiter Jr. was the primary culprit, since the veteran right-hander entered in the seventh inning of a 2-0 game and surrendered two straight singles then threw a wild pitch — his third in a two-night span.
Yet, Camilo Doval, one of the team’s key trade-deadline relievers, again struggled by first allowing an RBI groundout to Gleyber Torres before then allowing three runs in the eighth, including a back-breaking two-run shot to Riley Greene that gave Detroit a 5-0 lead.
“It obviously got away from us there in the eighth,” Boone said. “They’ve been able to add on in some close games.”
The Yankees bullpen has been a constant source of consternation, but especially since the trade deadline — ironically, since the Yankees beefed up their pen for a run at the playoffs.
New York ranks 28th in bullpen ERA since Aug. 1 (5.57) — only the lowly Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins are worse in that span — and have a season-long ERA of 4.54, just 24th in the majors.
Yet, Boone expressed his belief in his relievers, and hinted at the fact it was his lower-leverage relievers — like Leiter, Doval, Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill, who also pitched both Tuesday and Wednesday — behind the back-to-back implosions.
“These are two nights where we haven’t got it done,” Boone said. “But we’re also behind and chasing a little bit, so [Cruz] last night’s been great, had the hiccup. Through this, there’s been a lot of good. The last two nights have obviously been rough.”
Can The Yankees Beat The Tigers?
New York has struggled against Detroit this season, going just 1-4 in the teams’ first five head-to-head games. The Yankees’ high-powered offense has been silenced by Tigers pitching, since they’ve scored just nine runs in five games.
The Yankees mounted just three runs — on three solo home runs — and have just four extra-base hits over the first two games.
“We gotta create some traffic [on the bases],” Boone said. “That was a challenge for us tonight.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees’ Aaron Boone Sends Message to Bullpen After Blowout Loss: ‘Gotta Get Over It’ appeared first on Heavy Sports.