Wait’ll next year.
The Yankees lost ugly on an ugly Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, misty rain falling throughout with heavy swirling wind in 60-degree temps that felt colder with the rain. Balls were dropped in the slippery weather, and the Yankees couldn’t catch a break all afternoon.
The loss officially eliminated them from the playoffs with 7 games to go in the season.
Estevan Florial had the ball slip away from him for an error in the wet outfield in the top of the 1st that allowed a run to score. In the bottom of the 1st, Gleyber Torres hit a game-tying 2-run homer to left — but the ball died in the rain and was caught at the wall.
In the 3rd, Gleyber lined a 2-out RBI single up the middle to make it 2-1, but the ball hit the umpire so the runner was called back — loading the bases; NY did not score.
In the 5th, Estevan Florial had a 1-out triple, but was stranded at 3rd as Zach Gallen struck out the next 2 batters.
In the 7th, Isiah Kiner-Falefa dropped a ball in the rain in left, allowing an additional run to score.
It was that kind of day for the Yanks. Ugly.
Carlos Rodon pitched well and deserved better. So that was the good news.
“There’s a lot that went wrong,” said Team Captain Aaron Judge afterwards about the season. “We can hit it from a lot of different aspects but what it comes down to is we just didn’t come out here and do our job. I know guys missed time and that always hurts; from the rotation, from even my standpoint missing all the games I did — I’m supposed to be a guy in the middle of the lineup every single night. It’s tough.”
NY drops to 78-77.
1. Rodon Very Good Despite Head Cold in the Rain
Carlos Rodon allowed singles to the first 2 batters of the game, and the second one, by Corbin Carroll, slipped past Estevan Florial on the wet grass so it was 2nd and 3rd, nobody out. Consecutive sacrifice flies made it 2-0 Arizona.
https://www.mlb.com/video/carlos-rodon-in-play-no-out-to-corbin-carroll
And that was that. Rodon proceeded to mow down the Arizona lineup, retiring 15 of the next 16 batters, and pitching shutout ball from the 2nd through 6th innings. He allowed one baserunner in those innings — a walk to Jordan Lawler — and immediately picked him off 1st.
Rodon’s wife Ashley had a front row seat, with an umbrella in the rain.
Rodon was helped by a tremendous catch in the rain by Oswaldo Cabrera for the last out of the 4th. Oswaldo leaped into the seats down the right-field line to make the catch.
https://www.mlb.com/video/carlos-rodon-in-play-out-s-to-lourdes-gurriel-jr
Randy Vasquez came in and got a fly to left that Isiah-Kiner Falefa dropped in the rain — the ball bouncing out of his glove.
https://www.mlb.com/video/randy-vasquez-ball-to-gabriel-moreno-8tmamx
A walk and a sac fly later and it was 5-0 Arizona.
Rodon was charged with only 3 earned runs. He pitched better than that. 6.1 innings, 5 hits, 3 ER, 4 K’s, 1 walk. He goes to 3-7 5.74.
Rodon had a head cold on top of it, pitching in the wind and the rain.
“I was ahead of the first 2 hitters, and I just didn’t make those put-away pitches, and they put some good swings on them and put some runs up early,” said Rodon afterwards. “I didn’t have my A stuff today and we had to go out there and grind to get outs, and unfortunately it ended up on a bad note — that’s a solid team there; a playoff-caliber team, and they had some good swings today.”
2. Yanks Can’t Catch a Break Against Gallen
On the hill for Arizona was leading NL Cy Young candidate Zach Gallen. Suzyn Waldman noted on the broadcast that Gallen doesn’t have overwhelming stuff, but gets people out with guile and smarts.
Gallen rope-a-doped the Yankee lineup all afternoon with some help from the weather and also pitching well in tight spots.
In the bottom of the 1st, Gleyber Torres appeared to tie the game with a 2-run blast to left — but the ball died in the rain and was caught at the wall.
https://www.mlb.com/video/zac-gallen-in-play-out-s-to-gleyber-torres
In the 3rd, Gleyber lined a clutch, 2-out, RBI single up the middle to make it 2-1 — but the ball hit the umpire and the runner — DJ LeMahieu — was called back to 3rd, loading the bases instead. Next batter Austin Wells grounded out to end the inning.
https://www.mlb.com/video/gleyber-torres-singles-on-a-ground-ball-to-second-baseman-geraldo-perdomo
In the 5th, Estevan Florial tripled with 1 out — but Gallen stranded him at 2nd by striking out LeMahieu and Aaron Judge.
Gallen’s final line: 6 innings, 3 hits, shutout ball, 8 K’s, 2 walks. He wins to go 17-8 3.49.
3. Vasquez So-So
After getting the final 2 outs of the 7th, Randy Vasquez pitched the 8th (double, single, groundout for a run, strike out, strike out) and most of the 9th (flyout, ground out, walk, double for a run) — allowing a run in each inning. Zach McAllister got the final out of the 9th.
4. Judge Walks in a Run in the 9th
The Yanks finally got on the board in the 9th — Jake Bauers led off with a double, and Oswaldo Cabrera ripped a hustle double that put 2nd and 3rd nobody out.
But Luis Frias got Oswald Peraza to pop out and struck out Florial so it looked like the Yanks were going to throw down more ugliness. But DJ LeMahieu worked a 3-2 walk to load the bases, and Aaron Judge worked a 3-2 walk for a run. Arizona 7 NY 1.
The Yanks were two bloops and a blast away.
But Gleyber Torres popped out to 1st for the old ballgame.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401473344
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