The Yankees beat the Orioles Saturday night by a score of 8-6. Instead of a feel-good victory over a division rival though, Yankee fans were left shaking their heads at a late-inning bullpen debacle that proved to be nearly catastrophic.
Early on it appeared that an awakening Yankee offense would be the story of the night. After pushing a lone run across in the third, the offense found a groove an inning later when Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez led off with a pair of singles. Starlin Castro drove starter Tyler Wilson’s pitch off the wall in left-center field to make the game 2-0. The Yankees would push another run across on a fielder’s choice, then two more on a double by Rob Refsnyder and base hit by Austin Romine. Castro would tack on another RBI single in the sixth inning to give the Yankees a 6-0 lead. With a dominant pitching performance to boot, the game appeared to be a snoozer.
Ivan Nova was brilliant for most of the evening. He shut the Orioles out for six innings, allowing just two baserunners – a double by Hyun Soo Kim in the first and a walk by Matt Wieters in the fifth – and striking out six in the process. In the seventh, the wheels started to come off a bit. Mark Trumbo crushed his league-leading 18th homer to start the frame to make the game 7-1. After an infield single by Wieters, Pedro Alvarez hit one out to the opposite field, making it 7-3. This is where most would have expected Girardi to make a move. Nova had pitched as well as one could reasonably expect, and after a pair of long balls and no one out, it was almost definitely time for him to hit the showers.
Girardi left him in. Jordan Schoop popped a ball into short left-center field that fell just out of Didi Gregorius’ reach for another single. This presented another opportunity for Girardi to make a move, which he again passed on. Nova threw a wild pitch to let the runner advance before walking Ryan Flaherty on his 103rd pitch of the night. Finally, Girardi had seen enough.
Rather than Andrew Miller though, Nick Goody entered the game with two on and no out in a 7-3 game. After a passed ball by Romine advanced the runners to second and third, Adam Jones promptly launched Goody’s offering into the stands in left-center, a 3-run homer. The score was 7-6, and only then did Girardi opt to bring in Miller.
Seeing as how Girardi was ultimately willing to use Miller for six outs anyway (which he got without issue), it’s awfully puzzling as to why he opted to go with Goody to face the top of Baltimore’s lineup, and that’s after waiting seemingly forever to pull the plug on a gassed Nova. The Yankees survived the night thanks to Miller and Aroldis Chapman (and an insurance RBI from A-Rod in the ninth), but it was certainly not the most inspiring of victories.
The Play: Adam Jones’ 3-run homer in the seventh (+.168 WPA)
It’s rare that the top WPA play comes from the losing side, but the Jones shot off Goody in the seventh inning swung the pendulum back toward the O’s. It left his bat at 104 mph and scared the bejeezus out of Yankee fans everywhere.
Top Performers
Yankees: Starlin Castro (3 for 5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI)
Orioles: Adam Jones (1 for 4, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
Notes
-Romine had to leave the game in the bottom of the ninth inning when he injured his thumb catching a warm-up pitch from Chapman. Brian McCann, who was in the process of sitting out for the fourth time five games with a hyperextended left elbow, replaced him. According to Girardi, it appeared Romine’s injury was to the nail and he’ll be sent for an x-ray.
-Mark Teixeira was placed on the 15-day DL earlier Saturday with a cartilage tear in his right knee. For the time being, the plan is to let Teixeira rest the injury, though GM Brian Cashman acknowledged that the first baseman could require season-ending surgery. Teixeira has had a brutal 2016 at the plate, but with Greg Bird and Dustin Ackley both out of the season with torn shoulder labrums, the Yankees’ first base depth chart is bone dry. The team brought up Chris Parmelee to replace Teixeira on the roster.
The Quote
“I’m just trying to get one out because I don’t really want to throw Miller (for) six outs. But we ended up having to do it and he did a tremendous job.” -Girardi on his curious bullpen management
Up Next
The Yankees will try to take the series in a rubber game on Sunday, where they’ll send CC Sabathia to the hill. Sabathia was one of the most effective starters in baseball in the month of May, posting a 1.04 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. Opposing him will be Kevin Gausman, who has pitched solidly in 2016 with a 3.78 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning despite an 0-3 record. Game time is 1:35 pm.
Lead photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today Sports