The Yankees’ bullpen had a rough night, raising questions about their performance as the playoffs approach. It’s hard to gauge how they’ll be able to handle the remainder of the road ahead. The prospect of a thrilling October is overshadowed by memories of bad outings.
Tuesdays have definitely not been kind lately.
On a challenging evening at Yankee Stadium, Fernando Cruz and Mark Reiter Jr. combined to surrender nine runs, losing a close game against the 12-2 Tigers. The duo managed to get through just seven innings, but their efforts fell significantly short.
Together, Cruz and Reiter issued four walks and allowed four hits, not to mention hitting a batter and struggling with wild pitches. Out of 36 pitches, only 14 found the strike zone, which led to an ugly performance. It was notable they became the first pair of Yankees pitchers to give up four or more earned runs in a game this season.
Meanwhile, the Tigers, currently at 83-62, sent ten batters to the plate before the Yankees managed a response. The crowd of 35,653 voiced their displeasure as the Yankees fell apart in a game that started evenly at 2-2.
On a night that was also memorable for Aaron Judge, who hit his 359th career home run to move past Yogi Berra on the all-time franchise list, the Yankees began their 12-game stretch against playoff contenders with a strong but fleeting 4-2 start.
Will Warren, pitching for the 30th time in his MLB career, had a solid outing of six innings, allowing only two runs. This marked his 21st start where he conceded two runs or fewer—but sadly, it was overshadowed by the late-game struggles of the bullpen.
After returning from the injured list, Cruz faced challenges right away, giving up a leadoff double before loading the bases with back-to-back walks. Parker Meadows then hit a single, putting the Tigers ahead 3-2 after Cruz walked another batter, pushing in another run.
Reiter subsequently allowed a bloop single followed by a wild pitch, which set the stage for Kelly Carpenter’s two-run triple.
Hill eventually took the mound for the Yankees, attempting to quell the onslaught, but it was too late to change the outcome.
Before the night spiraled, Judge had given the Yankees an early lead with a powerful solo homer off Casey Mize, inching ahead of Berra in the record books.
However, the Yankees struggled to mount another attack until the fourth inning when Cody Bellinger hit his 28th home run, bringing the score to 2-0.
Warren had successfully retired 11 consecutive batters before giving up a walk to Spencer Torkelson to kick off the fifth inning. Unfortunately, it led to difficulties when he served up a two-run homer that tied the game.
Later, the Yankees had a prime chance to reclaim the lead in the fifth inning, but squandered it. Their first two batters reached, yet Anthony Volpe flied out after attempting a bunt, drawing boos from the frustrated fans. Ryan McMahon was hit next, and Trent Grisham flew out on a 3-0 pitch.
