Monday, June 30, 2014

Whitley, Bullpen Hit Hard in Another Rubber Game Loss

While he was undeniably good in his first 7 starts, it's become more and more obvious that Yankees Pitcher Chase Whitley's beginning to run out of gas. 

The 25-year-old rookie, who went 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA before falling to the Blue Jays last Monday, didn't look sharp at all tonight, surrendering 5 earned runs in 4+ innings.

After his departure, the Yanks' bats did come back a little, but in the end, couldn't make up for the youngster's struggles, as they fell in ugly fashion to the Red Sox 8-5.

For the first two frames, the argument could be made that Whitley wasn't terrible, although a top of the third, three-run home run by David Ortiz definitely changed that idea, as the Sox took an early 4-0 lead off the right-hander.

In their following at-bats, the Bombers would pull to within one thanks to a single by Derek Jeter and a pair of solo shots from Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran, but that trio of positives would eventually prove irrelevant, as Whitley and Shawn Kelley would hand that progress right back to Boston in its half of the fifth.

In that inning, the Sox would make it 7-3 on a two-run single from Dustin Pedroia and an unusual steal of home by Daniel Nava, pretty much making the Pinstripes look done.

Yes, they did sort of come back in their next turn when Brett Gardner doubled in Ichiro and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded another home, but due to the bullpen's lack of reliability they would end up being defeated, the sixth time that's happened in their last nine games.

As you probably already know, tonight's loss also cost them this seemingly winnable series, keeping them 2 games out of both the AL East lead and the final Wild Card spot.

In other words, this evening's failure is a deflating blow to the already scuffling Yankees, who will begin a trio of home contests with the last-place Rays tomorrow.

2 comments:

  1. Nava didn't steal home technically, it was a fielder's choice in a run down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Couldn't find out how to say it. It was a weird play.

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