New York Yankees Fall To New York Mets In Final Game Of Series As Bullpen Unravels Late

The Yankees got a good start today from youngster Elmer Rodriguez. However, their general offensive struggles continued, but their depleted bullpen held. They lost this game 7-6 after their closer gave up a crushing three-run home run. Rodriguez was taken out with one out in the fifth inning. The team wanted a longer start from him after using their bullpen a bunch last night.

The bullpen usage for the Yankees is a problem because the Yankees do not have an off day this week. They start a home series with Toronto tomorrow night. It is a four-game series. How did this game unfold?

Yankees and Mets Game Summary

The Yankees scored first in this game on a solo home run from Ben Rice. The Mets, however, tied the game in the fourth inning when Marcus Semien hit an RBI double. Rodriguez ran into a little trouble here, and a young pitcher needs to be able to get out of two-out jams. The Semien double came with two outs. Rodriguez walked the next batter to load the bases. However, he got out of the inning by coaxing a ground ball.

The Yanks got two walks to start the sixth inning. Then they got a sacrifice bunt from Ryan McMahon. Paul Goldschmidt was hit to load the bases. All three of those runs scored after a big hit from Anthony Volpe, his second of the game. A sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Amed Rosario made the score 4-1 in favor of the Yankees. Anthony Volpe scored after Bo Bichette dropped a pop-up. It was 5-1.

In the seventh inning, on the first pitch reliever Jake Bird threw, Luis Torrens doubled. That scored two runs, and the score was 5-3. However, it stayed there. The Yanks scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a bases-loaded walk. It was 6-3 Yankees.

In the ninth inning, Tyrone Taylor hit a three-run home run off the Yankees’ closer, David Bednar, which made the score 6-6. Bednar blew the save after the team did its job, handing a three-run lead to their closer. The Mets were 0-91 when trailing after 8 innings.

Cole Update

Gerrit Cole is getting closer to the Yankees after last night. He topped out at 99.6 miles per hour, and he threw 86 pitches, 56 for strikes. He pitched 5.1 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday night in a 6-2, 10-inning loss to Syracuse.

The Yankees are planning for Cole to make one more rehabilitation start, then likely rejoin the rotation during their May 25-27 series against the Kansas City Royals. When he does that, he will join the Yankees’ starting rotation in the place of Rodriguez, who started this game. It also should not be long until Max Fried, whose injury is much less than feared, rejoins the starting rotation.

While we are on the Yankees walking wounded, we should mention here that there is no word on slugger Giancarlo Stanton. With him out of the lineup, a powerful right-handed bat is removed from the batting order. This is compounded by the fact that sparkplug Jose Caballero is also out of the lineup with a broken finger. These two injuries have made the Yankees very left-handed-heavy.

May Swoon

The Yanks, with today’s win, finished a horrible road trip with a 2-7 record. Their best pitchers, except Cam Schillitler, have struggled, and they have struggled to hit. They have historically experienced a downturn in May under Manager Aaron Boone. The injuries and ineffectiveness have combined to form a May Malaise. The team hopes to turn things around against the division rival Toronto Blue Jays.