ARLINGTON, Texas — The first three relievers out of the new-look Yankees bullpen followed the blueprint perfectly on Monday night.
Then Devin Williams chewed it up and spit it out, with the Yankees falling further into their tailspin in the process.
After Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval and David Bednar each tossed a perfect inning to protect a one-run lead, Williams gave up a game-tying blast to Joc Pederson in the bottom of the ninth.
Jake Bird then served up a walk-off three-run home run to Josh Jung in the bottom of the 10th to hand the Yankees their fourth straight loss, this one an 8-5 gut punch to the Rangers at Globe Life Field.
“The game’s got to end there with me,” Williams said.
Texas Rangers’ Josh Jung, right, celebrates after his home run as New York Yankees pitcher Jake Bird (59) walks to the dugout during the 10th inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. AP
Texas Rangers’ Joc Pederson reacts to hitting a home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. AP
Bird had retired the first two batters in order in the bottom of the 10th before the Yankees intentionally walked Wyatt Langford to bring up Jung, who crushed his three-run shot to end it.
The Yankees, now 0-6 in extra innings on the road, had runners on the corners with one out in the top of the 10th but came up empty when Austin Wells grounded into a double play.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS
Coming off a miserable weekend in which they were swept by the Marlins, the Yankees’ grip on a playoff spot continued to loosen. They are now tied with the Mariners for the second AL wild-card spot while the Rangers (59-55) are just 1 ¹/₂ games back — meaning the Yankees (60-53) could be out of a playoff spot by the time they leave here on Wednesday. They also now trail the Blue Jays by 5 ¹/₂ games for first place in the AL East, with the Red Sox 2 ¹/₂ games in front of them.
New York Yankees relief pitcher Jake Bird (59) walks off the field after he gives up the game-winning home run to Texas Rangers designated hitter Josh Jung (not pictured) during the tenth inning at Globe Life Field. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After the revamped bullpen had faltered in brutal fashion on Friday night in Miami, the Yankees looked to be on their way to a better ending in their second chance with a late lead Monday. Instead, the end result was all too familiar as they fell to 25-33 since May 28, a stretch that Aaron Boone acknowledged is weighing on his players.
“Doesn’t matter though,” said Boone, whose tone has changed over the past few days with an obvious sense of urgency. “Doesn’t matter. Weigh on us, stress — we’ve got to win. We know that. Nobody cares how stressful it is. That’s all just noise, excuses, whatever. We’ve got to go play better and we’ve got to go win. And we know that.”
Williams has given up at least one earned run in five of his past seven appearances since the All-Star break. He had pitched well for a 25-game stretch before that, but his early season struggles have resurfaced at a bad time.
Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton, right, hits a home run that also scored teammate Paul Goldschmidt in front of Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, left, during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. AP
With two former closers in the Yankees bullpen in Bednar and Doval, it remains to be seen whether Boone will make a change with how he handles the ninth inning moving forward.
“We have really good guys down there, Devin included,” Boone said. “We’ve got to be able to close out these games though. … We’ve got to get it tightened up. We all have to be better, starting tomorrow. There’s no time.”
The bullpen had to get to work early on a night when Max Fried labored just to get through five innings. It was a grind for the left-hander, who gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks across 105 pitches and now owns a 5.81 ERA across his past six starts.
Yankees right fielder Amed Rosario (14) celebrates after he hits a double against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (48) points to the dugout after he hits a double against the Texas Rangers during the second inning at Globe Life Field. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Yankees led 3-0 entering the bottom of the second — but wasted a chance for more as they left the bases loaded in each of the first two frames against left-hander Patrick Corbin — before the Rangers got to Fried.
They tied it up and then had the bases loaded with one out when Fried tried to pick off the runner at second, only for his throw to sail into center field, allowing the runner from third to score.
“It’s frustrating, especially coming out needing to win and putting us in a hole,” Fried said. “Guys scraped it together and were able to fight back, but I’ve got to do a better job.”
Giancarlo Stanton, who may become a bench bat with Aaron Judge returning from the IL as a DH on Tuesday, delivered a two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning, giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead that they hung onto until the ninth.
“Things haven’t been going well [for the team] for a while,” Williams said. “I think everyone’s well aware of that. I would say I’m trying my best. Sometimes that leads to the opposite outcome that you’re trying to achieve. But at the end of the day, you got to get it done.”
