The New York Yankees spent the trade deadline stockpiling bullpen help. One night later, all three arms unraveled at once.
In front of a season-high 32,299 fans at loanDepot Park, New York’s revamped relief corps collapsed in spectacular fashion, squandering multiple leads in a 13-12 gut punch to the Miami Marlins. Three deadline-day acquisitions — Jake Bird, David Bednar and Camilo Doval — each made their Yankees debut. All three gave up crucial runs.
Bird entered first, protecting a 9-4 advantage in the seventh. His outing lasted just one-third of an inning and ended in disaster. After loading the bases, he served up a grand slam to Miami All-Star Kyle Stowers. A walk and another single later, manager Aaron Boone turned to Bednar.
The former Pittsburgh Pirates closer came in with two outs, needing just one more to escape. Instead, he surrendered a game-tying solo homer to Javier Sanoja, then allowed back-to-back singles and a go-ahead knock by Agustín Ramírez.
“Definitely not an ideal start by any means,” Bednar said, as transcribed by Dave Blezow of the New York Post. He added that he was encouraged by a clean eighth inning that gave New York a brief chance to retake the lead. “That’s just part of being a reliever. Sometimes stuff like that happens. It’s all about how you respond and bounce back.”
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Bird echoed the frustration after his brief, damaging appearance. “Just not executing the pitches to my ability,” he said, as transcribed by Blezow. “I need to be better there, and I will be better.” He later added, “You don’t want those days to happen, but they do on occasion.”
Bednar’s eighth inning held, and the Yankees reclaimed the lead behind Anthony Volpe’s fourth hit of the night. Then came the ninth, and Doval.
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The flamethrower from the San Francisco Giants couldn’t seal it. He allowed two runners before Xavier Edwards roped a two-run single past José Caballero at third. Ramírez’s chopper moments later sealed the walk-off win.
The trio combined to allow seven runs on nine hits in just 2 ⅓ innings. The Yankees scored 12 and still lost — something that hadn’t happened on the road since 1940, per the Associated Press.
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For what was billed as a massive upgrade to the Yankees’ bullpen, the first impression was anything but reassuring.
Featured image via Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports
