Another Meltdown: Yankees' Bullpen and Defense Implode Again

Yankees' bullpen and sloppy defense cost them for the second day in a row as the Blue Jays scored eight runs in the final two innings to win this one 12-5. Max Fried got the starting nod for the Yankees, facing off against Kevin Gausman for the Jays. 

Paul Goldschmidt led off the ballgame with a single just past the diving Ernie Clement. A couple of batters later, Aaron Judge worked a walk. Giancorlo Stanton then worked a walk of his own to load the bases with two outs for Jasson Dominguez. Dominguez came through with a huge two-out two-run single to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. 

Fried worked around a one-out walk in the bottom half of the first inning to put together a scoreless inning thanks to a nice play from Goldy at first base. 

In the top of the third inning, Judge lined a one-out double into the right-center gap. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed that up with a walk to put two runners on base with one out. However, Stanton struck out and Dominguez lined out to second base to strand two runners on base. 

In the bottom of the third inning, Fried retired the Jays in order, having now retired eight straight hitters, dating back to the first inning. 

DJ grounded a two-out single to left field in the top of the fourth inning. Goldy followed that up with a rocket double into the left field corner to put two runners in scoring position. However, Cody Bellinger flew out to the deepest part of the ballpark in straightaway center field to strand two runners in scoring position. 

George Springer cut the Yankees' lead in half, crushing a solo home run off a Fried curveball that caught too much of the plate in a two-strike count to make it a 2-1 game. It looked like Fried picked up the third out of the inning, but Jazz rushed the throw at third base, allowing a runner to reach. Fried then walked a batter, followed by a three-run home run from Andrés Giménez to give the Jays a 4-2 lead. 

Judge led off the top of the fifth inning with a single, his second hit of the game. The next batter, Jazz, worked a walk. But Stanton struck out, Dominguez flew out to center, and Anthony Volpe grounded out to end the inning. 

Belli led off the top of the seventh inning with a single to right field, followed by a walk from Judge. Jazz then legged out a fielder's choice to avoid a double play and out runners at the corners with one out. It looked like the Jays got Stanton to bounce into a double play, but a costly error from the Jays' third baseman, Clement, allowed a run to score, making it 4-3. A big error from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base allowed the Yankees to tie the game up at 4-4. 

Mark Leiter Jr., fresh off giving up three runs last night to blow the lead for some reason, took over for Fried in a tie game and immediately gave up a single and walked a batter to work into trouble. Luke Weaver replaced Lieter and it looked like Weaver picked up a big strikeout for the second out of the inning but for the second day in a row JC Escara screws the Yankees with a catchers interference call to instead load the bases with one out. The next batter, Clement, came through with an RBI single, making it 5-4, Jays. The next batter, Springer, launched a grand slam to make it a 9-4 game. As for the second day in a row, terrible defense and poor pitching performance from the bullpen cost the Yankees. 

Well, I’m done watching this game. I might be back tomorrow with another recap, but I'm not 100% sure. I might take a couple of games off. The last couple of innings really made me mad, plus the last couple of weeks of mediocre baseball.