Yankees blow late lead, drop fourth straight game
- Davis Cornell
- May 11
- 4 min read
The Yankees squandered multiple opportunities and coughed up a lead late, dropping game one to the Orioles 3-2. Ryan Weathers, who missed his last start due to being sick, got the start for the Yankees and faced off against Brandon Young.
Ben Rice picked up a one-out single to center in the top of the first inning to snap a 0-for-13 skid. Cody Bellinger worked a two-out walk, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. flew out to right, stranding both runners.
In the bottom of the inning, Weathers navigated around a leadoff walk, working a scoreless frame.
Weathers struck out the Orioles in order in the bottom half of the second inning for his first three strikeouts of the night.
Trent Grisham worked a one-out free pass in the top of the third inning. Rice followed with a two-run bomb to left center, his 13th home run of the year, to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
Weathers worked a 1-2-3 shutdown bottom of the third inning with a pair of punchouts, putting his total up to five.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Orioles went three up, three down against Weathers, who picked up his sixth strikeout, making it 12 straight hitters retired.
Weathers worked around a one-out walk in the bottom of the fifth and recorded his eighth strikeout of the ballgame to keep the Orioles out of the hit column through five innings.
Aaron Judge laced a double down the third base line to lead off the sixth inning. Judge moved up to third on a Belli groundout. But Jazz, struggles continue as he punched out and Ryan McMahon grounded out to strand Judge at third.
Max Schuemann drilled a one-out double off the base of the wall in the top of the seventh. However, Austin Wells and Grisham both grounded out to strand Schuemann.
In the bottom of the inning, Weathers surndered a leadoff single, the Orioles' first hit of the night. Weathers then walked a batter with one out, putting the tying run on first and ending his night. Brent Headrick took over and allowed a three-run go-ahead home run to Coby Mayo, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead.
“Well, obviously, a couple of guys down tonight, just like Headrick in that spot, I know if we go Bird there, they're going to flip to the lefty,” Aaron Boone said. “And, um, you know, got a guy that's been struggling, on that side, and just like that matchup hung a slider and Mayo put a good swing on it.”
Final line for Weathers: 6.1 innings pitched, one hit, two earned runs, walking three, and striking out nine on 101 pitches. Weathers threw his changeup 28% of the time, the sinker 25%, the sweeper 23%, the fastball 22%, and the slider 3%. He topped out at 96.9 and averaged 95.4 mph on his heater and induced 15 whiffs tonight.
“Just felt like I was competing in the strike zone really well,” Weathers said. “Still had a few walks, which I wish I could take back, but, yeah, just got my stuff in the zone.”
“Little bit of everything, the fastball was playing really well, both four-seamers and sinkers, and I thought his sweeper and change-ups were both good,” Boone said. “He was tough, I think probably ran out of gas a little bit there at the end, but he pitched great.”
Camilo Doval replaced Headrick in the bottom of the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 inning to keep the Yankees' deficit at one run.
In the top of the ninth, Paul Goldschmidt, who pinch hit for Sepncer Jones earlier, lined a two-out single the other way. José Caballero pinch ran for Goldy and was thrown out to end the ballgame, attempting to steal second as the Yankees dropped a fourth straight game.
The Yankees will look to bounce back tomorrow and end their losing streak with Will Warren on the mound; the Orioles' starter is TBD. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. ET on the YES Network.
My thoughts on the game: Another frustrating loss tonight for the Yankees. This game felt really similar to Sunday's loss: they were in control, up 2-0 through six innings, only to blow the lead late. Weathers was dominant tonight; he just ran out of gas late. Headrick, who has been great this year, coughed up the lead, but he has clearly been overused to start the season; it was only a matter of time before that happened. I also dont understand why they went to Headrick, the lefty there with three straight righties coming up. Doval actually looked good tonight; I wish he looked like that on Saturday night. Jazz needs to figure it out at the plate; another brutal game from him tonight. Last year, he was at his best when he was swinging at 70% effort, but it seems he has abandoned that approach, as he is swinging out of his shoes in every at-bat. Wells also looks beyond lost; he has regressed since his rookie season in 2024, and it might be time to start thinking about a replacement for him at the trade deadline. Rice had a solid day today with a pair of his, including a two-run homer, accounting for the Yankees' only runs. Just five hits tonight, a fourth straight brutal performance from the offense. Plus, the worst part is the Rays dont lose and are about to take a two-game lead over the Yankees. On to tomorrow as the Yankees will look to bounce back and avoid their second five-game losing streak of the season.
“I mean, you have high expectations, and obviously, he's an outstanding player,” Boone said of Jazz. “But you sense guys feeling it when you're a month plus in, and you're not doing what the back of your baseball card is. So it's part of it, and that's probably feeling that a little bit, probably pressing a little too much, trying to do a little too much. He's going to get it going, I have no doubt about that. But sometimes you have to slow things down first and have some small successes to kind of get you going again.”
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