Yankees 3, Angels 8: The bullpen meltdown continues

The Yankees got a so-so start out of Michael Pineda that put them in an early hole, but the offense was up to the task of building a comeback. Unfortunately, the same bullpen that gave the team fits on the west coast decided to show up again. The losing streak is now at seven games.

Pineda allowed a run in the first inning and two more in the second to put the Yankees down early. He did settle in from there, finishing his outing at 5.2 innings with three runs allowed. Pineda struck out seven batters and allowed seven hits. He gave way to Chasen Shreve out of the bullpen who recorded one out to end the inning.

New York’s offense scored one run in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to tie the game. Chase Headley lifted a sacrifice fly to the outfield that brought home Starlin Castro for their first run of the game. Aaron Judge hit his 23rd homer of the season to right center field in the fifth, and Gary Sanchez continued his hot hitting with a solo homer of his own in the sixth.

Then the bullpen melted down in spectacular fashion.

Tyler Clippard, who has been pretty awful as of late, came on to replace Shreve. He was, again, awful. Clippard managed to record just one out while allowing three runs on three hits. Astoundingly, it could have been much worse for him. There were a number of near-misses on the warning track that seemed destined for the seats. It was atrocious.

Unfortunately, the bleeding didn’t stop there. Jonathan Holder was also ineffective tonight, allowing two additional runs in 2.2 innings of work. The bullpen has been a huge culprit during this losing streak, and there aren’t really any encouraging signs to cling to. What has been a real strength for the Yankees is presently a sizable liability.

The Red Sox are up big on the Kansas City Royals as of this moment, so the lead in the AL East is gone again. No, it doesn’t matter that much right now. It’s still disheartening to see the team flailing like this. Judge and Sanchez are great, but they cannot do it alone.

Jordan Montgomery tries to play the stopper tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm.