Yankees 8, Angels 11: Yankees blow four-run ninth inning lead in a mess of a game

The story coming into this game was all about Shohei Ohtani. After his three home runs in the previous two games, he got the start on the mound, and became just the fourth person to be the starting pitcher and lead off the game at the plate. The final pitch of the game would come over six hours later, with Ohtani’s outing just a memory.

The Yankees’ offense knocked the Angels’ two-way starter out of the game in less than an inning, putting up seven runs on two hits and four walks off him. Things were looking pretty good for the Yankees then, and stayed that way for much of the game. Ohtani’s start would end up being just a small portion of the day considering what would follow, and the mess of an ending the game produced.

After two rain delays, the Yankees took a four-run lead into the ninth inning, which began well after midnight. There, Aroldis Chapman blew the lead with three walks and a game-tying grand slam. Lucas Luetge then allowed three runs himself, completing the meltdown. The Yankees fell to the Angels 11-8 in one of the stupidest games you’ll ever see.

Before any of that happened, things got off to a rocky start as the Angels scored two runs off Yankees’ starter Domingo Germán in the first. With Anthony Rendon on after a walk, Phil Gosselin homered to give the Angels an early lead. However, then the Yankees came to the plate.

Ohtani was very wild to start the game, walking the first three hitters he faced, loading the bases without recording an out. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres then picked up back-to-back singles off Ohtani, evening the score. The Angels’ star bounced back by striking out Rougned Odor and getting Miguel Andújar to hit a ground out, albeit a run-scoring one. However, he then hit Clint Frazier with a pitch and walked Brett Gardner. That walk not only scored a run, but knocked Ohtani out of the game. As a bonus, Ohtani didn’t move anywhere else in the field, meaning his day was over.

The inning wasn’t over, however. DJ LeMahieu came up with the bases loaded, and promptly unloaded them with a double.

The Angels got one run back in third when Juan Lagares doubled home Taylor Ward, who Germán had walked.

The Yankees threatened, but missed out on adding to their lead in the second. In the third, they were in the middle of another run-scoring chance when Joe Maddon brought in Dylan Bundy, who had just started Monday’s game, and had a moment from it go, uh, viral. However not long after Bundy came in, it started to rain pretty heavily, and the tarp came out and we went into a delay.

After things finally resumed, Justin Wilson came in for Germán to start the fourth. Germán finished his day having allowed three runs on three hits and three walks in three innings. Wilson threw a scoreless inning in his first appearance since returning from the injured list.

The rain picked up again as the game moved into the top of the fifth and Luis Cessa came in. Cessa allowed a home run to the first batter he faced in Jared Walsh, but otherwise got through the inning to make the game official, just as it went back into a rain delay.

For a time it appeared as if that might be the end of the game, but after an hour and a half, the game eventually resumed.

In the sixth inning, Darren O’Day came in for his first appearance since April 29th. He ended up throwing a 1-2-3 inning, but did briefly fall behind 3-0 against Angels’ pitcher Tony Watson, forced into an at-bat in the Ohtani spot.

After the resumption, the Yankees’ offense grounded into three separate inning-ending double plays. The lone offense they put up over the last couple innings came via a solo home run from Gardner.

The Yankees went to Jonathan Loaisiga for two scoreless innings, before turning it over to Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, kicking off the adventure. He proceeded to walk the bases loaded before allowing a game-tying home run to Walsh, blowing another save. Luetge came in for him, and allowed a walk and three hits, plating three runs and giving the Angels seven runs in the inning.

The Yankees’ offense couldn’t muster any sort of rally in the bottom of the ninth, ending a very stupid game at 1:06 am local time.

Meanwhile in other news, Clint Frazier left the game after the second inning. Originally, it led to questions about whether it was due to the hit by pitch, but it turned out to have nothing to do with that.

Hopefully, it’s more due to how hot it’s been, and not anything else, considering that Frazier has a history of concussions.

Anyway, anyone know of any ways to wash that from my memory?

Box score