With a new and improved bullpen, the New York Yankees held 6-0 and 9-4 leads in the fifth and seventh innings. They did not win.
In fact, it was all three of their brand-new relievers, and another trade piece, who pulled off the worst side of MLB history in a heartbreaking 13-12 loss to the Miami Marlins.
The game appeared all but over entering the bottom of the fifth, but Carlos Rodon ran into some trouble and couldn’t finish the job.
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The Yanks opted for longtime veteran Jonathan Loaisiga, but his struggles continued, and it wound up being a four-run fifth for the Fish.
Trent Grisham blasted a huge three-run homer in the top of the seventh to bring the Bombers back up five, and the Yankees decided to show off the new guys. Well, it could not have gone much worse.
First was Jake Bird, who recorded just one out before allowing a grand slam. Next up was David Bednar, who entered the game with a 2.39 ERA. Naturally, he allowed two runs on four consecutive hits, including a homer, and the Marlins suddenly had a 10-9 lead.
Anthony Volpe’s power surge continued with a game-tying homer in the eighth, and in the ninth, the Yankees rallied for two more runs, driven in by last week’s trade piece in Ryan McMahon and again by Volpe. (Bednar shut the Marlins down in the bottom of the eighth.)
But the Yankees bullpen pulled off the hat trick. Camilo Doval came in for the save, and put runners on first and second with one out. Xavier Edwards singled to right to bring in a run, but the ball went right underneath the glove of Jose Caballero, who practically switched dugouts on Thursday, bringing the tying run home all the way from first, and Edwards on third.
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Then, in typical Yankee luck, a swinging bunt was put into no-man’s land, and an aggressive Edwards scored for the victory.
According to OptaStats, it was the first time in the modern era in which three different relievers each allowed multiple hits and multiple runs in their team debut in the same game. It was also the first time the Yankees have scored 12-plus runs in a nine-inning game and lost since 1973.
This came just two days after the Yankees became the only MLB team in the modern era to erase deficits in the eighth, ninth, and 10th innings and then win in the 11th.
The Yankees are chasing down the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East and had a chance to cut their deficit with Toronto’s loss earlier in the day, but the Yankees could not take advantage of what seemed like a sure victory.
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