NEW YORK — Manager Aaron Boone’s questionable pitching decision cost the New York Yankees dearly Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees fell to the Minnesota Twins 4-1 after Boone pulled rookie starter Cam Schlittler following five strong innings. The move backfired immediately as the bullpen collapsed in the sixth inning.
Minnesota snapped a nine-game losing streak against New York. The defeat marked the Yankees’ first loss to the Twins in 10 head-to-head meetings since April 2023.
Boone’s Schlittler blunder costs Yankees dearly
Schlittler had thrown just 86 pitches through five innings when Boone made the fateful decision to lift him with the game tied 1-1. The rookie right-hander had allowed only one run on two hits with six strikeouts, keeping the Yankees in position to extend their remarkable dominance over Minnesota.
The decision immediately backfired when reliever Yerry De los Santos entered for the sixth inning. De los Santos faced three batters and surrendered three hits, allowing all three runners to score without recording a single out.
Bullpen meltdown changes everything
Yerry De los Santos entered to start the sixth inning with the score knotted at one run apiece. The reliever never recorded an out.
Byron Buxton led off with a single to shortstop that Anthony Volpe nearly turned into an out. First baseman Ben Rice couldn’t handle Volpe’s throw for an error.
Luke Keaschall followed with a slow roller down the third-base line for another infield single. Two batters later, Kody Clemens crushed a two-run double to right-center field.
The hit gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead and essentially decided the contest. Clemens advanced to third when center fielder Trent Grisham bobbled the ball on the play.
Mark Leiter Jr. replaced De los Santos but couldn’t stop the damage. Royce Lewis added an RBI double down the left-field line to make it 4-1.
Schlittler’s strong showing goes unrewarded
The 24-year-old Schlittler had given the Yankees exactly what they needed through five innings. He retired the first nine batters he faced on just 34 pitches and dominated early before Minnesota made him work harder in the fourth and fifth frames.
“I felt good,” Schlittler said after the game. “I’m a rookie, so you got to earn that. It’s gonna take time and consistency. No issue with the decision and I trust the bullpen.”
Despite the loss, Schlittler lowered his season ERA to 3.94 with the performance. The rookie has shown remarkable poise since joining the rotation, averaging 88 pitches across his five starts this season.
“He set us up to win a game,” Boone said. “I will confer [with the pitcher] sometimes. Tonight, though, I felt like it was time to pull him.”
Boone explains his reasoning
The Yankees manager defended his decision to remove Schlittler despite the outcome.
“It was like 52 [pitches] over the fourth and fifth inning,” Boone said. “Just coming through a tough part of the lineup, Buxton, the time prior, had seen a ton of pitches before hitting a double against him.”
Boone noted that Schlittler had thrown more than half his pitches in the final two innings. The rookie’s pitch count stood at 34 through three frames but jumped to 86 after five.
“I just felt like, it was 86 [pitches], but over 50 those last two innings, so it’s like how much more are you gonna get out of him?” Boone added.
The manager said Schlittler had to grind through the fourth and fifth innings against Minnesota’s best hitters.
Historic streak comes to an end
Wednesday’s result ended one of baseball’s most lopsided rivalries. The Yankees had dominated Minnesota with a 125-45 record since 2002, good for a .735 winning percentage.
New York had won nine straight games against the Twins dating back to April 25, 2023. The streak covered more than two full seasons of head-to-head matchups.
A crowd of 44,466 watched the Yankees’ dominance finally come to an end. The game was delayed 1 hour and 52 minutes by rain before the first pitch.
While the bullpen collapse proved decisive, the Yankees’ offense managed just five hits against Twins ace Joe Ryan and the Minnesota relief corps. Cody Bellinger provided the lone bright spot with a third-inning solo home run, his 22nd of the season.
The Yankees had a golden opportunity in the seventh inning when Anthony Volpe doubled and advanced to third base. However, with Paul Goldschmidt unavailable due to a right knee injury, lefty-swinging Austin Wells struck out against Minnesota southpaw Kody Funderburk to end the threat.
Yankees miss golden opportunity
The loss proved costly for New York’s playoff hopes. Several American League contenders had lost earlier Wednesday, creating a perfect chance for the Yankees to gain ground.
Instead, the Yankees (64-57) remained 1.5 games behind Boston for the second wild-card spot. They hold just a one-game lead over Cleveland for the final playoff position.
The defeat capped a mediocre 3-3 homestand for New York. The team will now face a challenging five-game road trip starting Friday in St. Louis.
Red flags emerge for Yankees
The loss highlighted ongoing concerns about the Yankees’ bullpen depth and their ability to close out games against quality opponents. With De los Santos struggling in his first appearance since being acquired, questions remain about the team’s late-game reliability.
For Schlittler, the defeat represented a learning experience despite his strong individual performance. The rookie has earned significant trust from the organization, which chose to keep him in the rotation rather than demote him when Luis Gil returned from the injured list.
“I’m a rookie and you have to earn that,” Schlittler said of potentially pitching deeper into games.
The Yankees will open their road trip Friday against the Cardinals, hoping to regain momentum in what promises to be a tight race for the American League’s final playoff spots.
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