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What should have been a routine victory became a crushing defeat for the New York Yankees. The Colorado Rockies pulled off a shocking 3-2 upset at Coors Field Friday night. The loss left Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt furious and the team questioning their approach.
“We’re all competitors in here. Anytime you lose, we’re pissed off,” Schmidt said after the loss. “Obviously, it pisses you off. I’m pissed off right now. So yeah, it definitely pisses you off.”
Colorado entered the series with baseball’s most pathetic record at 8-42. The Rockies are tracking toward one of the worst seasons ever recorded. Yet they managed to topple a Yankees club riding high on 11 wins in 14 games. A capacity crowd of 47,211 witnessed the stunning reversal of fortune.
Aaron Judge launched his 17th home run of the season in the fifth inning. The solo blast gave New York a brief 2-1 advantage. That lead vanished quickly as the Yankees’ pitching crumbled under pressure.
Clarke Schmidt had cruised through most of his start. Then everything fell apart in the fifth inning. After easily retiring two batters, Schmidt allowed consecutive singles to Ezequiel Tovar and Hunter Goodman. His pitch count reached 97 throws, prompting manager Aaron Boone to make a change.
Tim Hill entered to face left-handed hitter Ryan McMahon. The strategy backfired spectacularly. McMahon crushed a sinker that caromed off the center field wall. Two runs scored, giving Colorado a 3-2 lead they protected the rest of the way.
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The double represented McMahon’s first extra-base hit off Hill this season. Left-handed batters had managed just three hits in 35 at-bats against Hill entering Friday. All previous hits were singles.
“To elevate the ball, you just don’t see lefties do that much against [Hill],” Boone said afterward. “Put a great swing on it, and it was the difference today.”
Rockies’ bounceback shocks Yankees
Tanner Gordon provided the night’s biggest surprise story. The rookie starter entered with a bloated 5.68 ERA and zero victories. Gordon dominated the powerful Yankees lineup for six innings, allowing just two runs while earning his first major league win.
Colorado’s bullpen completed the upset. Jake Bird, Seth Halvorsen, and Zach Agnos combined for three shutout innings to preserve the victory.
The win ended a five-game losing streak for Colorado. It marked only their ninth victory in 52 contests this season. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the .452 winning percentage gap between the teams ranked as the second-largest ever recorded when both clubs had played at least 50 games.
“Those guys are professionals, just the same,” Hill reflected on his blown opportunity. “Just losing a game in general is never good, especially when you have such a big part in it.”
Schmidt angry after poor performance
Schmidt made no attempt to mask his disappointment following the game. He pitched 4.2 innings while surrendering six hits and three earned runs. The Yankees pitcher walked two batters and recorded eight strikeouts. Despite the solid strikeout total, Schmidt blamed Denver’s altitude for affecting his signature sinker.
“You have to be a little bit more fine and more exaggerated with your areas and where you’re trying to throw the ball,” he said. “I just didn’t do my job tonight.”
New York created multiple scoring chances but failed to capitalize. Judge had sparked the offense early by singling and racing home on Paul Goldschmidt‘s triple in the first inning. Judge’s fifth-inning homer tied him with Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead. After that moment, the Yankees’ offense vanished completely.
The final four innings produced only two walks for the Yankees. The team managed zero hits with runners in scoring position, finishing 0-for-5 in those crucial situations. Austin Wells smashed a line drive in the fourth inning that turned into an inning-ending double play. DJ LeMahieu, who previously played for Colorado, grounded out to complete the squandered opportunity.
“They beat us tonight,” Boone admitted. “I thought our focus was good, our conversations were right. We didn’t get a big hit to break open an inning. It’s going to happen.”
Yankees must regroup quickly
The Yankees (30-20) have little time to process this setback. Saturday brings another matchup with these same Rockies. The stakes remain high in the competitive American League East race.
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Max Fried will start for New York. The left-hander remains undefeated at 6-0 with a microscopic 1.29 ERA. Fried represents the Yankees’ best chance to avoid a series split with baseball’s worst team.
Kyle Freeland takes the mound for Colorado. The veteran left-hander has struggled tremendously in 2025. Freeland sits at 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA. He has never guided the Rockies to consecutive victories this season.
Friday’s shocking result proved no opponent can be overlooked. The Yankees offense outside of Judge needs immediate improvement. Anthony Volpe and Goldschmidt collected zero hits after the first inning. New York lacked the timely hitting that fueled their recent surge.
Both Boone and Schmidt insisted the clubhouse remains calm. Neither attempted to downplay their frustration with the loss.
With playoff expectations mounting, the Yankees must transform that anger into better execution. Time is running short.
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A digital technocrat-turned-baseball buff, Sara is an ardent follower of the New York Yankees. Born and brought up in New York City, she is a regular to games since she was a kid. Despite working as media strategist, baseball is her first love. She has been covering baseball games in the city as well as MLB and MiLB games involving the Yankees, the Mets, and their minor affiliates as a freelancer for different web and media publications. She works as a lead author for the Yankees-centered PinstripesNation since its very inception.
