NEW YORK — The Yankees needed just four innings from their bullpen Saturday. A five-run cushion and a starter who did his job should have made that a formality. Instead, the relief corps turned a comfortable 6-1 lead into a 6-3 sweat before the offense bailed them out in a 9-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.
Ryan Weathers pitched well enough to keep the Yankees in control. The left-hander allowed three runs, only one earned, while pitching into the sixth and striking out five. His ERA dropped to 3.03 through seven starts. It was the kind of performance that deserved a clean handoff.
What happened after he left the mound was anything but clean.
Bird survives a mess he helped create
The Yankees held a 6-1 lead when the sixth inning started going sideways. Weathers walked Taylor Ward. He struck out Henderson and Rutschman. But first baseman Ben Rice hesitated on a grounder from Rutschman, loading the bases with nobody out. A five-run lead suddenly felt fragile.
Manager Aaron Boone brought in right-hander Jake Bird to face the right-handed Alonso. It was a matchup play that looked risky given Bird’s volatile history. He had already been optioned to Triple-A earlier this season after shaky appearances.
The first result was ideal. Alonso grounded into a double play. One run scored, but two outs were recorded. The Yankees still led 6-2, and Bird appeared ready to escape.
He could not finish the job. Bird walked Tyler O’Neill on four pitches. Then Samuel Basallo laced an RBI double that cut the Yankees’ advantage to 6-3. Bird finally ended the inning by getting Jeremiah Jackson to ground out, but the damage was done. A clean frame had turned into a two-run mess.
Boone acknowledged the mixed bag that Bird presented, noting that despite the damage, the reliever prevented a complete collapse during a high-pressure stretch.
“Jake Bird had some really good moments again today,” Boone said. “I thought [he] stabilized through a dangerous part of the game for us.”
Doval’s baserunning issues flare up again
Camilo Doval took over in the seventh and walked into familiar trouble. Working for a second straight day, the Yankees reliever walked Dylan Beavers to start the inning. What followed was a career-long weakness on display.
Beavers stole second base. Then he stole third. Doval could not slow him down. Beavers eventually scored on a groundout, pushing Baltimore’s deficit to 6-4 and keeping the pressure on the Yankees bullpen.
Holding runners has haunted Doval throughout his career with the Giants and now the Yankees. It turns walks into runs without a hit.
Boone saw enough to pull the plug after just two outs. The manager credited Doval’s pure stuff while flagging the recurring issue that undercuts it.
“I thought he threw the ball well, but a little slow in the running game,” Boone said.
Doval had been excellent Friday night. Saturday showed the other side of the coin. For a Yankees team that needs a reliable setup man ahead of closer David Bednar, that volatility remains a concern.
Hill and Blackburn clean up what others could not
Tim Hill needed exactly one pitch to do what two Yankees relievers before him could not. He got Gunnar Henderson to ground out and end the seventh. Efficient. Boring. Precisely what the Yankees bullpen had lacked for most of the afternoon.
Paul Blackburn handled the final two innings without allowing a run, shutting the door after the Yankees pushed the lead to 9-4 with a three-run seventh. Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough remain the two swingmen the Yankees carry as long relievers. On Saturday, Blackburn’s calm two scoreless frames did what the higher-leverage arms could not.
The search for reliable bridges to Bednar
The Yankees bullpen entered the season with question marks. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver had departed in free agency. Rather than add significant bullpen reinforcements over the winter, the front office pointed to the 2025 trade deadline additions of Bednar, Doval, and Bird as sufficient.
Early returns have been uneven. A 4.22 ERA ranked the Yankees bullpen 17th in baseball through mid-April. Bird was optioned. Doval carried a 7.36 ERA through nine appearances before a recent stretch of better outings. Over the last 14 games, the unit has posted a 2.79 ERA. That is a sign of progress but not yet proof of consistency.
Saturday’s game was a microcosm of the entire season. Good moments followed by shaky ones. Strong outs followed by free passes and stolen bases. Enough talent to survive, but not enough reliability to inspire full confidence.
Boone was asked about the state of the Yankees relief corps after the win. His assessment reflected a manager still waiting for the pieces to come together.
“I think our pen’s done a really nice job,” Boone said. “I think leaving spring training, maybe we had some question marks to answer down there. And it’s still going to evolve and get there. But I think by and large, those guys have done a really nice job.”
New York moved to 22-11 and kept its hold on first place in the AL East. A starting rotation with the best ERA in baseball at 2.62 continues to anchor the pitching staff. Cody Bellinger went 4 for 4 with two home runs Saturday, leading an offense that produced 14 hits.
The bullpen? It survived. And for now, that will have to be good enough for the Yankees.
Can the Yankees afford to keep rolling with Bird and Doval in high-leverage spots, or is it time for a shakeup?
Drop your take in the comments.
