NEW YORK — Ten strikeouts. Four home runs. Five innings. Still no run support.
Ryan Weathers delivered one of the strangest pitching lines of the 2026 MLB season Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees left-hander was dominant for stretches and completely undone for others.
The 7-1 loss to the Angels left Yankees fans and the Yankees front office with a real question about the pitcher they are betting on to anchor a rotation that has otherwise been careful with earned runs.
Three home runs in five pitches leave Yankees reeling
Weathers had been sharp in his first three starts of 2026. Across 16 innings, he had not given up a single home run. That run ended violently in the first inning Tuesday.
Mike Trout turned on a 95-mph four-seam fastball and launched it 432 feet to left-center field. On the very next pitch, Jo Adell drove a 96-mph offering 445 feet to the opposite side. Three pitches later, Jorge Soler put the Yankees in a 3-0 hole with a shot to left field. Three batters, five pitches, 1,276 combined feet of home runs. The Angels had come out hunting the fastball, and Weathers gave them exactly what they were looking for.
All three drives came on low four-seamers. Adell’s pitch was charted below the strike zone. The Angels had done their pregame work, and Weathers paid for three command misses against one of the most dangerous low-ball lineups in the American League.
10 strikeouts, 4 home runs: a split that made MLB history
Once the first inning ended, Weathers regrouped. He retired 10 of the next 11 batters. He struck out the side in the fifth. He worked through 87 pitches and showed everything the Yankees had hoped to see from him as a rotation piece.
Then former Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza stepped up. Traded to the Angels last July for outfield prospect Wilberson De Pena, Peraza had already gone 3-for-3 on the night before depositing a fourth-inning changeup over the fence for a solo home run. The Yankees deficit grew to 4-0, and Weathers now had four home runs allowed in a game where he also had 10 strikeouts.
The combination produced a pair of unwanted records. According to ESPN Insights, Weathers became the first pitcher since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893 to allow four home runs while striking out 10 batters in five or fewer innings. He also became the first Yankees pitcher in franchise history to give up four or more home runs and record 10 or more strikeouts in the same start. The most recent Major Leaguer to reach that combination in any inning total was Sonny Gray of the Cardinals, on July 20, 2024, against Atlanta.
A separate stat made the night even harder to process. Weathers is the only pitcher in 2026 with at least four starts who has not received a single run of support while he is the pitcher of record. The Yankees have scored zero runs across 21 innings with Weathers on the mound this season.
Sweeper and changeup click, but four-seamer stays in the danger zone
The split in Weathers’ performance came down to pitch type. His sweeper, slider, and changeup were sharp all night. Hitters were late, off-balance, and swinging through pitches well out of the zone. He finished with a 10-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 87 pitches.
When he threw his four-seam fastball at the wrong height, the Angels made him pay every time. All four home runs came on the four-seamer, each sitting between 95 and 96 mph. The problem was not velocity. It was location. Every home run pitch ran low in the zone, right where a lineup built around power hitters is specifically designed to do damage.
After the game, Weathers did not look for explanations. He pointed at the pitches themselves.
“They’re a really good low-ball hitting team, and three misfires against a good low-ball hitting team is not a good start,” Weathers said. “Obviously, it’s not a good idea to misfire a heater down the middle to one of the best hitters that’s ever played this game. I definitely wish I had that pitch back.”
Three consecutive first-inning homers stun Yankee Stadium
With one out in the first inning, Mike Trout turned on a 95-mph fastball and drove it 432 feet to left-center. On the very next pitch, Jo Adell hit a 96-mph offering 445 feet to the opposite side. Three pitches later, Jorge Soler completed the back-to-back-to-back sequence with a solo shot to left. Five pitches, three home runs, 1,276 combined feet. The Angels led 3-0 before most Yankees fans had fully settled into their seats.
What followed was the genuinely strange part. Weathers regrouped completely. He retired 10 of the next 11 batters. He struck out the side in the fifth. He kept attacking with his secondary pitches and kept generating swings and misses. Yankees manager Aaron Boone watched it all and spoke about the contradiction it presented.
“You see it all there,” Boone said. “You see all the things that you get excited about. But a little bit tough just command-wise with the heater.”
No run support in four starts adds to the frustration
The Yankees have not scored a run with Weathers on the mound in any of his four starts this season. Across 21 innings, the offense has produced nothing for him. He is the only pitcher in Major League Baseball with at least four 2026 starts and zero run support while serving as the pitcher of record.
Despite that, Weathers refused to point fingers. He acknowledged the situation and set the tone for what needs to change before his next outing.
“There was some good tonight, but when I pitch, I want this ballclub to win games and I did not put us in a good position to win a game tonight,” Weathers said.
The Yankees dropped to 9-8 and have now lost six of their last seven games. Weathers has the secondary arsenal to be a genuine contributor in the Yankees rotation. The four-seamer command is the one thing holding him back. Until it finds the top of the zone consistently, outings like Tuesday will keep threatening to define him in the Yankees rotation.
Fans left confused
The box score told one story. The eye test told another. And somewhere in between, Ryan Weathers delivered one of the strangest pitching performances the New York Yankees have seen in recent memory. Fans reacted with surprise and yet anger.
nugget chef @jayhaykid wrote, “Ryan Weathers becomes the first pitcher in Yankees history to give up 4+ home runs while also striking out 10 or more hitters in a single outing.”
ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reacted, “Ryan Weathers had a bizarre outing tonight—he allowed four solo homers and just one additional hit, while striking out 10 and walking one over five innings on 87 pitches. The Angels lead 4-0.”
New York Yankees Stats claimed, “Ryan Weathers tonight: 4 HR | 10 K. That marks the most home runs allowed in a game with 10+ strikeouts by a pitcher in Yankees franchise history.”
Katie Sharp @SharpStats17 mentioned, “Ryan Weathers stands as the only pitcher this season with at least four starts and zero run support.”
Rachel Fisk @RachelOnSports brought in to light that “Across 16 innings pitched this season, the Yankees have yet to score a single run while Ryan Weathers is on the mound.”
Andrew Samaha @acsamaha has a different version: “If you ignore the four solo home runs, Ryan Weathers is actually putting together a strong outing.”
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
