NEW YORK — The Yankees found another way to turn a loss into a referendum on their roster.
Their 6-2 defeat to the Detroit Tigers in 11 innings Wednesday at Yankee Stadium delivered a seventh straight loss and a three-game sweep. It was Detroit’s first road sweep of the Yankees since 2008.
The game cracked open in the 11th after Camilo Doval invited the disaster. Spencer Torkelson forced in the go-ahead run, Zach McKinstry hit a two-run single and catcher Ali Sanchez committed a throwing error that helped Detroit stretch the lead. Keider Montero earned the win. Doval took the loss. No save was recorded.
New York had tied the score in the ninth on Amed Rosario’s homer and a wild pitch that brought home Jazz Chisholm Jr. after he stole second and third on consecutive pitches. The rally gave the crowd a brief charge. The next two innings brought another collapse.
Then the Yankees announced a roster move that made the reaction louder. Rookie right-hander Yovanny Cruz was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after a clean relief appearance, and fans quickly turned the demotion into the latest symbol of a team in turmoil.
Cruz move lands at a bad time
The timing gave the transaction its force. The Yankees had lost 11 of 14, according, and their bullpen had been under strain for days.
Closer David Bednar missed the Tigers series while on paternity leave and is expected to return for the next game. Two days earlier, the Yankees had needed 7 1/3 bullpen innings in a loss to Detroit.
Cruz had been recalled Tuesday to give the pitching staff a fresh arm. The Yankees brought him up after optioning Yerry De los Santos. The same report noted Cruz made his major league debut May 20 and opened his Yankees career with 2 1/3 scoreless innings across two relief appearances.
The move back to Scranton came after fans credited Cruz with two innings, three strikeouts, no hits and no runs in his latest outing. That is why the decision landed differently than a routine option.
He had not failed his audition. He had helped stabilize a bullpen that had just watched Doval unravel in another loss.
Fan reaction turns sharp
The Yankees’ official postgame announcement was direct and brief. It also arrived in the middle of a fan base already angry about the losing streak, the defense, the lineup and Aaron Boone’s decisions.
The club said:
“Following today’s game, the Yankees optioned RHP Yovanny Cruz to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.”
The reaction centered on the apparent mismatch between Cruz’s performance and his demotion. Gina Muscato, a Yankees fan whose post circulated among supporters, questioned the logic of sending him down while the bullpen remained thin.
“Yovanny yesterday 2IP, 3Ks, 0 hits or runs but sure let’s send him down when the rest of the Yankees bullpen sucks & is depleted. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE”
Other fans answered in the same tone. One response read:
“Make any of it make sense”
Another post reduced the frustration to one word.
“LUNACY!”
The provided source material also said Jomboy, the prominent Yankees content creator, reacted with fury and threw his headphones after the Cruz move. That reaction helped move the transaction beyond roster housekeeping and into the wider debate about how the club is handling its slide.
Cruz’s numbers explain the backlash
The Yankees can defend short-term bullpen churn through roster rules. Optionable relievers often pay the price when teams need fresh arms. The logic rarely plays well during a seven-game losing streak.
Cruz’s profile made the decision harder to sell. Pinstripe Alley reported he had a 3.18 ERA and a 3.88 FIP in 28 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before his latest promotion. Reuters reported he spent eight years in the minors across four organizations before reaching the majors this season.
His brief Yankees line looked even cleaner. Add the fan-cited two scoreless innings from Wednesday to the 2 1/3 scoreless innings Reuters reported from his first stint, and Cruz had given New York 4 1/3 scoreless major league innings this year. He had six strikeouts across those outings.
There are still baseball reasons for caution. Pinstripe Alley reported Cruz had walked 4.1 hitters per nine innings in the minors. The Yankees also must manage option rules, rested relievers and Bednar’s expected return.
But the optics were rough. New York kept asking its bullpen to absorb pressure, then moved out a rookie who had just supplied the kind of scoreless innings the club needed.
Roster move becomes a trust issue
The Yankees have Thursday off before opening a series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday. The break gives the clubhouse time to reset, but it does not quiet the questions created by the Tigers series.
Reuters reported the Yankees collected seven hits Wednesday and lost seven straight games for the first time since a nine-game skid from Aug. 12 to 22, 2023. That history added weight to a move that normally might have passed with little notice.
The Cruz demotion mattered because it touched a broader nerve. Fans were not only reacting to one rookie reliever leaving the roster. They were reacting to a club that has watched the AL East and postseason race grow more uncomfortable while the bullpen search continues.
Boone and the front office may have made the move with another transaction coming. Bednar’s return could explain the roster crunch. Still, the timing turned Cruz from a fresh arm into a flashpoint.
Now the Yankees must show the next bullpen alignment works better than the one fans watched collapse against Detroit.
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