For most of the night, it looked like the New York Yankees had the game locked tighter than a vault. Carlos Rodón turned in a gem, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings with the poise of a surgeon in the zone—precise, efficient, and completely in control.
Heading into the eighth with a 3-0 lead in the Bronx, the Yankees looked set to put another notch in the win column. But then came the storm: Devin Williams did it again, and Luke Weaver didn’t help this time. Between the two, they coughed up the lead in the eighth frame and the Yankees were stunned 4-3 by the San Diego Padres.
Williams Woes Worsen
Williams, once the crown jewel of the Brewers’ bullpen, has been more of a cursed gem in pinstripes. He entered the eighth and quickly turned a three-run cushion into a nail-biting mess.
Like a magician losing control of his tricks, Williams conjured up two walks and a hit while getting two outs, loading the bases and igniting a full-blown meltdown.
He was lifted with the bases juiced and two outs, but Weaver couldn’t get the job done.
Four runs eventually crossed the plate—three were pinned to Williams—sending his ERA to a staggering 10.03. To put that in perspective, he has now surrendered 13 runs this season—matching his combined total from the last two years.
In New York, the lights are brighter, the pressure is heavier, and right now, Williams looks like he’s buckling under all of it.
Weaver Can’t Seal the Deal
With Williams teetering on the edge, Aaron Boone turned to Luke Weaver, hoping for damage control, with the bases loaded and two outs.
What he got instead was more gasoline on the fire. Weaver promptly gave up a two-run double to Manny Machado, followed by a two-run single from Xander Bogaerts.
Only one of those runs was charged to Weaver, but it was his first earned run of the season—and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The unraveling was swift, painful, and all too familiar. This marked the Yankees’ fifth loss this season when leading in the eighth inning or later—more than any other team in baseball. In a sport built on holding leads and shutting doors, that’s a red flag the size of Yankee Stadium.
Rodon Keeps Rolling
Before all the eighth inning mess, Rodón was outstanding once again for the Yankees.
With just three hits and a walk allowed, plus five strikeouts, the southpaw continued his recent stretch of dominance. After a rocky start to the season, Rodón has righted the ship in spectacular fashion, trimming his ERA to a sleek 2.96.
Fernando Cruz took the baton and recorded the final out of the seventh, keeping the scoreboard clean. After that, everything went downhill.
Grisham Keeps Swinging
While the bullpen chaos stole headlines, Trent Grisham continued writing his own quiet success story. The leadoff man launched his ninth home run of the year and drew a walk, pushing his OPS to a robust 1.010.
He’s looking like a brand-new player this season, thriving in the spotlight and setting the tone every time he steps into the box.