The New York Yankees fell to the Baltimore Orioles 7-8 on Sunday, losing the series 2-3. Against one of the worst teams in baseball, the Yankees can’t afford to be dropping games, and after losing one of their best relief pitchers in Jonathan Loáisiga, the Yankees were forced to plug in Andrew Heaney to help supplement the loss. He gave up four hits, and four earned runs in 0.1 innings, elevating his ERA to 5.81.
Loáisiga, who has pitched 68 innings this year, has a 2.25 ERA and 61.3% ground ball rate. He has been an absolute stud for the bullpen and likely would’ve helped the Yankees secure victory if not for Heaney being his supplement.
“Obviously that’s a tough loss for us, which hopefully is only a couple of weeks but still something we’ll have to navigate,” Boone said.
The Yankees placed Loáisiga on the 10-day injured list with a strained rotator cuff. They are hopeful he will return in time for the postseason, and after receiving a cortisone shot after Saturday’s game, an MRI revealed a slight injury.
“Hopefully this is something that’s a little bit of a timeout and we get him back for the stretch drive,” Boone said.
As stated above, Heaney was the culprit in the Yankees’ loss, and ever since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels, he has been a liability. Posting a 32.4% ground ball rate this year, he simply doesn’t fit the mold of Yankee Stadium. He gives up too many home runs and is walking far too many batters.
The offense did everything possible to win this game, as Gary Sanchez smacked a grand slam in the second inning to give the team a healthy lead. In fact, Sanchez hit two home runs on the afternoon, including a two-run shot in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, an Orioles team that won three of their last five games is surging despite their pitching issues.
The Yankees will take on the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday afternoon with Jameson Taillon on the mound. Toronto will feature Hyun Jin Ryu, who hosts a 3.92 ERA. Toronto has won four of their last five games, indicating a bit of momentum.