FROWN ROYAL
Bullpen, finally gifted strong start, folds late
While the Yankees’ starting rotation looked to right itself over the last couple of weeks, Joe Girardi has had to rely more and more on what he called a “taxed” bullpen.
On Tuesday, the workload seemed to catch up with the Yankees in a 6-2 loss to Kansas City in The Bronx, as Adam Warren couldn’t protect a seventh-inning lead and the rest of the relief corps imploded — giving up five runs and three homers.
“It’s unusual because they have been so good,” Girardi said. “They’ve done the job almost every time we’ve called upon them and tonight just wasn’t their night. They all gave up home runs and we haven’t seen that. It’s gonna happen from time to time.”
And with the Yankees without a scheduled off day until June 5, they figure to be worked even more.
On Tuesday, the main culprit was Warren.
Brought into a 2-1 game with no one on and one out to take over from a terrific Jordan Montgomery, Warren immediately gave up a single to Salvador Perez and then a two-run shot by Jorge Bonifacio that gave Kansas City the lead.
“I left a fastball up in the zone a little bit and he put a good swing on it,” Warren said. “I felt I just got hurt on one pitch … but that’s the game. That’s what it is in those situations. I’ve got to be a little better.”
It was the third time in his last five appearances that Warren surrendered multiple runs in an outing as his excellent start to 2017 becomes a distant memory.
Jonathan Holder put the Yankees into a deeper hole when Whit Merrifield led off the eighth with a homer to rightcenter to make it 4-2. Chasen Shreve replaced Holder and promptly coughed up a two-run shot to Mike Moustakas to make it 6-2.
The late-inning issues spoiled what was easily Montgomery’s best perfor- mance since he made the rotation out of spring training.
The rookie southpaw gave up just a run on two hits, walked none and struck out six against a lineup that scored five runs in five innings off him last week in Kansas City.
Montgomery had a 2-0 lead in the seventh before he allowed a solo homer to Lorenzo Cain with one out.
After getting Eric Hosmer to line to second for the second out, Montgomery’s night was over after 98 pitches — and the evening soon soured for the Yankees.
Despite the results, Girardi stood by his call to take out Montgomery, who has only thrown more pitches in one of his major league starts.
“I don’t want someone tired facing Salvador Perez,’’ the manager said. “I made the move, it didn’t work, but I don’t second-guess myself.”
Warren allowed a single to Perez before Bonifacio’s homer gave the Royals the lead.
Kansas City lefty Danny Duffy, who tossed seven scoreless innings against the Yankees in his previous start, got off to another strong start on Tuesday.
After limiting the Yankees to three hits and a pair of walks while fanning 10 in Kansas City last week, Duffy didn’t allow a hit on Tuesday until Aaron Hicks’ solo homer with one out in the fourth.
Chris Carter, wildly unproductive for most of the season in place of the injured Greg Bird, smacked his fourth homer of the year — and second in as many nights — in the fifth.