YANKS’ SEASON A ROLLER-COASTER RIDE
BALTIMORE — Anyone who watched Friday night’s wretched Yankees performance against the Orioles had to get the feeling the AL East leaders were headed into another deep valley.
Since the beginning of the season, the Yankees’ campaign has been defined by valleys and peaks.
They opened the season losing six of nine. They then put together a 133 stretch. They followed that by going 110. An 113 run, including a seasonhigh sevengame winning streak, was next.
So when they lost 113 to the Orioles at Camden Yards it was the Yankees’ second straight defeat and was so ugly, it was easy to believe they were headed for another down turn.
“It’s a crazy game we play,’’ Brett Gardner said. “It was bad, but we have won seven of nine.’’
Bad doesn’t come close to describing the way the Yankees played Friday night to start a fivegame trip that continues Monday night in Miami.
Errors by Chase Headley and Mark Teixeira preceded Gardner and right fielder Carlos Beltran allowing a routine fly ball to land on the grass in rightcenter. They loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning against Ubaldo Jimenez and didn’t score. Michael Pineda was working on 10 days rest to keep his workload down and his slider appeared to have had 100 days off. Neophyte reliever Jacob Lindgren allowed a homer in his second straight outing, and was optioned back to the minors on Saturday, and long reliever Esmil Rogers hurled so ineffectively, he was outrighted following the game.
Headley committed his teamhigh 14th error in the third inning on a ground ball from Manny Machado that hopped up and hit Headley in the groin area. He remained in the game but was replaced in the fifth inning by Brendan Ryan.
The error started a fourrun inning for the Orioles, highlighted by Chris Davis’ threerun homer.
Teixeira snapped a string of 109 straight errorless games with an errant throw to second in the sixth, when the winners added four more runs.
The ball dropping between Gardner and Beltran was embarrassing and led to the game’s final run.
“Neither of us called for it,’’ said Gardner, who opened the game in left but moved to center in the sixth inning after Mason Williams — who homered and botched a fly ball in his first major league game — was pinchhit for by Chris Young. “As the center fielder I have to call him off. I’ll take responsibility for that.’’
Watching his team melt defensively created a very difficult puzzle for manager Joe Girardi.
“It’s tough to figure out. They work hard at it every day,’’ Girardi said of his fielders’ woes. “Maybe they should go the other way, tell them to relax a little bit. It’s hard to put our finger on it because these guys have a history of playing good defense, and they’re just not doing it.’’
Headley’s problems are worrisome because he made a combined nine errors last year between the Padres and Yankees.
As for Pineda, he was awful. Girardi believed the extended layoff, something which the Yankees have deemed necessary if not preferred, may have affected him.
The pitcher, however, didn’t put the putrid outing on the extended rest.
“I don’t think so. They are trying to take care of me,’’ said Pineda, who had very tricky shoulder surgery in 2012 and didn’t pitch in the big leagues until 2014. “It happens to everybody. I have to keep my head up. I feel strong.’’
He should since he was working on 10 days rest and lasted a seasonlow 4 ¹/₃ innings in which he gave up six runs (five earned) and
nine hits.