With imperfect command, Yarbs falters in matchup with Red Sox ace

NEW YORK – The Yankees have delighted in how big-time power frequently fizzles against Ryan Yarbrough’s herky-jerky throwback style. The left-hander keeps opponents flailing by mixing angles and dotting corners, but he scarcely cracks 90 mph, which means things go wrong in a hurry if his command is off.

That’s what happened on Saturday night. Yarbrough has outdueled the likes of Jacob deGrom and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in recent outings, but he came up short against Garrett Crochet, permitting a season-high eight runs in the Yankees’ 10-7 loss to the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

“They just strung a bunch of hits together,” Yarbrough said. “You feel like you’re not giving up a lot of hard contact, but they’re just finding a lot of holes and putting things in the right place. Then you get some hard contact and things escalate.”

Austin Wells homered and drove in four runs against Crochet, who was tagged for a season-high five runs. But the Bombers fought an uphill battle after Yarbrough faced nine Boston batters in a five-run third inning.

Manager Aaron Boone described the 33-year-old’s performance as “not his sharpest.”

“He wasn’t getting into those real defined spots on the plate with his different pitches; maybe not his best cutter,” Boone said. “He was a little bit all over in the zone, but not getting to those spots that he’s been so good at getting to. They put a lot of tough at-bats on him.”

The high-scoring, back-and-forth contest was reminiscent of the old pre-pitch timer tilts between these historic rivals, and when DJ LeMahieu’s two-run single off Justin Wilson in the eighth inning brought New York within a run, it seemed a new star had been born. Not LeMahieu, though he is 8-for-17 (.471) over his past five games.

One of Yankee Stadium’s most popular items, the venerable chicken bucket, fell from the seating area in right field during LeMahieu’s at-bat -- possibly the first time a Major League game has been delayed by spilled tenders and fries. Security swiftly cleared the plastic bucket; the food remained.

When play resumed, LeMahieu ripped a Wilson cutter into center field, sending Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger scampering home. LeMahieu said his approach had been to “be aggressive and see something up.”

“I’ve played with and against Willy, so I have a little bit of a scouting report on him,” LeMahieu said. “He’s got good stuff. If he leaves something up, you just try to shoot something up the middle.”

Had the chicken bucket been an unlucky fan fumble, or an offering to the comeback gods? That was answered in the ninth, when Trevor Story capped a five-RBI performance with a two-run single off Ian Hamilton, and Aroldis Chapman set the Yanks down in order.

“We executed the plan, but just fell short today,” LeMahieu said.

Staked to an early lead after Wells pounced on a Crochet cutter for a Statcast-projected 343-foot drive to the right-field seats, Yarbrough kept searching for his absent cutter.

“A lot of them were leaking more toward the middle,” Yarbrough said. “It was giving them a chance to put some better swings on it.”

The Red Sox took advantage in the third. Story followed an Abraham Toro RBI single by clearing the bags with a three-run double down the left-field line, a 106.4 mph smash that ticked off Pablo Reyes’ glove at third base.

“Tough play,” Boone said. “In fairness, [Reyes] hasn’t been out there a ton. That ball is smoked off the bat. It’s a tough chance, a little bit do-or-die. He didn’t make it.”

Kristian Campbell added a run-scoring single in the third, and Romy Gonzalez slugged a two-run homer in the fourth off Yarbrough. Wells said Yarbrough “didn’t execute great with location.”

“They made some good swings on some good pitches,” Wells said.

Yarbrough’s eight runs allowed matched his total over his past nine outings dating to April 11 (36 innings), three weeks before he replaced Carlos Carrasco in the Bombers’ rotation. Yarbrough said he’d make the cutter a focal point in his upcoming bullpens.

“We’ll figure it out over these next couple of days and look into it,” Yarbrough said. “I’m not too concerned, just for the fact it’s been in a really good place all year. So we’ll take a look and get it right.”