CINCINNATI – The Yankees toppled their first foe of the evening, denting high-octane rookie Chase Burns, who looked like he’d stepped out of a video game in an eye-opening Major League debut. The real trouble came in late, from the bullpen and with their tempers.
Jonathan Loáisiga surrendered a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning and Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected in the ninth, setting the stage for the Yankees’ fifth walk-off loss of the season, a 5-4 defeat to the Reds in 11 innings on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.
The Yankees have now dropped nine of their past 12, scoring just 34 runs over that span. They fell to 1-6 in extra innings this year, including an 0-5 mark on the road.
Their lead in the American League East was trimmed to one game over the Rays, a 5-1 winner over the Royals.
“We’re not playing that great, but we’ve got to learn from it,” said captain Aaron Judge. “We’ve got a lot of winners in this clubhouse, and guys who know how to move on from tough stretches. We’ve done that before.”
Judge scored on an 11th-inning wild pitch, but Spencer Steer and Gavin Lux knocked in runs facing Mark Leiter Jr. in the home half. Yankees manager Aaron Boone called Leiter’s outing “a warrior’s effort,” having tossed 56 pitches over the past two nights in service of a taxed bullpen.
“I fought as hard as I could,” Leiter said. “Unfortunately, I came up on the losing end. They beat me.”
Carlos Rodón cruised through six innings, limiting the Reds to four hits and one walk in an 88-pitch effort (53 strikes). The left-hander struck out five, but he admitted to being spent by the conclusion of his outing, operating on a steamy evening in which the first-pitch temperature was clocked at 91 degrees and felt about 10 degrees hotter.
“I was huffing and puffing a little bit,” Rodón said. “Usually I go back out there in those situations. I want the ball. But I could tell I was gassed. They had some good at-bats, some long at-bats. It was just one of those days where the energy was coming out of me quick.”
Loáisiga couldn’t hold the lead. A walk and two infield singles set up Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s bases-clearing double to left field, tying the game. That was Loáisiga’s final pitch, as he gestured toward the dugout, tapping his chest – he, too, felt the heat’s effects and had to come out of the game.
“I felt really tired, more than usual – the heat and how humid it was out there,” Loáisiga said through interpreter Marlon Abreu.
Still, the Yankees had chances – and Chisholm believed a call from home-plate umpire Mark Wegner changed the course of his ninth-inning at-bat, when he came up with a runner at first base and one out. Chisholm howled when a 2-0 pitch went against him, saying he told Wegner: “That’s not a strike.”
The at-bat continued, resulting in a strikeout. Chisholm took his defensive position for the home half of the inning. According to the infielder, he looked up from taking ground balls and saw Wegner eyeing him. Chisholm asked the umpire: “Why are you looking at me?” Wegner then ejected Chisholm, his second thumbing of the season.
“I don’t know what else to tell you, but I got tossed for not even arguing with the umpire until I got tossed,” Chisholm said.
Chisholm said the ejection came immediately after a dugout conversation with Judge, in which the captain had told Chisholm: “You’re going to get another at-bat tonight. Let that one go and change the game for us.” Chisholm had agreed, and he said he would not have knowingly gone against a promise to Judge.
Boone said he planned to review video and get back to Chisholm with a verdict.
“I don’t want him getting tossed there. I want me to get tossed there in those situations,” Boone said. “I’ll have to continue to look into this. I’ve talked to Jazz about it.”
One of the game’s top pitching prospects, Burns lived up to the hype by striking out six of the first seven batters he faced, including an overpowering showdown with Judge, who called Burns “a good young arm” and said he was “excited” for his future.
Ben Rice dented the 22-year-old right-hander with a fourth-inning homer, barreling an 89 mph slider for a Statcast-projected 427-foot blast to deep right field, his 14th blast of the season. The lead swelled to three when Anthony Volpe legged out a two-run triple, a drive that eluded a diving attempt by center fielder TJ Friedl.
That timely knock seemed a welcome development, one night after the Yanks finished 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. But they finished 1-for-9 with RISP Tuesday, including Judge’s 10th-inning popout with the bases loaded.
“We’ve got to play better. That’s it,” Judge said. “We’ve got to figure it out. It’s on us.”