The New York Yankees (50-44) bullpen could not hold onto a lead as they combined to give up seven runs in a brutal 8-7 loss to the Colorado Rockies (36-58) at Coors Field on Sunday evening.
New York has dropped three of their last four series and has fallen 1 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros for the final wild-card spot in the American League.
After getting shut down by Rockies starter Chase Anderson over the first five innings, who had posted an 18.23 ERA over his previous four outings, the Yankees finally broke through with three runs in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead, thanks to Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s RBI single, sloppy defense by Colorado and Anthony Volpe’s run-scoring groundout. However, the lead did not last as Tommy Kahnle loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, and Clay Holmes came on and served up a go-ahead grand slam.
Despite all that, the Yankees fought back in the ninth, tying the contest on a throwing error and Harrison Bader’s sacrifice fly.
After the two teams failed to score in the tenth, Oswaldo Cabrera put the Yankees in front in the eleventh with an RBI groundout. Later in the frame, Oswald Peraza delivered a two-out RBI single, extending the lead to 7-5.
But once again, the bullpen failed to do the job as Nolan Jones smacked a game-tying two-run homer off Nick Ramirez before Ron Marinaccio served up a walk-off home run to Nolan Jones with two outs.
This all came after Gerrit Cole tossed six innings of one-run ball while striking out 11, tying his season-high. He also surpassed Ron Guidry for the most double-digit strikeout games in Yankees history with 24.
The Yankees, who have lost six of eight, will head to Anaheim to begin a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday at 9:38 p.m. Luis Severino will take the ball, looking to get back on track.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].