Yankees' Comeback Falls Short After Loaisiga's Rare Clunker

The New York Yankees were unable to come back in a loss to the Kansas City Royals after reliever Jonathan Loaisiga blew a lead in the eighth inning

Max Goodman | Jun 22, 2021

NEW YORK — Taking a one-run lead into the eighth inning, after seven sparkling frames from Gerrit Cole, Yankees manager Aaron Boone had to feel pretty good about his club's chances against the visiting Royals.

The skipper brought Jonathan Loaisiga in from the bullpen, a right-hander that's been practically unhittable all month.

Instead of another scoreless outing from the reliever, however, Loaisiga allowed four earned runs to score in one of his worst performances of the season. The meltdown inning from Loaisiga didn't just give the Royals a three-run lead, it turned out to be just enough insurance in a 6-5 victory at Yankee Stadium.

New York made Royals fans sweat it out in the ninth, putting the winning run on first base, but veteran Greg Holland was able to extinguish the rally, getting Brett Gardner to pop out behind third and end the game.

Loaisiga entered play on Tuesday with a career-long 14.1 scoreless inning streak (dating back to May 23). He wasn't able to get through one inning against Kansas City, though, giving up five hits and those four earned runs.

The 26-year-old singled out the movement on his sinker as a reason why he wasn't able to dominate opposing hitters, taking the blame for the loss.

"Definitely a frustrating night for me today," Loaisiga said through the team's interpreter. "I lost the game. Gerrit Cole threw a great game and I lost that for him. Overall just a bad night for me."

Cole started the night with seven innings of two-run ball, allowing only three hits in the process. It was the ace's 13th start of the season allowing two runs or fewer, now tied for the most such outings in baseball.

While New York continues to flex some power—hitting three home runs on Tuesday night—the Yankees also reverted back to their struggles with runners in scoring position.

New York was 0-for-10 with a runner on second or third, stranding 13 on base in the loss.

During each of the final three innings, the Bombers had a runner on second base and couldn't cash in. In the ninth, Gio Urshela set the table, leading off with a single. Strikeouts from Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier, however, played a key role in holding the bats back from their chance to tie the game.

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

Published Jun 22, 2021

MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.