Minutes after the Yankees revamped their bullpen at the trade deadline, Aaron Boone indicated that he still considered Devin Williams his closer and that he wasn’t necessarily thinking about using a committee for the job.
Boone could have gone the committee route, as the Yankees acquired experienced closers in David Bednar and Camilo Doval. Both are under team control next year and could end up in the role, as Williams is a free agent this winter.
On Monday in Texas, Doval and Bednar enjoyed strong bounce-back performances after disappointing team debuts in Miami on Friday, as they recorded scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Williams, however, allowed a game-tying solo home run to Joc Pederson in the ninth. The back-breaking blast paved the way for an 8-5, 10-inning win for the Rangers, who are chasing the Yankees for a Wild Card spot.
The 10th inning then saw the Yankees fail to score before intentionally walking Wyatt Langford, putting two men on for Josh Jung. Jung responded with a walk-off homer against Jake Bird, another newcomer to the Yankees’ bullpen.
While Bird served up the final blow, it was Williams who put the Yankees in that situation by blowing his third save of the year.
The two-time National League Reliever of the Year, acquired from the Brewers over the offseason, has scuffled plenty in his debut season with the Bombers.
Williams struggled so much out of the gate that he was removed from the closer’s role at the end of April. He reclaimed the gig after Luke Weaver went on the injured list in early June.
Williams was downright filthy from May 7 through the end of June, posting a 1.45 ERA. However, he has now allowed at least one earned run in six of his 12 appearances since July began.
With Pederson’s home run, the righty allowed an earned run in three straight games for the first time in his career.
Prior to Williams’ shortcomings, Paul Goldschmidt led the game off with his first homer since June 19. Amed Rosario added an RBI single in the second, as did Cody Bellinger.
However, the Rangers erased the Yankees’ three-run lead in the bottom of the second, as former pinstriped prospects Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran — traded for Joey Gallo in 2021 — had RBI knocks off Max Fried, with the latter tying the game.
A Sam Haggerty single then loaded the bases with one out before Fried shot himself in the foot, as the lefty proceeded with a pickoff attempt at second base. Instead of stealing an out, he gave away a run, as the throw trickled into center field and allowed Jonah Heim to score.
Despite the rough inning, Fried managed to complete five frames. He totaled eight hits, four earned runs, three walks, seven strikeouts and 105 pitches before turning the game over to the Yankees’ revamped bullpen.
Giancarlo Stanton, meanwhile, gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead in the fourth when he drilled a frozen rope, two-run homer. He now has 10 home runs this season. All have come in his last 24 games after two tennis elbow injuries delayed the start of the 35-year-old’s 16th big league campaign.
Stanton’s missile wasn’t enough for the Yankees to win, though.
With a series-opening loss recorded, the Yankees are now 60-53 on the season and have dropped four in a row. The third-place team is in possession of the American League’s second wild card spot, while the Mariners have the third spot. The Rangers, meanwhile, are 1.5 games out of the third wild card spot.
The good news for the Yankees is that they expect to get Aaron Judge and Mark Leiter Jr. off the injured list on Tuesday, further boosting a ballclub that hasn’t responded well to an aggressive trade deadline.
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