The New York Yankees lost 10-1 to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night in Anaheim. The offense produced one run. The defense committed three errors. The starter did not make it out of the fourth inning.
One night earlier, the Yankees had buried the Boston Red Sox in a blowout to cap a dominant series win in the Bronx. None of that energy carried over to this game.
After the loss, Aaron Boone was asked what he made of the night. He did not sugarcoat it.
Boone’s Comments After the Game
The natural question after a flat performance following a grueling stretch is whether fatigue played a role. Four games in three days for the Yankees against Boston. A Sunday night flight to California. A quick turnaround for Monday’s first pitch.
Boone was asked directly whether the Red Sox series carried over. His response was immediate.
“That’s an excuse,” Boone said. “That’s an excuse. It’s obviously been a tough stretch. We’re coming out here, we know we got to play well. We were ready to go today, we just played poorly.”
The Yankees manager put the responsibility squarely on the performance and refused to let the team hide behind the circumstances.
“It’s just a great reminder that in this league you got to play well or you get it handed to you,” Boone said. “We got to bounce back tomorrow.”
When asked about the mood in the dugout as the deficit grew, Boone kept it short.
“When it gets lopsided, you’re kind of ticked off,” he said. “It’s no fun.”
Everything Went Wrong
Elmer Rodríguez entered the start with momentum after a strong outing against the Astros his last time out. Monday was a step backward. He issued three free passes and plunked two batters before being lifted with one out in the fourth. It took him 91 pitches to get through fewer than four innings.
The damage came with two outs in the fourth. After hitting back-to-back batters on curveballs that got away from him, Rodríguez gave up consecutive singles to Zach Neto and Mike Trout that brought both runners home and pushed the deficit to 4-0.
The defense made things worse. José Caballero mishandled a ground ball in the sixth and then threw wildly to first on the same play, turning what should have been an inning-ending double play into another run scored. David Bednar was brought in for the eighth despite the lopsided score and gave up additional damage in a 28-pitch appearance.
“You hate having to use your closer in that kind of a game,” Boone said.
Spencer Jones launched a solo shot in the fifth for the Yankees’ only run of the night. It was the lone moment of quality in an otherwise empty offensive performance.
Final Word for the Yankees
The Yankees scored 16 runs on Sunday. They scored one on Monday. That is the kind of swing that defines a long season, and Boone knows it.
“We just played poorly.” Five words. No excuses. That is the only acceptable response when a contender hands a game to a team playing out the string.
The Yankees will be looking to bounce back on Tuesday.
Yankees’ Aaron Boone Makes Feelings Clear After Ugly Loss