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New York Yankees Reaction: Eovaldi Rocked, Late Rally Comes Up Short (Highlights)

By
Emmanuel Berbari
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Nathan Eovaldi was tagged for six earned runs as the New York Yankees failed to complete a comeback in Colorado and dropped their third straight game.

  • New York Yankees: 10 (31-33)
  • Colorado Rockies: 13 (31-33)
  • Interleague, FINAL, Box Score
  • Coors Field, Denver, CO

Coors Field lived up to its name in an absolute slugfest between the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies in the series opener. After falling behind big, the Yanks failed to mount what was nearly a brilliant comeback.

The game featured 30 combined hits in what was the opposite of a pitcher-friendly affair.

After allowing Colorado to pull ahead in the second, starter Nathan Eovaldi surrendered back-to-back home runs to Trevor Story and Ryan Rayburn in the fourth and was promptly faced with a 4-0 deficit.

The Rockies plated two in the following frame as DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado both plated runs to make it a 6-0 lead.

Eovaldi departed after allowing north of five earned runs for his third straight outing. He was charged for six runs in four-plus subpar frames.

The Yankees would cut into the deficit upon Eovaldi’s departure. With two men on the sixth, Didi Gregorius rocketed a three-run shot to right field to cut the lead in half and make it a 6-3 ballgame. However, the sense of life would be short-lived.

A defensive miscue by newly positioned Rob Refsnyder over at first on a pickoff play and two more RBI singles from Carlos Gonzalez and Story, respectively, extended the lead back to six. All three runs were charged to reliever Kirby Yates.

Colorado did not stop there. Daniel Descalso tripled up the left-center field gap in the seventh to score two and later scored when LeMahieu lifted a sacrifice fly to make it a 12-3 ballgame.

Overall, the combination of Yates and Richard Bleier in the middle innings surrendered six earned runs to match the amount that Eovaldi squandered over his performance.

It appeared as if the Yankees were destined to be on the wrong side of an absolute blowout before a valiant eighth inning rally was mounted by the offense. 12 batters, eight singles, and seven runs highlighted a huge frame that saw the Yankees nearly surmount a tremendous deficit.

Trailing by a mere two runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Yanks called upon Andrew Miller to hold it right there. However, Carlos Gonzalez had other plans, greeting miller with a jack to center field to provide insurance.

That insurance was all the Rockies would need as Carlos Estevez retired the Yanks in order in the ninth to pick up the save and seal the deal in a barnburner that lasted three hours and 43 minutes.

‘Nasty Nate’ is not nasty

After a dismal performance tonight against the Rockies, Nathan Eovaldi’s ERA has climbed all the way up to 4.90.

The right-hander has struggled with his splitter over his last three outings and has had a downturn in performance due to the decline in his secondary pitch which he leans on greatly.

True inconsistency can be provided as the best description of Eovaldi’s 2016 campaign to this point.

39-year-old doing 39-year-old things

Carlos Beltran was kept out of the lineup in the series opener due to “left knee soreness.”

A minor injury like this should come as no surprise for an aging star nearing 40 years of age. However, the Yankees will hope it does not linger. Following the game, Girardi told reporters that the knee was drained and he considered him “doubtful” for tomorrow.

Beltran has been superb for New York thus far in 2016, batting .277 with 16 homers and 44 runs batted in.

What’s Next?

The Yanks and Rockies will conclude this abbreviated two-game set tomorrow afternoon from the Mile High City.

Ivan Nova (5-3, 4.39 ERA) will take the ball for New York opposing Chad Bettis (4-5, 5.85 ERA).

Nova has been stellar since rejoining the Yankees’ rotation, but has struggled somewhat in his last three starts with a 5.89 ERA. Bettis started the season strong yet has been dreadful in his last seven outings, going 1-4 with a 7.90 ERA while allowing 54 hits in 35 1/3 innings over the span.

First pitch will commence at 3:10 pm ET in a midweek matinee at Coors Field. The game can be seen on YES and MLB Network (out-of-market), and heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM.

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