The worst of the Yankees bullpen turned a close deficit into a blowout in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
But the best of it won them the nightcap.
Five relievers combined for nine innings of one-run ball against arguably the best lineup in the majors, quieting the Dodgers in a 2-1 win at Yankee Stadium.
Ryan Yarbrough (2 ²/₃ innings), Paul Blackburn (2 ¹/₃ innings), Brent Headrick (two innings), Fernando Cruz (one-third of an inning) and David Bednar (1 ²/₃ innings) delivered about as much as the Yankees could have hoped for — aside from Cruz allowing a solo home run to pinch hitter Tommy Edman in the eighth inning — to help stave off a series sweep.
“Yarbs getting almost three innings … he was great and efficient,” manager Aaron Boone said. “And then Blackburn being able to get seven outs for us. That was huge. That gave us a chance then to leverage it at the backside of the game.”
After the Dodgers forced Cam Schlittler to throw 98 pitches across 4 ¹/₃ innings of Game 1, Yarbrough (36 pitches), Blackburn (25 pitches) and Headrick (22 pitches) were all much more efficient. Headrick, the unsung MVP of the bullpen to date, has not allowed a run in 41 of his 49 relief appearances, which leads the majors.
Boone sacrificed the end of Game 1 to make the nightcap possible.
The Yankees trailed only 3-1 entering the eighth inning when Boone used Jake Bird and Camilo Doval, who combined to allow seven straight Dodgers to reach as their lead ballooned to 8-1.
Bird, who was charged with all five runs, was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game, as his ERA reached 5.93 across 36 games and 30 ¹/₃ innings this season.
The Yankees called up Kervin Castro to take Bird’s spot in the bullpen in time for the nightcap, trying to see if another internal option could give them some better relief before they likely bring in reinforcements at the trade deadline.
Saturday’s rainout allowed the Yankees to rearrange their rotation to try to make it through the rest of Max Fried’s injury absence without a fifth starter.
They pushed Ryan Weathers (Saturday’s scheduled starter) to Monday against the Pirates and called up Elmer Rodríguez to be the 27th man for the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader, though they ended up not needing him on a night when they pieced together a bullpen game.
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The Yankees have been trying to pick their spots with Rodríguez because he only has two of his five options to the minor leagues remaining this season, but being sent down after coming up as the 27th man does not count against that.
So instead of likely throwing a bullpen game on Tuesday — or potentially burning another option for Rodríguez — they got by with Rodríguez just offering length in reserve.
Weathers will go Monday, followed by Will Warren and Gerrit Cole against the Pirates.
The Yankees then have an off day Thursday, which could allow them to keep their four starters on normal rest and then slot Fried back in next week after one more rehab start if everything goes well.
After throwing 10 pitches off the bullpen mound on Friday, Carlos Rodón (left elbow inflammation) received a second round of shots (including a PRP injection) the same day.
He was already feeling good enough to play catch on flat ground Sunday, and the Yankees are hoping he will advance to throwing a full bullpen session at some point this week.
