WASHINGTON, D.C. — With their technology faulty and the opposition running wild, the Yankees lost a 5-2 game and a series to the fourth-place Nationals on Wednesday.
The opening inning foreshadowed the sweltering evening ahead, as the Yankees’ lineup wasted a two-base error to start the game before Carlos Rodón endured a hectic frame. The lefty’s troubles began when Dylan Crews smoked a leadoff dinger for the first home run of his infantile career, but that was hardly the end of it.
James Wood proceeded to single and steal second base with ease before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Rodón, having issues with his PitchCom device, was then called for a balk when he didn’t step off the mound to address the issue.
As Wood walked home, Rodón tried to plead his case before Aaron Boone intervened.
“I was pissed about it,” Rodón said. “I didn’t step off soon enough, but PitchCom wasn’t working and it was what it was. I should have stepped off first and confronted about the PitchCom, and I gave up a stupid run there. So that was pretty upsetting.”
PitchCom issues for Carlos Rodón as he balks in a run after not stepping off the pitching rubber pic.twitter.com/sdwstLL8hA
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That wouldn’t be the last time Rodón had a problem with his PitchCom, and the system was eventually shut down for both teams.
“I don’t know what the deal was,” Boone said, adding that a technician couldn’t fix things.
Boone also said that the Yankees experienced lesser PitchCom issues earlier in the series, “more so than usual.” However, Rodón and catcher Austin Wells did not go into Wednesday’s game with an alternative plan.
With PitchCom down, the Nationals kept running on Rodón.
The second inning saw them swipe four bases, including two more from Wood. While the star rookie didn’t score, he and Nasim Nuñez gave Washington two more runs with singles. Nuñez and Jacob Young scored after stolen bases of their own.
“They were going at will,” Rodón said. “Something to visit throughout the week here going into the next start.”
Boone said that not having PitchCom hurt the Yankees’ ability to control the running game. Wells, however, didn’t think it had a major impact.
“We just have to do a better job mixing looks and holding runners and gotta make some better throws,” he said. “So I don’t think it’s on the PitchCom or anything. It’s just on us.”
With traditional signs implemented, Crews added another run off Rodón when he roped a double in the fourth. The pitcher ultimately hung around, lasting 5.2 innings and 100 pitches. That effort inspired some energized job-well-done pats from the Yankees’ infield as Boone pulled Rodón from the game, but the starter still totaled eight hits and five earned runs while walking two and striking out eight.
“I just wish I would have got to that groove sooner,” said Rodón, who now has a 4.31 ERA. “It’s tough when we’re down [four] runs and I’m not really giving the team a good shot at winning.
While the PitchCom issues certainly didn’t help the Yankees, they also failed to mount much against a southpaw for the second straight night, as MacKenzie Gore held the team to two earned runs over six innings.
“He’s got a good arm, big arm,” Boone said. “We know what he’s capable of. He got them deep into the game. He did a good job for them and kept us at bay enough. We had a couple chances off him, but he was able to get out of those situations where we weren’t able to finish off some rallies tonight.”
The Yankees’ first run off the 25-year-old came on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. home run in the second inning. The second came on an Aaron Judge single in the fifth.
While the Yankees did some damage off Gore after getting blanked by Patrick Corbin in a sloppy Tuesday loss, Wednesday was another night of missed opportunities. The Bombers left eight men on base, and they ended the game 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Asked if the un-clutch night left the Yankees frustrated, Boone responded by saying “we’re pretty resilient.”
“If we continue to be whatever-for-double-digits with runners in scoring position, we’ll sign up for that the rest of the way if we can continue to create that kind of pressure,” he continued. “We just didn’t punch through tonight and last night. We didn’t score enough these last two, but we’ll turn the page and hopefully start a big weekend.”
Now 78-56, the Yankees wrapped their disappointing series with a half-game lead over Baltimore. The Orioles had a game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Wednesday; they didn’t start until 10:10 p.m. ET.
With an off day on Thursday, the Yankees will return to the Bronx for a three-game series against the Cardinals on Friday. Marcus Stroman, Will Warren and Nestor Cortes are scheduled to face Erick Fedde, Kyle Gibson and Miles Mikolas in that series.
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