NEW YORK – The Marlins and Yankees found themselves in a seesaw battle on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. When it was over, New York won the game, 9-7.
Miami’s bullpen had been almost untouchable entering the game, sporting a 1.66 ERA and striking out 30 batters in 21 1/3 innings. But the relievers proved to be vulnerable against the Bronx Bombers, allowing seven runs – five earned – in 3 1/3 innings.
The worst inning for the bullpen came in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied at 6. Right-hander Michael Petersen was on the mound and had a tough time throwing strikes. Two of the first three hitters he faced – Ryan McMahon and Aaron Judge – reached base on walks.
After getting Cody Bellinger to fly out for the second out of the inning, Peterson walked Ben Rice to load the bases and then allowed a single up the middle to Giancarlo Stanton that drove in two runs, giving New York the lead. Rice then scored the third run of the inning on a passed ball by Agustín Ramírez.
After the game, Petersen was clearly upset for having a disappointing outing. No one had to tell him what the problem was.
“Don’t walk people. It’s pretty much as simple as that. Get guys out,” Petersen acknowledged. “I was staying out of the zone. I can’t do that. Not against a team like [the Yankees].
“… With Rice, I pitched around him instead of going after him. Stanton, I got ahead of him. I did what I was supposed to do. If I did it to every one, that inning goes differently. I did what I wanted. I got soft contact. The ball went through. It happens. It’s not a big deal if you don’t have three runners on base.”
Manager Clayton McCullough said he wasn’t going to change the bullpen because of a bad game.
“They are very talented and they will be a big part of our team,” the skipper said.
“Credit to the Yankees. Their guys put together some good at-bats and really made [the bullpen] work. The Yankees came through in more moments than we did tonight. They put some balls in play and moved it to all fields. It doesn’t deter the ability that our group has. They just didn’t get it done tonight.”
But Miami made it tough on Yankees closer David Bednar. With one out in the ninth and runners on first and second, Xavier Edwards – representing the potential tying run – singled to left field to drive in Otto Lopez and make it a two-run game. But Bednar struck out Owen Caissie, and after allowing a single to Javier Sanoja to load the bases, he struck out Griffin Conine to end the game.
“The game was a lot of fun,” McCullough said. “It was unfortunate to come up on the short end there, but our group showed a ton of grit and character, hung in there and came back. We saw Otto leading off the ninth and beating out that infield hit; [that] says a lot. We had some good at-bats. The Yankees had a few more moments than we did.”