NEW YORK -- As soon as Jazz Chisholm Jr. made contact on a high pop-up on the infield, Angels closer Jordan Romano pointed to the sky, fully expecting it to be the second out of the ninth inning after Bryce Teodosio made an incredible catch in left to open the frame.
But shortstop Zach Neto and third baseman Oswald Peraza suffered a lapse in communication, and the ball dropped in for what was ruled a single. The costly miscue came back to haunt the Angels, as Austin Wells drew a one-out walk after Chisholm stole second and José Caballero hit a walk-off two-run double to hand the Angels a 5-4 walk-off loss at Yankee Stadium.
It marked the second such loss of the series for the Angels. Romano also blew a save and surrendered three runs in the ninth inning of Monday’s 11-10 walk-off defeat capped by a wild pitch.
“Just a miscommunication,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “It was loud, and obviously one of them thought somebody called it, and then they both stopped going after it. That's a tough one.”
Neto took full responsibility for the misplay after the game even though the ball bounced in front of Peraza and was fielded by him. Neto said it’s his job as the shortstop to take the lead on a pop fly in the infield.
“It’s my fault,” Neto said. “The shortstop has priority over everybody, and I should’ve caught the ball. Just miscommunication. But I take full responsibility for that. I should’ve went over there and caught it.”
After what should have been the second out, Chisholm promptly stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position. Wells drew a six-pitch walk, with catcher Logan O’Hoppe unsuccessfully using an ABS challenge on ball four.
With both runners going on a 1-2 slider, Caballero laced a double to left-center.
Mike Trout, who earlier homered for a third straight game, fielded it and threw it to Neto, who fired home. But Wells just beat the tag under O’Hoppe’s glove to give the Yankees the comeback victory.
“It’s bad whenever you give us a chance. It’s a dangerous thing,” Caballero said.
Romano, who suffered his second blown save in three days, was clearly frustrated after the game, but he said he should have done a better job after the mishap by Neto and Peraza.
“It's baseball,” Romano said. “Stuff happens. When a guy gets on, just try to make good pitches after that.”
Romano, 32, opened his season with five scoreless innings and four saves through his first six outings. But he allowed three runs without recording an out on Monday and two more on Wednesday to see his ERA rise to 8.44 in 5 1/3 innings.
Romano is expected to remain in that role for now. But the Angels do have help on the way, as veteran Kirby Yates (left knee inflammation) is about to start a rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in the coming days, and flamethrower Ben Joyce faced hitters on Tuesday for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery last May.
“The last couple games have been tough,” Suzuki said. “He was really good to start the year, and then the last couple games have been tough. We’ll probably take a look at it and see what's going on.”
Suzuki also said he’s not worried about the two walk-off losses impacting his club’s mentality going forward. Yankee Stadium is a notoriously tough place for visiting clubs, and Suzuki believes the Angels can handle the adversity that came their way this week.
“I'm not going to sit here and say these didn't hurt,” Suzuki said. “It definitely stings. Our guys in there, they work their butts off, and to lose the game and close games like this, it's tough. But tomorrow's a new day. Forget about it. We’ve got a big league ballgame tomorrow.”
Neto had a similar take, as it was clear he wasn’t pleased with the loss but said all they can do is grow after it. The Angels have been competitive in the early going with a 9-10 record, and they have scored exactly as many runs as they’ve allowed (94).
“We lost, so of course it's frustrating,” Neto said. “But we have more games, so we just move on from this one and learn from it.”