NEW YORK -- There was little sugarcoating as Yankees manager Aaron Boone spent part of his Wednesday morning evaluating his club’s recent slide, describing a “terrible week” for their offense and identifying fundamental lapses in other areas that must be cleaned up.
That group made a bid to finish on a high note, but a late surge only delayed the club’s seventh consecutive loss. Camilo Doval walked in the go-ahead run as part of a four-run 11th inning, wasting a ninth-inning rally as the Yankees fell, 6-2, to the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
With captain Aaron Judge opining pregame that he sensed “a little lack of focus” from his teammates, the Yankees nearly found theirs near the finish.
Drew Anderson coughed up the lead as Detroit bypassed closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth. Amed Rosario parked a solo homer and Jazz Chisholm Jr. reached on an infield single to first, swiping a pair of bags as Anderson neglected to hold him, racing home as Anderson fired an errant changeup to the backstop.
The Yanks could not score in the 10th, and with Doval taking the mound in the 11th, the righty lost Spencer Torkelson to a bases-loaded full-count walk. The Yankees, who have permitted a spate of unearned runs during their slide, threw the ball around on a Zach McKinstry single that led to three more runs.
Held to two hits over 6 1/3 innings by Troy Melton, the Yankees have lost seven consecutive games for the first time since August 2023, when they endured a nine-game skid.
Will Warren started for New York and limited Detroit to two runs and five hits over 5 1/3 innings. Kevin McGonigle hit a third-inning solo homer, and Riley Greene lifted a sixth-inning sacrifice fly off Warren, who walked none and struck out seven.
Melton struck out seven, walking one. New York’s only hits off Melton were Ben Rice’s first-inning single and Chisholm’s fourth-inning double, marking Chisholm’s return to the lineup after being forced from Monday’s game following a collision with right fielder Jasson Domínguez.