NEW YORK – Ryan Weathers didn’t hear it, his earbuds firmly in as he studied pregame video, but his mound demeanor was likened to “a bull in a china shop” on Tuesday – fueled by the left-hander’s max-effort delivery, which occasionally gets him into trouble.
Interested observers didn’t have to wait long for a glimpse of what Yankees manager Aaron Boone was talking about. Over a span of five pitches, Weathers surrendered three consecutive first-inning home runs in a 7-1 loss to the Angels at Yankee Stadium.
After Mike Trout reached the loading dock in left-center field, Jo Adell dented the back of the visitors’ bullpen with Weathers’ next offering, and Jorge Soler reached the left-field seats to get the Bronx crowd groaning early.
“Obviously, it’s not a good idea to misfire a heater down the middle to one of the best hitters that’s ever played this game,” Weathers said. “I definitely wish I had that pitch back.”
With each missed chance, the Yanks’ hitters expressed similar sentiments. As Boone would later remark, the Yankees “didn’t mount much” behind Weathers, the only Major Leaguer with multiple starts this season yet to receive a run of support while he’s the pitcher of record.
Failing to capitalize on the momentum of Monday’s wild 11-10 walk-off victory, New York’s offense was stifled by Reid Detmers, who tossed seven-plus sharp innings. The Yanks have lost six of their past seven games – a drastic swing after winning eight of their first 10.
“I think you see how streaky this game is,” said first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. “When things are going good, you can’t think you’ve got it all figured out, and when we’re struggling, you can’t get down on yourself. You never know what tomorrow’s going to bring.”
Weathers had not surrendered a homer to any of the 68 batters he’d faced entering Tuesday night’s contest. That changed with one out in the first inning, when Trout, Adell and Soler all went deep – all on fastballs, and each of them well-struck.
“Three misfires to a really good low-ball-hitting team is not a good start,” Weathers said. “I wish I could go back and re-do the first, but I’ve just got to take it and roll with it.”
Former Yankee Oswald Peraza clubbed a changeup for a fourth-inning homer off Weathers, finishing the evening 3-for-3 with a walk. Once a top-rated infield prospect, Peraza was traded to the Angels last July 31 for Wilberson De Pena, a now-19-year-old outfielder.
“He killed us,” Boone said of Peraza. “He stung three balls, and then works a 12-pitch walk in his last at-bat. He was right in the middle of hurting us tonight.”
Weathers became the first Yanks starting pitcher to permit more than three earned runs this season.
He did strike out 10, earning an ignominious achievement: the first Yankee in franchise history to strike out at least 10 batters while surrendering four or more homers.
Sonny Gray was the most recent Major Leaguer to do so, on July 20, 2024, for the Cardinals against the Braves.
“You see a lot of good there with the swing and miss,” Boone said. “You see it all there. You see all the things that you get excited about, but it was a little bit tough command-wise with the heater.”
Weathers said he’ll try to fix that before his next start.
“I know that my heater plays better at the top, not the bottom, for sure,” Weathers said. “There was some good tonight, but I want to pitch and I want this ballclub to win games. I didn’t put us in a good position tonight.”
Yoán Moncada hit the Angels’ fifth homer in the eighth, a solo shot off Yerry De los Santos, who was optioned back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after his 44-pitch appearance.
Randal Grichuk picked up his first hit in pinstripes after beginning the season 0-for-15, doubling and coming around on Ben Rice’s pinch-hit sacrifice fly. But this contest, unlike some of the previous tough losses, never felt within reach.
“We’ve played a lot of close games and lost, unfortunately, too many of them here lately,” Goldschmidt said. “There’s been a lot of good things that have happened, but we’ve been one play or pitch away in a lot of these games. Hopefully we can start [Wednesday].”