Yankees Walk The Angels Home In 4-1 Loss

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees could not get out of their own way Monday night against the Angels, losing 4-1.

The Yankees are out west for three games against the Angels in a quick 3 game west coast trip. They finally received a strong start from their rotation, as David Phelps pitched 5.1 innings, giving up just one run. Unfortunately, the Yankees could not figure out Angels’ starting pitcher Jered Weaver. Weaver threw 8 innings of 1 run ball, throwing 7 strikeouts.

The wheels fell off for the Yankees in the 8^th inning. In a tied 1-1 game, the Yankees managed to load the bases with nobody out. With Brett Gardner batting, Weaver threw a pitch that appeared to be below the knees. However, home plate umpire Laz Diaz called it a strike. Joe Girardi took the moment to absolutely erupt, being ejected immediately while he screamed at Diaz with no regard for his blood pressure. Gardner eventually struck out  swinging, and quickly aging Derek Jeter followed up by grounding into an inning ending double play.

In the bottom of the 8^th, the Yankees pitching completely fell apart. They ended up giving up 3 runs. How they did it is quite unique. In a 49 pitch inning, Shawn Kelley walked 4 in .2 innings, Matt Thornton walked 1 without recording an out, and Preston Claiborne walked 1 in .1 innings. In total, they combined to walk 6 batters in the inning, including five in a row to walk in all three runs scored in the inning. The Angels batted around without getting a single hit in the frame.

The Yankees went down without a whimper in the top of the 9^th to complete the meltdown. For the game, the Yankees scattered 6 hits. Mark Teixeira had the lone RBI for the club, knocking in Jeter in the 7^th with a single.

The Yankees play the Angels again tomorrow at 10:05PM EST. Hiroki Kuroda will look to find his early 2013 form as he faces lefty C.J. Wilson.