ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Yankees returned to their chamber of horrors on Friday night, and as usual, their weekend opener at Angel Stadium was filled with frustration, irritation and ... you name it.
Suggesting the Yanks weren't happy with plate umpire Alan Porter's strike zone would be an understatement, and it led to bench coach Josh Bard getting the thumb in the fourth inning for yelling something from the bench after Aaron Judge was rung up on a pitch that looked outside.
Besides that, Neil Walker's month-long struggles hit a new level of exasperation: He was 0-for-4 with a called strike three that looked like ball four and a blast to right that would have been a three-run homer if Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun hadn't reached over the wall to make a great catch that turned into both a tie-breaking sacrifice fly and inning-ending double play.