These were the games the Yankees were never supposed to lose — bullpen games in which their army of power arms would overwhelm the opponent. And, yet, in two contests this weekend that went deep into extra innings at the Stadium, they fell both times to the Orioles.
But in each instance, it was hard to fault the super-powered bullpen. First-year manager Aaron Boone sure wasn’t, pointing out that Friday night the unit threw nine scoreless frames before Jonathan Holder allowed a 14th-inning grand slam to Pedro Alvarez. On Sunday, Dellin Betances, Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson and Chasen Shreve each threw a scoreless inning before Adam Warren was touched up for a run in the 12th.