The good news for the Yankees is that, for the second straight night, they were able to beat the weather forecast and actually play a game.
The bad news is that, for the second straight night, they went home wishing the skies had opened up over The Bronx.
After a 10th-inning, two-run home run by the Rangers’ Adolis Garcia handed them a 4-2 loss at Yankee Stadium, however, the weather offered no comfort at all for a team that is now 41-35.
The Yankees have scored just four runs over their last 19 innings as the indefinite absence of their best hitter, Aaron Judge, continues.
Making matters worse is that their bullpen — the steadiest part of the team this season — bore just as much responsibility for the loss as the Yankees’ hitting struggles. Clay Holmes put the Yankees in a hole in the eighth inning before Michael King gave up the winning runs in the 10th.
On the first pitch of extra innings, Garcia sent King’s fastball into the left-field seats, driving in ghost runner Nathaniel Lowe from second base and giving the Rangers the winning margin.
“I just can’t throw it over the middle,” King said. “Good hitter. If I make a mistake, he’s gonna hit it. I just didn’t execute the pitch.”
Will Smith promptly slammed the door in the bottom half of the 10th, including striking out pinch hitter Josh Donaldson, who was loudly booed after his at-bat.
The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the eighth, when Josh Jung hit a one-out double off Holmes.
He moved to third on Robbie Grossman’s groundout, then scored on Mitch Garver’s base hit.
The Yankees tied the score in the bottom of the eighth on Kyle Higashioka’s sacrifice fly that followed a pair of singles from Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Billy McKinney.
But that was where the rally ended. Anthony Volpe struck out looking and a pinch hitter Harrison Bader flied out to center.
The Yankees’ offense, as has become customary, squandered what few opportunities it had.
Texas starter Dane Dunning pitched a masterful seven-plus innings, allowing just two runs on five hits.
When Anthony Rizzo hit a long one-out single off the wall in the seventh, opening the door to possible runs, DJ LeMahieu slammed it shut by hitting into a double play.
And after Kiner-Falefa singled to open the fifth inning, he was caught stealing in a bizarre sequence.
He mistakenly believed he had been called out at second base, came off the bag and was tagged out.
“Looked like [Dunning] was able to get some weak contact off the bat with the spin and then get some chases,” manager Aaron Boone said.
“Getting good break on it late that made it difficult to pick up. We gotta mount more.”
The mishap on the bases was not the only rough moment for Kiner-Falefa, who also made an error in center field in the fourth inning.
With two out and Ezequiel Duran on first, Kiner-Falefa allowed Leody Tavares’ blooper to drop.
The ball went under his glove and Duran scored from first as Kiner-Falefa scrambled to recover.
“Game’s on me today,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Gotta keep that ball in front. I got caught in between trying to make a play and playing it safe.”
One silver lining for the Yankees: LeMahieu showed signs of breaking out of an extended slump, mainly in the form of a double that helped set up a run in the second inning.
The double advanced Rizzo to third, and he scored on McKinney’s groundout.
Another was starter Clarke Schmidt, who despite just three strikeouts threw a solid 5 ¹/₃ innings, with the unearned run his only blemish on the night.
That, though, is where the positives end for the Yankees, who have lost five of their last seven and whose hold on the AL’s last wild-card spot is now at serious risk.
Help will come eventually in the form of Judge.
But exactly when remains unclear, and waiting for him is not an effective strategy.
