MIAMI — The Yankees were three outs away from a series win on Sunday, but Clay Holmes’ ninth-inning meltdown handed the set to the Marlins.
Holmes entered the game with a 7-3 lead, but he proceeded to allow three hits — including a leadoff double to Yuli Gurriel — four earned runs and a walk while adding a two-run throwing error before the Yankees called on Tommy Kahnle to extinguish the fire. He couldn’t stop the bleeding after a two-run triple from Luis Arraez, though, as Jake Burger smoked a walk-off single to give the Marlins an 8-7 win.
“At the end of the day, I need to get a big out there, and I wasn’t able to come up with it,” said Holmes, who happened to be wearing a t-shirt that featured a puking emoji and the phrase “I’m sick about it” while speaking to reporters.
Holmes’ error came on a comebacker that bounced off of him. Had he let it go or fielded it cleanly, the grounder could have led to a double play. Instead, Holmes, who entered the game with a 2.01 ERA, rushed a throw to first after recovering.
“Every game matters right now,” Holmes continued after he helped create another candidate for the Yankees’ worst defeat of the year. “Every loss matters, especially one like this where Gerrit [Cole] had a good start. We put some runs up on the board early and was able to let him pitch. It’s definitely been a series that we kind of needed to have. It’s a tough loss, and I think we know that every game’s important going forward.”
As Holmes noted, the Yankees’ implosion wasted a strong start from Cole, as he held Miami to two earned runs over six innings. He allowed six hits and two walks while striking out six over 99 pitches.
“I felt like they were working the pitch count a little bit,” Cole said. “I was pretty frustrated with the two walks. I kind of pushed the pitch count a bit, but for the most part, we made good pitches and they had some contact go their way. We had some contact go our way.”
Cole now has a 2.76 ERA this season.
The Marlins’ first run came on a Arraez single in the third-inning, which followed a high throw from Cole on another potential double play ball that Anthony Volpe bobbled while corralling it at second base. Burger gave the Marlins another run in the sixth with an RBI single.
With Keynan Middleton in for the Yankees, Bryan De La Cruz plated an additional run in the eighth inning on a double that Billy McKinney misplayed in left field.
The Yankees’ lineup, on the other hand, bounced back after getting stifled by Sandy Alcantara on Saturday.
Volpe’s two-run homer in the fourth inning provided the biggest blow, but the Yankees began scoring in the second inning when Isiah Kiner-Falefa recorded an RBI single. Ex-Marlin Giancarlo Stanton followed up with an RBI double in the third.
The fifth frame saw Gleyber Torres make moves with his legs, as he stole second and third before scoring on a wild pitch. The Yankees added another run that inning on a fielder’s choice, while Torres ultimately stole three bases in the game, setting a career-high. He now has 12 this season.
Ben Rortvedt capped the Bombers’ scoring in the sixth inning when he hit his first home run as a Yankee. The solo shot was also the catcher’s first jack in the majors since 2021.
Four of the Yankees’ runs were charged to Eury Pérez. The 20-year-old rookie has enjoyed a stellar start to his big league career, but he only lasted four innings on Sunday.
Still, the Yankees could not capitalize with a victory.
They are now 60-58 and five games out of the final wild card spot, which the Blue Jays occupy. The Mariners (1 GB) and Red Sox (3 GB) lead the Yankees in that chase.
“We know the mountain gets bigger with every loss,” Holmes said. “So it’s one of those things where we know we have to put together some wins and string them together and get some momentum going.”
But the Yankees have been speaking along those lines for some time now, and they haven’t climbed out of their hole. With just 44 games left in the season, the calendar is not on their side.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” manager Aaron Boone acknowledged after Sunday’s loss. “We got to get back on the horse tomorrow and find a way.”
After failing to do so on Sunday, the Yankees will try to end their three-city road trip with a series win, as they begin a three-game set with the Braves in Atlanta on Monday. Winning that matchup will be easier said than done, as the Braves boast the best record in the majors.
Clarke Schmidt, who grew up a Braves fan in Georgia, will start the first game for the Yankees, while Luis Severino is Tuesday’s scheduled starter. Randy Vásquez is lined up to pitch Wednesday, but the Yankees could use an opener for him, which is what they did in Miami.
Max Fried, Bryce Elder and Charlie Morton are scheduled to start for Atlanta.
Fried, the Cy Young runner-up last year, poses a difficult challenge right off the bat as the Yankees try to “flush” a brutal loss from their memory.
“This one sucks right here,” Aaron Judge said before departing Miami, “especially with the lead we had and the at-bats we had. But we got to show up tomorrow.”
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