NEW YORK -- One pitch from extinguishing a late rally, Mark Leiter Jr. turned to his most trusted weapon, a splitter that has been listed among baseball¡¯s best pitches over the past several seasons. This one didn¡¯t reach its intended target, and the Yankees¡¯ bullpen faltered for the first time this year.
Leiter surrendered a go-ahead grand slam to reigning National League Player of the Week Eugenio Suárez, representing the difference in the Yankees¡¯ 7-5 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium.
¡°It¡¯s a long season, so it¡¯s all right, but it¡¯s definitely disappointing,¡± Leiter said. ¡°We had a chance to win that game, and I¡¯ve got to make better pitches right there.¡±
Looking to build upon a three-game sweep of the Brewers in their season-opening series, the Yankees carried a two-run lead into the eighth inning. That would have presented a clear lane for right-hander Luke Weaver, but with closer Devin Williams on the paternity list, manager Aaron Boone was saving Weaver for the ninth inning.
Boone attempted to get creative. Left-hander Tim Hill was his first choice, but pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk doubled over Cody Bellinger¡¯s head in deep left field and Geraldo Perdomo slashed a run-scoring single into right field, halving New York¡¯s advantage.
That prompted Boone¡¯s call for Leiter, who walked his first two batters -- ¡°I just can¡¯t walk two guys,¡± he said -- before striking out Josh Naylor. Leiter worked the count to 2-2 against Su¨¢rez, who slugged the next pitch over the left-field wall to give Arizona the lead. Su¨¢rez is 5-for-18 this season, and all five hits are home runs.
¡°Just not his sharpest outing,¡± Boone said of Leiter. ¡°He¡¯s been throwing the ball so well the last month or so, especially his first couple of outings. ¡ It just wasn¡¯t a good split, obviously, that he threw there. Just one of those nights where you¡¯re just a little bit off there.¡±
Despite the late stumble, it was a good day overall for some of the younger Yankees. Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe hit early homers as the club established a Major League record for home runs within its first four games.
According to Stats Perform, the Yankees are also the first team in MLB history to have nine players homer in the team's first four games -- and they're the first team to have three players hit at least three homers in the opening four games (Aaron Judge, Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr.).
Rookie slugger Ben Rice added a ninth-inning shot that reached the second deck in right field. With 18 homers through their first four games, the Yanks surpassed the previous MLB record of 16 through four games, set by the 2006 Tigers.
The Yanks¡¯ 41 runs are their second-most through a season¡¯s first four games, trailing only their 48 runs in the first four games of 1950.
¡°We think we¡¯ve got a resilient team that can dig ourselves out of any holes,¡± Rice said. ¡°Unfortunately, tonight we weren¡¯t able to.¡±
One of five active Yankees using the ¡°Torpedo¡± bats that have generated much discussion throughout the league over the past several days, Volpe tied the game with a fourth-inning homer off Corbin Burnes, the shortstop¡¯s third of the season.
Dom¨ªnguez put the Yanks on the board with a third-inning solo blast, part of a two-hit evening for ¡°The Martian.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been feeling pretty good; I feel like I¡¯m seeing the ball well,¡± said Dom¨ªnguez, who has not been tempted to try a Torpedo bat.
Two runs scored when Naylor tossed errantly on Oswaldo Cabrera¡¯s fourth-inning ground ball to first, allowing Austin Wells and Dom¨ªnguez to score.
The Yanks also notched what Boone called a ¡°really encouraging¡± effort from rookie right-hander Will Warren, who completed five innings for the third time in six big league starts.
Warren held a lefty-heavy D-backs lineup to two runs on just one hit -- Corbin Carroll¡¯s third-inning homer.
¡°I was just filling it up, putting them on their heels,¡± Warren said. ¡°Later in the game, I fell behind and [Carroll] hit the home run because of the two-out walk [to Perdomo]. But overall, I think making quick work was mainly from getting ahead and just trusting guys behind me.¡±
Anointed as the club¡¯s No. 4 starter following injuries to starters Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, Warren walked four and struck out four, including fanning Carroll with a runner aboard to end the fifth inning.
¡°It was great; I loved seeing the emotion out there,¡± Rice said. ¡°He¡¯s got electric stuff, and he showed that he¡¯s a competitor. That¡¯s what we know he¡¯s capable of.¡±