by Owen Hetherington
July 27, 2021
It seems like every week the Yankees manage to pull of “the worst loss of the season”. Blown leads from the bullpen have been the story of the 2021 Yankees. With so many tough losses to keep track of, I decided to rank which games I thought were the most painful to watch.
#5: July 4: Mets 10, Yankees 5 (Game 1)
The Yankees held a 5-4 lead going into the seventh (and last) inning. Pete Alonso then blasted Aroldis Chapman’s 1-2 slider just over the wall in left-center field, reaching down and hooking it. It came after three straight 97-mph-plus fastballs. Chapman put both hands over his head in disbelief as the ball traveled out. Alonso twirled his arm as he neared third base and he yelled when he reached home plate.
It got worse as the Mets would score six runs in the frame with Yankees fans leaving early and turning the Bronx into Citi Field West.
#4: June 10: Twins 7, Yankees 5
This was start of the worst slump of Aroldis Chapman’s career. The Yankees took a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning and blew the game in a few blinks of the eye. It took was seven pitches from Chapman to blow the game. Jorge Polanco hit a leadoff single, Josh Donaldson followed with a game-tying homer, Willians Astudillo lined a single and Nelson Cruz hit a first-pitch walk-off homer. The Yankees had to settle for 2 of 3 in Minnesota.
#3: July 25: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4
In his best outing of the season, Domingo German went into the 8th inning pitching a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. A double from Alex Verdugo ended German’s no-no and Jonathan Loaisiga entered out of the pen. Six straight hits gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead and won the final game of the four game series in Boston.
#2: July 11: Astros 11, Yankees 7
The Yankees were cruising to a sweep of the Astros that would send them into the All-Star break on a high note. Leading 8-2 heading to the ninth at Minute Maid Park, all seemed well, or so they thought. Amazingly, this became another hard-to-belief choke job that ended with Jose Altuve, of all people, belting a three-run, walk-off homer that was rubbed in with a victory celebration that brought back memories of the 2019 ALCS buzzer accusations. The loss left a sour taste in the Bombers’ mouths as they entered the All-Star break and the second half of the season.
#1: June 30: Angels 11, Yankees 8
This Aroldis Chapman meltdown took off after the Yankees scored seven first inning runs while knocking out superstar two-way player, Shohei Ohtani. The Yankees took a 8-4 lead into the ninth inning. Three walks loaded the bases for Jared Walsh, who hit a game-tying grand slam off Chapman. Lucas Luetge then came on and allowed three runs on walk, two singles and a double for a shocking seven-run inning that turned into the Yankees’ worst regular-season loss in manager Aaron Boone’s four seasons.
