BALTIMORE — Joe Girardi has used some form of the line over the years when one of his trusted relievers doesn’t get the job done.
“They’re not going to be perfect.”
That was the case Sunday afternoon with Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman in a game the Yankees needed them to be.
First Betances and then Chapman couldn’t close the deal, leading to a brutal 3-1 loss to the Orioles in front of 28,807 at Camden Yards.
The loss, which included a 1-hour, 37-minute rain delay in the bottom of the eighth inning — preceding the Orioles rally — dropped the Yankees (26-30) to 4-6 on this 10-game, four-city trip.
The clubs collectively were awful at the plate, combining to strand 20 runners, 10 each.
But the Orioles (32-23) came through when they needed it most.
After CC Sabathia, who battled command issues but grinded his way through five shutout innings, walked Chris Davis to start the sixth, Girardi brought on righthander Kirby Yates to face Nolan Reimold. Yates retired three straight, two on strikeouts, giving way to Betances.
The righthander, who has now allowed at least one run in four straight outings, got out of the seventh, stranding Ryan Flaherty at third by striking out Manny Machado.
As apocalyptic clouds settled over the stadium, Betances started the bottom of the eighth by walking Mark Trumbo, then allowing a hit to Chris Davis.
With the count full and the crowd roaring, Betances struck out Nolan Reimold on a 97-mph fastball. Girardi called for Chapman and crew chief Bill Miller called for the tarp.
The rain began falling no more than two minutes later.
When play resumed, Chapman struck out Jonathan Schoop on a 100-mph fastball. But Francisco Peña, the youngest son of Yankees’ first base coach Tony Peña, lined a single to right, leading the bases with two outs.
Pinch hitter Matt Wieters fell behind 0-and-2 before singling back up the middle. Two runs scored and a third came across on Jacoby Ellsbury’s wild throw home, making it 3-1.
Sabathia, who came in 3-4 with a 2.84 ERA, including a 2-2, 1.04 mark in four May starts, allowed two hits and six walks, which matched a career high, over five-plus innings.
Orioles righthander Kevin Gausman saw a baserunner in each of his six innings but he allowed just one run and seven hits.
The run came in the third on a two-out RBI single by Alex Rodriguez, who had three hits in Saturday night’s 8-6 victory.
..... - Newsday