This post was written to be considered for a writing position at Pinstripe Alley.

The Yankees followed up a listless loss on July 4th with a demoralizing extra innings defeat last night against the Boston Red Sox.

Before a rain delay halted action in the middle of the third inning, starting pitchers Tanner Houck and Nestor Cortes worked scoreless games to begin the night.

After returning from the brief rain delay, the Yankees offense immediately applied pressure in the bottom half of the third, securing runners on first and third with just one out. Ben Rice then hit a ground ball to first baseman Romy Gonzalez, who stepped on first base forcing a tag play at second.

That play resulted in a frustrating baserunning mishap from both runners on base; DJ Lemahieu ran straight into the tag at second, not giving Anthony Volpe enough time to score from third, and Volpe slowed down before reaching the plate. When considering Trent Grisham’s nonchalant error from the game prior, mistakes like these fuel a narrative that the Yankees lack energy amidst a 4-14 skid over their last 18 games.

Though the Yankees offense quickly redeemed itself the following inning, it did not come without a wrinkle. After legging out an infield single to load the bases with one out, Gleyber Torres exited the game with a groin injury. Fans will have to wait to hear further news on the status of Torres’ health going forward. A throwing error by second baseman Emmanuel Valdez and a walk drawn by Anthony Volpe gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead, forcing Tanner Houck out of the game during the bottom of the fourth. Alex Cora brought in left-handed reliever Bailey Horn, who allowed the Yankees to plate a third run before ending the frame.

Now down 3-0, the Red Sox immediately answered back via a Romy Gonzalez solo home run off of a hanging change-up thrown by Cortes. Cortes otherwise shut down the Red Sox offense, delivering a quality start and finishing the night with a final line of 6.0 IP / 3 H / 1 ER / 1 BB / 8 K.

One trend to keep an eye on as the season progresses is Cortes’ home and away splits, as they were further amplified after last night’s start:

Home: 64.2 IP, 1.81 ERA, 0.79 WHIP

Away: 46.1 IP, 5.63 ERA, 1.49 WHIP

In the 7th inning, Luke Weaver entered in relief of Cortes, securing a multi-inning hold. A clean line of 2.0 IP / 1 H / 0 ER / 0 BB / 3 K, conceals a rather eventful and high-stress two innings of work for Weaver, as he made this impressive sliding play and stranded two runners in scoring position with no out, via consecutive strikeouts of Durran and Abreu and a groundout to end the 8th inning.

The score remained 3-1 heading into the top of the ninth, as Clay Holmes was brought in for his first save opportunity since June 13th against the Kansas City Royals (according to the YES broadcast). Holmes recorded consecutive ground outs before yielding a single up the middle to pinch-hitter Dominic Smith. Being a strike away from winning the game for the Yankees, Holmes brought fans to their feet as they cheered for the final out of the game. Instead, Masataka Yoshida silenced the crowd blasting a no-doubt, game-tying two-run home run to right field on a full-count sinker. Holmes escaped the inning without further trouble, but his performance raises concerns in the back end of the Yankees bullpen.

Justin Slaten put Yankees hitters down in order in the bottom of the ninth, and Cedanne Rafaela gave the Red Sox their first lead of the game with a two-run home run off of Tommy Kanhle as the first hitter in extra innings. Facing a 5-3 deficit, Ben Rice and Juan Soto made things interesting, giving the Yankees runners on the corners with no out, but Kenley Jansen induced two pop-outs and a ground out to seal the victory for the Red Sox.

The Yankees will look to rebound during Saturday’s matinee matchup, which features a duel between Gerrit Cole and Josh Winckowski.

Finally, my Yankees-Related Article Pitch: A Case for Retiring Brett Gardner's #11.