PITTSBURGH — Aaron Judge said the Yankees are entering the “dog days of summer.”
So far they are not treating Jameson Taillon well.
The right-hander got off to a fantastic start to the season but was hit hard again in a 5-2 defeat by the Pirates on Tuesday as his homecoming was spoiled by another underperforming game.
With the loss, the Yankees fell to 58-23 and have only lost two straight games since May 29.
Taillon gave up five runs in 5 ¹/₃ innings on his return to PNC Park and has given up 14 earned runs — along with four home runs — in 16 innings in his last three starts. And his ERA over his last six starts is 6.23.
“Obviously this is of concern,” said Taillon, who admitted he was moved by the tribute video the Pirates showed of him as he warmed up before the end of the first. “I have to find out and change something. It’s a results-oriented league, but at the same time I feel healthy and I’m making quality pitches.”
Jameson Taillon exits the mound after being knocked out by Aaron Boone in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Pirates.AP
The problem, according to Taillon and Aaron Boone, is that when there are too many errors, Taillon gets beaten — especially with runners.
It didn’t help that for a second straight game, the Yankees’ offense was ended by an opposing starter.
After Triston McKenzie had a seven-inning hit in Cleveland’s shutout win on Sunday, the Yankees didn’t have much to do against Jose Quintana, who posted a 3.18 ERA in six games against the Yankees (five starts).
And the left-hander was just as effective at the start on Tuesday.
Jack Suwinski is greeted by Bryan Reynolds after hitting a two-run homer in the fourth inning of the Yankees’ Loss.AP
He gave up just one run in five innings but needed 96 pitches to do so, forcing the Pirates to go to their bullpen to start on the sixth.
Playing to a sold-out crowd of 37,733 — the first of the year at PNC — on the Yankees’ first trip to Pittsburgh in five years, Taillon was hit hard all night.
Against a Pirates team that only got into the game 32-47, Taillon – who was traded to the Yankees in exchange for a package of four minor leagues prior to last season – allowed a leadoff homer to Daniel Vogelbach to set the closing point of the second to lead .
The Yankees had a chance to take the lead in the third game against Quintana after DJ LeMahieu came in third with an infield single with an out and with a two-out double from Gleyber Torres.
Giancarlo Stanton followed up the middle with a liner, but Bryan Reynolds — who could be a trade target for the Yankees — rushed in and made an excellent dive catch that likely prevented two runs from scoring.
In the fourth game, the Pirates extended their lead. Reynolds opened the inning with a double and Jack Suwinski followed up with his 14th homer of the season to put the Yankees in a 3-0 hole.
Later in the inning, former Yankee Ben Gamel smashed a brace into the right-center gap to give Oneil Cruz a 4-0 goal.
The Yankees reached Quintana in the fifth with a one-out double from Isiah Kiner-Falefa and a two-out RBI single from Aaron Judge.
But Pittsburgh responded with a sacrificial fly from Cruz in the sixth.
Aaron Judge smashes an RBI single in the fifth inning of the Yankees Loss.AP
In the seventh, Kiner-Falefa caught with an out and LeMahieu followed with a walk to raise Judge. But Judge ended up in a double play at the end of the inning.
A single by Matt Carpenter scored Torres in eighth place, but that was as close as the Yankees came.
Still, at the halfway point in the regular season, the Yankees have a 13-game lead over second-placed Boston, where they are visiting for a four-game set beginning Thursday.
The judge said the key to maintaining their success in the second half was “keeping it simple.”
“We have a good ball club here,” Judge said. “We have good people here who know what we’re doing. When you get into those dog days of summer, try not to overdo it. Stick to your plan. We support each other and pull through everything.”