Yankees takeaways from Sunday’s 8-7 loss to Rockies, including wild finish in extra innings

New York Yankees left fielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa (12) reaches third on a single after a throwing error by the Colorado Rockies allowed two runs to score in the sixth inning at Coors Field. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees suffered a brutal 8-7 loss in extras on Sunday afternoon to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, dropping the series in the process.

Here are the takeaways…

– Looking to take the rubber game against the last-place Rockies, Gerrit Cole toed the rubber for the Yanks and made one mistake – to the unlikeliest of hitters – over six innings. After a clean first inning, Michael Taglia tagged Cole for a solo home run in the second inning that gave Colorado a 1-0 lead.

Aside from that surprising blemish, Cole retired 10 of the next 11 hitters he faced and 14 of the final 16, striking out 11 on the day. At one point, the ace got nine straight outs via strikeout and ended his outing with a strikeout of C.J. Cron in the bottom of the sixth.

Cole’s final line: 6 IP, two hits, one earned run, one walk and 11 strikeouts on 102 pitches (66 strikes). It was the 24th time Cole reached double-digit strikeouts with the Yankees which is the most in franchise history.

– The right-hander was in line for the win after New York managed to scrape across three runs in the top of the sixth inning, thanks to some poor defense by the Rockies.

– DJ LeMahieu and Harrison Bader both singled with one out to put runners at first and second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with a single that easily scored LeMahieu and also advanced Bader to third base. During the play, Colorado’s center fielder Brenton Doyle threw the ball to third before third baseman Ryan McMahon tried catching IKF out at first base, but he threw the ball away which allowed Bader to score and IKF to move all the way to third base. Anthony Volpe then drove in IKF with a groundout that made it 3-1 Yankees.

– Prior to that, New York got blanked through five innings by journeyman right-hander Chase Anderson who began the day with a 6.89 ERA.

– Now in the hands of their bullpen, the Yankees got a perfect inning out of Wandy Peralta in the seventh and with six more outs to get, it appeared the Yanks had a clear path to victory. However, trouble struck in the eighth inning.

– Tommy Kahnle began the inning with a walk, but struck out All-Star Game MVP Elias Diaz before allowing a single to put the tying runs on base. Kris Bryant followed with a flyout, but with two outs McMahon loaded the bases with a single which knocked Kahnle out of the game in favor of Clay Holmes. After two straight balls nowhere near the strike zone to Cron, Holmes threw a sinker right down the middle which Cron launched to straight-away center field for a grand slam that turned the game on its head.

– Losing 5-3 headed to the top of the ninth, the Yankees found a way against Daniel Bard and his 1.71 season ERA. Billy McKinney started things off with a hit-by-pitch and scored on Gleyber Torres’ infield single and second throwing error of the game by McMahon, who made the barehanded play but threw wide of first base. After eventually loading the bases with one out, Bader drove in the game-tying run with a sacrifice fly, but pinch-runner Oswald Peraza got thrown out at third base to end the inning.

– After the Rockies didn’t score in the bottom half of the frame against Ian Hamilton, the game got even stranger in extra innings. As the free runner at second base, Bader made a poor baserunning decision and made the first out of the inning at third base trying to advance on a ground ball hit right back to the pitcher. A double play ended the inning.

– But just like the ninth, Hamilton stood his ground – even with the game-winning run starting at second base – and pitched a scoreless inning to send the game to the 11th inning.

– The Yanks scored twice thanks to RBI singles by Oswaldo Cabrera and Peraza which gave New York the lead once again at 7-5. However, on the second pitch thrown by Nick Ramirez in the bottom of the 11th, Nolan Jones tied the game at 7-7 with a two-run home run. Ramirez retired the next two batters before Aaron Boone opted for Ron Marinaccio to face Alan Trejo who entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch-runner.

The matchup didn’t work as Trejo walked things off by hitting his first home run of the season on a 2-0 pitch that traveled 421 feet.

HighlightsWhat’s next

The Yankees continue their West Coast road trip following the All-Star break as they travel to Anaheim to take on the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game set starting on Monday night at 9:38 p.m.

RHP Luis Severino (1-4, 7.38 ERA) gets the start for New York, looking to get his season back on track, while Los Angeles will send RHP Griffin Canning (6-4, 4.62 ERA).