When the Yankees acquired Camilo Doval at the trade deadline, he was meant to help supercharge their bullpen into a weapon down the stretch.
Now it’s hard to see how The Bronx won’t be holding its breath each time Doval takes the mound for the foreseeable future.
The embattled reliever continued his struggles as a Yankee on Wednesday by giving up three runs in the eighth inning to help contribute to a second straight bullpen meltdown in the club’s 11-1 loss to the Tigers.
Doval’s ERA ballooned to 6.59 as a Yankee and he’s given up at least one run in nine of 16 appearances while wearing pinstripes.
“You see he flashes it. He’ll flash that swing-and-miss with the slider,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously it’s a big arm with the cutter and the sinker.
“The strike-throwing hasn’t been great and that’s hurt him in some outings. Making sure we’re staying on top, controlling the running game and things like that. So it’s just been kinda inconsistent for him.”
It wasn’t so much Doval missing the strike zone that caused issues on Wednesday as it was him giving the Tigers pitches to hit.
After Spencer Torkelson singled to open the eighth inning, Doval coughed up a 409-foot homer to Riley Greene that extended Detroit’s lead to 5-0.
Two batters later, Dillon Dingler took Doval’s slider into left field for a double and advanced to third on Cody Bellinger’s error.
Doval was then pulled, but Dingler came around to score on Parker Meadows’ base hit off Tim Hill.
“I think that he’s been solid and I think that he’s getting better, honestly,” catcher Austin Wells said. “I think we’re getting more comfortable working together. We got him for a reason. He’s gonna go out there and get big outs for us. I think he’s getting better every time.”
The optimism, though, was a tough sell given that Doval — who did not speak to reporters postgame — hadn’t given up three earned runs since June 25, when he was still a Giant.
Of the bullpen trio that general manager Brian Cashman brought in at the trade deadline, David Bednar is the only one who has proven reliable, having taken over the closer job.
In addition to Doval’s struggles, Jake Bird lasted all of three outings with the Yankees before getting demoted to the minor leagues.
Given the struggles of the bullpen at large that have plagued the Yankees lately, it appears there’s little choice but to hope Doval — among others — regains his form sooner rather than later.
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