Yankees starter Freddy Garcia retired five batters his last time out in Boston, surrendering five runs in the process.
It can’t get any worse than that, right?
Yes. Yes it can.
The right-hander, who was ineffective in his first two starts of the year but infinitely worse since, got knocked out again after 1 2/3 innings, this time against the Tigers. He gave up six runs in a 7-5 defeat in The Bronx.
And unlike his previous start, when the Yankees bailed him out by scoring 15 straight runs to overcome a 9-0 deficit, the comeback effort fell short when they scored three in the ninth Saturday after being shut down by Detroit starter Drew Smyly.
Garcia was just the latest example of an alarming trend among Yankees starting pitching.
“We definitely have to do better,” Joe Girardi said before the game. “To compete in this division and this league, you have to do better. The bullpen will get worn out if we continue at this pace.”
The pace wasn’t good Saturday.
Girardi was forced to go to Clay Rapada in the second inning and David Phelps to start the fourth after Garcia’s latest flameout.
Garcia had trouble with low velocity against the Red Sox and it didn’t get much better against the Tigers.
After walking Austin Jackson to start the game, the right-hander struck out Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera. Then, after falling behind Prince Fielder 3-0, he intentionally walked the slugger to bring up Andy Dirks.
Dirks, filling in for Delmon Young after the left fielder was placed on the restricted list following his alleged hate-crime in Midtown early Friday morning, belted a three-run homer.
Things got even worse in the second. After surrendering a leadoff single to Alex Avila, Garcia managed to retire Jhonny Peralta and Ramon Santiago before falling apart.
Boesch followed another single by Jackson by ripping a double down the right field line, sending Jackson to third. Cabrera then came up and lined one off the right field wall that scored Jackson and Boesch. Girardi yanked Garcia before he could face Fielder and potentially get someone killed.
“Freddy lives on the edges and that’s what he has to do,” Girardi said before the game. “I’ve seen Freddy do it a number of times and a number of different ways with being creative. I don’t think you forget how to pitch from spring training until now.”
He might want to rethink that.
The Yankees escaped a blowout with solid performances from Rapada and Phelps. Right-handed Phelps could be a candidate to make a start if the Yankees decide not to send Garcia back to the mound and Andy Pettitte isn’t ready to return until the middle of next month.
Other than Nick Swisher’s solo homer in the first, Smyly kept the Yankees’ bats down, giving up just the one run and two hits. Swisher hit another in the ninth as the Yankees scored three off Jose Valverde, but Eric Chavez, who was the tying run, flied out to right to end it.