Maybe nature and Joba Chamberlain just don’t get along.
Chamberlain surrendered three runs in the Yankees’ 8-2 Opening Day loss to the Red Sox yesterday, ending any chance of a comeback.
“The weather is a part of it,” Chamberlain said after it started raining and the wind picked up while he was on the mound in the ninth inning, sending many in the stands at Yankee Stadium running for the exits.
Clearly, though, Chamberlain’s issues weren’t simply with the conditions.
“We’ve all pitched in rain and wind before,” said Chamberlain, who was famously attacked by midges during the 2007 Division Series in Cleveland. “That was no big deal. You’ve got to make sure you’re under control.”
After striking out Will Middlebrooks to open the inning, Chamberlain walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia and gave up a single to Jonny Gomes. He followed that by waking rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. to load the bases.
“I felt good,” Chamberlain said. “But obviously, two walks kill you. I wasn’t able to make pitches or finish them. You can’t do that.”
Though he was able to strike out Jose Iglesias looking, Chamberlain’s lack of command caught up to him when Jacoby Ellsbury pushed an infield single to second that ended up scoring two runs when Robinson Cano couldn’t come up with the ball.
Shane Victorino followed with a run-scoring hit to right and Chamberlain’s day was done. Cody Eppley finished the frame, but the damage was done.
It wasn’t the performance Chamberlain was looking for after a solid spring, but he said he would be able to move on quickly from the poor start to his season.
“We’ve got 161 more of these,” Chamberlain said. “You put this one behind us.”
The 27-year-old said Opening Day jitters were not a factor.
“You treat them all like Opening Day,” Chamberlain said. “Just because it’s the first one doesn’t mean it’s any more important than [Game] 111 or [the] 35th.”
On the plus side, his arm was strong.
“The [velocity] was there,” said Chamberlain, who returned from Tommy John surgery last season and appeared in 22 games. “Everything came out good. I just missed with my location, and you can’t miss with these guys.”