?ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 24 ? Mike Myers stood on the pitcher?s rubber, aimlessly kicking the dirt with his right foot, over and over. His eyes darted away from the fielders converging on him, away from the manager coming to take the ball. Myers was a portrait of isolation.
He is on the Yankees? roster to retire left-handed hitters in crucial spots. He was called on to do that with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning Tuesday night, and he failed in spectacular fashion.
Myers threw a slider that swept into the bat path of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? Carl Crawford, who slashed it into the right-field seats for his first career grand slam. The Yankees? lead went with it, and they lost, 6-4, at Tropicana Field. They were swept on a five-game trip.
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After losing three in a row in Boston, the Yankees dropped two here. It was the first time they had been swept on a trip of at least five games since they lost six in a row to end the 2000 season.
?It?s the absolute worst road trip we could imagine,? Johnny Damon said. ?No one could imagine being 0-5. We?re 0-5 without being outplayed.?
The Yankees led in every game, but the bullpen, which leads the majors in appearances, had a 7.02 earned run average. The team had looked forward to the return of Chien-Ming Wang, but by the time he took the mound, another injury had dampened the mood.
Unless the pitching turns around quickly, it’s going to be a bad year.
