The Yankees rebounded from an early deficit to take a tie game into the seventh inning, but New York's comeback fell short in a 8-6 loss against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium.
Six things to know from Tuesday's game
1. After dealing LHP Jordan Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals in a surprise trade at the 6 p.m. deadline, the Yankees' starting rotation did not fare well with RHP Jameson Taillon. He struggled with his command, throwing 56 strikes on 98 pitches and issuing four walks while surrendering six runs (five earned) in 4 2/3 innings.
Taillon battled, recording six strikeouts and only allowed two hits, but both were costly with each coming in the form of a home run. His one-out walk to Jessie Winker in the first inning paved the way for an Eugenio Suarez homer deep to left, putting the Yankees in a 2-0 hole.
The following frame, Taillon surrendered another one-out bomb -- Cal Raleigh blasted a long ball to centerfield, extending the Mariners' lead to 3-0. Seattle added one more run in the third, on a Carlos Santana sacrifice fly to centerfield, putting New York down 4-0.
The Yankees came back, so Taillon (10-2, 3.96 ERA) got the no-decision, but he did not back up GM Brian Cashman's confidence in New York's starting pitchers entering the fall. Do the Yankees have enough in the rotation to truly contend deep into October?
2. Among the positives for the Yankees, Josh Donaldson came to life, ending an 18-game drought without a home run -- his 10th -- by launching a decisive two-run shot to center field and tying the score at 6-6 in the sixth inning. Donaldson also got New York on the board with an RBI double to left field in the fourth inning.
3. While Donaldson snapped out of it, Anthony Rizzo and Jose Trevino stayed hot. Following Donaldson in the fourth inning, Trevino's two-run homer -- his 10th this season and third in the past two days -- brought the Yankees within a 4-3 deficit. He added a double in the sixth inning.
Rizzo, meanwhile, launched his 27th long ball of the year with a solo shot to centerfield that again trimmed a 6-4 Yankees deficit -- New York fell back down 6-3 in the fifth inning on a two-run Santana double off LHP Lucas Luetge, who replaced Taillon.
4. Manager Aaron Boone questionably left Luetge out to begin the seventh inning, and Sam Haggerty lined a leadoff homer just over the left-field wall to give the Mariners the lead right back at 7-6. Seattle tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning with Adam Frazier's RBI single off RHP Albert Abreu -- scoring Haggerty, who reached base via a leadoff single.
5. Of the Yankees' four bullpen arms deployed, a couple from the deadline debuted in RHPs Scott Effross and Lou Trivino.
Effross relieved Luetge with one out in the seventh inning, limiting the damage and getting the Yankees out of the inning still trailing 7-6.
Trivino replaced Abreu with one out in the ninth inning, after Frazier brought home Haggerty to go move ahead 8-6, getting Winker to ground into a force out at third base and striking out Suarez to end the frame.
6. The Yankees loaded the bases with a two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth inning -- DJ LeMahieu singled before Aaron Judge and Rizzo walked -- but Gleyber Torres struck out swinging in a pinch-hit situation for Tim Locastro to end the game.