Eye on MLB, June 10: Yankees lose to Nats, lose Andrew Miller to injury

The Nationals beat the Yankees in 11 innings on Wednesday afternoon (WAS 5, NYY 4) and the loss was notable because New York's bullpen blew a late-inning lead. Rookie Jacob Lindgren gave up a game-tying two-run home run to Michael Taylor in the eighth.

Prior to Wednesday's game, the Yankees were 26-2 when leading after seven innings this season. That's a .929 inning percentage compared to the .875 league average. Their record when leading after seven is so good because of setup man Dellin Betances and closer Andrew Miller. Check these two out:

Betances: 32 1/3 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 14 BB, 54 K (0.28 ERA and 0.77 WHIP)

Miller: 26 1/3 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 10 BB, 43 K (1.03 ERA and 0.68 WHIP)

Combined: 58 2/3 IP, 19 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 24 BB, 97 K (0.61 ERA and 0.73 WHIP)

Good gravy is that good. The Yankees' formula this season has been get just good enough starting pitching, hit some home runs, then turn it over to Betances and Miller. And it's been successful too -- even with Wednesday's loss, they lead the AL East by two games pending the outcome of Wednesday night's Rays-Angels game.

Yet, the Yankees blew a late lead and lost in extra innings Wednesday with neither Betances nor Miller making an appearance. Betances simply got the day off because he's worked a ton lately (three appearances in the last five days) while Miller, as it turns out, is hurt. He was placed on the 15-day DL with a forearm muscle strain.

“All the tests he did with the doctor, the manual tests, came out pretty good,” said manager Joe Girardi to Chad Jennings of the Journal News after the game. “He was strong and he just said it was stiff and sometimes a little tougher to get loose. … As far as the ligament and all that, that’s all healthy. That’s really healthy. It’s just the flexor mass muscle.”

With Miller out, Betances will slide into the closer's role. There's no concern in the ninth inning whatsoever. The Yankees and Girardi now have to figure out how to get the ball from the starting pitcher to Betances in the ninth, and that will be the real challenge. Setup man candidates include Justin Wilson and Chasen Shreve.

The Yankees are expected to get Ivan Nova back next week -- he will make one last minor league rehab start on Friday as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery -- which could mean Adam Warren moves from the rotation and back into the bullpen. Warren has a 107 ERA+ and a 1.20 WHIP as a starter this season, but had a 138 ERA+ and a 1.11 WHIP as a reliever last year.

Either way, losing Miller for any length of time -- the Yankees said he will be shut down 10-14 days then re-evaluated, so it seems likely he will miss more than the minimum 15 days -- is a huge blow to a Yankees team that relies on its bullpen so heavily. Warren should help, but he's no Miller, and now those near-automatic wins after seven innings will be much shakier. Wednesday afternoon's loss was a look at life without Miller.

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of The Eye, which includes game recaps, milestone updates, important highlights, news, notes, a preview of Thursday's action, and lots more. Check back for updates throughout the night or come back for the finished product in the morning. Your call.

Today's Action (All games ET) (Full scoreboard)

Blue Jays 7, Marlins 2 (Box score): If you had given up on the Jays, there's still time to repent! Justin Smoak hit one of four Jays home runs, and right-hander Scott Copeland won his first major league start, allowing a run and six hits with no walks over 7 1/3 innings. Toronto won its eighth in a row, improving to 31-30 and moving over .500 for the first time since May 19.

Nationals 5, Yankees 4 in 11 innings (Box score): New York's seven-game winning streak ended after Denard Span put the Nats ahead with an infield single against Chris Capuano. The Yankees had taken a two-run lead in the seventh, but an inning later Michael Taylor stroked a two-run homer against rookie Jacob Lindgren to tie the score.

Reds 5, Phillies 2 (Box score): Cincy sweeps as the Phillies fall to 7-23 away from home. Ivan De Jesus hit a home run (a three-run shot) for the second time in three days. They are his first career homers in 52 games since he broke in with the Dodgers in 2011. Jon Moscot allowed two runs and six hits over six innings for his first major league victory.

Cardinals 4, Rockes 2 (Box score): Ben Paulsen made this one interesting with a two-run home run in the seventh inning, though Randal Grichuk hit a solo homer in the eighth to give the Cardinals some insurance. Kevin Siegrist and Trevor Rosenthal combined to strike out six of eight batters faced to close the door for St. Louis.

Pirates 2, Brewers 0 (Box score): The Pirates scored one run in the first inning (Starling Marte single) and one run in the second inning (Pedro Alvarez homer), and those runs stood up thanks to Charlie Morton. He allowed three hits and three walks in 7 1/3 shutout innings. Kyle Lohse fell to 3-7 with a 6.27 ERA on the season.

Rays 4, Angels 2 (Box score): A solo homer by Evan Longoria and a two-run single by Kevin Kiermaier paced the Tampa Bay offense. Erasmo Ramirez surrendered two runs in five innings, then the Rays bullpen held the Angels to two hits and a walk in four scoreless innings. Kyle Kubitza went 2 for 3 in his MLB debut for the Halos.

Orioles 5, Red Sox 2 (Box score): For only the fourth time all season, a home run was not hit during a game at Camden Yards. The O's got run-scoring base hits from J.J. Hardy (double), Ryan Flaherty (single), Adam Jones (single) and Travis Snider (single). Darren O'Day struck out four in two innings for the save. The Red Sox fell to 10-17 within the AL East.

Braves 4, Padres 1 (Box score): Williams Perez held San Diego to one unearned run in seven innings while the Braves got run-scoring hits from Kelly Johnson, Andrelton Simmons and Cameron Maybin. Johnson, A.J. Pierzynski and Cory Spangenberg each had three hits in the game.

Mariners 9, Indians 2 (Box score): A Kyle Seager grand slam was all the Mariners would need, but they also got RBI doubles from Logan Morrison, Seth Smith and Seager. Seager went 2 for 4 on the night and drove in five runs. Taijuan Walker allowed one run in six innings while Trevor Bauer got torched for six runs in 3 2/3 innings.

Cubs 12, Tigers 3 (Box score): Shane Greene's nightmare season continues. After starting the year 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA, he is now 1-6 with an 8.60 ERA in his last 10 starts after allowing five runs in three innings Wednesday. Miguel Montero and Chris Coghlan both hit three-run home runs for Chicago.

Giants 8, Mets 5 (Box score): No no-hitter for the Giants on Wednesday, they just hung seven runs on Matt Harvey in six innings of work. Joe Panik and Brandon Belt both hit two-run homers off Harvey while Justin Maxwell added a solo shot in the late innings. Norichika Aoki had four hits, and Buster Posey drove in three runs with a pair of doubles.

Royals 7, Twins 2 (Box score): Alex Gordon's three-run home run capped off a four-run first inning against Kyle Gibson. Trevor Plouffe homered in the eighth inning, but by then it was too late. Torii Hunter was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the eighth and had a total meltdown, throwing his jersey and other equipment on the field. Manager Paul Molitor was also ejected for the first time in his career.

White Sox 4, Astros 1 (Box score): The ChiSox tied the game on Adam LaRoche's solo home run in sixth inning, then took the lead when Geovany Soto and Jose Abreu clubbed solo shots in the seventh and eighth. Vincent Velasquez threw five shutout innings in his MLB debut and George Springer went 5 for 5, but that wasn't enough to stop Houston from losing their seventh straight ballgame.

Athletics 5, Rangers 4 (Box score): Walk-off! Josh Reddick did the honors with a fielder's choice, scoring Sam Fuld from third. Fuld singled and stole a base earlier in the inning. Elvis Andrus took his time fielding a Billy Burns ground ball, allowing Burns to beat out an infield to extend the inning immediately prior to Reddick's game-winner. The A's battled back from down 4-1 after Jesse Hahn got knocked out of the game in the fourth inning.

Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks (Box score): A.J. Pollock hit a game-tying solo home run off Kenley Jansen in the top of the ninth, but two walks and a Howie Kendrick walk-off single gave the Dodgers the win the bottom half of the inning. Yasiel Puig went 4 for 4 with a walk and was a triple shy of the cycle. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt went a combined 7 for 10 with a double and two homers.

Milestone watch

Longest active hit streak: Logan Morrison extended his hit streak to 16 games with a two-run double on Wednesday night.

#ARod3K watch: Thanks to an RBI double in the seventh inning, Alex Rodriguez is now only eight hits of 3,000 for his career. Looking at the Yankees' schedule, there's a good chance he'll get his 3,000th hit either at Yankee Stadium or in his hometown of Miami.

Daily awards

Duck of the day: Daniel Descalso, against his old team, tries to sneak past Carlos Martinez of the Cardinals:

Lucky bounce of the day: Maybe of his life, too. Brian McCann literally gets a base hit with a single off the second base bag:

Photo of the day, part I: The Frank Thomas statue at US Cellular Field is supporting the hometown Blackhawks during the Stanley Cup Finals, of course.

Head over to Eye on Hockey for everything you need to know about the Cup Finals and hockey in general.

Photo of the day, part II: Quite the blue sky over Comerica Park prior to Wednesday night's game:

Home run of the day, part I: This is what you call "tomahawking a home run." Take it away, Justin Smoak:

Home run of the day, part II: I thought this ball cleared the right field stands at PNC Park, but no, it just landed way up near the top. Pedro Alvarez did the deed:

Catch of the day: Take it away, Adam Jones:

Matchup of the day: For the first time his professional career (majors or minors!), Bryce Harper faced a pitcher younger than he is. Jacob Lindgren will forever be the answer to that trivia question. Here's their matchup:

Meltdown of the day: Well, once you've been ejected in a blowout game, you might as well get your money's worth. Torii Hunter did just that on Wednesday:

Delivery of the day: Apparently Oliver Perez is going full Luis Tiant these days and turning his back on hitters:

Dancing lady of the day: Here is Wednesday's dancing lady of the day:

News, injuries and rumors

Brewers OF Ryan Braun leaves Wednesday's game due to dizziness

Giants SP Matt Cain to make next rehab start Monday

Report: Mets discussing trade for Brewes' Aramis Ramirez

Report: Phillies ready to trade closer Jonathan Papelbon

Yankees closer Andrew Miller (forearm) headed to DL

Yankees RP Dellin Betances becomes team's closer

Reds lose Zack Cozart to knee injury (video)

A day after returning, Edwin Encarnacion exits again with shoulder injury

Jedd Gyorko and $35 million contact demoted to minors by Padres

Travis d'Arnaud returns to Mets lineup

Yadier Molina nearly first anniversary of previous home run

Matt Moore feeling better after second rehab start

Click Here For More Updates

A look ahead to Thursday (All times ET)

Relatively light schedule on Thursday, with three day games and zero late night West Coast games. The pitching matchups are sort of underwhelming too.