Yankees option pitcher after snapping 5-game losing skid

The New York Yankees optioned right-handed reliever Jake Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following an 11-10 walk-off win over the Los Angeles Angels in The Bronx on Monday, a game that ended the team’s five-game losing streak. The bullpen was heavily used in the win, with five pitchers deployed amid a stretch of 13 games in 13 days.

Bird struggled in his outing against the Angels, which led to trouble for the Yankees. He entered with a runner on first and two outs in the sixth inning, then allowed a bloop single before Mike Trout launched a 421-foot three-run home run on a 3-2 sweeper to tie the game. In the seventh, Bird struck out the first batter he faced, but then surrendered a hard-hit single and double, which led to a game-tying sacrifice fly that erased New York’s short-lived lead from an Aaron Judge home run. He was charged with three runs on four hits over one inning, and it was the first home run allowed by a Yankees reliever this season.

So far this season, Bird has recorded a 6.00 ERA, allowing six runs on nine hits with one walk and nine strikeouts across seven innings in eight appearances. After beginning the season with four scoreless appearances, he couldn’t sustain that early success, allowing three runs against the Miami Marlins on April 5 for the second time in four outings.

Since being acquired from the Colorado Rockies last season, Bird has been up and down in New York, allowing seven runs (six earned) in 2.0 innings over three appearances before being optioned. A corresponding roster move was not immediately announced, though the Yankees have multiple bullpen options on the 40-man roster with remaining minor-league options.

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