NEW YORK — Dellin Betances had not pitched in six days due to blowout games for the New York Yankees and when the usually dominant right-hander faltered in the ninth of Tuesday’s 11-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, it was natural to wonder if the layoff had an adverse effect.
If it did, Betances certainly wasn’t going to use that as an excuse in front of a large New York media contingent.
“I like to get in there as much as I can but there’s no excuses,” Betances said. “I (stunk) today and they got the best of me. I felt good in the eighth. It was just the ninth inning. I fell behind hitters and they took advantage.”
Betances faced seven hitters and fell behind 2-0 on the first five. He got away with it in the eighth when he struck out shortstop Freddy Galvis. In the ninth, he got beat with a 2-0 pitch when center fielder Ben Revere doubled and then hit second baseman Cesar Hernandez with a 2-1 slider.
The biggest pitch that Betances did not execute was the 2-1 slider to Maikel Franco that resulted in the game-winning double.
“I fell behind,” Betances said. “I couldn’t locate my fastball or breaking ball. It’s just one of those things. You’ve got to be aggressive in that situation and I fell behind, I can’t do that.”
So how rare was Betances hiccup?
He gave up four earned runs, which was three more than what he allowed in his first 35 appearances. It also resulted in his first career loss after he had won his first nine decisions.