Carlos Rodon’s few mistakes were hammered.
His club’s offensive mistakes were plentiful.
This version of the Yankees — with a star-studded top of the lineup but Muggsy Bogues length — does not have much room for error, so flawed games become losses.
Wednesday’s effort was flawed, so the Yankees lost, 3-2, to the Reds in The Bronx in front of 47,646 frustrated fans.
A righty-heavy Yankees starting lineup was five-hit by lefty Andrew Abbott and four Cincinnati relievers.
They clawed back into the game with a two-run double by Anthony Volpe in the seventh inning, but that would finish the club’s scoring.
The Yankees put the tying run on base in the ninth against Alexis Diaz, the brother of Mets closer Edwin, as Austin Wells worked an entertaining, 10-pitch walk.
But Volpe grounded into a double play before Juan Soto flew out, leaving Aaron Judge on the on-deck circle.
Even before Thursday’s finale with Cincinnati, the Yankees (54-34) have clinched another losing series and have failed to win six straight while dropping 12 of 16 games overall.
No team will win many games when scoring two runs.
They had three legitimate chances for more on a night they left nine on base:
— Down one in the eighth inning, they put two on with two outs, but a pinch-hitting Trent Grisham struck out;
— In the seventh inning, Volpe came through with a clutch, one-out, two-run double to cut the gap to one. He reached third on a wild pitch and Soto walked, becoming the go-ahead run.
But Judge grounded a bullet to third baseman Noelvi Marte, who began an inning-ending double play.
— Before Volpe’s hit, the Yankees’ only threat arrived in the third inning and transpired in predictable fashion. With two outs, Soto and Judge walked and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch.
But in a rare at-bat with runners in scoring position, J.D. Davis — an impromptu cleanup hitter discarded from the A’s last week — hit a broken-bat ground out up the middle.
