Game 2 of the Yankees’ American League Division Series against the Royals was far from ideal. Although they ultimately won Game 1 despite having many runners on base, they were unable to repeat that performance on Monday night, scoring just two runs, seven hits and five walks. Their only extra-base hit came on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. home run in the ninth inning, which only briefly gave the Yankees a glimmer of hope. Sure, Royals’ starter Cole Ragans is generally very good, but he wasn’t very sharp, and neither was Kansas City’s bullpen. The game definitely felt like the Yankees beat themselves.

The only reason the Yankees had a glimmer of hope after Chisholm’s home run was that the Bombers’ bullpen kept them in the game, throwing a combined 5.1 scoreless innings after Carlos Rodón left. For that, they collectively deserve our player(s) of the game for the Yankees’ 4-2 loss to the Royals.

Early on, it seemed like Rodón was destined to be the Yankees’ standout performer, as he came out blazing. After striking out the first inning, he was up to five Ks through the first three innings before the offense gave him a one-run lead to start the fourth.

After that, however, things quickly unraveled for him. A home run by Salvador Perez tied things up, and Rodón then allowed three more hits and a wild pitch to the unsavory bottom of the Royals’ lineup, giving Kansas City a 3-1 lead and forcing the Yankees early to go into the bullpen.

While I said the bullpen threw 5.1 scoreless innings, it should be noted that Ian Hamilton was on the mound when one of them scored, as he gave up an RBI single to Maikel Garcia immediately after replacing Rodón. But because the Yankees’ starter credited that runner in the first inning, the spot is credited to him. After Hamilton finally got out of the fourth, he came back for the fifth and struck out, fully starting the bullpen’s scoreless run by Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Perez, the man who sparked the rally at Rodón stirred up. .

Hamilton’s successor did not contribute much to the group project. He retired only one of his three batters, walking one while another batter reached on an error. Tim Hill came in and cleaned up the mess with a huge assist from rookie first baseman Jon Berti. He was followed by Clay Holmes and Tommy Kanhle an inning each, then Tim Mayza and Luke Weaver combined for the ninth. Weaver in particular looked great keeping Witt hitless in this series

Although the Royals did put up a few runners over the course of the bullpen’s stint, no more runs were scored, still allowing the Yankees to enter the late inning within striking distance. Of course they couldn’t do anything with that, but the hope was always there.

If you have to pick someone on offense who deserves some praise, your options are probably Chisholm for the home run or Gleyber Torres. The Yankees second baseman didn’t hit a single, but he walked two, putting him in position for Giancarlo Stanton’s RBI infield hit in the third inning that gave the Yankees a brief lead. Another version of this article would have praised Berti’s defense at first base, which was honestly remarkable considering he had never played a professional game there. But for the bullpen as a whole, we give up.

After struggling for a fair portion of the season and then having the Trade Deadline moves backfire, the bullpen was seen as a bit of a weak spot for the Yankees entering the postseason. At least through the first two games, and especially in Game 2, you can’t really blame them for the team’s predicament with the 1-1 tie.