On Tuesday night, August 5, 2025, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the New York Yankees lost 2-0 to the Texas Rangers – The Pinstripes’ fifth consecutive defeat since the trade deadline last Thursday. The loss dropped their record to 60-54, cutting their lead over the Rangers (60-55) for the third and final American League wild-card spot to just half a game.
Reliever Devin Williams was central to the game’s turning point for the second night in a row. On Monday, Williams surrendered a game-tying home run to Joc Pederson in the ninth inning, leading to an eventual Yankees loss in extra innings. On Tuesday, with the game tied 0-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Yankees manager Aaron Boone again called on Williams.
Williams retired Marcus Semien to start the inning, but then allowed a one-out double to Adolis García. Left fielder Jasson Domínguez got a glove on García’s line drive but could not make the catch. Boone described it as a “tough play” and said, “It’s hard to expect him to catch that ball.” Williams said, “He got a glove on it… you can’t expect that to be caught.”
Williams then walked Pederson and Wyatt Langford, loading the bases with one out.
- Yankees lost 2-0 to Rangers, marking their fifth straight loss since the trade deadline.
- Manager Aaron Boone kept struggling reliever Devin Williams on the mound despite loading the bases and blowing a save the night before.
- Boone cited lack of bullpen options and matchup hopes as reasons for sticking with Williams, even though better pitchers were warming up.
Boone’s Rationale for Not Using Bednar or Leiter
At that point, right-handed relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and David Bednar were warming up in the Yankees’ bullpen. Bednar, acquired at the trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Pirates, had held left-handed batters to a .455 OPS before Tuesday’s game. Leiter had been activated from the injured list earlier in the day and had not pitched in a major league game since July 6, 2025.
Bednar had thrown 11 pitches in Monday’s game, and Leiter had not yet appeared since returning from injury. Based on these factors, Boone did not make a pitching change. Williams remained in the game to face former teammate Rowdy Tellez, a left-handed batter, who produced a 10-pitch at-bat ending with a two-run single up the middle.
Left-handed reliever Tim Hill, who last pitched on Saturday, August 2, was not used. The decision factored in the possibility that the Rangers could replace Tellez with a right-handed hitter, such as Kyle Higashioka or Ezequiel Duran. Right-handed batters had a .765 OPS against Hill this season.
Williams’ 2025 Season Performance and Related Betting Odds
Williams,acquired by the Yankees during the 2024–2025 offseason from the Milwaukee Brewers, has a 5.44 ERA in 47 appearances this season. He has allowed 26 earned runs in 2025, the same number he surrendered over the previous three seasons combined. He has given up runs in six of his last eight appearances and has blown two saves in his past four games.
Before Tuesday’s game, Boone said the Yankees would rotate closers instead of using Williams exclusively. He identified command problems and walks as contributing factors to Williams’ recent performance issues. Boone said, “Times when he gets behind in the count have hurt him a little bit. We have to get him turned around.”
Sportsbook odds before Tuesday’s game listed the Yankees at -330 to make the playoffs, an implied probability of 76%. The Rangers were listed at +115. The Yankees’ World Series odds remained around +1000 in recent weeks. Williams’ performance has been reflected in player prop betting markets, with save and strikeout totals adjusted in response. Earlier in the season, he recorded a 1.90 ERA in 25 appearances. Since early July, he has posted a 6.00 ERA over 12 innings, with 17 strikeouts and five walks.
Yankees’ Offensive Output and Player Support
The Yankees recorded two hits in Tuesday’s game. After the loss, Boone said, “Not good. We got to put it on record. If we don’t win, it doesn’t matter. We play like this and don’t string wins together, it doesn’t matter. I remain confident in this group, but we continue to say that and we have to make it happen.”
Here we go again… pic.twitter.com/YeqBSwjEzV
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 6, 2025
Aaron Judge, whoreturned from the injured list on Tuesday, commented on Williams’ role, “He’s been so good for us the past month, month and a half… He’s won a lot of ballgames for us, and you’re going to hit some rough parts like that, but you’ve just got to be there to support him. He’s picked us up quite a bit throughout the year, and we’ve got to pick him up sometimes.”
Williams said, “I’ll just continue to work and keep trying to execute and help the team any way that I can.”
