The Yankees dropped their second straight to the Reds on Tuesday night, but there were questions on a decision by skipper Aaron Boone that needed addressing.

Starter Carlos Rodon pitched six scoreless innings, and with the Yankees up 3-0 and the southpaw at just 88 pitches, it seemed like an obvious decision to have Rodon pitch the seventh. However, Boone had Jonathan Loaisiga start the inning and the bullpen imploded, allowing the tying three runs and the winning runs in the 11th of their 5-4 loss.

Boone was asked about the decision after the game and pointed to the weather's effect on his starter as the reason.

"Once he came out, I knew he was kinda done on a 100-degree night like that," Boone explained. "[Spencer] Steer had a pretty good at-bat on him his last time. I felt like he was done there."

Steer was set to lead off the seventh and he doubled against Rodon in the fourth, one of the only instances where the left-hander had to pitch around trouble on Tuesday. But despite Boone's explanation about matchups, it was the heat in Cincinnati that really did Rodon in; it was 91 degrees at first pitch, which is the Yankees starter confirmed when he spoke with the media after the game.

"Usually I’m going back out, kind of thing, but I was huffing and puffing a little bit," Rodon said. "...most situations I want the ball, but I could tell, I was gassed. They had some good at-bats, and some long at-bats. Just one of those days where the energy was coming out of me quick.”

Rodon said that during warmer games, he sometimes has to expend more energy, especially in the later innings. Loaisiga was pulled from his relief appearance because the heat was getting to him too, according to Boone.

The longtime Yankees manager said Loaisiga was under the weather on Monday but was good enough to pitch Tuesday. However, that energy reserve was depleted thanks to the heat and was "wiped out."

"I don’t like making excuses for stuff like that. It was one of those situations where you leave it to my guys and unfortunately, we didn’t get it done today," Rodon said. "I trust everybody in the bullpen to go out there and execute. It was just one of those days where they swung the bat well later on, we made a run at it late and it was an exciting baseball game."

Of course, the weather affects both teams, and the Yankees bullpen and lack of execution in extra innings did the team in. Tuesday's loss was the fifth this year where the team had a lead at the start of the seventh inning or later, which is the most in MLB. They have also dropped nine of their last 12 games, which has caused their strong AL East division lead to dwindle. With the Rays' win, the Yankees' lead in the division is just one game.

Drenched in frigid electric-blue energy drink, Christian Moore still couldn’t believe where he was — and what he had just done.

Exactly a year ago Tuesday, the 22-year-old from Brooklyn was atop the biggest stage of college baseball, winning the Men's College World Series in Omaha as the Teneeseee Volunteers' star slugger. Now the Angels' top prospect — their top selection in the 2024 MLB Draft — forged a moment to remember.

Mike Trout wasn’t the hero. It wasn’t Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe or any of the power bats in the Angels’ lineup. Moore provided the game-changing — and game-winning — swings that powered the Angels to a 3-2, 10-inning victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Down 1-0 in the eighth inning, Moore walloped a home run over the left field wall, flinging his bat into the air like a big-league regular who had done it dozens of times before — not just for his second career home run.

He didn’t know he hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the 10th inning. Moore didn’t know that the ball cleared the yellow line on the right-field wall as he hustled into third base as if he just had a tying triple. The excited rookie second baseman wagged his tongue back and forth at the Angels dugout in celebration.

When Moore — who laughed about how cold the cooler full of liquid and ice was postgame — looked up at third-base umpire Chris Segal, the youngest-tenured Angel didn’t know what to think when he saw Segal’s finger circle the air, signaling a home run.

“I didn't believe it — I was kind of scared to get off the base,” Moore said. “But the umpire, he made it pretty serious that it was a home run, so I was like, ‘I'm gonna take your word for it and go celebrate with my boys.’ ”

Moore’s boys, easily his senior, couldn’t be more proud of their rookie second baseman, stunning their American League East foes with his second and third career home runs, shooting the Angels into potential postseason contention, just a game under .500 — at 39-40 — and 2 ½ games out of an AL wild-card spot.

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“It's huge, man,” said starting pitcher Tyler Anderson. “To see guys like that coming up and contributing in big ways on offense and defense, is huge and super valuable.”

Shortstop Neto added: “Special player. Watching that was pretty cool. He's going to be here for a long time.”

Before Moore’s monumental at-bats in the eighth and 10th innings — making him the first Angels player to have each of his first three home runs be of the tying or go-ahead variety in the seventh inning or later — the Angels ran into a buzzsaw. He also became the first player in MLB history to hit a tying home run and a walk-off home run with his team trailing while also driving in all of his team's runs.

Boston southpaw Garrett Crochet scorched through them Tuesday night, striking out 10 across seven scoreless innings. The 6-foot-6 Red Sox ace fired high-90s heat with success a day after Walker Buehler struggled to keep the Angels off the basepaths.

The Angel Stadium crowd attempted to will a rally into existence in the seventh inning, cheering loudly as the heart of the Angels’ lineup hit after Trout worked a leadoff walk. Crochet dispatched the Angels back to the dugout, inducing pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud to pop out and hold a 1-0 lead.

It would take one more Angels better before Moore stepped up to the plate in the eighth. Moore, who struck out twice against Crochet earlier in the game, tied the score with his solo homer off of relief pitcher Greg Weissert, not only changing the energy in the stadium — but the final result in the process.

“I think that's just believing in us, understanding that we can score a run or two at any moment, and just believing in our guys,” Moore said. “The game's not over ever.”

Angels acting manager Ray Montgomery said Moore brings a “youthful exuberance” to the clubhouse. Whether it was an over-the-shoulder catch Monday or his home run heroics Tuesday, the rookie is finding his way into big plays, big moments and playing time.

“[Hitting coach Johnny Washington] said 'He's either part of the solution or part of the problem,' ” Montgomery said, “and I think he's a big part of the solution.... He's going to be a big key for us — tonight, tomorrow, and every day after it.”

The Angels’ bullpen, which has emerged as one of the best in baseball during June to the tune of a 2.91 earned-run average entering Tuesday’s game, shut down the Red Sox (40-41) after Montgomery pulled Anderson from the game after 4 ⅔ innings and 82 pitches.

Reid Detmers gave up the only run (unearned) out of the bullpen, the 10th inning single from Marcelo Mayer to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead.

Anderson — flummoxed as he watched Montgomery come to the mound as he called on right-hander Connor Brogdon from the bullpen — has only finished the fifth inning twice in his last five starts. Despite the short start Tuesday, the outing was arguably his best in that span, striking out five and walking two, while giving up one run and two hits.

“Obviously, as a starter, you want to go deeper into games,” Anderson said. “But, man, our bullpen is just unbelievable. Kudos to those guys for coming and shutting it down and keeping it there.”

Angels closer Kenley Jansen, who left Monday’s game with shoulder cramps after throwing a few pitches below 90 mph, returned Tuesday and tossed a scoreless ninth. Neto, on the other hand, caused an injury scare when he left Tuesday’s game in the ninth after short-arming a throw, airmailing first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr.

After a short talk with Montgomery and the team trainer, he walked to the dugout. Montgomery said postgame that Neto’s removal was precautionary and due to an eighth-inning slide on a stolen base attempt where the shortstop jammed his right shoulder.

Neto said he probably should have pulled himself from the game and will undergo an MRI and further testing Wednesday morning.

“There's a time and place to be a hero,” Neto said, referring to his aggravated shoulder.

But for the Angels on Tuesday night, it was Moore’s opportunity to be the hero. A day he and Angel fans will remember — when he found the right place at the right time, twice.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

With the Mets in need of bullpen help, the team is calling up one of their young right-handers.

Jonathan Pintaro is getting the call to the show, according to The Athletics' Will Sammon. The 27-year-old right-hander was just promoted to Triple-A from Binghamton this week, but had not taken the mound for Syracuse before this sudden promotion.

Pintaro has been solid for the Mets' Double-A affiliate this season. In 11 starts (42.1 IP), Pintaro has pitched to a 3.40 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP with 57 strikeouts. In his three starts this month, Pintaro has allowed just two runs over 12 innings pitched. As Sammon notes, although Pintaro has only started games this season, he's expected to offer the Mets bullpen help.

In Tuesday's loss to the Braves, the Mets used five relievers after Frankie Montas pitched five scoreless innings. That comes a day after the team used four relievers in Monday's loss to Atlanta.

When things are going right, Francisco Lindor likes to say the thing to do is to “keep riding the good wave.” After the Mets dropped their 10th game out of the last 11 on Tuesday night, letting a 3-0 lead after five frames turn into a 7-4 defeat to the Atlanta Braves, the hope is that this bad wave has finally crashed.

“Keep on grinding, keep on grinding. We gotta find a way to beat the team on the other side,” Lindor said when asked what the club has to do to pull out of the recent wipeout. “We have to stay together, we have to fight for each other, and just put our heads down and find a way.”

Just as quickly as a six-game winning streak can turn into a seven-game losing skid, there is a belief that the next wave is around the corner.

“We’re one week away from looking completely different," Lindor said. "At the end of the day, I believe in what we have here, the guys are gonna continue to stay together, they’re gonna continue to fight, continue to play for each other.

“What do we have to do to get out of something like this? Fight for each other, fight for each other. Turn the page, day in and day out. When we win, turn the page. When we lose, turn the page.”

In Tuesday’s defeat, Lindor went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts, including grounding out weakly to second base for the game’s final out, representing the tying run with two men in scoring position. The shortstop snapped a run of three straight two-hit games, and he now has just six hits in his last 36 at-bats (.167) with nine strikeouts and two walks.

“I gotta get better,” Lindor said, adding, “I have felt good the past couple games, probably the past four or five days. Today’s just one of those nights. I gotta get good pitches to hit and when I get ‘em drive ‘em. And today I didn’t do that. “I felt like I got a couple of pitches to hit in that last at-bat and I didn’t come through.

"The bottom of the lineup today did a fantastic job of working together to get some runs. The top of the lineup, the leadoff guy, it came down to me, and I didn't execute. That's [the] bottom line.”

With the team scuffling in all phases of the game – pitching, hitting, defense, baserunning – Lindor said there is some frustration in the clubhouse, they are professionals who “understand the task” at hand. 

“There’s definitely some frustration, of course, as competitors and professional athletes, yeah, you don’t want to lose,” he said. “But the guys understand that, to get out of where we are today, we gotta do it together. We have a really good group of guys.”

“...I do feel a sense of urgency of like, ‘Alright guys, we gotta do this and we’re gonna have to do this together.’”

Of course, in the results industry of big league baseball, Lindor knows that, “It’s all about winning. Nothing else matters but winning. And we’re not doing that right now.”

Last season, the Mets stumbled out of the gate and struggled for the season’s early goings and looked lost at sea after a 22-33 start. Lindor said that experience gives them some measure of perspective, but this clubhouse is inhabited by a different team.

“We have a lot of guys that were here last year, but at the end of the day, we don’t really care what happened last year,” he said. “Yes, we all understand in this room that we’re gonna go through things like this. We gotta learn from it, we gotta play better, ultimately that’s what it comes down to. We have to play better, I have to play better.”

Lindor added that in understanding this is a tough moment, the players must “rely on each other and put our heads down and just work.”

When Major League Baseball’s trade deadline arrives next month, the Dodgers will almost certainly be on the lookout for help in the bullpen.

If their injury-plagued rotation takes any more hits, they might reluctantly have to explore the starting pitching market, as well.

But, when discussing the team’s deadline plans recently with The Times’ Bill Shaikin, the one potential area of offensive need that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman seemed unlikely to address was left field.

Michael Conforto might be struggling mightily this season after signing for $17 million this winter. But the Dodgers have remained bullish on his ability to eventually help.

“Never say never,” Friedman said when asked about the possibility of trading for a left fielder in the next month, “but I think we would hold a very high bar and find it very unlikely.”

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On Tuesday night at Coors Field, Conforto gave such optimism some badly needed life.

In the Dodgers’ 9-7 win against the woeful Colorado Rockies, the veteran slugger went two for five with an early double and a go-ahead home run, keying the team’s six-run rally in the fourth with a three-run blast launched deep to right.

The performance marked Conforto’s first multi-hit effort since May 27, and his first with multiple extra-base hits since collecting three doubles on May 13.

It was his first game all season with more than one RBI.

The question now is whether Tuesday was a temporary blip, or a legitimate turning point for Conforto?

The answer could have important implications on the Dodgers’ roster construction for the second half of the season.

Conforto’s overall numbers are still not easy on the eyes. His .171 batting average is easily the worst among qualified big-league hitters. His negative-0.7 mark in wins above replacement (an all-encompassing stat not helped by his limited defensive range in left field) entering the day ranked 158th out of 161 such players.

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His playing time has also begun to decrease recently, with Conforto twice getting benched against right-handed pitchers last week in favor of fellow lefty hitter Hyeseong Kim in the outfield.

“I see [Conforto] playing a lot still,” manager Dave Roberts said then. “But I do think that in a meritocracy, in that vein, Hyeseong has earned opportunities.”

And yet, to this point, the Dodgers have sounded wary of shopping for a potential replacement ahead of the deadline.

“To date, obviously, Michael hasn’t performed up to what he expected or we expected,” Friedman said. “But, watching the way he is working, watching the progress being made, I would bet that his next two months are way better than his last two months.”

On Tuesday, the 32-year-old provided a blueprint for how.

One of Conforto’s primary weaknesses this season has been hitting the fastball. Entering Tuesday, he was batting just .174 against heaters, compared to a .283 average against them last year with the San Francisco Giants.

“That's probably the genesis of the whole deal,” Roberts said of Conforto’s struggles. “When you don't hit the fastball, that starts to lend to a little cheating, chasing on spin. And so we got to get him back on the heater.”

In his first at-bat against right-handed Rockies starter Germán Márquez, Conforto finally did, turning on an inside four-seamer for a double down the right-field line; just his third extra-base hit of June.

Power has been another missing piece of Conforto’s game. A four-time 20-home run hitter in his 10-year career, he entered Tuesday with only four long balls this season; all of them solo shots.

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But in the fourth inning, he came up with two aboard — after two misplays by Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia led to a pair of Dodgers runs that erased an early 2-0 deficit. Then, when Márquez flipped a 1-and-1 curveball low in the zone, Conforto found the barrel for his three-run blast, putting the Dodgers (49-31) in front 5-2.

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski made the lead stand up, yielding just two runs over five innings of bulk relief to lower his ERA to 3.54 in four outings this month. Shohei Ohtani added some insurance in the sixth with his National League-leading 27th home run, muscling a two-run drive the other way. And though the Rockies (18-61) scored four unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings to make it close late, Tanner Scott shut the door with a four-out save to seal the team’s 11th win in its last 15 games.

Conforto didn’t have another hit, grounding out with two aboard in the fifth, flying out with a runner at second in the seventh and grounding out again with a runner at second in the ninth.

His season-long woes are far from being rectified. His long-term role with the team, even in a best-case scenario, might be as more of a part-time player (especially if Kim continues to command more playing time).

But, if the Dodgers are truly hoping to avoid having to replace Conforto at the deadline, Tuesday at least represented a potential start.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.