Devin Williams Blames His Latest Yankees Meltdown on Soggy Mound

The New York Yankees were cruising on Monday.

After dropping their last two series, getting off to a good start in a high-profile showdown against the San Diego Padres was a much-needed way for them to begin the week.

Unfortunately, a late collapse now has the Yankees sitting as losers of three games in a row.

The culprit once again was Devin Williams, the formerly elite closer who was acquired this past winter with the expectation that he would be the dominant shutdown man he has been throughout his career.

New York is not getting that version, though.

After being inserted at the top of the eighth inning with a three-run lead, Williams got off to a good start by striking out the first batter he faced, but he then walked Tyler Wade and gave up a single that put a runner in scoring position.

In a high-leverage spot, Williams struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. for the massive second out, but then he walked another batter to load up the bases and end his night.

Aaron Boone called upon Luke Weaver to get out of this jam, but Weaver gave up a two-run double to Manny Machado and later a two-run single from Xander Bogaerts that gave the Padres a 4-3 lead.

What was the reasoning behind Williams' struggles this time?

According to him, it was the soggy mound.

"It was the landing spot, to be honest with you. I couldn't figure it out with the release point on my fastball. It was getting away from me," Williams said after the game, per Greg Joyce of The New York Post. "It's one of those nights where you're not only battling the hitter. I was battling the mound. But we're all given the same set of circumstances, and I couldn't pull through tonight."

The honesty is certainly noble, but that's likely not a reason fans want to hear.

The Yankees have lost five games when leading in the eighth inning or later this season, the most in Major League Baseball.

Williams has been on the mound for three of them.

He is starting to become unplayable at this stage whenever it's a tight game, and that does not bode well for New York moving forward if he can't figure things out.

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