NEW YORK -- The Cubs desperately needed length from starter Matt Swarmer on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium following a 2-1, 13-inning loss on Friday in which Chicago rolled out eight relievers following Wade Miley's early exit due to a left shoulder strain.

Swarmer battled and soaked up five innings on 90 pitches, but unfortunately, he was hit hard and often as the Cubs dropped their fifth game in a row, 8-0. The long ball hurt Swarmer in a big way as he allowed six home runs, all solo shots.

“I've definitely seen him better,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “Solo shots? That’s better than walks. [The Yankees] have some powerful swings, some big, strong guys. They have the potential to put up some numbers with one swing of the bat. They did that today.”

Swarmer also found himself on the wrong end of history, as he became the second pitcher in AL/NL history to allow six solo home runs in a game, joining Hollis "Sloppy" Thurston (Aug. 13, 1932). Cubs historian Ed Hartig also revealed those six homers tied a franchise record first set by Tom Lee against Providence on June 28, 1884. Lee pitched a complete game that day and lost 13-4.

The fireworks for New York started on the second pitch of the game, when Aaron Judge hit a monster home run into the left-field stands.

Swarmer calmed down with scoreless innings in the second and third, but in the next two frames that followed, the Yankees teed off like it was a home run derby. In the fourth, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres hit back-to-back home runs, with Stanton's shot registering an exit velocity of 119.8 mph -- the fourth-hardest-hit homer tracked by Statcast (since 2015).

The fifth inning brought more trouble for the right-hander, with Jose Trevino, Judge (MLB-leading 24th) and Anthony Rizzo each contributing to the homer barrage and giving New York a 6-0 lead.

Swarmer -- who was making his third Major League start and coming off his first victory, during which he allowed one run on two hits over six innings against the Cardinals last Saturday -- didn’t have any excuses for his disappointing outing. He said he didn’t execute his pitches and gave credit to the Yankees.

“I was getting behind hitters [and] leaving the ball up in the zone,” Swarmer said. “I just have to do a better job executing my pitches. Hopefully, better things happen next start. [The Yankees] have a lot of power hitters, for sure.

“I’m going to try to limit the damage next time when things [start] hitting the fan. I’ll try to make them feel more uncomfortable out there. [It] seemed they just saw the ball well. I just have to do a lot better moving forward.”

Chicago's troubles aren't limited to the pitching side, as it is having a tough time producing at the plate. The last time the Cubs had a hit with runners in scoring position was last Sunday against the Cardinals, off the bat of P.J. Higgins in the eighth inning. Since then, the Cubs have gone 0-for-40 in such situations.

“We are not hitting,” Ross simply said. “... We are not getting hits.”