The Yankees were shut down by the Orioles, getting three-hit and going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in a 7-1 loss.
The Yankees had their worst loss of the season not even two weeks ago when they blew a two-run, ninth-inning lead at Fenway Park to open a four-game series. Well, now they have their most embarrassing loss of the season. The Yankees were essentially shut down by the worst starting pitcher in all of baseball, getting three-hit by the Orioles and going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in a 7-1 loss.
The Yankees’ upcoming 10 games against are a chance for them to potentially hold a playoff spot by the end of next week.
Anthony Rizzo led the Yankees to a much-needed sweep of the Marlins over the weekend, and while the Yankees were winning in Miami, the Rays were sweeping the Red Sox in St. Petersburg. The Yankees now trail the Rays by six games in the loss column for the division, the Red Sox by four games for the first wild card and the A’s by one game for the second wild card. The Yankees’ next 10 games against the Orioles, Mariners and Royals are a chance for them to potentially hold a playoff spot by the end of next week.
The Yankees did it. They finally swept a team. For the first time since June 15-17 and just the fourth time all season the Yankees swept a series of at least three games. They did so because of new addition Anthony Rizzo and some awful Marlins defense.
The Yankees did it. They finally swept a team. For the first time since June 15-17 and just the fourth time all season the Yankees swept a series of at least three games. They did so because of new addition Anthony Rizzo and some awful Marlins defense.
1. Between Friday and Saturday, Anthony Rizzo reached base in eight of nine plate appearances, and of the Yankees’ seven runs in the first two games of the series, he scored five of them and drove in the other two. He single-handedly carried the Yankees to wins in each of his first two games a Yankee. Then on Sunday, he tied the game at 1 in the eighth inning with a single to left field off a left-handed reliever. Of the Yankees’ 10 runs over the weekend, Rizzo scored five of them and drove in three.
As a left-handed, contact-first bat with power and four Gold Gloves to his name, Rizzo is a perfect fit for this team and future teams. Yes, I’m probably getting ahead of myself after three games, but the Yankees don’t have a real, consistent first-base option now (since Luke Voit never plays) or in the future, unless you want them to move DJ LeMahieu to first, Gleyber Torres to second and then sign one of Trevor Story, Corey Seager or Carlos Correa. Rizzo turned down a five-year, $70 million extension from the Cubs back in the spring, so it’s going to take more than that to keep him, but as of right now (after the enormous sample size of three games and 13 plate appearances), I’m all for it.
2. I understand the plate discipline and power of Joey Gallo as an offensive player, and I’m sure he will take full advantage of the short porch at Yankee Stadium, but what worried me about adding him to the Yankees’ lineup was that he was essentially the left-handed version of Giancarlo Stanton with even more strikeouts. Yes, he makes the Yankees better overall (as a left-handed hitter who can play Gold Glove defense and multiple positions), though had the Yankees only traded for Gallo and not also Rizzo, they most likely get swept by the last-place Marlins.
This weekend was a reminder that the Yankees still have a long way to go to changing their identity. Aside from Rizzo, the Yankees’ offense was non-existent and if not for the Marlins eighth- and ninth-inning defense on Sunday, the Yankees would have wasted another opportunity to sweep a series. Here’s how the everyday, non-Rizzo Yankees performed over the weekend.
Gleyber Torres: 1-for-13, 4 K Joey Gallo: 1-for-12, 2 BB, 5 K Gary Sanchez: 1-for-12, 2B, 3 K Aaron Judge: 3-for-12, 5 K
3. Stanton only played in two of the three games because I guess playing both sides of the baseball two days in a row for the first time in years equated to a day off. LeMahieu and Gio Urshela were held out of the starting lineup in all three games by Aaron Boone, but Urshela ended up playing on both Friday and Saturday and LeMahieu on Friday and Sunday, so just some unnecessary rest for two everyday players at a time when the Yankees can’t be giving anyone unnecessary rest. If you trade for Gallo and Rizzo and then end up not playing LeMahieu and Urshela and play Brett Gardner and Tyler Wade, it’s as if you didn’t trade for anyone.
4. Rizzo was the only Yankee to homer in the series (doing so on both Friday and Saturday), and power has become a problem for the Yankees over the last few weeks. Here are the non-Rizzo expected regulars and their recent power struggles:
LeMahieu: No home runs since June 26 Urshela: No home runs since July 4 Judge: No home runs since July 10 Gallo: One home run since July 10 Sanchez: No home runs since July 20 Stanton: No home runs since July 20 Torres: No home runs since July 21
I guess that means they are due to get hot on this upcoming homestand against the Orioles (3) and Mariners (4).
5. While the Yankees won all three games, they won all three despite only scoring 10 runs as the pitching was able to stifle an anemic offense, one of only three worse than the Yankees in 2021. (The Yankees have the second-worst in the AL and the fourth-worst in the majors.) The trio of Jameson Taillon, Scumbag Doming German and Jordan Montgomery combined for this line: 14.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 15 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.022 WHIP.
The only good thing about NL rules in which the pitcher hits is that it forced Boone to take out his starter earlier than he would have if there had been a DH in the games. Not only did Boone pull his starter at the right time in all three games, but he also managed to pull off a few double switches, something I thought he certainly would screw up.
6. On Sunday, the Yankees announced Scumbag German was placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. Either this is the Yankees giving him a rest after trading for Andrew Heaney, or German is actually injured as a result of Boone greatly exceeding his expected pitch count in Boston as Boone put an individual achievement and the possibility of a far-fetched no-hitter over a team win in a critical game against the Red Sox. Either way, no German for a couple weeks (and that’s not a bad thing).
I don’t have much from an expectation standpoint for Heaney. He’s average at best and if there’s one aspect of the game the Yankees have no idea what they’re doing it’s starting pitching: developing, evaluating and trading for. Maybe Heaney will be different, but the track record for starting pitchers Brian Cashman has traded for is abysmal.
For Heaney, there’s no better setup than facing the Orioles in your first start and he couldn’t have asked for a softer landing spot to join the rotation. If he does well, and holds his rotation spot for the next 10 days, he will be in line to start the Field of Dreams game next Thursday in Iowa against the White Sox.
7. Entering the weekend, the Yankees needed to go 43-18 to get to 96 wins and win the division (and win me my preseason over 95.5 wins bet). The 3-0 weekend against the Marlins drastically improved a pace that’s still improbable, but not impossible.
Mariners/Royals: 5-2 Orioles: 7-2 White Sox: 2-1 Angels/A’s: 2-2 Red Sox: 4-2 Twins/Braves/Rangers: 7-2 Blue Jays: 4-3 Mets: 2-1 Indians: 2-1 Rays: 2-1
8. This weekend was so critical to the Yankees’ playoff chances because while they were playing the lowly, last-place Marlins, the Rays and Red Sox were playing each other, giving the Yankees a chance to make up ground on someone with every win. They won all three games, while the Red Sox lost all three games, so in the span of 48 hours, the Yankees’ loss-column deficit to the Red Sox went from 7 to 4. If Chad Green doesn’t blow a two-run, ninth-inning lead at Fenway two weeks ago or Jonathan Loaisiga doesn’t blow a four-run, eighth-inning lead at Fenway two weeks ago, the Yankees and Red Sox are tied in the loss column. Better yet, if the Yankees hadn’t played the Red Sox in 2021, they would be 53-38 and the Red Sox would be 53-41. But the Red Sox have taken care of business against the Yankees this season going 10-3, and creating the separation in the standings in head-to-head games alone.
9. Now the Rays are in first place. A much better team than the Red Sox with a much easier schedule than the Red Sox over the remaining two months. The Rays will play the Orioles 10 times in July, still have six games against the Twins and three against both the Mariners and Marlins. The most important part of both the Rays’ and Red Sox’ schedule for the Yankees is that the two teams they are chasing have 10 games left against each other. That’s 10 days when the Yankees will make up ground with a win or lose ground with a loss. Ten immensely important days to the Yankees’ playoff chances.
10. Fangraphs currently gives the Yankees a 53.3 percent chance of reaching the playoffs (12.1 percent at winning the division and 41.2 percent at winning a wild-card berth). The next 10 days will give the Yankees the opportunity to drastically increase those odds. Over the next 10 days, the Yankees will play the last-place Orioles (37-67), a Mariners (56-50) team that has lost four five since an unexpected trade caused clubhouse turmoil and the fourth-place Royals (45-59) that the Blue Jays just swept over the weekend. The next 10 days will determine how the Yankees’ season goes over the remaining two months.
The Yankees took two out of three in Tampa, which was good, but more importantly, the Yankees made a pair of impact trades prior to the trade deadline for the first time in three years.
The Yankees took two out of three in Tampa, which was good, but more importantly, the Yankees made a pair of impact trades prior to the trade deadline for the first time in three years.
1. Yes, I would have signed up for the Yankees winning two out of three at the Trop this week. That’s exactly what I projected they need to do in the three-game in my rest-of-the-season pacing to get them to 96 wins, to win the division and to win me my preseason wager on over 95.5. Here is an updated look at that pacing:
2. But when you win the first two games of a series and have Gerrit Cole pitching in the third game, that’s a game you have to win. Instead, the Yankees fell to 3-10 when they have a chance to sweep a series (4-10 if you count their two-game sweep over the Phillies), and they fell to 10-11 in games started by Cole. That’s awful.
3. I should have known better thinking the Yankees would complete the sweep of the Rays and cut their loss-column deficit to the Rays to four games and their loss-column deficit to the Red Sox to six games. A Cole start combined with a chance to go for a sweep combined with a weekday afternoon game couldn’t have made it more predictable the Yankees would lose the game.
4. Not only did they lose, but they were embarrassed. Cole allowed a first-pitch home run that was overturned to be a foul ball, though that was a precursor of things to come. Four batters into the game, the Rays had a 4-0 lead and hadn’t made an out in what was another shit start by Cole against the Rays and Red Sox this season.
5. Here is Cole’s line against the Rays this season: 24.2 IP, 20 H, 16 R, 14 ER, 4 BB, 39 K, 2 HR, 5.11 ERA, WHIP
Here is his line against the Red Sox this season: 16 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 6 BB, 25 K, 4 HR, 5.06 ERA, WHIP
It’s nice that Cole pitched a complete game shutout against the Astros a few weeks ago, and it’s nice that he has dominated the Orioles, Tigers and Indians this season. At some point he needs to beat the Rays and Red Sox with some consistency, considering they are the two teams separating the Yankees from being buried in the standings and holding a playoff spot.
4. The idea Kyle Higashioka should catch Cole was always a joke, but it’s more comical than ever given the performance of the duo on Thursday, or against the Red Sox a month ago, or against the Mets or Rangers. Higashioka should almost never play, and when he does “need” to play, it shouldn’t have to come when Cole is pitching. There’s absolutely nothing special between the two.
6. Thursday’s game should be the last time Brett Gardner plays in a game as a Yankee. He can’t hit, he can’t get on base, when he’s on base he can’t steal and his defense has looked like Miguel Andujar’s at times this season, including Thursday. The Yankees gave Gardner one one-year deal too many, and now he’s wasting a roster spot because the Yankees don’t seem to want to give him the Alex Rodriguez treatment and force Gardner into a midseason retirement the way they did to A-Rod back in 2016.
The same goes for Rougned Odor and Tyler. No more Higashioka. No more Gardner. No more Odor. No more Wade. No more throwing away games after the Yankees threw away too many of their first 101 games. They shouldn’t play any of those names again and they don’t need to after trading for Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo.
7. It’s odd and frustrating the Yankees stood pat at the 2019 trade deadline when they were arguably the best team in baseball and on their way to a rather easy division title or in 2020 when eight teams were going to the playoffs, and they were in a better spot than they were as of Wednesday afternoon (before the first trade for Gallo). The Yankees don’t currently hold a postseason spot and have loss-columns deficit of two to the A’s, six to the Rays and seven to the Red Sox in order to acquire a playoff spot. Right now, the Yankees’ seemingly only realistic chance at reaching the playoffs is as the second wild card, and what do they get out of that? They would have to go on the road and use Cole, and even if they win, they are now going on the road for the first two games of the ALDS, unable to use Cole until Game 3 at the earliest.
8. Trading for Gallo and Rizzo is Yankees front office admitting they were wrong to think they could win with an all-right-handed lineup. It’s also an admission that a collection of Aaron Hicks, Gardner and Odor was never going to be good enough to get the Yankees anywhere, certainly not the World Series. It’s unfortunate it took the Yankees several years and 101 games of this season to give in to their stubbornness to not have lineup balance. Now the team needs to go and win at a near .700 pace in order to get where they are expected to be.
9. This needs to be the Yankees’ lineup:
DJ LeMahieu, 2B Aaron Judge, RF Joey Gallo, LF Giancarlo Stanton, DH Anthony Rizzo, 1B Gary Sanchez, C/Gleyber Torres, SS Gleyber Torres, SS/Gary Sanchez, C Gio Urshela, 3B Greg Allen, CF
Or if the Yankees stop lying and do actually play Stanton in the outfield, this:
DJ LeMahieu, 2B Aaron Judge, RF/CF Joey Gallo, CF/RF Giancarlo Stanton, LF Anthony Rizzo, 1B Luke Voit, DH Gary Sanchez, C/Gleyber Torres, SS Gleyber Torres, SS/Gary Sanchez, C Gio Urshela, 3B
Those are both lineups I can get behind. Those are lineups that can produce. Those are lineups, that if the starting pitching is just average, the bullpen doesn’t continue to ruin games and if Aaron Boone only makes logical decisions (the hardest of all of these things to happen), the Yankees can go on the kind of 43-18 run that’s needed for them to win the division.
10. The Yankees’ next 13 games are against the Marlins (3), Orioles (3), Mariners (4) and Royals (3). Meanwhile, the Rays and Red Sox play each other this weekend and still have to play each other 13 times. The math is horrible and essentially labels the Yankees’ chances at winning the division as a miracle. But if the front office can admit they were wrong with their roster construction like they did with the two trades then anything is possible, including the Yankees winning 43 of their remaining 61 games.
Despite being seven back in the loss colum in the division, with their new look, there’s a path to the Yankees winning the East.
The Yankees are seven games back in the loss colum in the division, but with their new additions, there’s a path to them winning the AL East. It won’t be easy, and they will have to win about 43 of their remaining 61 games, but it can be done.
After the recap, Frank Marco of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to talk about the trades for Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, what it means for the rest of the season and how the Yankees will finish over the remaining two months.
